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

[NoshowJones]

4 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

I bought Lenova Bluetooth earphones on Lazada, great for £3

I bought a pair from Lazada too, can't remember the make, but very poor like a lot of their products.

[CFIAM]

5 hours ago, jaywalker2 said:

I said "for the most part." Of course I have some apps on my phone and I've tried others but generally the experience hasn't been good -- like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. I prefer to use them in the browser. Personal preference. Again, there are exceptions obviously. I have tried Brave along with most of the other browsers both on the laptop and phone. As far as I'm concerned Firefox is by far the best.

 

If Firefox is the best, then why are you suffering issues that people with the other browser aren't having?

It seems that you have convinced yourself of something that isn't necessarily so. Which add-ons do you use with Firefox on the cellphone?

[BeastOfBodmin]

On 2/5/2025 at 3:19 PM, Centigrade32 said:

 

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.

Right about the limited OS updates. Samsung guarantee a minimum of 7 major updates for certain devices. Samsung have "not cheap" lines. I haven't had problems with old Android versions and app compatibility yet. The main reason I use Android rather than PhoneOS is Android irritates me less to use. I use macos on the desktop because that irritates me less to use than Linux or Windows.

 

For me, camera is not a priority. Although this model has a 64MP sensor and a so-called ultra-macro mode, my wife prefers to use her S21 FE except when it is too full to store new photos/ vids 🙂. I can't take decent photos for s..t.

 

I could root it, but that would break several of the financial apps I still use as they would refuse to run on a rooted phone. The thing seems to reboot randomly maybe once a month. But you should reboot once a week anyway. The screen becomes unresponsive sometimes, requiring a "Vulcan neck pinch" to reset it. I am considering putting a micro drive in the now spare SIMM slot because of the pain it is to manage files at the file level on Android (or PhoneOS for that matter). The battery might be showing signs of wear and tear.

[msbkk]

21 hours ago, impulse said:

 

One of the things I love about Thailand is how cheap and easy it is to get a battery replaced, even on the models where the manufacturer tried to make it hard.  Crafty devils, those Thais...  They'll bend over backwards to make a transaction work.

 

I am very careful with this after having bad experience. One expensive phone was damaged during a battery replacement in a shop instead of the customer service of the manufacturer. Another replaced battery lasted 2 weeks.

[impulse]

28 minutes ago, msbkk said:

I am very careful with this after having bad experience. One expensive phone was damaged during a battery replacement in a shop instead of the customer service of the manufacturer. Another replaced battery lasted 2 weeks.

 

That's a good cautionary...  But even in the authorized shops in Thailand they charge a lot less than back home. 

 

Not a smartphone, but I took a computer in once back home and they charged me $120 just to open it, plus parts and labor.  (Told me to come back in a week) I had a laptop motherboard repair done in Fortune Town and they charged me 1000 baht, all in.  Had a fried chip that he replaced, (while I watched).  I was impressed that he even identified the fault.

 

[treetops]

On 2/6/2025 at 11:23 AM, NoshowJones said:

I bought a pair from Lazada too, can't remember the make, but very poor like a lot of their products.

 

Lazada don't have any products - they are the selling platform for multiple products and multiple vendors.

 

If you got a poor product it's because you chose poorly.

[impulse]

3 minutes ago, treetops said:

 

Lazada don't have any products - they are the selling platform for multiple products and multiple vendors.

 

If you got a poor product it's because you chose poorly.

 

So if you ordered an advertised Apple product and you received a fake, it's your fault?

 

[treetops]

4 minutes ago, impulse said:

So if you ordered an advertised Apple product and you received a fake, it's your fault?

 

You chose the wrong vendor without due diligence, but regardless of that it's the vendor's fault, not Lazada's.

 

Lazada are quite good in cases like this as their returns/refund procedure is quite straightforward.

[impulse]

12 minutes ago, treetops said:

 

You chose the wrong vendor without due diligence, but regardless of that it's the vendor's fault, not Lazada's.

 

Lazada are quite good in cases like this as their returns/refund procedure is quite straightforward.

 

I partially agree with that.  I had great luck with Lazada.  Literally hundreds of orders pre-paid by debit card and not one transaction that ended badly.  Very few that even needed to be returned, and those went great.

 

But they need to do a better job of weeding out fake products.  They should have (at least) an algorithm that auto deletes 3,000 baht new IPhones and 512GB SD cards selling for 250 baht. 

 

And ads for frog feathers, which are as likely as a 250 baht, 512GB SD card.

 

TBH, maybe they do now.  But in the past, I've found a lot of products that screamed FAKE because they were on Lazada at ridiculous prices.  That's Lazada's fault.

 

[Will27]

5 hours ago, impulse said:

 

I partially agree with that.  I had great luck with Lazada.  Literally hundreds of orders pre-paid by debit card and not one transaction that ended badly.  Very few that even needed to be returned, and those went great.

 

But they need to do a better job of weeding out fake products.  They should have (at least) an algorithm that auto deletes 3,000 baht new IPhones and 512GB SD cards selling for 250 baht. 

 

And ads for frog feathers, which are as likely as a 250 baht, 512GB SD card.

 

TBH, maybe they do now.  But in the past, I've found a lot of products that screamed FAKE because they were on Lazada at ridiculous prices.  That's Lazada's fault.

 

I tend to agree with treetops on this one.

I think the buyer has to be vigilant on what they buy and who from.

 

If you stick to things sold from Lazmall vendors or official brand shops, you shouldn't have a problem in most cases.

 

I don't think Lazada should, could be able to police everything on their website.

[impulse]

37 minutes ago, Will27 said:

I tend to agree with treetops on this one.

I think the buyer has to be vigilant on what they buy and who from.

 

If you stick to things sold from Lazmall vendors or official brand shops, you shouldn't have a problem in most cases.

 

I don't think Lazada should, could be able to police everything on their website.

 

I don't disagree about the need for "buyer beware". 

 

I did get a little triggered at his contention that "If you got a poor product it's because you chose poorly".  Regardless of how diligent a buyer is, Thailand's supply chain is leaky and counterfeit products can get on even the official brands' shelves.  Even "back home" that happens.  Walmart occasionally finds fakes in their retail stores.  That's not because the customer chose poorly.  It's because counterfeiters are crafty bastards.  They can swap in a fake at many stages along the supply chain.

 

Regarding Lazada, they can't police everything, but if a casual user like me can see a product listed for an impossible price, they're falling down on the job.  Algorithms should pick those up before they even get posted.

 

As I said, I like Lazada and had hundreds of satisfactory transactions.  But they could do better.

 

[iLuvThai]

I use My midrange Price Android to shoot all my YouTube content. Started with Huawei Mate 9 when they still had Google. Switched to RealMe X2 Pro which is what I using right this second. 

 

Wait a minute. Maybe that's why my channel sucks😂 no it's because others are doing way better content on my niche and I'm cursed with a monotone voice which even it's me to sleep. 

I'm really looking hard at the New Honor Magic 7 Pro but it's not a midrange blower it's considered a flagship. 

[Centigrade32]

On 2/9/2025 at 2:26 AM, iLuvThai said:

I use My midrange Price Android to shoot all my YouTube content. Started with Huawei Mate 9 when they still had Google. Switched to RealMe X2 Pro which is what I using right this second. 

 

Wait a minute. Maybe that's why my channel sucks😂 no it's because others are doing way better content on my niche and I'm cursed with a monotone voice which even it's me to sleep. 

I'm really looking hard at the New Honor Magic 7 Pro but it's not a midrange blower it's considered a flagship. 

 

OPPO Find X8 Pro and VIVO X200 Pro are possibly cheaper and possibly better camera phones. OPPO claims to use Hasselblad tech if I remember correctly. VIVO, Zeiss.

https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?&idPhone2=13480&idPhone3=13410&idPhone1=13467

[impulse]

1 hour ago, Centigrade32 said:

Wait a minute. Maybe that's why my channel sucks😂 no it's because others are doing way better content on my niche and I'm cursed with a monotone voice which even it's me to sleep. 

 

I decided I was going to have some Thai cuties to be the public face of any channel I may build.  I set a couple of them up with decent action cameras to develop their skillsets, and one of them did a great job.  She has quite a following of her own. 

 

But she's not the one I had the hots for.  That one lost interest when she found out how much rote work it was.  Live and learn...

 

[Centigrade32]

2 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

I decided I was going to have some Thai cuties to be the public face of any channel I may build.  I set a couple of them up with decent action cameras to develop their skillsets, and one of them did a great job.  She has quite a following of her own. 

 

But she's not the one I had the hots for.  That one lost interest when she found out how much rote work it was.  Live and learn...

 

 

You have quoted the wrong person 😊

[impulse]

Just now, Centigrade32 said:

 

You have quoted the wrong person 😊

 

Oops.  My bad.  I used the "quote selected" option, apparently from inside your post.

 

 

[iLuvThai]

18 hours ago, Centigrade32 said:

 

OPPO Find X8 Pro and VIVO X200 Pro are possibly cheaper and possibly better camera phones. OPPO claims to use Hasselblad tech if I remember correctly. VIVO, Zeiss.

https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?&idPhone2=13480&idPhone3=13410&idPhone1=13467

I'm actually added both those devices to the list of potential purchases. I'm really liking the reviews I watched on the OPPO, but my wife told me she had an Oppo that only lasted 1 year. That was a while ago so I'm hoping they've improved the quality. Thanks.

[Harrisfan]

On 2/9/2025 at 2:26 PM, iLuvThai said:

I use My midrange Price Android to shoot all my YouTube content. Started with Huawei Mate 9 when they still had Google. Switched to RealMe X2 Pro which is what I using right this second. 

 

Wait a minute. Maybe that's why my channel sucks😂 no it's because others are doing way better content on my niche and I'm cursed with a monotone voice which even it's me to sleep. 

I'm really looking hard at the New Honor Magic 7 Pro but it's not a midrange blower it's considered a flagship. 

What content is on your channel?

[iLuvThai]

7 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

What content is on your channel?

I'll just say that it's a smorgasbord of shenanigans that I get up to here and there. There is a ton of other people in my niche doing way better than my channel but I still enjoy doing it, trying to get better.

[Toolong]

On 2/5/2025 at 9:48 AM, impulse said:

Honest question.  I'm a cheap phone guy.  My current phone is a Samsung A05s, which seems to do everything I need.  Around 5000 baht (+/-).  

 

I'm wondering whether other people have found the extra features and speed of the higher end phones to be worth it, in their personal experience.  No wrong answers...  I realize it's a personal choice.  I'd just like some (preferably polite) input from people who aren't as cheap as me, and sprung for the higher end phones.

 

In fact, my favorite smartphone was my first, a Samsung S2 from 2011 or so.  I wish I could find a phone that size with today's tech.  They all seem to be going the other way, getting bigger and bigger.  (I'd add that the S2 cost me around 4x as much as the A05s, and that's before factoring in 10+ years of inflation)

 

Good question. Worth discussing. 

[NoshowJones]

On 2/5/2025 at 11:42 AM, ChipButty said:

I'm not into all these expensive phones I couldn't care less, I'm not impressed. I'm still using a Samsung A7, it's fine I hardly bother with photo's, I often wonder which one I would buy next, only 2 people call me, one I live with, the other my daughter calls me on What's app, that's it, 

 

Her in doors has the best Samsung available, according to her she needs it, I must admit the quality of the camera is superb you can see the difference, it means nothing to me, 

My Redmi phone cost around 10,000 Bt and my Samsung costs around 5000Bt, the Redmi camera and sound are far better than the Samsung.

[Lorry]

On 2/6/2025 at 4:13 AM, ukrules said:

For me, no - I used to just buy the best top of the range Samsung model every time I needed a new phone then at some point I realised I'm barely using it.

The cameras on the lower end phones were at one point better than my older far more expensive phone - which was already good enough - I don't buy a phone until I 'need' one which might be every 4 or 5 years

I take the occasional photo, receive SMSs, order food and the occasional taxi via apps and my number one use for the phone - checking the time.

So now the cameras are higher quality on the lower end phones I can pick up some Samsung model that costs between 5000-10000 Baht (pocket change) and it's more than good enough for what I need for a few years.

So I stopped paying 20 to 30k Baht per phone a few years back.

I hate Apple and their closed ecosystem from the dev side of things so I always stuck with Android phones. I have owned Apple iPads at various stages but more recently I swapped back to a Samsung Android tablet as well.

Your complete post could have been written by me.

Plus: friends had S20 and S22 and I had to listen to their complaints for months,  endless. 

Another one had S23, "upgrade" to S24 and says the cam is worse than S23.

So I just bought an A55, first time I didn't buy top of the line.

 

I might still buy a more expensive phone because I use the S pen a lot

[Equatorial]

On 2/18/2025 at 8:32 AM, Toolong said:

I'm wondering whether other people have found the extra features and speed of the higher end phones to be worth it, in their personal experience.  No wrong answers...

 

Not particularly. I have iPhone 16e, not for the high-end features but because I needed a new phone so I decided to get a late model that will hopefully last a few years before it's obsolete. I got an iPhone (vs Android) because I like the Apple ecosystem, having an iPad and a Mac as well. But I don't really use the high-end features. 

 

I also have a Samsung A25, which at under $200 I would not consider a high-end phone. It does everything I need, but I do miss the Apple ecosystem. 

[KhunLA]

No to me, as don't need or would use any features that my old POCO phone has.  Rarely use the actually phone part.  GPS & camera is about all I need.  Maybe internet, as 'hotspot', when house or hotel internet isn't playing nice.

 

New & fast enough to run the few apps I have loaded on it.