Normally, this is the best list to make because if you’re looking for a budget smartphone, the sweet spot to spend is around the RM1,000 mark. But this year, it’s kind of rough. If you want something that’s GOOD, realistically you’d have to spend closer to the RM1,500 mark. Thanks Inflation.
But winners don’t complain. We soldier on, and so here are the best phones we could find for under RM1,000
Samsung Galaxy A23
For RM999, you can pick up the Samsung Galaxy A23, but only the 4G variant because if you want 5G you’re going to have to top up an extra hundred bucks.
This LTE variant that launched in March of 2022 packs a 6.6” Full HD+ LCD display with a refresh rate of 90Hz.
On the inside, it’s powered by a Snapdragon 680 processor with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Keeping the lights on is a 5,000 mAh battery with support for 25W fast-charging.
There’s a 50MP camera at the back with a 5MP ultrawide, 2MP macro and 2MP depth sensor supporting it. Up front, there’s an 8MP selfie shooter.
Other goodies include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner and omaigat a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Realme 9
Continuing the trend of only being able to afford the 4G versions of a device, the RM899 Realme 9 is next on the list. It’s powered by a Snapdragon 680 processor with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. You can bump RAM up to 8GB with an extra RM100.
In front the phone gets a 6.4” Full HD+ Super AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate and Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5. There’s also an in-display fingerprint sensor which is nice to see.
Keeping the lights on, you get a 5,000 mAh battery with 33W fast-charging. For photography, you’re looking at a 108MP camera paired with an 8MP ultrawide camera and a 2MP macro shooter. A 16MP camera up front takes care of the selfies.
Redmi Note 11 Pro
Our third entry for this list is the RM999 Redmi Note 11 Pro. This is also the 4G version not the 5G version because that is about RM200 more.
Still, you get a decent spec sheet with a MediaTek Helio G96 processor inside mated to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Keeping the lights on is a 5,000 mAh battery with a whopping 67W fast-charging support.
Up front, the display is a 6.67” Full HD+ AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. Tucked into the punch hole is a 16MP selfie camera, while at the back you’ll find a 108MP main camera flanked by an 8MP ultra-wide, a 2MP macro camera and a 2MP depth camera.
The fingerprint sensor here is mounted on the side, and as a nice touch it comes with stereo speakers.
Vivo T1X
The fact that Vivo has a phone on this list is quite surprising. But the RM899 Vivo T1x has the spec sheet to go toe to toe with the rest on this list.
Inside, the smartphone is powered by a Snapdragon 680 processor mated to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. If you really want to spend less, there is a variant with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage for RM649, but I’d recommend picking the higher memory configuration.
Keeping the lights on is a 5,000 mAh battery with just 18W of fast charging support. Up front the LCD screen is quite compact, measuring 6.58 inches and while pushing a Full HD resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate.
For photos, there’s a 50MP main camera at the back flanked by two 2MP cameras—one for depth and one for macro. Selfies are captured by an 8MP front-facing camera.
The fingerprint sensor here is also on the side, and there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack to boot.
Redmi Note 11S 5G
The RM999 Redmi Note 11S 5G is one of only two 5G smartphones on this list. This phone is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 810 processor with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage.
Up front, you’ll find a 6.6” FullHD+ LCD display with a 90Hz refresh rate as well as a 13MP selfie shooter tucked into the tiny punch hole. There is no in-display fingerprint sensor because that’s mounted to the side of the phone.
For photography, you’ll get a 50MP main camera with an 8MP ultra wide camera and a 2MP macro camera. Keeping all of that running is a 5,000 mAh battery with 33W fast-charging support.
Other goodies include a pair of stereo speakers, a 3.5mm headphone jack, an IR blaster and support for NFC which is cool.
Poco M4 5G
The Poco M4 5G is probably the weakest entry in this list, but it is the cheapest phone with 5G support. You can pick up the base model with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage for RM699.
But, I’d recommend you go for the RM899 variant which gives you 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Alongside that the phone is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 700 processor while a 5,000 mAh battery with support for 18W fast-charging keeps the lights on.
There is a compact 6.58” Full HD+ LCD display up front with a 90Hz refresh rate and a touch sampling rate of 240Hz. And in the tiny notch at the top you’ll find a 5MP selfie camera
Photography is handled by a 13MP main camera and a 2MP depth camera, so it’s definitely on the back foot in this department. But this phone has NFC and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.
Alrighty that’s it for this video. Did we miss any great phones for under RM1,000? Leave them in the comments below. Thanks for watching and I’ll see you in the next video.
