April 09, 2023

It is well known that the prices of the Android flagship drop quite quickly after its launch and we are seeing it this week. We’ve also found tablet deals for those who want a bigger screen. Use the links below to access your region:

UNITED STATES

The Galaxy S23 series may be flying off the shelves, but that (thankfully) hasn’t stopped price drops, even this early in its lifecycle. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is already down to $1,000 for the base 12/256GB unit, which is $200 off its MSRP. Likewise, the Galaxy S23+ is down $150 and is now close to the vanilla model’s starting price. Speaking of which, the Galaxy S23 is now $700, $100 less than full price.

Here’s something for people looking for a cheap 5G phone. The Moto G (2022) is half price, down to $200. And if Moto hadn’t insisted on using an HD+ display, we’d more enthusiastically recommend it. A OnePlus Nord N200 5G can be found for $240 and it has an FHD+ display (plus 18W charging instead of 10W), but that’s with just 64GB of storage while the Motorola comes with 256GB (both have microSD slots). Besides, $40 is $40.

Next, iPads at three different price points. The Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2021) is the older model with an Apple M1 chipset rather than the M2 of the 2022 models. Still, iPadOS isn’t macOS, so it’s hard to use the extra power. This model may cost $1,000, but it comes with Wi-Fi and LTE connectivity, along with a decent amount of storage (256GB).

For work/study from home, you can get the iPad Air (2022) instead, it’s half the price if you ditch the LTE modem and upgrade to 64GB of storage. It has the same M1 chipset, however, the main difference between the two is the display – 12.9″ 120Hz vs 10.9″ 60Hz (not to mention brightness, HDR, etc. which are in favor of the Pro more expensive). You could get LTE connectivity for an extra $150, but we’d probably opt for the extra storage and use the connection from our phones if we need data on the go.

The vanilla iPad (2022) has the same screen as the Air, well, unless you care about using the older 1st-gen Apple Pencil instead of the 2nd-gen. The real reason for the $100 price drop is the weaker chipset – not that we’d ever call the Apple A14 “weak,” especially at $400. Again, LTE is an option, but $150 more seems like too much.

Finally, although iPhones have gained satellite messaging capabilities, this is only for emergencies (you do get location sharing for your friends though). So a dedicated satellite messenger like the Garmin InReach Mini might still make sense if you like camping or need to get out into nature for work.

UNITED KINGDOM

Which would you rather have? A Samsung Galaxy S21 FE with a Snapdragon 888 or a Galaxy S22 with an Exynos 2200? We ask because both cost essentially the same price. The FE is the bigger phone (6.4″ vs 6.1″) and has the biggest battery to match (4,500mAh vs 3,700mAh), but the S22 has the better cameras. You can compare the FE to the S22+, although the latter is more expensive.

Instead of an older flagship, you can save some cash and get a mid-range one – the Oppo Reno8 Pro, for example. This packs a large 6.7-inch 120Hz (FHD+) AMOLED display and a 4,500mAh battery with 80W fast charging (compared to 25W for the Galaxys). The phone is powered by Dimensity 8100-Max chipset. Its 50MP 1/1.56” main camera lacks OIS and there is no zoom lens on board.

For £50 less, you can have the Honor 70 with a Snapdragon 778G+. It has a much better ultrawide camera (50MP 120° vs 8MP 112°) and a different battery configuration, 4,800mAh with 66W charging (endurance rating for both phones is exactly 100h ). Note that the Honor 70 comes with half the storage, 128 GB.

Another £50 less and we’ve got the Motorola Edge 30 Neo with a Snapdragon 695. We know it’s no one’s favourite, partly because of its inability to record 4K video. The main 64MP camera has OIS, however, but the 13MP 120° ultrawide isn’t quite as impressive. This phone is smaller with a 6.28-inch 120Hz OLED display and a 4,020mAh battery with 68W charging (and 104h battery life).

Cut out an extra £50 and we’re looking at either a Galaxy M33 or a Moto G73. Both are 5G phones (using Exynos 1280 and Dimensity 930 respectively), both have mid-size FHD+ screens, 120Hz LCDs, both have 50MP main cameras (without OIS), both have 5,000 mAh batteries with comparable charge rates (25 W vs. 30 W). There are pros and cons for each phone, which you can see in a head-to-head comparison.

Another Samsung vs. Motorola showdown is the Galaxy A14 vs. the Moto G23. It’s not as much of a fight that the Samsung has an FHD+ screen versus Moto’s HD+ (both 90Hz LCDs), let alone 5G connectivity. It lacks an ultrawide camera (the Moto has a 5MP unit) and is slow to charge its 5,000mAh battery (15W vs 30W), but we’d almost certainly pick it over the Motorola at current prices.

If you’re into VR, you may have watched the price swings of the Meta Quest 2 with concern. The 128GB model is down to £350, £50 less than in March this year.

Germany

Our weekly poll showed the Samsung Galaxy A54 has potential, but most people were waiting for the reviews to come out. Ours is complete (including our video review) and our conclusion was that the A54 is a solid mid-range, even if the MSRP was a bit high. Currently the 8/256GB is down to €500, which is the price you would have paid for the 128GB model at launch. The price is still a little high, perhaps, but it is quickly reaching more acceptable levels.

The Redmi Note 12 Pro also recently arrived in Europe and it looks quite competitive against the A54 if you put them head to head. The 8/128 GB model costs €100 less than the Samsung, the 8/256 GB model costs the same (i.e. €500). You get a slightly larger screen (6.67″ vs. 6.4″) and faster charging for the 5,000mAh battery (67W vs. 25W). See our review for more details (we also have a video review).

Next up is the Battle of the Pocos. The Poco X5 Pro and X4 GT cost €370. The first is a new February model, the second was released in June last year. You’re looking at a Snapdragon 778G (X5 Pro) versus Dimensity 8100 (X4 GT), a 6.67″ 120Hz AMOLED versus 6.6″ IPS LCD 144Hz, a 108MP camera versus 64MP, and basically identical batteries with a capacity of 5000 mAh and Charge 67W. Moreover, both phones were launched with Android 12, although the new model got MIUI 14 instead of v13.

Another Poco worth looking at is the X5. Its screen is similar to its Pro sibling (except with Gorilla Glass 3 instead of GG5), but you lose the 778G in favor of the Snapdragon 695. Additionally, the 108MP camera is replaced by a base 48MP module and charging speed is reduced to 33W. That’s a lot of discounts, but the phone is 33% cheaper.

Further down the price charts is the Moto G13. It’s a sub-£200 phone and lacks 5G connectivity, an ultra-wide camera and the 6.5-inch IPS LCD (90Hz) only has HD+ resolution. But the G13 is 33% cheaper than the Poco X5, so there’s that too.

India

Two 5G phones, both costing about the same – well, the Oppo A74 5G costs ₹500 more than the Tecno Pova Neo 5G, but that’s a small difference. The Pova is larger with a 6.8-inch screen and 6,000mAh battery (compared to 6.5-inch and 5,000mAh), and its screen runs at 120Hz instead of 90Hz. aren’t fancy (Dimensity 810 and Snapdragon 480), but the A74 has an additional 2GB of RAM, both have 128GB of expandable storage. The Oppo also has an 8MP ultrawide camera compared to none on the Tecno.

Next, we looked at a few 10-inch tablets, both with 2000 x 1200 pixel 10-bit displays. The Redmi Pad costs ₹1,500 more, but it has a 90Hz panel (vs. 60Hz), the better chipset (Helio G99 vs. Snapdragon 680) and double the RAM (both have microSD slots), more a slightly larger battery (both with 18W charging). We’ve reviewed both slates if you want to go into more detail.

There’s a sale on Sony headphones. We start with the over-ear models, the WH-1000XM4 and XM5 with a price difference of ₹7,000 between them. The new model has improved ANC, although we’re not sure it’s worth it (especially since we had a few complaints in our review).

If you’re looking for TWS headphones instead, you can get the Sony WF-1000XM4 or LinkBuds S for ₹3,000 less. LinkBuds are smaller and lighter, making them more comfortable. Both have ANC on board but the WF model has better drivers (5mm vs 4mm).

We’ll end with a huge but surprisingly cheap phone – the Tecno Pova 3 costs less than ₹10,000 and has a massive 6.9-inch display, 90Hz IPS LCD with FHD+ resolution and an equally massive 7,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging. It’s not the fastest, but it’s fast enough for a device under ₹10,000. And it even has a 50MP main camera that can do 1440p video recording, plus niceties like a microSD slot, 3.5mm jack, and stereo speakers.