Best value mid-level smartphone: current market

[NanLaew]

Mrs NL's 5 year-old OPPO has needed invasive surgery twice in the past four months, lost rings and audio notifications, then the charging broke, so it is time to get something new.

 

Any recommendations for something newer, faster and reliable? Decent camera and storage. Not interested in iPhone or Samsung and the budget is 5000-8000 baht.

 

Thanks,

NL

[scubascuba3]

Xiaomi Redmi Note, whatever the latest is, probably 14 so get 14 5G probably about 8k, i have the Note 12 5G

[NanLaew]

36 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Xiaomi Redmi Note, whatever the latest is, probably 14 so get 14 5G probably about 8k, i have the Note 12 5G

 

Thanks for the tip, I will take a look and let her know.

[jwdub12]

13 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Xiaomi Redmi Note, whatever the latest is, probably 14 so get 14 5G probably about 8k, i have the Note 12 5G

 

I got a good deal through Lasada towards the latter part of last year with the Redmi Note 13 5G. 

Pretty happy with it so far.

[scorecard]

8 minutes ago, jwdub12 said:

 

I got a good deal through Lasada towards the latter part of last year with the Redmi Note 13 5G. 

Pretty happy with it so far.

Can use both Thai and English language on the keyboard?

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

Can use both Thai and English language on the keyboard?

Yes

[hotandsticky]

15 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Xiaomi Redmi Note, whatever the latest is, probably 14 so get 14 5G probably about 8k, i have the Note 12 5G

 

 

Can I ask, is that dual SIM ?

[scubascuba3]

5 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

Can I ask, is that dual SIM ?

Yes, 12 5G has NFC which enables you to use Contactless Google Wallet, useful abroad. 14 5G should be the same but double check

[NanLaew]

6 hours ago, scorecard said:

Can use both Thai and English language on the keyboard?

I think any local market android phone can hot-swap the keyboard between the two languages. I recall on a Samsung it was left/right swipe on the spacebar? On my Nokia, it's long press on the spacebar to swap language/keyboard.

[NanLaew]

Does the Redmi support eSIM? Not necessary at the moment, but wondering about being future proof.

[gargamon]

3 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

I think any local market android phone can hot-swap the keyboard between the two languages. I recall on a Samsung it was left/right swipe on the spacebar? On my Nokia, it's long press on the spacebar to swap language/keyboard.

Keyboards are an app. Pick the one you want.

[KhunBENQ]

10 minutes ago, gargamon said:

Keyboards are an app. Pick the one you want.

My Gboard is configured for English, Thai, German (the three languages I have configured for the phone user interface).

No problem.

The phones have a whole lot of languages for the user interface (~80 languages on my Samsung).

What a change to my early years of mobile phones.

[NanLaew]

11 minutes ago, gargamon said:

Keyboards are an app. Pick the one you want.

You don't need a third-party keyboard app but if it helps.

[gargamon]

15 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

You don't need a third-party keyboard app but if it helps.

I use an old version of gboard on all my devices in PC mode so no matter if I'm using a desktop, laptop, tablet or phone the keys are always in the same place. Newer versions of gboard clobbered the PC layout.

[Digitalbanana]

43 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Does the Redmi support eSIM?

Not in that price range. Needs a higher priced phone. Some users leverage third-party solutions like the eSIM.me card, a physical SIM-sized adapter that adds eSIM functionality to devices without native support.

[NanLaew]

Just now, Digitalbanana said:

Not in that price range. Needs a higher priced phone. Some users leverage third-party solutions like the eSIM.me card, a physical SIM-sized adapter that adds eSIM functionality to devices without native support.

Thanks, not a worry at this time.

 

I looked at eSIM.me when shopping for an eSIM compatible phone a couple of years ago. It looks like a good but short-term solution to a gap in the tech market so that older phones can support eSIM tech.

 

I ended up buying a new Nokia that supported eSIM but was disappointed to find only one live eSIM at a time was allowed. Luckily, in a subsequent system upgrade, it now supports multiple eSIMs.

[scubascuba3]

2 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Does the Redmi support eSIM? Not necessary at the moment, but wondering about being future proof.

Redmi does if you buy a higher end model, friend just bought the 14 5G Pro i think it was