Upper low, and mid range phones seem to be becoming rarer

Scougar

Scougar

Scougar

Soldato
Joined
30 Jan 2007
Posts
15,485
Location
PA, USA (Orig UK)
I managed to crack the lens on my Moto G Stylus 2021 yesterday (which was ridiculous as I was sitting less than a foot off the ground when it dropped.. just hit a rock the wrong way on the screen).

Seems like the phones in the 200 to 400 USD/GBP range are becoming rarer for something with a decent spec. Seems like 600+ is where anything with most features are.

Have been looking at the Moto G Stylus 5G 2022 model, and whilst it progressed in some area's, it is worse in others. I'm actually pretty shocked they ON SALE are even charging 349 for it. On release it was 499 I think. Nuts. I'm gruddingly going to be buying the 2022 stylus with 8g ram, 256 storage unless someone has a better idea.


As an aside, at least motorola are playing silly buggers with the naming and model years, and carrier additions (Which are worse but with an identical name).
 
What do you class as decent spec.

Pixel 6a and 6 are excellent value especially on deals.
 
Last edited:
There are plenty of half decent phones in this range. Iv been looking at phones in this area, as I can no longer justify paying the high prices for a premium phone.
 
Have a look at what Xiaomi offer - I recently got a Poco X4 Pro 5G for £159, expecting it to be a "stop gap" until I could afford something better, but I will likely be keeping it for a lot longer - it's plenty quick enough and has features (67W fast charge!) that on an equivalent motorola would be in the £250-£400 range

They are frequently on offer as well with discount codes, or in-app discounts via the Xiaomi app (if you are a new-customer)

www.hotukdeals.com

Xiaomi Smartphones Deals ➡️ Get Cheapest Price, Sales | hotukdeals

Latest Xiaomi Smartphones ➤ deals & offers - January 2025 ☑️ Get the best discounts, cheapest price for Xiaomi Smartphones and save money on hotukdeals.
www.hotukdeals.com www.hotukdeals.com
 
Last edited:
Armageus said:
Have a look at what Xiaomi offer - I recently got a Poco X4 Pro 5G for £159, expecting it to be a "stop gap" until I could afford something better, but I will likely be keeping it for a lot longer - it's plenty quick enough and has features (67W fast charge!) that on an equivalent motorola would be in the £250-£400 range

They are frequently on offer as well with discount codes, or in-app discounts via the Xiaomi app (if you are a new-customer)

www.hotukdeals.com

Xiaomi Smartphones Deals ➡️ Get Cheapest Price, Sales | hotukdeals

Latest Xiaomi Smartphones ➤ deals & offers - January 2025 ☑️ Get the best discounts, cheapest price for Xiaomi Smartphones and save money on hotukdeals.
www.hotukdeals.com www.hotukdeals.com
Click to expand...
One of the guys I work with, bought a Poco M4 a few months ago. He loves it cost him about £250.
 
Xiaomi are cracking phones for the money and I've had a few.
Miui does come with issues though.
Major one for myself is that android auto wireless doesn't work and drops connection everytime the mobile signal drops.
xiaomi are aware of the issue but after 8 months still haven't fixed it!
 
As above, it depends where you're looking at what brands you're focusing on. I haven't really been interested in Moto for that price bracket in a long time, they've been going downhill ever since Lenovo bought them. There's the Pixel 6a or even 6 when on a special offer, Nothing, or any of the chinese brands like Xiaomi which is better worth your money.
 
There is no way I could run a Chinese handset due to the work that I do. It would be a security risk (In my own opinion).

I need a phone to get 2factor for work, so I just huffed and bought the Motorola G Stylus 5G 2022. I suppose I could have got the pixel 6a, but really wasn't looking to spend that much. (I just bought an almost thousand dollar 3D printer and a steam deck. Would seem a little selfish). I'll probably regret not getting something with a better camera... but we are here now.
 
Last edited:
I hate to break it to you bud, but if you own a phone it likely has Chinese made parts in it and there's a fair chance a Chinese company has some level of ownership in the brand.

I've been using a Poco X3 Pro for over a year now and I'll never spend more than £200 on a phone again.
 
Gray2233 said:
I hate to break it to you bud, but if you own a phone it likely has Chinese made parts in it and there's a fair chance a Chinese company has some level of ownership in the brand.

I've been using a Poco X3 Pro for over a year now and I'll never spend more than £200 on a phone again.
Click to expand...

I've always been a champion of the underdog, and things punching above their weight. With things getting weird in the world, I -was- trying to stay away from such blatant devices.
 
Used a chinese phone for 3yrs, punched well above it weight, but I dislike MIUI and similar, much prefer stock Android, thats even before you get into the issue with security and recording. Yes I know Apple also does it.
 
Scougar said:
I've always been a champion of the underdog, and things punching above their weight. With things getting weird in the world, I -was- trying to stay away from such blatant devices.
Click to expand...
I guess you missed the bit in my previous comment about Lenovo owning them :p. That's one reason why they've gone downhill, they're following Chinese market trends of a bunch of different variants for around the same price point. It's pretty confusing trying to keep track of all their models now.
 
I would go Nokia these days over Motorola. Software support from Moto is lousy.

Nokia are ticking the boxes with clean android install and good update schedules. Phones are a little unexciting but decent low-end.

I hope they bring out a solid mid-range phone soon.
 
I found my last few Motorola's had annoyings bugs, things like poor Wifi etc. They cut back on certain components I guess. Almost never got updates.

I'm trying a Nokia G50 which as soon as booted up updated to Android 12 etc. Its a better "cheap" phone. Bit dull but reliable is what I'm hoping for.
 
Orcvader said:
I guess you missed the bit in my previous comment about Lenovo owning them :p. That's one reason why they've gone downhill, they're following Chinese market trends of a bunch of different variants for around the same price point. It's pretty confusing trying to keep track of all their models now.
Click to expand...
Absolutely agreed. Silly number of variants with subtly different specs. I had no idea they were Chinese owned now until it was mentioned.

Well kinda stuck with it now lol.
 
mid_gen said:
I would go Nokia these days over Motorola. Software support from Moto is lousy.

Nokia are ticking the boxes with clean android install and good update schedules. Phones are a little unexciting but decent low-end.

I hope they bring out a solid mid-range phone soon.
Click to expand...

I did have a Nokia 6.1. It was OK. Nice style.

The motorola gestures are nice. Double shake to turn on the light for example is just so handy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom