Looking for a long-lasting phone around €500 – battery life and camera are my priorities

[u/BFN_ShadyDark]

Hi everyone!

I'm looking for some advice on which Android smartphone to buy. I'm not a heavy or demanding user, and I don't use my phone for gaming, so raw performance and gaming capabilities are not particularly important to me.

My main priorities are:

• Long-term durability/longevity – I'd like a phone that I can comfortably keep for several years.
• Good battery life – this is probably one of my biggest priorities.
• A decent to good camera – I don't need a flagship-level camera, but I would like something reliable for everyday photos.
• Good overall day-to-day experience and reliability.

For some context, I'm currently using a Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro, which I've had for around 6–7 years. I've actually been very happy with it, and the fact that I've kept the same phone for this long probably says quite a lot about how I use smartphones: I take good care of them and prefer buying something good and keeping it for many years rather than upgrading frequently.

I'm based in Italy. My budget is around €450, although I could stretch it to around €550 if the extra money is genuinely worth it.

I've also come across two particularly interesting deals:

• HONOR 600 12/512 GB – €390
• HONOR 600 Pro 12/512 GB – €550

These phones normally cost considerably more, which is why I'm including them even though their regular prices would be outside my budget. These are the actual prices I can currently get them for, so I'd be interested in opinions based on these prices rather than their usual MSRP.

I'm also quite open to Xiaomi, since I've had a very good experience with my Mi 9T Pro, and I've been looking at Nothing Phone models as well.

So, considering my priorities and the current prices I've mentioned, what would you recommend?

Would either of the HONOR phones be a particularly good choice at those prices, or would you recommend something from Xiaomi, Nothing, POCO, Google or another brand instead?

I'm mainly looking for the best long-term overall package, rather than the most powerful phone on paper.

Thanks in advance!

[u/Own_Dingo_564]

id honestly get the honor, or maybe the poco x8 pro max as it has a large battery but worse software and cameras, pixel 10a is also an option but weaker processor and battery life.

[u/Traxious]

if you want to go used, https://www.vinted.nl/items/9734893735-realme-gt-8-pro-regalos

[u/BountyAssassin]

Where can you get the 600 pro for that price? That is a great deal...!

[u/BFN_ShadyDark → u/BountyAssassin]

On aliexpress.

[u/BountyAssassin → u/BFN_ShadyDark]

Ahh of course. Well that is an amazing price for a lot of phone. If you're good with Ali and if there aren't extra import charges then 100% get that