Three smartphones under R5,000

Daniel Puchert

Daniel Puchert

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Three great smartphones that cost less than R5,000

South African residents looking for an affordable but powerful smartphone have various options priced at less than R5,000, with some of the best being the Samsung Galaxy A25 5G, Realme C55, and Redmi Note 12 Pro.

While your choice of smartphone may differ based on individual preference, these devices offer features and hardware to meet various requirements.
 
A25 is really good and I'm considering it. Don't discount end-of-range sales on A34 if you can pick up for under R5K

Edit: See it has already started, Edgars has it now for R4999, the A34.
 
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Its a real shame that there are so few options on Telkom on contract, you basically get a choice of Samsung, or Huawei off shoots Oppo/Honor, I have no idea why they cant keep Xiaomi Realme, One Plus, Nothing Phone ....
 
ands45 said:
That's my problem with these budget smartphones, they have impressive screens and 108mp cameras but then put a very entry level processor that in 6 months (if you lucky) will already be causing frustration when the phone is so slow
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Sure the nand does degrade over time, which in return will slow down the phone over time. But android is still an operating system like any other and is going to collect useless background junk and eat up resources, the phone isn't the problem it is the user looking at the screen that is most often causing the problem, the average tom, dick and harry is going to install every app under the sun, use it once and then forget about it, both apple and android have features that remove apps after a certain time has lapsed. In part it still up to the user to use best practices and clear out memory, restart their phone every once and awhile.

It is a reason why I prefer phones with stock android.....yeah it is boring AF, but sure as hell don't have a billion useless background app running trying to sell me their products.

So no it isn't the phone it is an 1D10T error......
 
wizardofid said:
Sure the nand does degrade over time, which in return will slow down the phone over time. But android is still an operating system like any other and is going to collect useless background junk and eat up resources, the phone isn't the problem it is the user looking at the screen that is most often causing the problem, the average tom, dick and harry is going to install every app under the sun, use it once and then forget about it, both apple and android have features that remove apps after a certain time has lapsed. In part it still up to the user to use best practices and clear out memory, restart their phone every once and awhile.

It is a reason why I prefer phones with stock android.....yeah it is boring AF, but sure as hell don't have a billion useless background app running trying to sell me their products.

So no it isn't the phone it is an 1D10T error......
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Understand that, but if you have a more powerful processor then you dont really need to worry about restarting and clearing memory and limiting what apps you install. You can do as you need.
 
You are better off throwing R5k down the toilet. None of those phones will make it past 6 months, rather buy a second hand iphone.
 
ands45 said:
Understand that, but if you have a more powerful processor then you dont really need to worry about restarting and clearing memory and limiting what apps you install. You can do as you need.
Click to expand...
Doesn't matter you should be doing best practices any way regardless of CPU, better CPU is just masking the underlining problem. My previous LG was exceptional in that I could use the phone, once in a while there would be a pop up, letting me know you aren't using these apps, it is time to restart the phone ect. I am sure other brands have something similar.

You don't need a snapdragon elite or M1 chip to have a functional phone, your productivity isn't going to remarkably dip with a lesser chip, getting the next best thing, is utterly daft. I pity this generation, my generation weren't as wasteful, you used something until it was no longer feasible to continue using it, just because something is older or "slower" it out lived its usefulness, I shudder at the thought that people have been brainwashed into disposable tech consumerism for the next shinny thing............ "shudder".........
 
wizardofid said:
Doesn't matter you should be doing best practices any way regardless of CPU, better CPU is just masking the underlining problem. My previous LG was exceptional in that I could use the phone, once in a while there would be a pop up, letting me know you aren't using these apps, it is time to restart the phone ect. I am sure other brands have something similar.

You don't need a snapdragon elite or M1 chip to have a functional phone, your productivity isn't going to remarkably dip with a lesser chip, getting the next best thing, is utterly daft. I pity this generation, my generation weren't as wasteful, you used something until it was no longer feasible to continue using it, just because something is older or "slower" it out lived its usefulness, I shudder at the thought that people have been brainwashed into disposable tech consumerism for the next shinny thing............ "shudder".........
Click to expand...
this, I hate the idea of throwing away a perfectly reasonable phone, will literally stick with ancient tech until it crumbles into dust if I can,
especially Android and rooting, where you can take a old phone and give it new life and make it useful again,

like my S4 mini, with Android 11 on it, when whatsapp long ago not supported on the original version.
problem is were living in a consumable culture, where people throw away perfectly useful things that just need a bit of work to make them useful again.

but then again, that is capitalism I guess,
 
wizardofid said:
Doesn't matter you should be doing best practices any way regardless of CPU, better CPU is just masking the underlining problem. My previous LG was exceptional in that I could use the phone, once in a while there would be a pop up, letting me know you aren't using these apps, it is time to restart the phone ect. I am sure other brands have something similar.

You don't need a snapdragon elite or M1 chip to have a functional phone, your productivity isn't going to remarkably dip with a lesser chip, getting the next best thing, is utterly daft. I pity this generation, my generation weren't as wasteful, you used something until it was no longer feasible to continue using it, just because something is older or "slower" it out lived its usefulness, I shudder at the thought that people have been brainwashed into disposable tech consumerism for the next shinny thing............ "shudder".........
Click to expand...
Lol yeah until you're in a queue at checkout and want to claim a voucher but need to wait for banking app etc. Or you want to scan a QR code for loyalty points and have to wait for the app to load.
 
Jet-Fighter7700 said:
this, I hate the idea of throwing away a perfectly reasonable phone, will literally stick with ancient tech until it crumbles into dust if I can,
especially Android and rooting, where you can take a old phone and give it new life and make it useful again,

like my S4 mini, with Android 11 on it, when whatsapp long ago not supported on the original version.
problem is were living in a consumable culture, where people throw away perfectly useful things that just need a bit of work to make them useful again.

but then again, that is capitalism I guess,
Click to expand...
My LG was going on 6 years, if it wasn't for the screen cracking I would still be using it. I am one of those guys, that will spend days looking at reviews, pricing and performance and choose the best and cheapest option, do I need a 20K phone, to do what with exactly, my 1.5k phone will probably outlast your flagship phone by years, this thumbing your nose at anything that isn't better than the next door neighbor, doesn't bother me, I will keep on checking out the bargain bin, why spend so much money on something that depreciates faster than sperm in a hookers mouth.....
 
backstreetboy said:
Lol yeah until you're in a queue at checkout and want to claim a voucher but need to wait for banking app etc. Or you want to scan a QR code for loyalty points and have to wait for the app to load.
Click to expand...
there's always chrome and there is always workarounds,
and believe it or not my Idiotphone 6s sometimes struggles with loading vouchers and apps, as despite everything always working
sometimes it just doesn't and you need to whip out the Samsung to do stuff with,

so again, its all relative.
 
wizardofid said:
My LG was going on 6 years, if it wasn't for the screen cracking I would still be using it. I am one of those guys, that will spend days looking at reviews, pricing and performance and choose the best and cheapest option, do I need a 20K phone, to do what with exactly, my 1.5k phone will probably outlast your flagship phone by years, this thumbing your nose at anything that isn't better than the next door neighbor, doesn't bother me, I will keep on checking out the bargain bin, why spend so much money on something that depreciates faster than sperm in a hookers mouth.....
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agreed, we live in a terribly consumerist society, where people chuck away perfectly usable phones, even with minor damage,
that cracked screen probably cost a fortune to fix, because its glued in and needs tons on skill to remove nicely, not something you can attempt to do on your 1st attempt.

same with the battery, or a charge port, its designed to be thrown away and never fixed.
and it continues to the software, they give you X amount of updates, then good luck, and good night,

whereas its totally possible to root and update them with newer android, even add features they were missing,
problem is they cant sell you a new or used phone anymore.

and why I wish phones were more repairable and maintainable instead of making them cheap and nasty
would even pay a bit more for something reliable that I knew I could fix 10 years down the road.
 
Jet-Fighter7700 said:
agreed, we live in a terribly consumerist society, where people chuck away perfectly usable phones, even with minor damage,
that cracked screen probably cost a fortune to fix, because its glued in and needs tons on skill to remove nicely, not something you can attempt to do on your 1st attempt.

same with the battery, or a charge port, its designed to be thrown away and never fixed.
and it continues to the software, they give you X amount of updates, then good luck, and good night,

whereas its totally possible to root and update them with newer android, even add features they were missing,
problem is they cant sell you a new or used phone anymore.

and why I wish phones were more repairable and maintainable instead of making them cheap and nasty
would even pay a bit more for something reliable that I knew I could fix 10 years down the road.
Click to expand...

I could have imported the replacement screen was like R227.00 not a major issue.....It is just a plug in screen thankfully, disassembly is a beatch with the small screws..... will likely get it replaced anyways and use it as a spare phone.......It cheap as chips so worth it....
 
backstreetboy said:
iPhone SE 2022 at R5.5k and just over https://epicdeals.co.za/product/iph...UvSxN2kMIDSQRTOw7Z6XqecL4WKSfCoor39uZBgU5JYFs SOC smokes everything on that list and it'll get updates for 5 + years still.
Click to expand...

I’m pretty sure that any of those phones van probably load up Snapseed & apply 3 filters, exit and open a new app before the iPhone even completes the image task :(

Don’t forget to add that it’s only ‘updates’. You know my 2 year old iPhone is missing multiple feature. I don’t even want to think what I’m going to miss in a few years
 
Dolby said:
I’m pretty sure that any of those phones van probably load up Snapseed & apply 3 filters, exit and open a new app before the iPhone even completes the image task :(

Don’t forget to add that it’s only ‘updates’. You know my 2 year old iPhone is missing multiple feature. I don’t even want to think what I’m going to miss in a few years
Click to expand...
The amount of people that care about Snapseed... Photomator had 4 updates in this month alone. How about Snapseed?
1721318587656.png
 
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