As we all know, tech moves fast. The number of smartphones being released in a year can be overwhelming sometimes. Sure, they’re great! You get superb cameras, improved hardware, and higher specs overall. But you don’t really need the most updated and latest flagship smartphone for a reliable daily driver—especially when you’re on a budget. Flagship smartphones are built to last you for years, so buying one released 2 or 3 years ago is one of the most practical choices you can make.
Here are our top picks of old flagship smartphones that are still worth buying in 2021.
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Apple iPhone XR
If you’re on a budget and eyeing an iPhone, then instead of going for the iPhone SE 2020, we suggest that you check out the iPhone XR released in 2018. It may not have 5G connectivity like the newer Apple smartphones. Still, it’s got all the basics, including a 6.1-inch Liquid Retina display, a good set of cameras, IP67 water resistance, dual-SIM, and the A12 Bionic chip that got a whopping AnTuTu benchmark score of 425,000, which isn’t really that far from iPhone 11’s 459,690 score.
From Php 50,990, resellers are now selling brand new iPhone XRs at around PHP 34,000 for the 128GB and about PHP 27,600 for the 64GB.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
This 2018 version is still highly capable in 2021 with its large and vibrant 6.34-inch Super AMOLED display, IP68 dust and water-resistance, 4,000mAh battery with Fast Charge, wireless charging support, dual-SIM with expandable storage up to 512GB, S-Pen capabilities, and this one still has a headphone jack. As for performance, its Exynos 9810 processor and 6/8GB of RAM and heat pipe cooling system won’t let you down.
From an SRP of Php 55,990, its 6GB + 512GB variant is now available for PHP 29,690 or even less through other resellers.
Samsung Galaxy S10+
Another Samsung flagship that we recommend is the Galaxy S10 Plus. This one is definitely not outdated with its 6.3-inch Dynamic AMOLED 1440p display, up-to-spec camera system, in-display fingerprint scanner, IP68 water and dust resistance, and 1TB storage option. It packs a Samsung Exynos 9820 chip that’s paired with a Mali-G76 MP12 GPU and 8/12GB RAM, which is still more than enough for your gaming and long hours of multitasking.
Now from PHP 55,990, its 8GB +128GB variant is now sold at around PHP 35,500.
Huawei P30 Pro
We would recommend late 2019 or 2020 Huawei flagships but wouldn’t you prefer the one with Google Mobile Services out of the box? For that, consider the Huawei P30 Pro. Together with its top-tier cameras that Leica backs, it’s equipped with 6.47-inch FHD+ OLED display, a highly capable Kirin 980 chipset, 8GB of RAM, 128/256GB of internal storage, a 4,200mAh battery with 40W Huawei SuperCharge, and EMUI 9.1 that’s based on Android 9 Pie. This is still a hero phone to date.
It has a suggested retail price of PHP 50,990, but now you can catch it for PHP 32,809 at Huawei’s Official Lazada Store.
ASUS ROG Phone II
Next on our list is the ASUS ROG Phone II that’s still great for 2021 gamers. When it was released in 2019, we thought it was quite pricey, but you do get what you pay for. Now, at PHP 34,995, it’s one of the best phones you can get on this list. You get that 120Hz 6.59-inch FHD+ AMOLED display, 6,000mAh battery with 30W ROG HyperCharge technology, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ CPU, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage.
It’s available at all VillMan stores nationwide for Php 34,995.
OnePlus 8
If you’re on a tighter budget, then consider the OnePlus 8 that’s now available for PHP 27,990 at homeoffice.com and Digital Walker stores. It may not have an IP rating or mind-blowing camera quality, but you still get the premium features, including a 90Hz AMOLED display, solid performance, great battery life, fast charging, one of the best Android launchers in the market, and even 5G connectivity.
And there you have it, guys. We hope that our list has helped you find a good previous-gen flagship at a lower price. Which of these smartphones are you planning to get? Please share it with us in the comments below.
With inputs from Justine Basco
