It’s a week full of anticipation, as several high-profile products have entered pre-order. That said, some of the pre-orders we saw last week are already on sale.
Let’s start with the Xiaomi Mi 14 series. The two phones – Mi 14 and Mi 14 Ultra – will go on sale on Monday, March 11. You can already reserve the unit in a variety of colors. However, in terms of memory configuration, the only options are vanilla with 12/512GB and Ultra with 16/512GB.
The Nothing Phone (2a) is also available for pre-order and will go on general sale on Tuesday, March 12th. This is a more affordable version of the Nothing Phone (2), with prices starting at Rs 24,000 for the 8/128GB model as compared to Rs 40,000 for the Phone (2). The original phone (1) appears to be sold out (at least online).
The vivo V30 went on sale earlier this week. Like the (2a), it has dual 50MP cameras – a 1/1.55-inch sensor and optical image stabilization for the main camera and a 119° ultra-wide angle. The selfie camera is impressive, with a 50MP sensor and 21mm wide-angle lens, as well as dual-LED flash (versus the Nothing, flash-less 32MP selfie).
The V30 features a slightly larger 6.78-inch 10-bit OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a higher resolution of 1,260 x 2,800 pixels. Like (2a), it has an IP54 dust and water resistance rating. It comes with the new Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 and a 5,000mAh battery with 80W fast charging. The vivo has its merits, but it does cost Rs 10,000 more.
The Honor 90 is priced closer to Nothing, and it sports a 6.7-inch 120Hz 10-bit display with a resolution of 1,200 x 2,664px. For comparison, (2a) has a display of 1,080 x 2,412 pixels. Additionally, Honor has a 200MP main camera with a good 2x in-sensor zoom, but at the cost of an ultra-wide-angle module that only has a 12MP sensor. The phone is powered by an older Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chip and a 5,000mAh battery with support for 66W fast charging. There is no IP rating.
Realme 12 and 12+ went on pre-order last week and will be available this week. Realme 12+ comes with a 6.67-inch 120Hz display (FHD+) and Dimensity 7050 chipset. Its 5,000mAh battery has a charging power of 67W.
The regular Realme 12 uses an IPS LCD, which is a 6.72-inch 120Hz FHD+ panel. While its Dimensity 6100+ chipset is weaker, it does feature a main camera with a larger, higher-resolution sensor – 108MP 1/1.67″ vs. 50MP 1/1.95″. However, the Plus model does have OIS and an ultra-wide-angle camera. The 5,000mAh battery charges slightly slower at 45W.
The Oppo F25 Pro is also new this week. Since the price is Rs 10,000 less than the vivo V30, some cuts have to be made (same price as Nothing). It has a 6.7-inch 120Hz 10-bit display, but with a lower FHD+ resolution. And it uses the weaker Dimensity 7050 chipset. Otherwise, the camera is a pretty basic 64+8MP setup. The selfie camera is better than most with a 32MP sensor and 22mm wide-angle lens, but it’s not quite up to V30 standards. The 5,000mAh battery is comparable to 67W charging.
The Tecno Pova 5 has the look of a gaming phone, and the 6.78-inch 120Hz IPS LCD with FHD+ is more than up to the task. However, this is a budget phone, so it only comes with the Helio G99 chipset (4G connectivity). On the plus side, it does have 8GB of RAM and expandable storage. Additionally, there are stereo speakers and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The 6,000mAh battery ensures excellent battery life and can be charged quickly at 45W. It’s not perfect, but for Rs 12,000 it’s a great package.
Lava Blaze Curve attempts to push the budget series of 5G phones into a higher-end direction. As you can tell from the name, it is equipped with a 6.67-inch AMOLED curved display and 120Hz FHD+ panel. It’s powered by the same Dimensity 7050 chip we’ve seen on the phones above. The 64+8MP camera is decent if nothing special, as is the 5,000mAh battery with 33W charging. The phone promises a clean, ad-free Android 13 experience out of the box, with Android 14 and 15 (and 3-year security patches) coming soon.
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