Deals in India: Xiaomi 14 and 14 Ultra pre-orders start, vivo V30 and Realme 12/12+ now available

Peter, 10 March 2024

This is a week of anticipation as several high-profile launches have reached the pre-order stage. That said, some of the pre-orders that we looked at last week have graduated to open sales.

We’ll start with the Xiaomi 14 series. The two phones – Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Ultra – will go on sale on March 11 (Monday). You can already pre-order a unit with a choice of colors. However, when it comes to memory configurations, the only options are 12/512GB for the vanilla and 16/512GB for the Ultra.

Xiaomi 14 (pre-order)

12/512GB
coming on March 11
Read our review

starting at ₹60,000 at Xiaomi IN starting at ₹60,000 at Amazon IN

Xiaomi 14 Ultra (pre-order)

16/512GB
coming on March 11

from ₹100,000 at Xiaomi IN

The Nothing Phone (2a) is also on pre-order, with open sales set to start on March 12 (Tuesday). This is a more affordable version of the Nothing Phone (2) that starts at ₹24,000 for an 8/128GB model compared to ₹40,000 for the Phone (2). The original Phone (1) appears to be sold out (at least online).

Nothing Phone (2a) pre-order

8/128GB
coming on March 12

₹24,000 at Nothing IN ₹24,000 at Flipkart IN

The vivo V30 went on sale earlier this week. Like the (2a), it has a dual 50MP camera – a 1/1.55” sensor and optical image stabilization for the main camera and a 119° ultra wide. The selfie camera is impressive with a 50MP sensor of its own and a wide 21mm lens, plus dual-LED flash (vs. 32MP selfie on the Nothing, no flash).

The V30 has a slightly larger 6.78” 10-bit OLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and a higher 1,260 x 2,800px resolution. Like the (2a), it has an IP54 dust and water resistance rating. It’s powered by the new Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 and a 5,000mAh battery with 80W fast charging. The vivo has its advantages, but it does cost ₹10,000 more.

vivo V30

8/128GB
₹5,000 off

₹34,000 at Flipkart IN

The Honor 90 is closer in price to the Nothing and it flaunts a 6.7” 120Hz 10-bit display with a resolution of 1,200 x 2,664px. For comparison, the (2a) has a 1,080 x 2,412px display. Also, the Honor has a 200MP main camera with good 2x in-sensor zoom at the cost of the ultra wide module, which only has a 12MP sensor. The phone is powered by the older Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chip and a 5,000mAh battery with 66W fast charging. There’s no IP rating.

Honor 90

₹20,000 off
Read our review

8/256GB - ₹28,000 at Amazon IN 12/512GB - ₹30,000 at Amazon IN

The Realme 12 and 12+ were on pre-order last week, this week they are available. The Realme 12+ has a 6.67” 120Hz display (FHD+) and a Dimensity 7050 chipset. Its 5,000mAh battery charges at 67W.

Realme 12+

₹4,000 off

8/128GB - ₹20,000 at Flipkart IN 8/256GB - ₹22,000 at Flipkart IN

The vanilla Realme 12 uses an IPS LCD instead, a 6.72” 120Hz FHD+ panel. And while it has a weaker Dimensity 6100+ chipset, it is equipped with a main camera that has a larger, higher resolution sensor – 108MP 1/1.67” vs. 50MP 1/1.95”. The plus model does have OIS and an ultra wide camera, though. Charging for the 5,000mAh battery is slightly slower at 45W.

Realme 12

₹3,000 off

6/128GB - ₹17,000 at Flipkart IN 8/128GB - ₹18,000 at Flipkart IN

The Oppo F25 Pro is also new this week. With a price that is ₹10,000 lower than the vivo V30, some cutbacks had to be made (it's the same price as the Nothing). It has a 6.7” 120Hz 10-bit display, but with a lower FHD+ resolution. And it uses the weaker Dimensity 7050 chipset. Plus, the camera is a fairly basic 64+8MP setup. The selfie camera is better than most with a 32MP sensor and a wide 22mm lens, but not quite up to V30 standards. The 5,000mAh battery is comparable with 67W charging.

Oppo F25 Pro

₹5,000 off

8/128GB - ₹24,000 at Amazon IN 8/256GB - ₹26,000 at Amazon IN

The Tecno Pova 5 has the looks of a gaming phone and the 6.78” 120Hz IPS LCD with FHD+ is up to the task. This is a budget phone, however, so it only has a Helio G99 chipset (4G connectivity). On the plus side, it does have 8GB of RAM and expandable storage. Also, stereo speakers and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The 6,000mAh battery promises great endurance and is quick to charge at 45W. It’s not perfect, but it’s a great package for ₹12,000.

Tecno Pova 5

8/128GB
₹1,000 off
Read our review

₹12,000 at Amazon IN

The Lava Blaze Curve is an attempt to take the budget series of 5G phones in a more premium direction. As you can tell by the name, it has a curved 6.67” AMOLED display, a 120Hz FHD+ panel. It’s powered by the same Dimensity 7050 chip that we saw on several of the phones above. The 64+8MP camera is decent if nothing special, same goes for the 5,000mAh battery with 33W charging. The phone promises a clean, ad-free Android 13 experience out of the box with Android 14 and 15 on the way (and 3 years of security patches).