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If July is the month of fierce competition among cost-effective flagships, then August is a rare off-season for the digital industry.

Apart from the digital series iterations launched by Realme that focus on imaging, the only other products that have attracted some attention this month are the Pixel 9 series released by Google and the Huawei nova flip, a cost-effective folding screen phone with a very clear audience orientation. They can't even have a popular product a week, let alone empty talk like giving everyone some choice space.

Fortunately, as an industry that is changing with each passing day, such leisure days will not last too long in the digital circle.

Recently, the well-known digital blogger @数码闲聊站 on Weibo revealed that several domestic manufacturers have been preparing new mid-range phones for the September school season, and this time the manufacturers have decided to focus on the niche market, so these products have their own characteristics, and there is even the possibility of a "Black Myth" co-branded model.

(Photo source: Sina Weibo)

Of course, compared to the blogger's riddle, I think everyone should be more interested in knowing what new mid-range phones will be released in September. What are the highlights of these new mid-range phones? How do they perform in terms of cost performance? Compared with the almost all-round flagship products of various manufacturers, what are their features?

Please be patient, I, Xiao Lei, will explain it to you next.

moto S50: thin and light with a straight screen

For the digital world, small-screen mobile phones are an obstacle that cannot be avoided in this lifetime.

I don’t know if it’s because the space is poorly planned, the design cost is too high, or there are simply not many audiences, but after 2021, mobile phone manufacturers can be said to have left this track at the same time.

In the end, the only products left for those who love small screens to choose from are Xiaomi 14, Samsung Galaxy S24, iPhone 15 Pro, etc., and there is almost no product with a relatively affordable price.

So, when I saw Brother Zhan say that there would soon be a mid-range phone with a 6.36-inch 1.5K small straight screen, Xiao Lei's mind was still buzzing and he didn't react at all.

After all, this is just a mid-range phone suitable for students to live a stable life.

But if you think about it carefully, processors with the performance of Snapdragon 8s Gen3 are now priced below 2,000 yuan. If mid-range phones don’t have some special features, there will be nothing worth selling. This direction may actually work.

Regardless of whether you or I think it will work, Moto is quite confident about it.

So this phone was only exposed two days ago. Today, Motorola officially released a notice stating that Lenovo moto S50 will be on the market soon, and a blogger even exposed the main parameters of this new phone in advance.

(Photo source: Experience more)

Let’s look at the key configuration first.

The moto S50 uses a 6.36-inch 1.5K screen with a resolution of 1200×2670 and a refresh rate of 120Hz. In terms of parameters, it is at a similar level to the screen of Xiaomi 14.

(Photo source: Experience more)

The smaller screen size, coupled with the right-angle middle frame design, allows the phone to have a body width of 71.2mm, a thickness of only 8.1mm, and a weight of 172g, making it easy to operate with one hand.

In terms of feel and appearance, I think moto S50 has won a small victory.

The images are also amazing.

As for the main camera, it is most likely the same LYT-600 as the moto S50 Neo, equipped with OIS optical image stabilization. There is really nothing special about it.

However, for the secondary camera, moto equipped the S50 with a 10MP 3x telephoto lens, which is suspected to be the same 3x telephoto lens on the Samsung S24U, which greatly improves its practicality.

(Photo source: Experience more)

As for the more general part, it is in the performance configuration section.

Based on the existing information, the moto S50 is expected to use the Dimensity 7300 chip, with an 8-core CPU with a main frequency of 2.5GHz and a Mali-G615 MC2 GPU.

Maybe you are not very clear about the level of this processor, just think of it as the MediaTek version of Snapdragon 778G.

By the way, Motorola even uses the Dimensity 7300 + LPDDR4X + UFS2.2 three-piece set, as well as a 4400mAh battery and 68W fast charging, just highlighting one of them is enough.

How should I put it? I think the positioning and playing style of this machine are quite clear.

Spending all costs where they matter most, making a small-screen mid-range phone that focuses on imaging capabilities, and then controlling the price of the product may really be a way to break through.

Redmi Note 14 series: Imaging King Kong

I think everyone is familiar with the Redmi Note series.

As the "all-round little King Kong" under Redmi, this series has been focusing on imaging and texture from the very beginning, and this year will be no exception.

This means that there will be no surprises in the processor of the Redmi Note 14 series.

Among them, Redmi Note 14 Pro+, as the super cup, will most likely be the first to launch the Dimensity 7350 chip in China, which is at the level of an overclocked version of the Dimensity 7200.

(Image source: MediaTek)

As for the Redmi Note 14 Pro, it should use the Snapdragon 7 Gen3 chip, and the AnTuTu score is around 80W, which is more than enough for a mid-range phone.

Interestingly, although both chips are close to the level of Snapdragon 865, from the comparison, these two products are going to repeat last year's abstract scene of the Pro version having a stronger GPU and the Pro+ version having a stronger CPU.

By the way, there are no surprises in the screen specifications this time.

The Redmi Note 14 Pro+ still has a regular 1.5K dual-curved screen, and the front look is estimated to be similar to that of the Redmi Note 13 Pro+.

As for Redmi Note 14 and Note 14 Pro, they will maintain the straight screen design. The former will continue with 1080P resolution, and the latter will be 1.5K resolution. Both are OLED panels with equally narrow visual sides.

As for the texture, Brother Zhan said that it uses a flagship module design, which is roughly as follows:

(Photo source: Digital Chat Station)

No, this is another company’s flagship!

Of course, the main focus of the Redmi Note series is still imaging.

This time, both Redmi Note 14 Pro and Pro+ will use a 50MP large-bottom main camera. Judging from previous years' experience, it must be at least at the level of IMX906 or Light Hunter 800.

(Photo source: Digital Chat Station)

Not only that, the Note 14 Pro and Note 14 Pro+ will most likely use a 3.2x upright telephoto lens to replace the previous 2-megapixel macro lens.

Not to mention how much the telephoto capability has been improved, it’s a good thing to just cut off the lenses that were there to make up the numbers.

In fact, considering the surge in sales after the Note 13 series focused all its upgrades on design and imaging, I personally think it is very reasonable for the Note 14 series to continue this plan.

After all, Turbo has now become an independent new series, and there is no need to consider subsequent performance upgrades.

Honor X60: A new face value

Let me ask you, what was the best-selling mobile phone in the thousand-yuan price range last year?

Redmi Note 14 series? Realme GT Neo5 series? iQOO Neo8 series? If your answer is here, you have already lost.

Because the correct answer is - Honor X50!

(Photo source: Honor)

That’s right, the digital world is so mysterious. The Honor X50, a machine with mediocre performance and average imaging, has become the undisputed king in the thousand-yuan price range thanks to its good appearance design, super long battery life and above-average durability.

So on the Honor X60, they want to continue these successful factors.

The previous generation of dual-curved screens was well received by offline users?

This time, the Honor X60 will be the first to use a four-degree deep micro-curved screen in the thousand-yuan price range to achieve "curved screen form, straight screen experience". This feeling of the screen slightly floating in the air can indeed take the beauty of the product to a higher level.

(Photo source: Honor)

The previous generation 5800mAh large battery was well received?

So this time we have to increase the battery capacity further and raise it to the beginning of 6 digits, at least 6000mAh, which is enough for the target consumer group to use it for a whole day. In the foreseeable future, it will be the first tier of long-range battery life.

(Photo source: Digital Chat Station)

However, apart from this, the Honor X60 has no surprises.

There is a high probability that this phone will use the Snapdragon 6s Gen3 processor, which is a reskinned version of the Snapdragon 6 Gen1 and a down-clocked version of the Snapdragon 778G. Its performance is at a level that you can tell at a glance.

It still has a 100-megapixel main camera, still has 35W fast charging, and all peripherals are basically maintained at the level of the previous generation of products.

Considering the hot sales of the Honor X50 series, the Honor X60, which has been comprehensively upgraded in terms of selling points, is expected to remain one of the best-selling mid-range phones in the second half of the year.

vivo Y300 Pro: Amazing battery life

Well, vivo's Y series is also a familiar face among mid-range phones in the thousand-yuan range.

Although it is not well-known because it focuses on offline operations, it is definitely the mainstay of the blue factory in terms of sales volume alone.

Compared with other competitors, vivo’s goal this time is very clear: to extend the battery life to the end, so the vivo Y300 Pro is directly equipped with a 6500mAh battery and 80W fast charging.

(Image source: Whylab)

Not only that, in order to fully enhance the offline competitiveness of the product, vivo Y300 Pro will also become the first mobile phone from the blue factory to adopt an equal-depth four-curved screen, coupled with a circular rear camera module similar to the flagship, aiming for this eye-catching first-hand visual experience.

As for the weak points? They might be the mid-to-low-end processor and the unremarkable imaging module.

If I were Rong Yao, I would probably yell out at this moment:

"Potter, how dare you use my magic against me!"

Of course, vivo is not Harry Potter, and Honor is not Snape, and there is no first-come-first-served relationship between the two.

In the digital world, good designs will always tend to converge, like the centered large circle design that all imaging flagships use, the right-angle frame design that has become mainstream at some point, and the "small straight screen" design that will become a trend next year.

In the end, whoever can provide users with a better user experience at the lowest possible price will be the final winner.

In this circle, winner takes all is the norm.

Summary: The start of the school year has become a battleground for mid-range phones

To sum up, the key words for the mobile phone market in September are actually quite obvious, that is -

Back to school season.

The freshmen who are about to enter the campus are ready to start their colorful and splendid four years of college life with a series of digital products. No matter how much budget they have, the demand to buy products is an objective existence, and no manufacturer will let such a good opportunity slip away.

Therefore, before each company’s new flagship phones are launched, there will still be several mid-range phones that need to compete in the “mid-range competition” in advance.

Let me think about it. Generally speaking, mid-range products will reserve a two-month buffer period for price cuts and promotions during Double Eleven.

So Xiao Lei speculates that the mid-range phone exposed these days should be launched at the end of August or mid-September, and the price is completely in line with the mid-range positioning. The most expensive one is just over 2,000 yuan. It is indeed a very suitable phone for college students to buy.

Of course, if you have a lot of money or are not interested in this round of mid-range phones.

You can also wait and see. Putting aside the stable release of new iPhone products every year, the launch of MediaTek's new processor was advanced this year, and Qualcomm's new processor will be launched soon. It can be foreseen that there will be many new opportunities in the second half of the year.

Friends who want to change their phones will have a lot to choose from this time.