This month is the start of the last quarter of the year and some are planning to buy new phones until Christmas. But what are the in-demand phones right now? Well, this year is the era of 5G, and most phones have been launched with 5G capability. There are so many devices in the market with 5G, including lower midrange, higher midrange, and premium midrange. But In this article, we will rank some of them from the lowest price. Before you decide to buy if it’s worth upgrading to 5G, here are our top picks for a budget 5G phone you can get in the midrange category under P13,000.
You can buy these phones right now in the Philippines.
READ: Motorola Moto E20 with Unisoc chipset Officially Launched
Poco M3 Pro 5G (P8,990 – 4GB/64GB)
Our first on the list is the jam-packed Poco M3 Pro 5G. It has the cheapest price on the list with a P8,990 price tag for 4GB and 64GB. You will experience 5G, FHD+, and 90Hz under the P9,000 price range. Opting for a higher ram and storage will cost P11,990 (6GB/128GB)
The Poco M3 Pro 5G is available in three color variants, Poco Yellow, Power Black, and Cool Blue. It features a plastic back, a glass front, and a punch-hole cutout in the middle. It has a hybrid dual nano sim slot and MicroSD slot, which means you can only put two nano sim cards, or one nano sim card plus an SD card, but it is expandable up to 512GB.
On the front side, it boasts a 6.5inch FHD+ IPS LCD with a 90Hz refresh rate and 405 PPI density. It is also protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The cameras have a triple camera setup consisting of a 48MP main, 2MP macro, and 2MP depth sensor. Rarely, midrange doesn’t have ultrawide these days. In contrast, the selfie is an 8MP front cam.
Under the hood, it is powered by the mainstream 5G midrange chipset MediaTek Dimensity 700 5G with a 7 nm process and paired with 4+64 or 6GB ram and 128GB storage. It also runs on the latest Android 11 with MIUI 12 on top. Meanwhile, powering all those specs is a 5000mAh battery, with an 18W fast charging.
Redmi Note 10 5G (P9,990 – 4GB/128GB)
Next is the Redmi Note 10 5G. It is priced with a thousand pesos more than the Poco with a price tag of P9,990 for 4GB ram and 128GB storage, while the higher configuration is priced at P11,990 with 6GB of ram and 128GB internal memory.
Available in Chrome Silver, Graphite Gray, Nighttime Blue, and Aurora Green, the Redmi Note 10 5G is built with a plastic back and a glass front with a hole punch cutout in the middle. It also uses a hybrid sim slot, but it is expandable up to 512GB.
The display is equipped with the same 6.5inch FHD+ IPS LCD with a 90Hz refresh rate and 405 PPI density. The front is also protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. For its cameras, it has a triple camera, 48MP main, 2MP macro, and 2NP depth sensor. While the selfie is an 8MP front cam. Powering up the device is the same MediaTek Dimensity 700 5G with 7 nm process then paired with 4GB ram and 128Gb or a 6/128 configuration. It runs on the latest Android 11 with MIUI 12 on top and a chunky 5000mah battery, with an 18w fast charging.
The two phones, Poco M3 Pro 5G and Redmi Note 10 5G share similar specs with a different price range. I guess it’s a matter of design and preference if you’ll nitpick these two phones from Xiaomi.
READ: Infinix Hot 11 Series with MediaTek chipsets Officially Launched
Moto G50 5G (P10,495 – 4GB/128GB)
Next up, the third phone on our list is the Moto G50 5G. It only has one configuration, and it is currently priced at P10,495 for the 4GB of ram and 128GB internal storage.
Available in Meteorite Grey, the Moto G50 5G is built with unspecified Gorilla Glass protection and plastic back. It also has a dewdrop notch instead of a punch-hole cutout. It is also a hybrid sim, but it can expand up to 1TB via microSD.
As for the display, it boasts a 6.5-inch screen but with HD+ IPS LCD only. Compared to the first two phones, it has half the resolution, but it also has a 90Hz refresh rate, so it is reasonably great. Moto g50 5g has a triple camera setup, 48MP on the primary snapper, and 2mp for macro and depth sensors. At the same time, the selfie is higher at a 13MP front lens. Under the hood, it is also equipped with MediaTek Dimensity 700 5G with a 7 nm process and paired with 4GB Ram and 128GB storage. As for the software, It runs on the stock Android 11 OS, which is a light and simple stock android experience. Now for the battery, Moto G50 5G is backed by the same 5000mAh battery, but with a slightly lower 15W fast charging.
It is probably a value-wise smartphone with a stock android experience and more resolution in the primary camera.
Realme 8 5G (P11,990 – 8GB/128GB)
Moving on, the Realme 8 5G is our 4th pick, having a price tag of P11,990 for 8GB ram and 128GB internal storage.
It has two colorways Supersonic Blue and Supersonic Black. The back is made of plastic, while the front is glass with no advertisement for whether it has a Gorilla Glass protection. But it features a smaller punch-hole cutout on the top left side. Design-wise, the Realme 8 5G will give a better-undistracted viewing experience. Meanwhile, it has a dual nano sim card slot and an expandable storage slot that expands up to 1TB.
Realme 8 5G boasts a 6.5inch FHD+ IPS LCD with a 90Hz refresh rate capability and a 405 PPI density. The camera is also a triple camera setup with the same 48MP primary shooter and 2MP for both macro and depth, While the selfie is much higher at a 16MP front camera. It has the same MediaTek Dimensity 700 5G with a 7nm process and is paired with 8GB ram and 128GB. As for the software, it runs on the latest Android 11 with Realme UI 2.0 on top. The battery is backed with the same 5000mAh battery and with an 18W fast charging.
It is priced higher with its higher ram capacity and higher front camera.
OPPO A74 5G (P15,999 – 6GB/128GB)
Now for the Last phone, it is the OPPO A74 5G with a P15,999 SRP for 6GB of ram and 128GB internal storage. It is on our list because it is currently priced at P12,499 on Shopee and Lazada. I know there other phones that are worth mentioning like the OnePlus Nord N10 5G and Samsung Galaxy A22 5G, but they are both priced at P13,990, which is almost a thousand pesos more in our sub P13k price range. But if you have extra bucks, you should check them out also.
READ: Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 – Unique Design with Cooling Fans, But is it Durable?
Furthermore, the OPPO A74 5G is available in two color variants, Fluid Black and Space Silver. It features a plastic back and a glass back with a punch-hole cutout, well placed on the top left side. It also has a micro-sd card slot that can expand up to 256GB.
For the display, it is equipped with a 6.5inch FHD+ LTPS IPS LCD and a 90Hz refresh rate. It also has a 405 PPI density. The camera consists of a quad camera, with a 48MP main shooter, 8MP ultrawide, and 2MP for both macro and depth. The selfie is the same as the Realme 8 5G with a 16MP front shooter. Meanwhile, powering up the OPPO A74 5G is a Snapdragon 480 5G (8nm) paired with 8GB of ram and 128GB internal storage. This is the only phone equipped with a Snapdragon chipset on our list, so Snapdragon fans, you now have an option. Also, the only thing that this phone has compared to the rest on the list is the ultrawide sensor, and it might be one of the reasons why it has a higher price than the rest.
As for the software, It runs on the latest Android 11 with ColorOS 11.1 on top. While the battery is a chunky 5000mAh battery as well and with an 18W fast charging capability.
Overall
These devices are bang for the buck and affordable 5G smartphones, as of date, under P13k price. Specs are almost the same as the rest, and if the price goes up, it ups some specs as well. So before the Christmas season, if you are not expecting other 5G phones to arrive in the Philippines, you have a lot of options this late 2021.
So what do you think? Is it worth upgrading? or you’ll wait for the next three months for you to decide? Let us know your thoughts.
READ: Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G PH price is now available
