In 2021, more than ever, midrange phones seem to have become the most attractive alternative to flagship phones. We started to see high midrange phones with flagship processors, and even some that competed with gaming phones in performance, although they cost twice as much. The big promoters of the performance of midrange phones were the processors: MediaTek Dimensity 1200, Snapdragon 778, Snapdragon 780, Snapdragon 870.
They further blurred the line between midrange and flagship. We started to see optical stabilization on main camera phones under 3000 lei and sometimes it was added in this area with extras that did not reach the flagship: gimbal, ZEISS optics, selfie camera with optical stabilization and 4K filming and dual LED flash, Bokeh Flare capture. And if you're set on high battery life, you're more likely to get it on a 2021 midrange phone than on a flagship Snapdragon 888, which has proven to be a big consumer.
With all these criteria in mind and with an addition to the gaming and design chapters that I think are important, I have compiled a top 10 of midrange phones from 2021 below:
10. Huawei nova 9
Huawei nova 9 was the most important phone brought by Huawei globally in 2021. Huawei P50 Pro remained only in China. The high midrange terminal debuted in Vienna and stands out with its 50 MP main camera, with sensor taken from the Mate 40 Pro, according to my excavations. It also has the second most powerful midrange processor from Qualcomm in 2021: Snapdragon 778, it's right in a 4G version. It has an easily recognizable design, with the ring around the main camera and the oval shape of the module, with two circular areas with photo sensors.
The back has a kind of "glitter" integrated in the panel, and the OLED screen is a good gaming one, bright and with a refresh rate of 120 Hz. However, pay attention to the high temperature after tens of minutes of gaming. nova 9 was very good in terms of autonomy, both in terms of video playback and continuous use. Bonus points and for charging from zero to 100% in just 42 minutes. What pleasantly surprised me was the 4K footage of the 32 MP selfie camera, which makes the handset ideal for vlogging. The lower speaker jumps 100 decibels, so we also check the quality acoustics. At the end of the year, it dropped below 2000 lei, and at the beginning it came with Huawei bonus headphones.
9. realme 8 Pro
Before we tested the realme GT 5G and the realme GT Neo 2 and were pleasantly surprised by them, we had a surprise with the realme 8 Pro in the spring. It was not only the first phone I tried properly Astro Photography and Astro Videography, but also the first phone without a telephoto camera that showed us that you can get quality zoom through crop from a 108 MP photo with the main camera. He was the only one who succeeded in everything I tested. The result was not only good at 3X, but shockingly good at 5X as well. Then there is the issue of huge autonomy, with 22 hours and 26 minutes of video playback and 15 hours and 45 minutes of continuous use. The charging is not bad at all, in 46 minutes, and the screen is a quality one and taking into account the special gaming options, you can play well on this phone.
8. live X60 Pro
vivo X60 Pro was the official phone of the EURO 2020 competition, but also a formidable midrange phone. Among others, it was the only one in 2021 that boasted gimbal stabilization for the main camera and one of the few midrange phones that came with a telephoto camera, even with a 2X optical zoom. It also had the advantage of ZEISS technology, a company that does not even collaborate with anyone and co-developed the optics of this phone in vivo. It was made of premium materials, with a very bright screen, 619 LUX and refresh rate of 120 Hz, so it was good for gaming. The Snapdragon 870 processor no longer needs introductions, we know it because it kidnaps 2020 flagships.
He almost bit the top 10 battery life on the video playback test, with over 21 and a half hours, and the 59-minute charge wasn't bad. In the end, his strong point was the stabilization of filming, which leads to zero tremors, vibrations, image shake and sometimes even surpassed flagships. The software was unobtrusive, without bloatware, not stunned by anything special. I also noticed the extensive details of 4K filming and fast connectivity. It could replace a flagship, but it also had a tailor-made price, which fell at the end of 2021.
7. OnePlus Nord 2 PAC-MAN Edition
It may seem like a new choice, but it's as if the standard OnePlus Nord 2 was trivial to include here. I went with the PAC-MAN version, which I really liked, as a concept and execution. A gamifying phone, with easter eggs and a playful packaging, plus bundled bonuses, the terminal celebrates the 41st anniversary of PAC-MAN. The basic version is not bad at all, in the idea that it has a bright screen, with only good gaming refresh rates and inside is the best MediaTek Dimensity processor from 2021, among those on terminals that arrived in Romania.
It's about Dimensity 1200 5G, which is somewhere at the level of Snapdragon 870, let's say. It was also the first phone to bring a 50 MP camera to the midrange area before it was cool and offered battery life over the Galaxy A phones of 2021. In addition, it was charged in just 28 minutes from zero to 100%, which which puts it in 2nd place all the time among the phones we tested. He was also good at acoustics, jumping 103 decibels at games.
6. Motorola Moto G100
The Motorola Moto G100 was the first high-midrange phone in 2021 to really compete with flagships, at least in 2020. It came out in the spring with a large battery and was the first Snapdragon 870 phone I got. It also marked a first, first contact with the Ready For platform, which turns a combination of phone + monitor + keyboard + mouse into a desktop replacement. All this with large diagonal gaming, resizable windows, large diagonal video calls, mirroring. Autonomy was good for heavy use and stabilization was effective. He also had that advanced Macro camera with the ring flash around it, practically the only rival that tried a certain microscope concept apart from the OPPO Find X3 Pro. It was also one of the very few dual front camera phones in 2021. The laser rangefinder helps a lot in focusing.
5. live V21 5G
Since October, I've called vivo V21 5G "the selfie phone of 2021 ... and more." That's because it has a 44 MP front camera, capable of 4K filming, optical stabilization, autofocus and dual LED flash. The selfies are made at maximum resolution and the skin looks perfect, while the background is captured with a lot of details. It's probably the best vlogging phone of 2021, though it doesn't cost much. It is also useful for productivity at the office, the selfie camera is also used for very clear video calls. Despite its slim waist, it impresses with its autonomy, offering 21 hours of video playback and catching the top 10 in continuous use, with 16 hours and 39 minutes.
It also has a very good Night Mode, excellent Bokeh, fairly fast charging and a bright screen, a 90 Hz AMOLED grandparent for games. The 7 nm processor isn't bad at all, even for games. The purple gradient of the back will conquer any wannabe influencer.
4. OPPO Reno6 Pro 5G
OPPO Reno6 Pro 5G has reached a new version in our country, being in fact the OPPO Reno6 Pro + 5G. It was also the first phone to usher in the concept of Bokeh Flare and take video capture with blurred backgrounds to a new level. Now, in addition to blurring, I also had an amplification of the light sources in the background, for a cinematic effect like in movies and commercials. It had perhaps the best Bokeh filming of 2021, well above that of the iPhone 13 Pro. The design was sleek and the screen was huge and bright, catching the top 3 brightness between 2020-2021 and surpassing hundreds of phones. It was excellent on its own, you loaded it every 2 days and when you did, the power only lasted 38 minutes.
Don't underestimate the 50 MP main camera with optical stabilization, one borrowed from OPPO Find X3 Pro and producing flagship results. It stabilized very well during filming, had fabulous colors and a top 5 Night Mode, including compared to flagships. I think it was also one of the best phones when it comes to making a night portrait of a person.
3. Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
If Huawei P40 Lite 5G was the hit of Black Friday 2020, then Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G is the hit of Black Friday 2021. The offer with it at 1499 lei and Galaxy Buds 2 gift headphones was excellent and I personally know a few people who took the phone to offer. I understand them perfectly, because it's a very solid package: from the Snapdragon 778G 5G processor and the 120 Hz Super AMOLED screen, both only good for gaming, to the 32 MP selfie camera with 4K footage, only good for vlogging. The main camera has optical stabilization, a rarity in the midrange area. Other rarities include stereo speakers, audio jack, microSD slot, IP certification and the included charger.
The main camera is one of the best in the area of terminals under 2000 lei and I mean here the clarity of photo captures, well calibrated colors and 4K filming with generous details. He also takes memorable selfies, both with and without Bokeh. It also has the colors purple and green to attract young audiences, but also the sober, white and black.
2. realme GT 5G
For me, this was the "Pocophone" of 2021, the one that democratized the Snapdragon 888 processor and took it to the 1999 lei area when the GT 5G real phone had special offers. It was also the first phone with Snapdragon 888 that gave us a satisfactory autonomy after a few models that suffered a bit due to the energy-hungry chipset. Not to mention the car-inspired aesthetics, something you don't see every day, especially in the yellow version of the phone. The 30-minute charge sold the phone on its own, I'd say.
And realme UI 2.0 was a plus, with plenty of customization options, special gaming features, or rather modes like Pro Gamer Mode, Balanced Mode and Low Power Mode. It also had Wi-Fi 6, 5G, audio jack and good movie. Gamers enjoyed a 120 Hz AMOLED screen, but not a huge one, but enough to easily handle the phone with one hand in portrait mode. The film is also well stabilized, even in 4K.
1. realme GT Neo 2
The winner of my top 10 midrange phones in 2021 is realme GT Neo 2. What's funny is that if I wrote this top 3 weeks ago this phone was not in the first place, but it was realme GT 5G. Now that I've tested it and released more than one "WOW", but about 3 "WOWs" it's clearly something special. Let me tell you a few superlatives:
Somehow the rear camera capture looked better than the realme GT 5G, though it was the same photo setup, but maybe the image signal processor helped. It is simply the most complete midrange phone of 2021, without any defects that would prevent the purchase and with some unexpected records. Gamers can take it into account, travel and vloggers, of course, but it also has Bokeh Flare capture.
Conclusions:
I look in the top 10 and see a year of small brands. realme is far from a mammoth to fight with Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi, but here it started to matter because of its performance and autonomy. vivo has also grown, relying on exclusive partnerships such as Zeiss and the inclusion of gimbal, but also the idea of a selfie phone. Samsung remains relevant, bringing even more flagship features to a midrange phone, while OPPO has revolutionized mobile phone vlogging.
OnePlus gives us gamification, powerful processors and ultra-fast charging, while Motorola has bet on productivity and a kind of microscopic capture. Huawei also appears at the top after an absence, with a phone relevant for young vloggers and gamers. 2021 was the year of increased autonomy, of selfies at the level of capture with the main camera and of gaming phones for any pocket, even under 2000 lei.
Remember that you can also vote for the best midrange and flagship phones of 2021 in our dedicated polls.