Here are 5 of the best smartphones under RM2,000 – Dec 2022 edition

So, you want some suggestions on the best phones you can buy for under RM2,000? Well, both Raymond and Najib have recommended five of what they believe are smartphones worth the money without breaking the bank.

However, they stress that within these budget restrictions, there could be certain features that you might not get with cheaper smartphones. So, do read on and take note of the features that you might not be able to live without—and see if any of these fit your criteria.

Xiaomi 12 Lite

Raymond suggested the Xiaomi 12 Lite, which has been described to have a ‘featherweight’ design, as the device weighs in at just 173g and 7.29mm thin. It also has a 4,300mAh capacity battery which Xiaomi claims can last for a full day. Xiaomi’s AdaptiveCharge technology is able to learn your charging pattern to optimise its charging speeds, and it also comes with 67W fast charging that can power up your phone to 100% in just 41 minutes.

Under the hood, you’ll find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G system-on-chip. It has a 6.55-inch, FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The 12 Lite has a triple camera setup on the rear with a main 108MP, f/1.88 camera using the Samsung HM2 sensor. The front of the device has a 32MP, f/2.45 selfie camera.

Xiaomi 12 Lite – 8GB RAM, 256GB storage – Shopee / Lazada

Honor 70

The Honor 70‘s main highlight is its main camera—with Sony’s new IMX800 1/1.49-inch image sensor with a resolution of 54MP attached to an f/1.9 lens. it also has a 32MP hole-punch selfie camera, sitting within the 6.67-inch OLED curved display. And it has improved its Multi-Video Recording feature, enabling you to shoot both a wide shot and a zoomed-in crop at the same time.

The smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ processor, and it has a 4,800mAh battery with support for 66W of fast charging.

Honor 70 5G – 8GB RAM, 256GB storage – Shopee / Lazada

Poco F4 GT

According to Najib, the Poco F4 GT is the best smartphone you can get around the budget—if you’re an avid gamer. It has Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 gen 1 mated with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.

For photos, it gets a 64MP Sony IMX686 main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera and a 2MP macro shooter. And for selfies, the front punch-hole houses a 20MP front camera.

For that ultra-gamer feel, the device also features RGB lighting on the camera bump. It illuminates when Game Turbo mode is engaged and it can also display notification and battery charging status.

Although the Poco F4 GT costs slightly more than RM2,000 (RM2,299, to be exact), Najib said that you can buy the phone during Shopee and Lazada sales. One of the sales he referred to dropped the price to RM1,849.

Poco F4 GT – 8GB RAM, 128GB storage – Shopee / Lazada

Samsung Galaxy A73

Najib recommended the Samsung Galaxy A73 due to its fairly large 6.7-inch, FHD+ Super AMOLED display with their Infinity-O punch hole cut out. The smartphone is also capable of up to a 120Hz refresh rate.

Under the hood, you’ll find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G system-on-chip. And it gets a quad camera setup on the rear of the device, as well as a 32MP front-facing camera housed in the punch hole cut out on the display.

Similarly to the Poco F4, Najib recommended a smartphone that went a little bit over budget —as the usual price for the Samsung Galaxy A73 is RM2,099. But you’re able to buy them within your budget during a sale on shopping platforms.

Samsung Galaxy A73 – 8GB RAM, 256GB storage – Shopee / Lazada

OnePlus Nord 2T

If you’re looking for a smartphone with a strong processor, the Oneplus Nord 2T has a MediaTek Dimensity 1300 under the hood. It’s also mated to up to 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 256GB UFS 3.1.

Otherside, its other features don’t stand out as much. It has a 6.43-inch, FHD+ AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate. And in the camera department, there’s a triple rear camera setup with a main 50MP, f/1.8 camera, an 8MP, f/2.2 ultrawide angle shooter, a 2MP, f/2.2 mono lens as well as a 32MP, f/2.4 selfie camera.

You can consider getting this phone if you want lots of space and if you want to use OxygenOS—which is apparently faster than other OSes.

OnePlus Nord 2T – 8GB RAM, 256GB storage – Lazada