Best Phone to go for?

[Arogon]

Honestly the S21 is still a nice phone.

Why don't you save some money and just use it until you REALLY need an upgrade.

I'd still rock the S21 for like another 2 years - I just like not having debt.

I have considered this as well and is still within the options.

But with the trade in system it really doesn't matter anymore as you don't lose as much to go to a new phone and trade in previous.

 

[goldfritter]

One of the benefits of the flagships, is that you get better variety and availability in terms of accessories and also support. I used to like the niche phones (used HTCs for years) but the difficulty of finding decent screen protectors etc. became a pain. Another benefit of flagships is you can trade them in, although it seems the truly generous trade-in offers have subsided a bit.

 

[PandaAttack1]

Light mode? explains a lot

Understandable. You should see my editor...

 

[Mk1MiLAN]

just get best iphone you can afford and move on

 

[Ech0.]

I've been using a Xiaomi Note 10 Pro for almost 3 years now and it's still going strong.

I highly recommend looking into any of the recent Xiaomi phones they are usually excellent value for money

I love this phone, going to the 13 pro soon, only like 7k cash and it looks amazing

 

[Signor65]

Honestly the S21 is still a nice phone.

Why don't you save some money and just use it until you REALLY need an upgrade.

I'd still rock the S21 for like another 2 years - I just like not having debt.

Indeed. Still rocking my S10. The lack of SD cards on the newer models is really sad, and is the main reason I haven't upgraded yet, aside from the S10 still fitting my needs nicely.

 

[ShabROIDS_ZA]

Get the model with the best value and easy to find parts. If a mobile phone cannot last through your average day of work, its failing upon its basic remote purpose.

So I'd go with one where the battery is OEM replaceable, at a reasonable price. The LiFEp04 batteries only tend to give you 3 years before degradation. Maybe a bit more than that if you avoid things like gaming while on charge etc.

My S21 Ultra had given 3 years before its battery started showing signs of degrading, a new OEM battery replacement recently costed R980. - easily 10% of what the phone is worth today if I consider trade-in value etc.

I would personally not want to spend 25k+ on a phone again, when new models are released annually, resulting in rapid depreciation of previous models. - Just my opinion.

I rate most of these major mobile phone corporations are laughing all the way to the bank with their top tier models.

 

[Nyt Ryda]

The lack of SD cards on the newer models is really sad

Agreed. Got 128Gb + 256Gb SD on my Note 10 Lite. Only S24 phone with more than 256Gb in SA is the 512Gb S24 Ultra for R1349*36 or R26.5k cash through Samsung Store with the current discounts. Ouch.

 

[UnforgivN]

A bit of a thread revival here, but I was doing research on the Xiaomi Note 13 Pro Plus, but why does this phone cost 17k locally? Reviewers compared it with the Samsung a54 with is priced closer to 9k, which is the amount it works out to if I order the Xiaomi from amazon UK? I've had my Huawei P30 pro now for 4 years and if it didn't fall I would continue to use it. I love the camera on it, the rounded edges and the battery still lasts 2 days with normal usage. Is the Samsung s23 really the only other option these days?