The Razr 40 Ultra launches with a discount, while the Galaxy S22 series tempts people looking at S23 models with lower prices.
While there’s the occasional exciting launch, the middle of the year is a fairly quiet period. This makes it the season for getting an older device – a high quality phone that has slid down the pricing charts. Here are the best offers we found this week. Germany
The Nothing Phone (1) still holds up in terms of design and performance even though it will be 1 year old next month. Its price has fallen to €370 for a 128GB unit, if you want double the storage you can have it for €50 more.
Or you could get the Poco X5 Pro, which costs only €330 for an 8/256GB unit. It has a comparable Snapdragon 778G chipset (the only real difference here is the lack of wireless charging support), the display is similar too, a 6.67” 10-bit 120Hz OLED panel.
While the 8MP ultra wide cam is no match for the 50MP module on the Nothing, the 108MP does okay against its 50MP competitor (no OIS, though). The Poco has a larger, faster charging battery – 5,000mAh/67W vs. 4,500mAh/33W (and 15W wireless on the Nothing).
The Redmi Note 12 and Note 12 Pro are a pair of 5G mid-rangers with the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 and Dimensity 1080, respectively. The Pro model is €70 more, making it a bit cheaper than the Poco. It has a 10-bit AMOLED panel (vs. 8-bit on the vanilla Note 12) and double the RAM at 8GB.
The Pro has a 50MP 1/1.56” main camera with OIS that is fairly capable, but the 8MP ultra wide is fairly basic. Both Note 12 models have 5,000mAh batteries, the vanilla phone charges at 33W (0-50% in 22 minutes), the Pro one at 67W (0-50% in 15 minutes).
A more premium option (though still under €400) is the Xiaomi 13 Lite. It uses the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, which never caught on, but you get a high quality 6.55” 12-bit 120Hz display, 50MP 1/1.56” main cam (no OIS) and a 4,500mAh battery with 67W fast charging.
The Xiaomi 12 is no spring chicken, but it costs less than €500 and it has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset in a fairly small package – slightly smaller than a Pixel 7a. This is in part due to its 6.28” display (12-bit 120Hz). Its 50MP 1/1.56” main camera does have OIS and it can record 8K at 24fps. The 4,500mAh battery charges quickly both over a wire (67W, full in 39 minutes) and wirelessly (50W, full in 53 minutes).
The Realme C55 might not be right for you, but it’s a fine pick for an older parent or grandparent. It has an easy to see 6.72” IPS LCD (90Hz, FHD+) and a large 5,000mAh battery with 33W charging (50% in 29 minutes). The camera setup is pretty basic (64MP main, 8MP selfie), but there is a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microSD slot on board.
Cheaper and a bit smaller is the Realme Narzo 50A Prime. It has a 6.6 IPS LCD (60Hz, FHD+), its 5,000mAh battery only charges at 18W. It has a 3.5mm jack and a microSD slot too.
We’ll wrap things up with the Apple Watch Series 8, the aluminum version with Bluetooth/GPS. It’s available both in 41mm and 45mm size and packs excellent health tracking and accident detection features. UK
Motorola unveiled the Razr 40 Ultra foldable just this week. You can pre-order it from Motorola.com and if you use the code PERK15 you will get 15% off – that drops the £1,050 MSRP down to £893.
