The best budget phones: should you go 4G or 5G?

04/15/22 • 30 min

With 5G services expected before the end of 2022 in India, if you’re in the market for a budget phone right now, should you go with a 4G or 5G model?

Gadgets 360 deputy reviews editor Roydon Cerejo and senior reviewer Sheldon Pinto join host Akhil Arora to answer that and more.

Read: The best phones under Rs. 15,000

We discuss how several brands have been launching 4G and 5G variants of the same budget smartphone, why the 5G models are at times missing features that the 4G ones have, and what the whole 5G bands conversation amounts to.

We also talk about some of the best budget phones, tell you what specifications to keep an eye on, and why you shouldn’t buy at launch (with caveats). Play the podcast to learn more.

Read: The best phones under Rs. 20,000

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Chapters

Intro (00:00)
4G vs 5G (00:16)
The compromises (11:12)
Best phones (18:19)
Buying tips (24:37)
Outro (30:08)

Cover: Sheldon Pinto/Gadgets 360. Photo credits: Xiaomi, Oppo, Aditya Shenoy/Gadgets 360, Roydon Cerejo/Gadgets 360

With 5G services expected before the end of 2022 in India, if you’re in the market for a budget phone right now, should you go with a 4G or 5G model?

Gadgets 360 deputy reviews editor Roydon Cerejo and senior reviewer Sheldon Pinto join host Akhil Arora to answer that and more.

Read: The best phones under Rs. 15,000

We also talk about some of the best budget phones, tell you what specifications to keep an eye on, and why you shouldn’t buy at launch (with caveats). Play the podcast to learn more.

Read: The best phones under Rs. 20,000

Follow Gadgets 360 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Write to us at [email protected]

Chapters

Intro (00:00)
4G vs 5G (00:16)
The compromises (11:12)
Best phones (18:19)
Buying tips (24:37)
Outro (30:08)

Cover: Sheldon Pinto/Gadgets 360. Photo credits: Xiaomi, Oppo, Aditya Shenoy/Gadgets 360, Roydon Cerejo/Gadgets 360

Previous Episode

Is it time for the Harry Potter universe to die?

A third Harry Potter spin-off movie — Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore — is now in theatres. Why is this still a thing?

Gadgets 360 senior reviewer Ali Pardiwala and pop culture aficionado Nikhila Makker join host and entertainment editor Akhil Arora to talk all things Wizarding World.

We discuss how we got here, from the craze around the Harry Potter books and films to dwindling box office returns for Fantastic Beasts chapters, and why Warner Bros. is bent on squeezing every last drop out of it.

We also talk about the toxicity around the Potter universe, be it author J.K. Rowling’s repeated transphobic comments, or the several mistakes that Warner has made, with little attempt to show itself in a better light.

Along the way, we touch upon other expansion attempts — apps, video games, reunion special, a stage play, and its companion book — and wonder the logical next step if all should fail. A reboot, always.

Follow Gadgets 360 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Write to us at [email protected]

Chapters

Intro (00:00)
Rise and fall (00:22)
The Potter lens (05:49)
Universe expansion (08:06)
Original movies (13:34)
Rowling and beyond (21:15)
Self-cursed (27:19)
Outro (31:40)

Cover: Warner Bros. Photo credits: Bloomsbury, WB, Rowling, Akhil Arora/Gadgets 360

Next Episode

Are affordable smartwatches worth it?

India’s smartwatch market is growing, but that depends on how you look at it.

Gadgets 360 senior reviewers Ali Pardiwala and Aditya Shenoy, and IDC India research director Navkendar Singh join host Akhil Arora to talk about that and more.

As with all things tech, India remains a cost-sensitive market, with average selling price in fact going down in recent years, Singh tells us. Low-cost smartwatches have taken over from fitness bands (while the premium segment struggles).

That’s because these ‘basic’ watches — Rs. 4,000 or less — are cramming in a lot of features, though they naturally don’t naturally fare well in accuracy. But does the Indian consumer care?

Read: The best smartwatches to buy in India

For those who do, you’re going to have to pay a lot — with premium watches from Apple and Samsung coming in at 5–10 times the price. They’re in the ecosystem play, which could’ve been Google’s were it not for its failures with WearOS.

Hit play to hear us delve into each of those facets.

Follow Gadgets 360 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Write to us at [email protected]

Chapters