Chinese Android Phones 3 - Read First Post!

DARK-KNIGHT

Ok folks need to get two phones

One to replace the wife's Samsung s21

One to replace my OnePlus 8t

What do you recommend without spending a fortune

Covieland

https://www.amazon.es/Xiaomi-Redmi-Note-11S-Profesional/dp/B09QH6KD26/ref%3Dmp_s_a_1_2?crid=VWZQ9RPTZZ1F&keywords=redmi&qid=1675600608&sprefix=%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-2

I think someone else posted this already, but this does 98% of what a phone that costs 4 times the price does, have got Xiaomi for all family members, they are a no brainer

EdmondShiels3

Which phone would you buy between the Poco x5 pro or the xiaomi redmi note 12 pro?

funkey_monkey

Hi. Looking for a new phone to replace a Redmi Note 4. Budget is up to €280 (£250).

No processor intensive use. Am I better going for a lesser phone with increased RAM, or what is the best option in the budget?

Get In There

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120211253#Comment_120211253

I ordered this from Amazon Spain only a few days ago.

https://www.amazon.es/Xiaomi-Redmi-Note-Pro-Smartphone/dp/B0BL7CRKH2/ref%3Dsr_1_2?__mk_es_ES=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=MUE3TPG6OWJ7&keywords=redmi+note+10+pro&qid=1675678490&s=electronics&sprefix=redmi+note+10+pro%2Celectronics%2C169&sr=1-2

POBox19

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120211253#Comment_120211253

You won't go wrong with another Redmi like a 10 or 11 with 6Gb ram and 128Gb memory and easily within budget. Compare the different specifications with gsmarena.com and prices on Amazon.DE, .ES or Belsimpel.nl

funkey_monkey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120215281#Comment_120215281

Is the M5s worthwhile? I see it has corning glass - is it a worthwhile thing to have - seems to be very rare on the Redmi handsets.

Are Poco phones better than Redmi phones? Is there any real world worth in the Redmi Note 11 Pro over the standard Redmi Note 11.

I'll be purchasing from the mi.com/uk site. Do they have regular deals on there?

jj880

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120218354#Comment_120218354

I dont know about M5s but we have poco x4 pro 5g, redmi note 11 pro 5g and redmi note 10 pro in our house. In my opinion there is not much between them performance wise. X4 pro is the quickest. The screens on all the phones are excellent.

Got the x4 pro (8/256) for 200 euro and the note 10 pro (6/128) for 150 euro from mi.com/uk last year. Haven't seen any good deals on there since maybe October last year though. Not sure why. I have an alert setup on the hukd mobile app for xiaomi deals. Might be some good prices again soon. The new X5 phones are way overpriced for the spec.

Got note 11 pro (6/128) from an offer on Vodafone.ie for 170 euro around the same time.

DARK-KNIGHT

Right so folks I am looking at a Xiaomi 12t pro

Have you any other suggestions for other phones

Or if that's about the best option where is the cheapest place to buy it from

banie01

Took the notion that my Poco F2 pro needs replacing last night. It's still performing well in everything, except battery life. It's starting to falter and I find myself plugging in whenever I'm sitting at home.

I headed over to kimovil for a bit of research with a budget of €350. Sweet suffering jesus was I swamped with options!

The sheer volume of "flagship killers" out there is massive. Time to start building up some comparison sheets.

DopeTech

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120256973#Comment_120256973

Pixel 6a on Vodafone is on offer if you switch. Always worth considering especially if you are looking for a decent camera.

banie01

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120256987#Comment_120256987

Thanks for that, that's a good offer in fairness.

I think at the moment I'm leaning towards the Poco F4, but will wait on the release of the F5 later this month to see how the prices pan out.

mcmoustache

This may have been answered multiple times already but here goes anyway. On the Xiaomi.ie website for the redmi note 11, the section about NFC in the specifications says:

NFC

Availability varies between market

*Functions may vary in some markets

Given that this is xiaomi.ie I would have thought that they should know whether or not NFC is available. The market where this is being sold is hardly ambiguous. This is probably some boiler plate and that some markets will have the NFC hardware while others won't but knowing whether or not a phone that I buy from xiaomi.ie in Ireland will support NFC is important. With some phones, they say that it's not supported and with others, they say that it is and I'm fine with that. It's the lack of clarity on when some versions of the same model support it when other's don't that has me confused.

So my question is, do the xiaomi phones that are sold from their Irish website support NFC when they say that it's available in some markets?

Nollog

If the phone has an NFC chip yeah.

I'd imagine they actually mean that some regions dont support gpay so they use some other type or nfc payment system.

GBX

Xiaomi.ie is not an official shop. There an Irish shop who use the Xiaomi website name.

jj880

I suspect Xiaomi.ie have lazily lifted a spec from some site like gsmarena. Look at the spec on Amazon uk. Definite NFC. Maybe there is some reason Xiaomi cant offer NFC in some countries/regions. Licence maybe? NFC is surely a must have feature here though with services like google pay.

GBX

You're not wrong, but not every market uses NFC. Obviously in Western markets it's becoming a necessity.

jj880

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120262404#Comment_120262404

The way its talked in the Xiaomi.ie disclaimer makes me think redmi note 10 phones are produced with NFC but the software for certain markets excludes the "function" as stated in the disclaimer. As you say since certain markets dont use NFC what would be the point in Xiaomi paying for a licence for it.

I was thinking more there would be complaints / returns if redmi not 10 phones were sold here without NFC so not much chance of it. Especially when Amazon UK spec states it's included.

EdmondShiels3

Are poco phones any good? I am looking at the poco x5 pro 5g.

How much os updates and security updates do they get?

GBX

POCO are a Xiaomi sub brand. Decent specced phones, but not huge amount of updates.

ILikeBoats

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120264077#Comment_120264077

Bought the X5 Pro last week to replace my drowned Poco F3. It's much the same. Does everything well, camera is only ok.

banie01

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120264174#Comment_120264174

The best way to ensure you get updates, get rid of ads and gain extra functionality (call recorder in particular) is to use a xiaomi.eu ROM.

Unlocking the bootloader and flashing new ROM isn't for everyone and tbc, the global ROMs for Xiaomi/Redmi/Poco are perfectly functional and compliant with EU rules. The xiaomi.eu team do a great job on giving updates.

On my own hunt for a phone, I'm going to wait on the Poco F5 release and then weight the options between that and F4 GT for my next one.

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120264077#Comment_120264077

they are currently testing the android 13 update internally for the poco x5 pro, so you can be pretty confident you will get it.

as to when though, thats unknown, probably towards 3rd or 4th quarter 2023

jj880

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120264550#Comment_120264550

Had no idea you could do this. Thanks.

Does Xiaomi.eu provide updated ROMs for longer than Xiaomi official updates? I have X4 Pro at the moment.

banie01

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120264618#Comment_120264618

If memory serves they update to the last MIUi release and then it's security updates only on the "stable" releases.

They keep updating the nightly builds for a while after.

Now that said, I'm running an F2 pro that's on 13.0.6 from xiaomi.eu whilst the Mrs is on 13.0.8 direct from Xiaomi.

dinorebel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120264773#Comment_120264773

Mines the same never changed the ROM and am on 13.0.8. Have to add it's the best phone I've ever had got it Christmas 2020 and it's never missed a beat. Battery at a guess is at 80% of the original performance.

banie01

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120265120#Comment_120265120

Pretty much the same here, still actually a cracking phone and my only issue with it now is battery life.

DARK-KNIGHT

Ended up buying a Xiaomi 12 t pro

Fantastic phone

Thought I would regret it moving from OnePlus 8t and I'm massively impressed with the 12t pro

banie01

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120264773#Comment_120264773

Quoting myself for visibility.

Xiaomi.eu released the MIUi 14 update for the Poco F2 pro today.

theoneeyedman

Just worth something of note that might interest some....

I'm still using my Mi A1 that I bought in February 2019,foe I think around 155 euro or similar.

Fuckin great piece of kit, it gets lots of use and rarely misses a beat. Is showing some signs of age, battery isn't what it was and volume has dropped a little recently in the internal speaker, but still very very usable.

Super cheap telecommunications with an Eir sim only plan. For anyone lurking and afraid to pull the trigger on one of these Chinese non contracted Samsung or Apple units don't hesitate, do your homework and go for it.