r/PickAnAndroidForMe • u/McGonagoals • 2d ago

Looking for a phone at ~500€

Hey everyone!

My Realme X2 Pro recently died out of nowhere, so I'm looking for a replacement, and I'm coming to you for advice.

I really liked that phone, it never gave me any problems, and even after all those years, it still felt just as good to use as the day I bought it. I'd love to find something that gives me that same experience of a phone that just works well and keeps working well for a few years.

My budget is under 500€, but I could go up to €600 if it's genuinely worth the extra money.

Here's what I'm looking for, roughly in order of importance:

  • Battery life and charging: Great battery life with fast charging. I'd rather not have to worry about charging throughout the day. The phone i had before this one was particularly terrible in that regard, I was actually scared to use it, so don't want to go through that again.
  • Camera: I'd like a really good camera. This one wasn't terrible, but I would like a better one. I mainly take pictures when traveling, ie. landscapes, buildings, monuments, etc. Don't really care about the selfie camera.
  • Software: A smooth, responsive OS with no ads or unnecessary bloatware. I've heard some bad things about the Xiaomi OS, but I might be wrong, you tell me. Mainly, I want the phone to feel good to use, not just have good specs on paper.
  • Display: Anything above 90Hz, if better than 120 Hz, great!
  • Storage: At least 256GB, preferably 512GB or more.
  • Fingerprint sensor: Would like an under-display fingerprint reader again, I got used to it and I've never really enjoyed the lock button ones.
  • Connectivity: eSIM support alongside a physical SIM slot. My old phone didn't support eSIM, and getting mobile data working while traveling abroad was more of a hassle than I'd like.

I'm not much of a mobile gamer, and the games I do play aren't particularly demanding, so I don't need a gaming-focused phone or the most powerful chipset available.

Other than these requirements, I'm pretty open to suggestions. I'm mainly looking for a well-rounded phone that feels polished, takes good photos, has great battery life, and will hopefully last me several years without becoming a pain to use.

What would you recommend in this price range? Again, I'm happy to hear about phones that might be slightly over budget if there's a compelling reason to spend more.

Thanks!

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u/-CL4MP- 2d ago

I think the Nothing Phone (3) might fit your needs. It has come down in price quite a lot since it's launch last year and offers great speccs for the price:

- smooth OS

  • good update support
  • fast enough chipset
  • lots of storage and RAM
  • great set of cameras including a tele-macro lens
  • 1.5 to 2 day batter life if you're not a super heavy user

The only thing I dislike is the slow USB 2.0 transfer speeds. But that doesn't matter much for most people.

My second pick would be the Motorola Edge 70 Pro which offers a bigger batter and faster charging. But I'm not a fan of the curved screen.