Last week we saw the Samsung Galaxy A55 fall below £300 (for an 8/128GB unit), but as it so often happens, that discount didn’t last long, so the price is over £400 again. This might be a good time to consider an alternative – the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE.
The FE is nominally a flagship with goodies like a tele camera (8MP 3x), 4K @ 60fps and 8K @ 30fps video recording, wireless charging (15W), video out over USB-C with DeX and a superior water resistance rating (IP68). The downside is that the 4,500mAh battery offers poor battery life – 8:28h Active Use rating compared to 13:27h for the A55. The A-phone also has a microSD slot, making storage expansion easy and affordable.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE
£150 off
Read our review
About a month ago we saw a Google Pixel 7a paired with a 30W charger. This was just days before the launch of the 8a, however. The same pairing is still available, though it costs £300 now. There are a few reasons to choose the 8a – the much improved Tensor G3 chip, the faster 120Hz OLED display (vs. 90Hz), the longer software support (7 years) and option for 256GB storage, for example.
Google Pixel 7a + 30W charger
8/128GB
£80 off
Read our review
There is only one reason to recommend the 7a – it costs less. For context, the Pixel 8a will run you £450 (50% more) for the same 8/128GB memory configuration.
The Honor 90 Smart is not a great phone, but it is a sub-£200 device that checks several boxes: 5G connectivity (Dimensity 6020), large 6.8” IPS LCD (FHD+, 90Hz) and a 108MP camera. The relatively large 5,330mAh battery with 35W charging doesn’t hurt either. You get some niceties like stereo speakers and a 3.5mm headphone jack, but there is no microSD slot.
Honor 90 Smart
4/128GB
£30 off
If you want more and have more money to spend, the Honor Magic6 Lite brings a faster Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset and switches to a 6.78” OLED display with curved sides and a higher resolution (plus, it runs at 120Hz). Additionally, there is an IP53 rating for the body. The camera has the 108MP main, which is now joined by a basic 5MP ultra wide. The 5,300mAh battery with 35W charging is essentially the same.
Honor Magic6 Lite
8/256GB
£100 off
Read our review
We recently reviewed the Sennheiser Accentum Plus and walked away impressed – the headphones are on the cheaper side of Sennheiser’s offerings, but perform better than their price might suggest. We particularly liked the Sound Personalization feature, which was much better than a simple equalizer. These headphones are not very comfortable and you practically have to make an account to get the best out of them.
The Huawei Watch Fit 3 is lightweight but capable and doesn’t cost much. Normally, it sells for £140, but right now you can get it paired with the Huawei Freebuds SE 2 (which are usually £30-40) for the same price.
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