With the way last week’s poll is going, it’s clear that the Poco F6 is more popular than its Pro sibling. You can check out our Poco F6 vs. F6 Pro article for what makes the vanilla model the better pick, at least as far as “flagship killers” go.
Long story short, the Pro has a slight advantage in terms of performance and charges its battery a bit faster, but in both cases the difference is pretty minimal. Both have the same battery life, even though the vanilla model is some 30g lighter. Plus, the Poco F6 has the more durable build with an IP64 rating and Gorilla Glass Victus (vs. IP54, GG5). Again, this is the cheaper phone with around €100 between them.
That is not to say that the Poco F6 Pro should be overlooked completely. It does produce better photos from both its 50MP main and its 8MP ultra wide cameras. The Pro charges its 5,000mAh battery only 10 minutes faster than the vanilla model – but that looks more impressive when you look at the total charging time, 27 minutes vs. 37 minutes.
The Sony Xperia 1 VI is an acquired taste for the well-heeled. The €1,400 price is bonkers, but at least Sony throws in a free pair of WH-1000XM5 – some of the best over-ear headphones that money can buy (these usually go for €300 on their own). With spectacular battery life and a unique camera setup, plus niceties like a 3.5mm headphone jack with a great amp and a microSD slot, this phone certainly has its strengths. However, it has no shortage of weaknesses and the high price is only one of them. Like we said, an acquired taste.
Moving on to much cheaper devices, the Samsung Galaxy A35 has already fallen to €300. It’s not glamorous, but it’s a workhorse of a phone with a modest price tag. You might want to add €50 to that price, though, to get the extra RAM. The extra storage is less necessary since there is a microSD slot (the Poco F5 had one too, but the F6 does not).
The Galaxy A55 is getting cheaper too, it’s under €400 and you don’t need to pay up to the 256GB model to get 8GB of RAM, you can just use the microSD slot to add more storage if you need it. The A55 has the more premium build with an aluminum frame and the superior Exynos 1480 chipset.
But if you’re looking at the A55, you should consider the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE too. At current prices the A55 is probably the better option as the Exynos 2200 doesn’t have the best reputation and this model does not have expandable storage. The addition of an 8MP 3x tele camera and 15W wireless charging is nice, though.
Instead of the A35, the Nothing Phone (2a) might be the better pick – it costs less, despite having more RAM and storage (non-expandable). The dust and water resistance isn’t on the same level (IP54 vs. IP67), but the Nothing lasts longer on its 5,000mAh battery (15:53h vs. 12:26h Active Use score). Plus, the A35 is slower to charge to 100% (it takes 1 hour and 26 minutes, 23 minutes more than the Nothing).
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