Philippines

Best Midrange Smartphones in the Philippines from P10,000 to P20,000

January 2021 Edition

Published

December 28, 2020

GadgetMatch

When premium phones are out of financial reach and entry-level handsets just don’t make your cut, something in between is the next best thing. This is our updated list of the best midrange smartphones retailing from PhP 10,000 to PhP 20,000.

Formulating this category was tricky, since you can’t set an exact price and some of these devices are, in fact, the flagship phones of their respective brands. To simplify things, we chose a price range that simply sits between our other lists for best budget, upper-midrange, and premium smartphones.

Here they are in no particular order:

Samsung Galaxy A42 5G (PhP 19,990)

Starting this category with what will be the theme for most of this list — 5G-capable phones for less. That’s exactly what the Galaxy A42 5G is. It misses the upper midrange category by a hair but what you’re getting here is everything you’ve come to expect from the Samsung A-Series at this price point but with the benefit of the next gen mobile connectivity.

HANDS-ON: Samsung Galaxy A42 5G

OPPO Reno4Z 5G (PhP 20,990)

Cheating a little bit with the pricing here but it’s only outside the indicated price range here by a hair so can we let it pass? We sure can. The OPPO Reno 4Z 5G performs similarly to the OPPO Reno4 despite having plenty of differences in specs. The one thing that the Reno4Z edges the Reno4 on is 5G. It’s a solid midranger with 5G connectivity. 5G Phones might be the norm in less than a year but for now, it holds a bit of an edge in this price range.

HANDS-ON: OPPO Reno4Z 5G

Moto 5 5G (PhP 16,990)

Motorola is back in the Philippines and while the razr is their top-of-the-line offering, they kept in mind the midrange market by offering what might be the most affordable 5G-ready smartphone right now. That’s great value right there on top of its Snapdragon 750G SoC and a vanilla Android experience.

FIRST LOOK: Moto G 5G

POCO X3 NFC (PhP 12,990)

The POCO X3 NFC might represent the ultimate value-for-money phone. It’s what the brand had been known for and they are doubling down on that mantra. The combination of a smooth 120Hz display, newer Snapdragon 732G chipset paired with Adreno 618 GPU, massive battery, and fast charging out of the box with that price is too hard to pass on.

HANDS-ON: POCO X3 NFC

Samsung Galaxy M31 (PhP 13,990)

This is a battery beast. Sometimes in this segment, you just need to have one standout thing going for you, and for the Galaxy M31, it is the 6,000mAh battery that works just as advertised. You’ll probably run out of juice first before this phone does.

HANDS-ON: Samsung Galaxy M31

Samsung Galaxy M51 (PhP 19,990)

Samsung appears to have a monopoly of battery beasts in this category with both the Galaxy M31 and now the Galaxy M51 making the list. Both will last you longer than you realize with the Galaxy M51 having better overall performance. Cameras are pretty much on the same level but you’re buying this for the massive 7,000mAh more than anything else.

REVIEW: Samsung Galaxy M51

realme 7 (PhP 14,990)

The Pro version is reserved for the Snapdragon chips while the non Pro is equipped with MediaTek. It’s like clockwork now for realme, and this value for money smartphones are what we should expect from them from here on out.

REVIEW: realme 7

Huawei Nova 7 SE (PhP 19,990)

Barely making the price point, Huawei phones are facing a unique problem with the lack of Google Mobile Services. That said, Huawei Mobile Services is making a headway. But the reason the phone lands on this list is because of its 5G capabilities. This is the first smartphone in this category to offer 5G — that has to count for something.

HANDS-ON: Huawei Nova 7 SE

Related Topics:Honor Nokia Realme Redmi Samsung

News

Xiaomi Redmi A3 Philippine pricing, availability

Budget smartphone with high refresh rate display

Published

April 23, 2024

GadgetMatch

Xiaomi is bringing high refresh rate displays to its budget line with the announcement of the Redmi A3. The latest addition to the entry-level Redmi line boasts of an expansive 6.71-inch HD+ display with up to a 90Hz refresh rate.

The Redmi A3 is available in Midnight Black, Star Blue, and Forest Green. The smartphone is priced at PhP 3,399 (3GB+64GB) and PhP 3,999 (4GB+128GB) respectively for its two configurations.

Customers may preorder the phone until April 27 via Lazada, Shopee, and TikTok. General sale begins April 26th in all Xiaomi stores nationwide. Freebies are a Basic Piston Earphone for online purchases and a 3-month Viu Premium subscription for in-store purchases.

The Redmi A3’s immersive screen allows users to consume various content in high-definition with better smoothness, a boost for a phone of its price point. The screen has Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection as well, and DC dimming to reduce blue light exposure.

The phone also sports a refined design that lets go of the iPhone-looking camera arrangement. Instead, the main camera is now in the middle as part of a watch face-looking setup similar to other Android phone offerings.

Speaking of, an 8MP main shooter highlights the back of the Redmi A3. In front is a 5MP front camera. The phone is powered by a MediaTek Helio G36 processor and runs on an Android 14-based OS. Furthermore, it has a 5,000mAh battery with 10W of USB-C charging.

Other handy Redmi A3 features for users to utilize include a 3.5mm jack, Face Unlock, and Fingerprint Unlock.

Deals

Limited time only: PMC offers free shipping nationwide

Don’t miss this promo

Published

April 19, 2024

Levi Verora Jr

Power Mac Center is offering free shipping nationwide this weekend as part of their Fri-YAY Finds promo. Products such as MacBook, iPhone, and iPad cases may be purchased through the PMC website, Lazada, and Shopee.

Although the name of the promo suggests customers may only avail of several products this Friday, PMC has extended the promo period to April 21, giving consumers more time.

What’s great about the promo is there is no cap on the shipping discount, as long as the three-piece order requirement is met. So if you’re still looking for accessories to match your Apple products, now is definitely the time.

Participating PMC products include Apple MacBook cases and sleeves, iPhone and iPad cases, Apple Watch straps, charging cables, and power adapters. Moreover, multiport adapters from the following brands are also available:

Cygnett
Moft Z
Speck
Belkin
Pipetto
UAG
UNIQ
LAUT
RIVACASE
PanzerGlass
Innostyle
Ventev
SwitchEasy
QDOS
Anker

Free shipping promos are a big factor for online shoppers always looking for the best deals on the internet. Make sure you don’t miss this promo if you’re an Apple user.

News

vivo Y03: Philippine pricing, availability

Game bold, live loud

Published

April 16, 2024

GadgetMatch

vivo is releasing an affordable smartphone that focuses on gaming: The vivo Y03. It will go on general sale starting April 30. But as early as until April 21, customers may preorder exclusively via Shopee. The phone is priced from PhP 3,499 to PhP 3,799.

The vivo Y03 is powered by a MediaTek Helio G85. To aid its gaming performance, the processor comes with a boosted GPU and Hyper Engine enhancements. This ensures smooth gameplay without any interruptions, at least for popular MOBA and FPS titles. The device also supports Ultra Game Mode and Multi-Turbo 5.5 for an even more immersive gaming experience.

Interestingly, the device only has 4GB of base RAM, but it does support 4GB of extended RAM for gaming and multitasking. Additionally, the phone has 128GB of internal storage, a 5,000mAh battery, and 15W FastCharge.

For its display, the vivo Y03 sports a 6.56-inch 90Hz high-resolution Sunlight Display. vivo claims that this allows users to easily see content even when outdoors and under the sun. The handset also has an IP54 rating for dust and water resistance.

Lastly, the vivo Y03 sports a 13MP main camera and a 5MP selfie camera. According to its Shopee listing, the phone has two color options: Gem Green and Space Black.