Weekly deals: the best smartphone deals from Germany, the US, the UK and India

We’ve scrolled through online offers in several countries and picked out the most interesting deals. We try to keep it fresh so we will try to avoid repeating the same deals as last week, even though some are still active – and some have gotten better. Use the links below to jump to your region:

Germany

The Xiaomi 13 series was unveiled this week and the vanilla model looks quite good. However, it is not clear when it will reach international markets. Also, the vanilla 12 originally cost €800, so the 13 should be in the same ballpark. That’s an old price for the Xiaomi 12, of course, you can pick it up from Amazon Germany for €540 right now.

While not the head-tuner it once was, it is on the small side of Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 phones (6.28” 120Hz 12-bit AMOLED display), it has a very similar main camera (50MP 1/1.56”) to the new model (no tele, though) and a 4,500mAh battery with 67W wired and 50W wireless charging.

Another phone that is smaller than most is the Sony Xperia 10 IV. With its 6” 21:9 display it is only 67mm wide and it weighs 161g. That display is a 10-bit HDR-capable panel, by the way (still no high refresh rate, however). The Snapdragon 695 is a bit slow in this price class, but Sony did include a tele camera (8MP, 54mm) to go with the 12MP main (OIS) and 8MP ultra wide. Also, the battery life is stunning (we got 163h endurance rating).

Next up, a pair of Motorolas that offer a lot of bang for the buck. The Moto G200 is down to €350 and that budget fits a large 6.8” 144Hz LCD (HDR10), a fast Snapdragon 888+ and a 108MP camera. The 888+ tends to run hot, but the company equipped the phone with solid cooling. Also, the chipset is powerful enough for Motorola’s Ready For desktop mode. The camera is pretty good too. So, while this isn’t the best gaming phone or the best camera phone that money can buy, it just may be the best that you can get at €350.

The Motorola Edge 30 is €50 cheaper, but it loses the flagship chip – on the plus side, the Snapdragon 778G+ is more efficient. The phone is also medium-sized with a 6.5” 144Hz AMOLED (HDR10+) display. As fro the cameras, you get a better 50MP ultra wide camera (vs. 13MP) and a 50MP main camera (with 1.0µm vs. 0.7µm, though the G200 supports 9-in-1 binning).

UK

The Sony Xperia 1 IV is unique with its 4K-class 120Hz OLED display, 6.5” in size, as well as the 12MP telephoto camera, which can vary its focal length between 85mm and 125mm (3.5-5.2x). It has a no-notch, no-hole design, a microSD slot, a 3.5mm jack – everything some of you may want from a flagship. It’s not cheap by any means, but if you were planning on getting good noise canceling over-ear headphones, this offer from Amazon UK includes some of the best – the Sony WH-1000XM4 (worth £250 on their own).

The more compact – and cheaper! – alternative is the Sony Xperia 5 IV. This also has the no-nonsense design of the 1 IV, although the 120Hz OLED display has only FHD+ resolution and the tele camera is locked at 60mm. Also, “cheaper” is relative, since this one skips the free headphones.

If you’re looking for something on the cheap that will last you a while, the Samsung Galaxy A23 (4G) comes with a 3-year warranty and it already received the Android 13 update. Other positives include a decently-sized 6.6” 90Hz LCD (FHD+ resolution, although screen quality left a lot to be desired) and solid battery life (130h endurance rating).

Even cheaper is the Samsung Galaxy A04s. This one also comes with a 3-year warranty to give you a piece of mind. With lower specs it is more suitable for a young child or an older parent.

USA

Many near-flagships make compromises, e.g. using an FHD+ screen or skipping the telephoto camera. The OnePlus 10 Pro is a proper flagship, however, and brings a 6.7” QHD+ 120Hz display (it’s an LTPO2 panel to boot), plus a trio of Hasselblad cameras – 48MP main, 8MP 3.3x tele and 50MP ultra wide (150°). The 5,000mAh battery can be topped up using 65W wired and 50W wireless charging. A Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset too, this is a lot of hardware for $550. This is well below something like a Galaxy S22+ (which has an FHD+ non-LTPO display).

Last week the Sony Xperia 1 IV (with 512GB storage) was $1,400, but it has not fallen another $200. It is still among the priciest non-foldables on the market, but its unique 4K-class 120Hz OLED display and variable focal length telephoto camera (plus necessities like a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microSD slot) put it in a league of its own.

Is newer always better? The Motorola Edge (2022) has a 6.6” 144Hz OLD display and a Dimensity 1050 chipset, plus a 50MP main (1/1.55”) and 13MP ultra wide cameras. Also, a 5,000mAh battery with 30W wired and 15W wireless charging. All for $350.

The Motorola Edge (2021) is $50 cheaper but offers a larger 6.8” 144Hz display, an LCD this time, plus a Snapdragon 778G (the two chipsets are comparable in performance). The main camera goes up to a 108MP sensor (same size, 1/1.52”), the ultra wide goes down to 8MP. The battery has the same 5,000mAh capacity and 30W wired charging, no wireless though.

India

People from various parts of India have posted tests comparing the speed of a 4G connection to a 5G connection. The difference is huge, to put it mildly. This may be a time for an older 5G phone like the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE to shine. It has a Snapdragon 778G chipset, 6.55” 90Hz AMOLED display and 4,250mAh battery with 33W wired-only charging. The main camera has a 64MP sensor and it is joined by an 8MP ultra wide and a 5MP tele macro module. This is the 6/128GB model, but there is a microSD slot if you need more storage.

If you’re still not ready to make the jump to 4G, there are plenty of cheap options. The Redmi Note 11, for example, has a 6.43” 90Hz AMOLED display, a Snapdragon 680 and a 5,000mAh battery with 33W wired-only charging. The camera features a 50MP main and 8MP ultra wide modules. This has 6GB RAM as the NE above but half the storage – it also has both a microSD slot and a 3.5mm jack.

We’ll round things off with some Xiaomi vs. Tecno rivalry in the sub-₹10,000 segment. Very often this means Android Go phones like the Tecno Pop 6 Pro and the Xiaomi Redmi A1. Both have the same Helio A22 chipset, similar 6.56/6.52 inch displays (HD+) and simple 8MP cameras (5MP selfies). Same 5,000mAh batteries too, though both use microUSB (ugh). The Tecno boasts basic splash resistance and a side-mounted fingerprint reader over the Redmi.

Sub-₹10,000 doesn’t have to mean Go edition, the next pair runs full-blooded Android. The Tecno Spark9 ha the better screen – 6.6” 90Hz vs. 6.53” 60Hz – both HD+ IPS LCDs. It uses the Helio G37 while the Redmi 9 Activ has a G35, but they are basically the same chip. Both have very similar camera setups (13MP modules on the back) and batteries too – 5,000mAh with microUSB for charging. The Tecno does have a leg up as it runs a newer version of Android, v12, while the Redmi was recently updated to MIUI 12.5/Android 11.