Welcome to Part 2 of our 5G smartphone buyer’s guide list! We get a bunch of questions from people about what the best 5G phone is to buy at a certain price point. Well, in this series, we’re going to be covering a whole bunch of different devices at different price points with today’s list being the best 5G smartphones under RM1,500. If that’s out of your budget, make sure to check out our previous guide where we covered the best 5G phones under RM1,000.
Vivo T1 5G
I can’t believe this myself, but according to Raymond, the Vivo T1 5G is the best 5G smartphone you can get for under RM1,500. With its price of RM1,299, the specs it offers are hard to argue with in this market segment. The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 778G processor with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Up front, you get a 6.44” Full HD+ AMOLED display with a smooth 90Hz refresh rate.
For photos, there’s a 64MP main wide shooter with an 8MP ultra-wide camera to help out when you need to go even wider. There’s also a 2MP macro camera there to look cute. When you want to take pictures of your own face, the phone features a 16MP selfie shooter, while it draws power from a 4,700 mAh battery with support for 66W fast-charging.
Samsung Galaxy A33
Samsung’s entry-level 5G phone, the Galaxy A33, is an alternative in this category as this phone had its price recently lowered to RM1,349. This device is powered by an Exynos 1280 processor with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The display is a 6.4” Full HD+ Super AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate. It is powered by a 5,000 mAh battery with support for 25W fast-charging.
Photography is handled by a quad camera setup featuring a 48MP main wide camera and an 8MP ultra-wide camera that will do all the heavy lifting, alongside a 5MP macro camera and 2MP bokeh sensor. Obviously the benefit of getting a Samsung here is access to Samsung pay, three major OS updates and up to four years of security patches. Oh, and did I mention it has IP67 dust and water resistance to boot?
Realme 9 Pro+ 5G
For RM1,399, the Realme 9 Pro+ 5G is another good alternative. This device packs a MediaTek Dimensity 920 processor with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. You also get a 50MP Sony IMX766 camera sensor and an 8MP ultra-wide camera to boot. Then of course there’s a 2MP macro shooter but who’s going to use that honestly? For photos of your face, you get a 16MP selfie camera.
Powering the 90Hz 6.5” Full HD+ Super AMOLED display is a 4,500 mAh battery with support for 60W fast-charging. Honestly, if it had a slightly more capable processor, this device would top the list, so it’s definitely a very good alternative.
OnePlus Nord CE 2
If you want a phone that’s slightly less value than the Realme 9 Pro+ 5G, you can pick up the OnePlus Nord CE 2 too. It is slightly more expensive, coming in at RM1,499 but for that extra cost you’re getting an older MediaTek 900 processor with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
For photos, you do get a pretty high resolution 64MP main wide camera with an 8MP ultra-wide camera and a 2MP macro shooter. Up front, selfies are handled by a 16MP selfie shooter. Powering the device is a 4,500 mAh battery with support for 65W fast-charging. Personally I don’t think these slight edges are worth the money, but it does come with a OnePlus badge instead so you do you.
