In many articles, a viewpoint has been mentioned that for a smartphone to be comfortably used for four to five years or more, it must meet two necessary conditions:

The first is that the processor performance must be good, because as the usage time increases, the system and applications may demand more and more performance. Even if it is smooth now, it does not necessarily mean it will be smooth in the future.

The second is that the storage space must be large. The storage space occupied by WeChat, photos, and videos will continue to grow. In fact, 256GB is hardly sufficient to meet the usage needs for more than five years. Therefore, it is recommended to start with 512GB.

At this point, some users may ask, are the smartphones that meet both of the above conditions very expensive? Actually, not necessarily. I have also found three smartphones that can meet the usage needs for five years, and importantly, their prices are all under 2500 yuan!

1. Redmi K70

This phone should be very familiar to everyone. It is the sales champion in the 2000-2500 price range, and its cost-performance ratio is extremely high. Currently, the price of its 512GB storage version is 2499 yuan, which is sufficient to meet the usage needs for more than five years. In addition to 512GB of storage, the K70 has one of the best performances in its price range in many aspects, such as:

It is equipped with a powerful Snapdragon 8Gen2 processor, which can smoothly run even some large games. With the performance of this processor, it is not a problem to meet the smooth usage needs for five years.

In addition, it also uses a combination of a glass back cover and a metal frame, which has one of the best body textures under 2500 yuan. The Redmi phone finally does not have a cheap feeling anymore.Then its screen is also a highlight, featuring a 6.67-inch 2K resolution straight screen with a 526 PPI, offering an exceptionally delicate display effect. Moreover, it employs a Qingshan eye protection solution, making it relatively more comfortable for the eyes during extended viewing periods.

Additionally, its endurance and charging capabilities are not to be overlooked, equipped with a 5000mAh battery and 120W fast charging. For most office workers, it can achieve a full day's charge with particularly fast charging speeds, with real-world tests showing that it can go from 0% to 100% in under 25 minutes.

Lastly, let's discuss the less impressive aspects of this phone, which is its secondary camera performance. It uses an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera combined with a 2-megapixel macro camera. However, its main camera is quite practical, featuring a 1/1.55-inch sensor known as the Light Hunter 800, so while photography is not a strong point, it is not a drawback either.

2. IQOO Z9 Turbo

It is considered one of the most competitive phones under 2000, and its 512GB storage version is priced around 2300, making it an extremely cost-effective model. In my view, while this phone may not have the comprehensive product power of the Redmi K70, it has a particularly strong advantage, which is its exceptionally long battery life.

The IQOO Z9 Turbo is equipped with a massive 6000mAh battery, and from real-world testing, it can achieve over 10 hours of screen-on time under moderate workloads, which is a top-tier performance among all smartphones, eliminating any anxiety about battery life when going out.

Furthermore, in the performance aspect, which is of great concern to many, the IQOO Z9 Turbo also excels. It features a Snapdragon 8S Gen3 processor combined with LPDDR5X memory and UFS 4.0 storage, easily scoring around 1.7 million points on AnTuTu, only slightly weaker than the performance of Snapdragon 8 Gen2 phones, and still capable of providing smooth usage for over five years.

Additionally, its screen quality is commendable, featuring a 6.78-inch straight screen with Huaxing C8 substrate. A notable feature is its ability to achieve quasi-DC dimming at all brightness levels, which is relatively more eye-friendly.The IQOO Z9 Turbo ultimately has two shortcomings. First, its body texture is relatively poor, featuring a combination of a plastic back cover and a plastic frame, which gives off a sense of cheapness upon handling. Second, its photography capabilities are subpar; even the main camera only uses a LYT-600 sensor with a 1/2-inch sensor size, which is indeed somewhat lacking.

Despite these shortcomings, overall, the IQOO Z9 Turbo still has some appeal, thanks to its 512GB large storage, 6000mAh huge battery, Snapdragon 8S Gen3 processor, and a decent Huaxing C8 display.

3. Realme GT Neo6

The previous generation's Realme GT Neo5 was actually positioned to compete with the K60 and OnePlus Ace2, but this generation's Realme GT Neo6 seems to be positioned slightly lower. Currently, the price of its 512GB storage version is around 2400, and its comprehensive configuration also has a certain competitive edge among smartphones in the same price range.

First, let's talk about its performance. Like the IQOO Z9 Turbo, it also uses a combination of Snapdragon 8S Gen3 processor, LPDDR5X memory, and UFS 4.0 storage, which can achieve a high score of up to 1.7 million on AnTuTu, offering performance very close to that of Snapdragon 8 Gen2 smartphones, and is equally capable of handling long-term smooth usage.

Its screen quality is excellent, featuring a 6.78-inch 1.5K straight screen, built on an 8T LTPO circuit, which is naturally smooth and power-efficient. This screen also has an ultra-high peak brightness of 1000 nits in manual mode and 1600 nits in global mode, offering better outdoor visibility than many flagship phones. Additionally, it supports a combination of 2160Hz high-frequency PWM dimming at low brightness and quasi-DC dimming at medium to high brightness, which can alleviate eye fatigue caused by prolonged screen viewing.

Its endurance and charging performance are also good, with a combination of a 5500mAh battery and 120W fast charging. From actual tests, it is also a model that can be used moderately to heavily for a day on a single charge, with the full charging time controlled within 30 minutes.As for the shortcomings of this smartphone, I believe everyone has guessed it: its photography performance is average. It uses a 1/2-inch sensor IMX882 as the main camera, which does not produce high-quality images. It seems that there is no model with good photography performance among the relatively low-priced models, and this pattern has not been broken so far.

In conclusion, for users with a limited budget who want to buy a phone that can last for more than five years, whether it's the Redmi K70, IQOO Z9 Turbo, or Realme GT Neo6, they are all suitable choices. This is because, in addition to having good processors, the price of their 512GB storage versions is all controlled within 2500, and their overall cost-performance ratio is indeed very high!