r/PickAnAndroidForMe • u/JackNeilLambert • Jul 19 '26
UK Phone recommendations (UK, Android, <£600)
Hi all,
I would like help picking a phone. I would like android, I'm entirely banning iOS or other operating systems. My priority would be having 512GB of storage (less if it's expandable with MICRO SD) and camera quality. I would also favour smaller form factors over giant ones.
I have been considering things like the Xiaomi 15 512GB on a sale as well as the pixel 10 (normal not a or pro) as well as refurbished phones.
My current phone is a Huawei p30 lite which is slowly dying of old age. Therefore things like wireless charging, NFC etc are exciting to me 😂
1
u/noobqns Jul 19 '26
Poco F8 Ultra is 16/512GB going for £649 now (might be able to squeeze it down under/near £600 if you play around with their coupon)
The F8 series have gotten huge camera upgrades this time round and it's very comparable the non ultra Xiaomi flagship and 15T 17T Pro
F8 Pro is their slightly smaller model. Less powerful but also cheaper
1
u/JackNeilLambert Jul 19 '26
Would you recommend this over the Xiaomi 15? The non ultra 15 (not 15T) is currently on sale direct from Xiaomi for £549
1
u/noobqns Jul 19 '26
It's fair if you prefer the form factor, the processor of the F8U is better but 15 ain't no slouch either
Main and ultrawide camera are the same but 15 only has a 2.5x zoom but F8U has a 5x
If those don't matter much to you the 15 is fair for that price (512GB?)
2
u/JackNeilLambert Jul 19 '26
Thanks for the advice! The processor doesn't matter so long as it's capable enough. I don't do compute heavy tasks like major games or things like editing video etc. I have survived this long on a budget phone from 2019 afterall.
The better telephoto would be a contender though!
And yeah to confirm that deal on the Xiaomi 15 is for the 512GB model
1
u/Alex_Bace Jul 19 '26
Xiaomi 15 is a bit old and only has 3 OS updates but it's a very fine and compact phone. Security patches should lasts you until 2030 at least. Then,again all that info might be irrelevant to you as you don't care about software support. It's a very good phone overall.
1
u/_JamesDooley Oppo Find X9 Ultra Jul 19 '26
If you can afford paying slightly more, then I also suggest looking at the Oppo Find X9. Beats most of the other recommendations by a pretty large margin and would be a great long term investment for a phone (> 4 years). It is also officially sold in the UK so a nice plus to get all the features
1
u/JackNeilLambert Jul 19 '26
Thanks mate. What would you say are the biggest upgrades over these other suggestions?
1
u/_JamesDooley Oppo Find X9 Ultra Jul 19 '26
Xiaomi is notorious for having one of the worst Android skins out there, full of bugs and even ads in some regions. I stopped recommending them since my 2 brothers got them 3-5 years ago and regretted it.
You'd get 3 "top" upgrades with the X9: * Battery: 7000mAh * Android skin: ColorOS basically tops everything else in smoothness, speed and efficiency, it's also got 0 ads and a lot of customization. Very close to OxygenOS which is owned by Oppo as well. * Cameras: Flagship level here, although it'll still be slightly/much worse than the better models from Oppo (X9 Pro and Ultra models which cost south of 1000 and 1500 quids respectively). For most people though the X9 is plenty.
1
u/JackNeilLambert Jul 21 '26
I ended up getting the Oppo Find X9 Pro. It was the best option considering discounts, what was in stock and the gifts buying direct included.
1
u/_JamesDooley Oppo Find X9 Ultra Jul 21 '26
That's an even better choice all things considered. Better screen, bigger battery and better cameras compared to the non Pro. So yeah enjoy the beast.
1
u/JackNeilLambert Jul 21 '26
Thought I would update :) Thank you everyone who helped out with suggestions! I ended up spending £854 on an Oppo Find X9 Pro with a free gift of a £220ish tablet which brings it down to around £650-700 once thats factored in.
In the end it was a choice between the X9 pro, the Xiaomi 15 (discounted at £599 but no gifts), the Honor 600 pro (discounted at £649 with a cheaper tablet, earbuds and fast charger as gifts) or the Oppo X9 (discounted to £750 with a £199 watch).
The pro had the best features and ultimately they were all around the same price once you factored in the resale value of the gifts so I thought why not go for the best and the most expensive of the options.
I did also consider the Honor Magic 8 Pro, Xiaomi 17 and the Ultra tier of phones but the discounts and gift bundles didn't justify themselves relative to the features and value of the phones.
Hopefully I don't get buyers remorse but its still only two months of savings and I intend on not changing phone again for 5-8 years which makes the annual cost super low.
1
u/OverambitiousThunk Sep 02 '26
Where did you find the X9 pro that cheap?
Did you get the None UK version?
2
u/Alex_Bace Jul 19 '26
Top pick- Hono 600 Pro 6.57 inch screen and it has EVERYTHING (also Honor is Huawei's child that they gave away for "adoption" back in 2020,so it can get Google Play services and access to American technology unlike the permanently-banned Huawei). Sounds like the natural choice, really.
OnePlus 15R- 6.83 inch screen and has almost everything bar a telephoto lens and wireless charging. A great midranger but big and heavy.
Nothing Phone 3 - 6.67 inch has everything and it's decent but not as good as the 600 Pro. Relatively Big and properly heavy.
Nothing Phone 4a Pro - 6.83 inch screen and it has mostly everything bar super fast charging, IP 67/68/69 rating, wireless charging. Bigger and heavy but lighter than the Nothing Phone 3.
Poco F8 Pro - 6.59 inch screen and has almost everything bar wireless charging. Ads present in the phone manager and file manager apps. Needs debloating and that's a hassle unless you're fine with ads...
Poco F8 Ultra - much better than the F8 Pro but much bigger and also heavier at 6.9 inch screen and 218g weight. Ads are possible and might need debloating... Apart from that, it has absolutely everything needed. Doesn't miss a beat.
MicroSD card slots and 3.5 mm jacks have been gone for a long time except for Sony phones. I'd suggest you get 512GB storage on whatever phone you pick.