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