[Video] Best Phones Under RM2,000 in Malaysia (2026): The Real Winners

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If you’re upgrading from a 2 or a 3-year-old phone or refuse to spend RM5,000+ on a flagship, this article is for you because the sweet spot in 2026 is right here –  under RM2,000. 

Four phones, four different strengths and one clear winner at the end. So, watch first and buy smart.

vivo V70 FE

First up, the vivo V70 FE. You get three colors. The hero color is the Muse Purple. It’s also available in Ocean Blue and Urban Silver. It has a flat front, flat back, and straight edges. It looks clean and even premium, but it comes with a plastic back. 

However, here’s where vivo surprises you. An IP68 and IP69 on a RM1,599 phone. Just for context, the IP68 means that it survives being dunked in 1.5 m underwater for 30 minutes. An IP69 means that it can handle high pressure water jets, which means that if you blast your playlist in the bathroom, they’ll be totally fine. But vivo will not be responsible for your singing. 

The real reason you would buy this phone is the camera. 200 MP on the main sensor with OIS at RM1,599. My pathetic Sony A7S III is crying in the corner because the shots are detailed, colors are very punchy, which is great for portraits and also great for landscapes as well. And it’s superb both in daylight and very decent at night, too. 

The Dimensity 7360-Turbo chip inside a mid-range is very solid for you to use daily, but do not expect some gaming glory, of course. But the battery though, 7,000 mAh. Let me put that in perspective. Most phones in this price range or even flagships are pushing only about 5,000 mAh. 

Although there’s one in this particular list that pushes beyond 7,000 mAh, but more on that later. But this one goes to 7,000 mAh with 90 W of fast charging. So, in real use, I almost went two full days without even touching the charger, and that is great for a phone under RM2,000. 

The display is a 6.83-inch 1.5K AMOLED 120 Hz refresh rate screen with a 1,900 nits of peak brightness. So, it does look very nice outdoors and absolutely smooth when it comes to scrolling. 

So, who is the vivo V70 FE for? Well, if you want a really good camera and a battery that just wouldn’t die as fast as Arsenal’s dreams of winning the Premier League, and if you don’t care much about gaming performance, this is your phone. Starting once again at RM1,599, it’s the best value entry on this particular list.

Nothing Phone (4a)

Next, the Nothing Phone (4a). If you watched my reviews or all of my reviews of Nothing phones, you know that I have a very complicated relationship with Nothing phones because I love what they stand for. You know, they have a very clean software, bold design, no nonsense, and the Nothing Phone (4a) is the most “Nothing” phone yet. 

Let’s talk design first. Gone are the old Glyph interface from the (3a). What you get right now is the Glyph Bar, which is a single strip of light across the back of the phone, which is simple, cleaner, and more refined. The transparent back still shows off the internals, and you can see the components underneath the glass as well. 

And there’s even a little red recording light, which I really begin to love even more. So, yeah, it still looks like nothing else on the market, pun intended.

The display is a 6.7-inch 1.5K AMOLED display with a 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate. And get this, 4,500 nits of peak brightness. And that is the brightest display in this entire list. 

So, under the sunlight in Malaysia, which honestly feels like standing in a oven on certain days and standing under a waterfall on certain days, this particular screen stays perfectly readable. Speaking of readable, there’s also the brand new Essential Voice that lets you transcribe your voice into the utmost perfect way, which is coming early May on this particular Nothing Phone (4a), but is already on the flagship Nothing Phone (3) and coming soon on the (4a) Pro. 

Performance-wise, it comes with a Snapdragon 7s Gen 4, smooth for daily use and handles gaming quite well.

But of course, among all of the Android phones in this particular list, it has the cleanest and the most bloatware-free Android experience that you can get right now. No sponsored apps, no weird preloads, just pure and fast Android, which has Nothing OS 4.1 on top of Android 16.

As for cameras, it has a 50 MP main, a 50 MP telephoto lens, an 8 MP ultra wide, and a 32 MP selfie lens. And yes, the photos are sharp and natural. 

Nothing has this really good habit of not overprocessing like some other brands do. So, what you see is exactly what you get. Then the battery is at 5,080 mAh of battery specifically here in Malaysia or the Malaysian variant with 50 W of wired charging. Good for a full day use very much easy, not the monster battery of the vivo and another phone in this particular list. 

But of course, it was more than enough for normal use. But one thing to note though, because it has an IP64 rating, splash resistant, not fully waterproof. And for a RM1,999 phone, I would definitely like to see, and I’m sure you would agree too, to at least have an IP68 rating, but that is the only real gripe. 

Because besides that, if you really want a phone that looks different, feels premium, and just works, this is it. 

Samsung Galaxy A37 5G

And then let’s go into phone number three, the Samsung Galaxy A37 5G. I know what some of you may be thinking. Samsung in this price range, why bother? Well, here’s why. 6 years of OS and security updates. 6 freaking years! 

Now, that means that if you buy this phone today in 2026, Samsung will still be supporting this in the year 2032. By then, my baby boy will be in primary school and still this phone will be getting updates. Surely the strongest software support in this entire list. 

For the specs, it has a 6.7-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate.

It also comes with the Exynos 1480 chip, the same one on the Galaxy A55. It has 5,000 mAh of battery with 45 W of wired charging and IP68 rated too. 

While the Exynos 1480 chipset is not the fastest in this group, but it is still a very solid chip, trust me. And of course, the 45 W charging does feel a little slow next to the competition, but Samsung’s One UI version 8.5 on Android 16 is smooth, polished, and very familiar. 

Then, of course, there’s the Galaxy AI features baked in like Circle to Search, Object Eraser, Photo Assist, and there’s of course more features too that you normally find on a Galaxy S series. Here at a price of only RM1,799. 

The camera is a 50 MP main, an 8 MP ultra wide, a 5 MP macro camera, and a 12 MP selfie lens. And the photos are reliable, very consistent, and true to Samsung’s color science. No more oversaturated nonsense, which every other phone tends to do, especially within this price range. 

The biggest yes for me on this particular phone is the nighttime photography. Surely the best in this particular list. So, if you’re the kind of person who keeps their phone for three, four, or even 5 years, this is your phone because the update promise is real. The build quality is very reliable, and the Samsung ecosystem just works.

POCO X8 Pro Max

Finally, this is wild. The POCO X8 Pro Max is coming at only RM1,999. So, inside this phone is a Dimensity 9500s chip. That is near flagship silicon chipset and that is the kind of chipset that you usually get on phones costing between RM3,000 to RM4,000 and somehow POCO crammed it in exactly in the RM2,000 ceiling. 

But when it comes to performance benchmarks, insane gaming, buttery smooth multitasking doesn’t even flinch. And if raw power is what you’re looking after, nothing else in this list comes close. 

The display is a 6.83-inch AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate, 3,500 nits of peak brightness and a Gorilla Glass 7i protection. It also has IP68 and IP69 rating too.

The camera is a 50 MP Main with a Light Fusion 600 sensor which has solid shots, good details, and reliable processing. But it’s not really a camera first phone. So, keep that in mind compared to the F series or even the flagship Xiaomi series. But it does hold on its own. 

However, the battery though, 8,500 mAh of battery. I’m going to say that again. 8-freaking-500 mAh of battery with 100W of fast charging!

POCO claims a 2-day battery life. Very humble, POCO. Good job. But in my testing, I almost got 2 and 1/2 days easily, which was really madness if you think about it. Even with heavy use like gaming, watching videos, and scrolling till kingdom come. It’s basically a power bank that makes phone calls. 

It runs on HyperOS 3 on Android 16, which is Xiaomi software, and it is functional a bit busier than Nothing OS or even One UI, but it did clean up a lot. One thing to note is that at 218 g, this phone is heavy, heavier than my hopes of Liverpool doing well under Arne Slot. 

So, if you prefer a lighter and a slimmer phone, you need to keep that in mind. But if you want the most raw performance and the biggest battery at RM2,000, this POCO X8 Pro Max is untouchable. 

Conclusion: Best Phone Under RM2,000

So, in conclusion, four phones under RM2,000, all worth considering. But let me break it down first:

• The vivo V70 FE is best for camera lovers and has a good battery for RM1,599.
• The Nothing Phone (4a) is best when it comes to having a very clean software and also a very unique design at RM1,999. 
• The Samsung Galaxy A37 5G is perfect for long-term reliability and software support from RM1,799.
• And finally, the POCO X8 Pro Max is best for pure performance and an insane battery with a price of RM1,999. 

But you asked for just one winner, right? Well, my pick is the obvious, the POCO X8 Pro Max. And here’s why. Because at RM1,999, you’re getting a flagship performance, a display that rivals phones twice the price, and a battery that lasts at least 2 days, an IP68 and IP69 protection, and all of that under the RM2,000 ceiling. So, that is pure value.

But if you hate heavy phones and you want the cleanest software experience, then the Nothing Phone (4a) is right there.

But if you’re buying for your parents, your spouse, or someone who keeps their phone for years, the Samsung Galaxy A37 would be a good choice. 

But the vivo V70 FE has to be the best camera in this particular list.

But for most people, especially for my regular viewers, the best phone under RM2,000 right now is the POCO X8 Pro Max. 

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[Watch the full review video on YouTube here]

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Related:

• vivo V70 FE Review: 200MP For THIS Price?
• This Phone Is NOT Boring: Nothing Phone (4a) Review After 2 Weeks