Are high end smartphones worth the money (to you)?

[BeastOfBodmin]

High end phones are not worth the money to me. A long time ago, my SO had an iPhone 6S, which was fine. At that time the prices were nowhere near as high as they are now. I didn't want to spend the money. Nowadays we all use Android, since my SO agrees the iPhone is not worth the extra cash. She is using a Samsung S21 FE. I still use my Realme X2 Pro that I bought in 2020. I selected it by going to gsmarena.com and filtered on price, headphone jack, at least dual SIM and battery size. Then I cross-referenced with specs on some benchmark sites and went looking for deals.

[SAFETY FIRST]

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Memory and speed seems to be non issues, the thing to pay extra for is better camera, NFC, esim etc, depends what you need, if nothing special 5k baht is about right

Last year I bought the gf a vivo v29. 

 

Quite slim and lightweight, 512gb Memory, big processor, 50MP camera and 50MP selfie (she loves the selfie camera), NFC, esim etc, for only 10k baht, I got a steal. 

 

https://m.gsmarena.com/vivo_v29-12461.php

 

[frank83628]

There is a good website & app called GSM Arena, you can compare specs of 3 phones side by side.I found the Samsung M series have comparable spec to the S, but fraction of the cost. 7000BT, The higher A series are also very good.

No need to spend 50k on the latest I-phones 

[Photoguy21]

For me it depends. Does the phone have a feature that I really want? If not I wont buy it. My purchasing philosophy is simple, I like clean simple items be it a phone a watch or anything else. iPhones I really don't like not because they are made by Apple but simply because I am not going to pay for an item that will only allow me to do what the manufacturer allows me to do.

[KhunLA]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

Only if you are actually going to use the camera, as that is the price driver.  Don't need a fancy camera, (or a brand name) then you don't need to pay 10X as much for a phone that does everything else just fine.

Anything that has a camera, and my preference is a Sony camera sensor in it.   Also means, you don't have to go high end, as many manufacturers use Sony sensors.   Even my low end POCO (Xiaomi) phone, and my main low end vid drone.   

 

"The POCO X3 and X3 NFC have quad rear camera set-up with 64-megapixels Sony Exmor IMX682"

 

" SG906 Pro 2 review: ZLRC’s Best Drone Yet - 4K HDR camera with Sony IMX179 image sensor"

 

Got to read the fine print when researching products you plan on buying 

 

 

[Katatonica]

21 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

There is a good website & app called GSM Arena, you can compare specs of 3 phones side by side.I found the Samsung M series have comparable spec to the S, but fraction of the cost. 7000BT, The higher A series are also very good.

No need to spend 50k on the latest I-phones 

I'd never spend more than 10k on a phone and my wife seems to actually prefer cheap ones after a Russian woman barged past her once, whilst on a highish-end phone to me, smashing it and not even acknowledging what she'd done. And we have a lot of cats.. I buy new old-stock Android phones that were top of the range 2 or 3 years ago for about 8k and never had an i-one. My wife has a Samsung brick that was about 3k and a nice big tablet at home.

[NickyLouie]

Currently the best deal on the market :

 

https://www.samsung.com/uk/smartphones/galaxy-a/galaxy-a55-5g-awesome-iceblue-128gb-sm-a556blbaeub/?srsltid=AfmBOoqcbauhJiTt2zUepMHyB8KCsFJ_XJhUilswztftleeet50PFDMm

[impulse]

40 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

There is a good website & app called GSM Arena, you can compare specs of 3 phones side by side.I found the Samsung M series have comparable spec to the S, but fraction of the cost. 7000BT, The higher A series are also very good.

No need to spend 50k on the latest I-phones 

 

GSM Arena is a great site.   Just be sure you specify which market.   Because specs in one market (country?) are often different than specs of the "same model" in a different market.  They have different Part Numbers, but they're marketed as the same model.

 

[FolkGuitar]

Very important to me!

My hearing aids were designed specifically to interface with an iPhone. I can control all aspects of the devices, including answering the telephone just by tapping the right-side hearing aid, changing sound programs from 'Music' to 'Restaurant' to Outdoors in Wind, and several others that I've personalized and can access through my iPhone. It utilizes the GPS to change programs to fit my location.  It 'will' work a bit with an Android phone, but severely limit what it can do.

[ignis]

Did look at the Samsung Galaxy A06, new phone with a good deal on..

Same price at Samsung,co.th + all the other places  2,990 baht

 

My present phone cost the same 5 years ago, Vivo, is still fine so could not see any reason to buy a new phone

 

Have no reason or see any point in a high end phone, not for my needs....   

[impulse]

Here's the smartphone I'd pay extra for...  One where I can plug it into a standardized cradle and it takes the place of an NUC (mini computer), displaying on the big screen, taking input from a mouse and a keyboard.  And there's compatible cradles and screens in hotels and Starbucks and airports and...

 

Because no matter how powerful they get, the small screen and tiny little keyboard make them useless for most of the computing tasks for which I carry my laptop.  And no matter how good the cameras get, I still need to edit the results (especially video) on a big screen.

 

For one of those that would let me leave the laptop back home, I'd pony up the bucks.  Or do they already exist?

 

Edit:  Just to clarify, I paid 17,000 baht for my recent laptop, so there's a limit to how much I'd pony up to leave it back home...  Nothing like 40,000 mind you.

 

[scubascuba3]

57 minutes ago, Madgee said:

i can understand some people objecting to paying over 10k for a phone, it comes down to whether you want the speed and features which some people don't (or are incapable of using). Each to their own. 

Most people probably don't even know what their new phone does over a cheaper one. They all seem to charge very fast now, who cares about that, i charge at night, couldn't care less

[KhunLA]

7 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Most people probably don't even know what their new phone does over a cheaper one. They all seem to charge very fast now, who cares about that, i charge at night, couldn't care less

Just a note, for longer battery life, you probably shouldn't be charging to 100% all the time.  

[frank83628]

30 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

GSM Arena is a great site.   Just be sure you specify which market.   Because specs in one market (country?) are often different than specs of the "same model" in a different market.  They have different Part Numbers, but they're marketed as the same model.

 

Yes, i know what you mean, the phones i have searched have sometimes had 'India model'

in brackets. but very helpful site regardless. last 3 phones have been based off that site.Samsung A7, A50 and now M32, all were under 9000thb

[Ralf001]

This looks handy if your apple has crap battery life.

 

https://www.swippitt.com

[scottiejohn]

22 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Just a note, for longer battery life, you probably shouldn't be charging to 100% all the time.  

Modern higher end phones have charging limiters fitted as standard now.

[bubblegum]

Only phones with original google android for me. so pixel nokia and such

[scubascuba3]

43 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Just a note, for longer battery life, you probably shouldn't be charging to 100% all the time.  

Yeah but i doubt anyone wants to go out in the morning with 50% only

[phetphet]

I’m pretty much invested in Apple’s eco system, so cheaper phones are not really an option. Although I am still using my iPhone 11 so a lot of the features are not the latest.
Larger memory is great for taking photos, loading music library and movies, tv shows. Apple Pay, (NFC to touch and pay with phone) was handy in the U.K., but doesn’t work here, nor some other Apple Services which work in the west.

I might look at the 17 when it comes out. I’d like a good camera and decent, larger screen, and WiFi 7 for faster internet.

I did prefer the Touch ID finger print access to the newer Face ID of the newer phones

AI doesn’t interest me.

 

Apple and Samsung are in an annual one upmanship race to try and outdo one another, but a friend recently bought a OnePlus phone which seems very well specked.

 

[Badrabbit]

I've got the Samsung A23 5G, it does everything I need, probably does more that I am unaware of.

[GammaGlobulin]

Absolutely.....!!!!

 

NOT

 

==========

My only requirements:

 

a. Samsung Phone

b. 12 GB RAM

c. Two slots for SIM or SD Card.

d. 256 GB (or above) internal storage

 

Done.

 

===========

 

High-end cameras on phones are for....

IDIOTS....to...

Waste their money.

 

======

 

If I want a high-end camera, then...

NIKON...

Top of the Line...

 

[GammaGlobulin]

1 hour ago, NickyLouie said:

Currently the best deal on the market :

 

https://www.samsung.com/uk/smartphones/galaxy-a/galaxy-a55-5g-awesome-iceblue-128gb-sm-a556blbaeub/?srsltid=AfmBOoqcbauhJiTt2zUepMHyB8KCsFJ_XJhUilswztftleeet50PFDMm

 

You are.....

 

CORRECT, once again.

 

I bought one in June.

Great phone.

 

256GB internal storage

12GB RAM

2-slots for SIM or for Micro SD card

Android 14 with 5-years of updates to OS...

 

What could be finer?

For the money?

 

 

BUT, BUTT....

The only color I would touch, and did buy, was Awesome Navy Blue.

Good for hiding in the dark, at night.

 

 

[spidermike007]

Yes worth every penny in my opinion, of course I never pay full retail for anything, so I typically wait until the new models come out and then buy last year's model at 10 to 15,000 baht off. I just bought a new Samsung S24 Ultra at a price that I thought was justified. For me it's all about the camera, the secondary aspect is speed, the brilliance of the screen and other factors like that. Considering the amount of use I get out of my smartphone it's worth every single dollar that I put into it. 

 

Like my laptops, and my TVs and motorbikes, I typically replace them about every 3 years. 

[spidermike007]

12 minutes ago, phetphet said:

I’m pretty much invested in Apple’s eco system, so cheaper phones are not really an option. Although I am still using my iPhone 11 so a lot of the features are not the latest.
Larger memory is great for taking photos, loading music library and movies, tv shows. Apple Pay, (NFC to touch and pay with phone) was handy in the U.K., but doesn’t work here, nor some other Apple Services which work in the west.

I might look at the 17 when it comes out. I’d like a good camera and decent, larger screen, and WiFi 7 for faster internet.

I did prefer the Touch ID finger print access to the newer Face ID of the newer phones

AI doesn’t interest me.

 

Apple and Samsung are in an annual one upmanship race to try and outdo one another, but a friend recently bought a OnePlus phone which seems very well specked.

 

Apple started spending more than $5 on its camera phone from the iPhone 13 forward. 

[KhunLA]

14 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Yeah but i doubt anyone wants to go out in the morning with 50% only

If paying attention, I unplug mine once in the 80% range.   Try not to go under 50% before plugging back in.   Easy for me, as I really don't use a phone much, unless O&A.

[swerve]

I spent 12,000 baht on a mid-range Samsung a year ago.  Very happy with it.  I use it for work a lot.  Long battery life, internal memory,  and waterproofing are important features for me.

[Centigrade32]

4 hours ago, hotsun said:

The cheap androids work just as well and last just as long as the iphones that cost 5x as much

 

No they don't.

[connda]

I've got an Samsung A34, it does everything I want it to do.  Essentially it's a telephone with a couple of Android apps which no longer can be run from a computer.  Cost me around 8K with a family discount from where my son works.  I'll drive it into the ground, and when it can't be upgraded anymore, I'll root it and then upgrade it.  My smartphone is essentially a phone and a camera and a timer/alarm.  Other than that, it doesn't get a whole lot of use.

[Centigrade32]

2 hours ago, BeastOfBodmin said:

High end phones are not worth the money to me. A long time ago, my SO had an iPhone 6S, which was fine. At that time the prices were nowhere near as high as they are now. I didn't want to spend the money. Nowadays we all use Android, since my SO agrees the iPhone is not worth the extra cash. She is using a Samsung S21 FE. I still use my Realme X2 Pro that I bought in 2020. I selected it by going to gsmarena.com and filtered on price, headphone jack, at least dual SIM and battery size. Then I cross-referenced with specs on some benchmark sites and went looking for deals.

 

iPhone have features those cheap and mid-price Android phones don't have, such as OIS on both cameras. Cheap Android will have no stabilisation at all and possibly poor cameras and of course they are limited to one or two Android updates. Mid-price will have limited stabilisation, possibly EIS rather than OIS.

[scubascuba3]

10 minutes ago, swerve said:

I spent 12,000 baht on a mid-range Samsung a year ago.  Very happy with it.  I use it for work a lot.  Long battery life, internal memory,  and waterproofing are important features for me.

Last Samsung i had broke the first time i dropped it, rubbish, won't buy again, Xiaomi is much better quality for price