Smartphones under PHP 45,000 | 45K (Q1 2025)

In the blink of an eye, the first quarter of the year has come to a close. If you haven’t done anything productive, maybe it’s time to rethink your life decisions. I’m just kidding, but I’m not joking about the smartphones launched in Q1 of 2025.

In just three months, there were already a lot of smartphones launched in the Philippines this 2025. Today, we’ll be talking about the ones that are priced under PHP 45,000. So if you have a slightly big budget for a new phone then this list might be helpful for you. It’s not a long list, but these phones might just pique your interest.

[Note: The phones on this list were launched in Q1 2025 in the Philippines. Prices listed reflect the most updated pricing details from official online listings at the time of recording. Prices may be subject to change without prior notice.]

POCO F7 Ultra PHP 36,999 (12GB+256GB) / PHP 39,999 (16GB+512GB)

Let’s start things off with the POCO F7 Ultra. It’s a new addition to the Poco F7 series lineup this year, and it is also one of the most powerful POCO devices to date. Despite having flagship-level performance, it doesn’t come with the flagship price.

Under the hood, it packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, which is one of the most capable chips on the market today. It’s used by flagship phones, and on the F7 Ultra, it’s paired with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB of fast SSD storage.

In addition, it also features POCO’s VisionBoost D7 display chip which provides “smart frame rate” at 120 fps, enhanced graphics, and Game HDR. The result? An Antutu score of over 2.3 million. As you would expect, it also smashed other benchmark results, which you can check out on screen right now.

With that, playing games is no issue with the POCO F7 Ultra. It can easily handle whatever game you toss at it, and run it on the highest settings possible. You’ll have an enjoyable gaming experience too with its 6.67-inch 2K AMOLED display that features a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 4000 nits of peak brightness.

If you want to take photos, the F7 Ultra comes with a triple rear camera highlighted by a 50MP main, 50MP telephoto, and 32MP ultra. For selfies, there’s a 32MP front camera. Powering the POCO F7 Ultra is a 5300 mAh battery pack with 120W fast charging and 50W wireless charging.

The POCO F7 Ultra starts at PHP 36,999 for the 12+256GB variant, while the 16+512GB variant will set you back PHP 39,999.
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ROG Phone 9 FE PHP 39,995 (12GB+256GB)

If we’re talking about gaming, we have to mention the ROG Phone 9 FE. While we didn’t get to review the FE, we were able to review its more capable sibling – the ROG Phone 9 Pro. In comparison, the FE is essentially a slightly toned-down version of the ROG Phone 9 Pro. I mean it is almost half the price of the ROG Phone 9 Pro after all.

Under the hood, the ROG Phone 9 FE uses a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset; not the Snapdragon 8 Elite found in Pro. It also only comes in one configuration – 12GB of RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage. With that, it’s not as powerful, but it’s still a very capable chipset to this day.

This being an ROG phone, you can expect the FE to have high benchmark scores and possibly an Antutu score of over 2 million especially with X Mode turned on. We have no doubt it can also handle almost any of the graphic-intensive titles you throw at it like Zenless Zone Zero, Genshin Impact, and Wuthering Waves.

The chipset is paired with a 6.78-inch FHD+ LTPO AMOLED display with up to 185Hz refresh rate. It also has 2500 nits of peak brightness, and the screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

As with all ROG phones, you still have the air triggers we’ve all come to love. Overall, you will definitely enjoy playing competitive games on this phone. It also carries the aggressive gaming styling of its more capable siblings, so full-on gamer aesthetic from the get-go.

Compared to the ROG Phone 9 Pro, the cameras on the FE are a bit nerfed. At the rear, you only have a 50MP main, 13MP ultrawide, and a 5MP macro. At the front, there’s a 32MP camera for selfies.

Powering the ROG Phone 9 FE is a 5500 mAh battery pack with 65W wired charging and support for Qi Wireless charging.

The ROG Phone 9 FE retails for PHP 39,995 for the sole 12+256GB variant.

OPPO Reno13 Pro PHP 43,999 (12GB+512GB)

If a gaming phone isn’t your thing, then maybe the more well-rounded OPPO Reno 13 Pro is what you’re looking for. It may not have the most powerful chipset, especially compared to other phones on this list, but it does make up for it everywhere else.

Under the hood, the OPPO Reno 13 Pro packs a MediaTek Dimensity 8350 chipset, which is great for everyday use and even some gaming. Our review unit also came with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. It may not be a flagship-level processor compared to the other phones here, but it still offers decent performance.

Based on our review, it was able to score over 1.1 million on Antutu, and decent scores on the rest of the benchmarks. With that, you can expect this phone to run most of the games smoothly with minor graphics settings changes.

While performance is average, you can expect it to capture amazing images. The Reno 13 Pro comes with a versatile set of cameras. At the rear, you have a 50MP main with OIS, a 50MP telephoto with OIS, and an 8MP ultrawide.

At the front, you have a 50MP selfie camera. With this, you can capture a wide range of images easily. Best of all, you can be sure the images will come out sharp.

To review all the photos and videos you captured, there’s a beautiful 6.83-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh and 1200 nits of peak brightness. It even has support for HDR10+ and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 7i.

While styling might be subjective, we think the Reno13 Pro is a great looking phone. But what’s really surprising is the level of protection. It features an IP69 rating for dust and water resistance, making it one of the toughest smartphones in its class. This means this phone can go for a swim, and it will be fine.

As for the battery, it packs a 5,800 mAh battery pack with 80W SUPERVOOC fast charging.

The OPPO Reno13 Pro retails for PHP 43,999 for the sole 12+512GB variant.

iPhone 16e PHP 39,990 128GB

Last but not least, we have one of Apple’s most affordable smartphones to date – the iPhone 16e. It’s essentially a stripped-down, more affordable version of the iPhone 16, but still packs the same chipset and even retains Apple Intelligence.

Compared to the standard iPhone 16, the iPhone 16e is a bit smaller. However, it still comes with a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED panel with HDR10 support but with a lower peak brightness of only 1200 nits. Interestingly, it doesn’t have the Dynamic Island and comes with a notch similar to older iPhones.

Under the hood, the iPhone 16e still uses the same Apple A18 Bionic chipset found on the iPhone 16. It also comes with 8GB of RAM and storage options start at 128GB. Of course, this being an iPhone, it comes with iOS 18 out of the box, and as mentioned earlier, you get the full suite of Apple features including Apple Intelligence.

The downside is that you don’t get the full iPhone experience though. For the cameras, there’s only one at the rear – a single 48MP shooter with PDAF and OIS. For selfies, you have a 12MP camera at the front. No Apple ProRes or whatnot.
It also lacks MagSafe, which has been a signature feature of iPhones for a while now. While it still has wireless charging, you don’t get the full benefit.

We have yet to do a full review of the iPhone 16e, but hopefully, that changes very soon. So be sure to stay tuned for that.

Nonetheless, if you want to have the iPhone experience on a budget, this is something you should consider. The iPhone 16e starts at just PHP 39,990 for the 128GB variant, and for reference, the standard iPhone 16 starts at PHP 54,990, which is PHP 20,000 more.

Conclusion

That wraps up this list of smartphones launched in Q1 2025 priced under PHP 45,000. Among the four, which one would you consider buying? Or would you rather wait and see if better phones are coming out later this year? Considering the phones that have already been launched, we’re excited to see what manufacturers have in store for us.