If you want the best of the best smartphone experience, a flagship phone is a way to go as its boasts of high-end specifications unmatched with lower-priced phones.
Be it photography, running resource-intensive tasks like gaming, downloading & uploading, and just about anything you do, a flagship phone will definitely rise up to your expectations.
Unfortunately, to grab all that in one single powerful device it may cost a hole in the pocket which is not everyone’s cup of tea. This is where old flagships which are 1-2 years old come into play.
The thing is, the mid-range smartphone market is seeing drastic changes year on year with better be it in terms of performance, smoother scrolling throughout the UI and not to mention cameras have also evolved to a large extent to produce decent enough pics for your Instagram.
That may not exactly be the case with flagship smartphones as already the processors are so powerful, thus so even the slightest improvement is barely noticeable. For instance, last year’s Snapdragon 865 itself is a beast that can run anything available on the Play Store without a flinch.
Oh and also the alarming rates at which brand new flagship phones are launching, which provide measly improvements over its predecessors, to begin with, is not something which many can go for.
Why Buy old Flagship phones
Old flagship phones may not be the shiny new gadget in town but can fulfill all your needs for the raw power you ever wanted. Yes, these are definitely better in that aspect than mid-range phones whether old or new. If you want a extremely detailed guide on how old flagships compare with present day midrange smartphones, we have covered that in a very practical way taking two smartphones in context to explain the matter more deeply. You can check that old flagship vs new midrange smartphone blog too.
Now coming back, there are certain flaghsip phones launched last year in 2020 which are still worthy for many coming months and the best part – rates have been slashed marginally.
As mentioned above, even a Snapdragon 865 phone would provide the same user experience as a Snapdragon 888 phone. An average user won’t even notice the difference.
Top Old Flagship Phones you can buy in 2021
So here goes the list –
1. Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G
Having bagged the “smartphone of the year” title by several reviewers and publications, it still holds true to that. The ‘FE’ stands for ‘Fan Edition’ which is just what a Samsung fan would ever want – Amazing flagship price and not so flagship level price.
It has all the bells and whistles of the more premium Galaxy S20 series such as wireless charging, IP68 water and dust resistance and a fluid 120Hz Super AMOLED display. The cameras don’t have high numbers such as 64MP or 108MP like its siblings but that doesn’t matter as the 12MP trio setup on Galaxy S20 FE 5G performs very well.
You can have a look at my initial impressions and a mini review on a Twitter thread made a couple of weeks back which covers almost all aspects such as first-impressions, in-hand feel, software and build quality.
There are rarely any non-Chinese smartphone brands in the range of Rs. 40K-50K.
— Gadgets Hub (@thegadgetshub) June 22, 2021
One such is Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G which has all the features just like the newer S21 series.
Recently ended up buying it, so here’s a long thread. Sit back and enjoy!
PS – Its not mine pic.twitter.com/sivjGLgDOB
Speaking of build quality, it has polycarbonate back but fortunately a metal frame to keep a jist of premium feel. This is probably the biggest cost cutting on the Galaxy S20 FE 5G and thus a lower price. Nonethless, one of the best Samsung phones under INR 45,000 and definitely an old flagship worthy buying in 2021.
2. iPhone 11
Launched in late 2019, iPhone 11 is still one of the best iPhones you can get in the market. This was never intended to be a flagship, where that was taken care of by the iPhone 11 Pros but since its loaded with identical specs as its siblings, it performs extremely well.
The main highlight of iPhone 11 was always the value its offers for the price. It has everything of iPhone 11 Pro but a much cheaper price. The major concern for many, which even till this day haunts people before buying iPhone 11 is its display. Having a 720p display that too LCD, was not appluaded by many.
Despite that, iPhone 11 went on to becomes the most sold phone of 2021 with over 40 million units sold. Turns out, many people can lookaway the fact that it doesn’t have a crisp display according to today’s standards. Even in 2021, especially during sales, the iPhone 11 is still selling like hot cakes.
Another aspect people love about this phone is its performance. Being equipped with Apple A13, iPhone 11 flies through any task thrown at it be it playing games at high settings or recording and rendering videos on the phone itself. Also, the software updates would last for minumum 5 years for this one, so longetivity has also been covered with iPhone 11
The only major con for the iPhone 11 would be the lack of 5G in 2021 and a huge notch. If you thing you’re happy for not having 5G in the coming years then go for it blindly.
3. OnePlus 8T
With the controversial steps OnePlus has been taking recently, such as merging its R&D with its sister company Oppo and even utilising the codebase of ColorOS on OxygenOS doesn’t sound good to many especially its loyals fans. The oppoficatin is clearly seen on the software of recently launched OnePlus Nord 2 where UI elements are borrowed from Oppo’s ColorOS.
With that said, OnePlus 8T doesn’t face the same faith as its a true OnePlus phone from its roots. Also, its the same exact phone as the new OnePlus 9R which just has a Snapdragon 870 rest is exactly same as last year’s OnePlus 8T which has Snapdragon 865. The difference between the two is thet SD870 is slightly overclocked than SD865.
If you want a decent and worth old flaghship phone in 2021, then OnePlus 8T is one of the perfect phone to go for as its more premium and powerful then the Nord series but also costs less then the OnePlus 9R and OnePlus 9 having similar specs to begin with.
Tha main highlight of OnePlus 8T is the 65W warp charging which can charge the phone from 0- 100% in mere 30-35 minutes which is insane!
A major con with OnePlus 8T would be OnePlus and its managment itself. We’ll have to look how OnePlus treats its old phone moving forward with the merger with Oppo. The OnePlus 7 series is not on the right track lately with buggy and unstable updates pushed to those devices.
4. Asus ROG Phone 3
if you’re into gaming looking for a high end phone with overkill specs than look no further than ROG Phone 3. Asus has been slashing its prices bits by bits since the launch of ROG Phone 5 this year which has made ROG Phone 3 a deal hard to ignore.
As for as the specs go, it boats of a spectacular 144Hz AMOLED display, Snapdragon 865 and a colossal 6000mAh battery.
Being such huge device, it packed with 6-magnetic speakers on both at the top and bottom giving a immersive media consumption and gaming experience. What’s more is that this phone has 2 USB Type-C ports! One at the bottom as usual, and another on the side.
This aims to rectify the problem of the cable interfering while gaming on landscape and thus one can plug in from the bottom. Pretty well though out.
One aspect where ROG Phones miserably fail is in terms of software updates. The ROG Phone 3 has just recieved the Android 11 update in 2021 half! on the other hand, Asus’ Zenfones are pretty much on par with other brands in getting software updates time to time.
Nevertheless, the phone may be 1 year old, but still has enough power to last for years which makes it one of the best old flagship phones one can buy in India.
5. Mi 10T
Mi 10T might be an old phone, but runs flawlessly even to this day (not considering bugs and issues in MIUI) in almost every department be it performance, battery or camera capabilities.
After a lousy launch of Mi 10 in India, the Mi 10T series i.e. Mi 10T and Mi 10T Pro was slightly more accepted by the audience due to its sheer value at a reasonable price.
Over the past couple of months, the vanilla Mi 10T has seen various price cuts and discounts in sales from time to time, which makes it a perfect old flagship phone to pick even in 2021. The phone often can be grabbed for around Rs. 30,000 approx on both Amazon and Flipkart.
To give a brief, Mi 10T features Snapdragon 865, a jiffy 144Hz LCD display, and a reasonably large 5000mAh.
On the downside, the bulky size and weight of Mi 10T might not be everyone’s cup of tea so do keep in mind before picking this up.
So these were some of the amazing old flagship phones one can buy even in 2021 and provide an experience no less than a high-end phone launched in 2021 itself.
Do note that the above-mentioned smartphones will receive software updates at least till 2022 end, the exception being iPhone 11 which as you know, will receive no less than 5 years of updates.
That being said, the list will be added with more products from time to time in the coming months, so make sure to check back what’s best for you.
Looking to buy decent headphones under Rs. 5000? Check out Philips TAH4205 which supports 29 hrs of battery life and has superb sound quality.
Also, if small and compact phones are your thing, you should avoid these except for iPhone 11.
Share this blog with those searching for a perfect flagship phone and also comment down your thoughts.
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