Add device testing post

Author: csswizardry

_posts/2025-08-18-low-and-mid-tier-mobile-for-the-real-world-2025.md

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+---
+layout: post
+title: "Low- and Mid-Tier Mobile for the Real World (2025)"
+date: 2025-08-18 11:23:19
+categories: Web Development
+main: "/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/moto-g4.jpg"
+meta: "Discover the most representative low- and mid-tier mobile devices for web performance testing in 2025."
+---
+
+<!--
+  - Mobile Safari keeps trying to turn handset names into addresses. Let’s stop
+    that happening for this page only:
+ -->
+
+<meta name="format-detection" content="address=no">
+
+For the casual performance enthusiast, dedicated device testing is likely to be
+overkill. However, anyone [working full time on site-speed](/services/) will
+probably benefit from having at least one real device to hand.
+
+I’m working on a project at the moment where mobile INP is our key focus, and
+while [Chrome Desktop’s
+DevTools](https://csswizardry.gumroad.com/l/perfect-devtools) has been a great
+starting point, replicating real-world mobile interactions and performance has
+been a consistent challenge.
+
+I decided to deep dive and look at what would constitute a real low- and
+mid-tier mobile device in 2025, and how that maps to the Chrome DevTools
+presets.
+
+When assessing, I wanted to factor in a sensible mix of:
+
+* **Distribution and market penetration:**
+  * how likely is it that folk actually have one of these devices?
+* **Device and hardware capabilities:**
+  * arguably the most important part of the research.
+* **Support and longevity:**
+  * how long are these devices likely to be around?
+* **Price-point:**
+  * are they sensible and reasonable prices for consumers?
+
+And remember, as we’ll look at next, trying to triangulate on one single device
+per category is a little futile in itself—sheer device diversity and evolution
+means that _anything_ we pick is going to be something of a compromise. My aim,
+however, is to minimise that compromise as much as possible and distill our
+choices down to a single representative device for each category. Can I do it?
+
+## PageSpeed Insights and the Moto G Series
+
+For the longest time, the Chrome team touted the Motorola _Moto G4_ as the
+global baseline device. As a result, I bought a physical Moto G4 and used that
+for my real-device testing, inspecting and tracing Chrome remotely. However,
+seeing as the G4 was released over nine years ago and is currently locked to
+Android 7.0, that soon stopped being entirely representative.
+
+<p class="c-highlight">If you’d like to learn more about testing with real
+devices, either Android or iOS, then <a href="/masterclasses/">arrange
+a Masterclass</a>.</p>
+
+<figure>
+<img src="{{ site.cloudinary }}/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/moto-g4.jpg" alt width="1500" height="1125" loading="lazy">
+<figcaption>My old Moto G4 is locked to Android 7 and can no longer be updated.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+In [Lighthouse
+10](https://github.com/GoogleChrome/lighthouse/releases/tag/v10.0.0), the team
+switched to an emulated _Moto G Power_ (though this was more of a viewport and
+DPR change than hardware capabilities).
+
+The key word is here _emulated_: there is no real device and all of the network
+and CPU throttling is simulated, so actually listing any device at all, to me at
+least, seems a little disingenuous. There is no Moto anything, so they’d be
+better off saying ‘low-end mobile’, or words to that effect.
+
+## Low- and Mid-Tier Mobile in DevTools
+
+In [Chrome’s
+DevTools](https://developer.chrome.com/docs/devtools/device-mode#throttle),
+that’s exactly what they do! _Low-tier mobile_ defaults to a 6× CPU slowdown and
+a 3G-like connection. _Mid-tier mobile_ is a 4× CPU slowdown and a Slow 4G-like
+network. If you take the time to calibrate these presets yourself, you’ll get
+something a little more bespoke. For me, on my development machine, a mid-tier
+CPU is 2.9× slower than my machine’s true capabilities and low-tier mobile is
+a staggering 9.1× slower. That’s quite a departure from the off-the-shelf 4× and
+6×!
+
+## Real Low- and Mid-Tier Mobile Devices
+
+It’s important to remember that **‘low-tier’ does not mean old**. Likewise,
+**‘mid-tier’ does not mean ‘a flagship from 2018’**. They are a device class in
+their own right and it’s perfectly possible for your users to be using brand new
+low-tier devices. As such, we needn’t look to the past for our benchmarks.
+
+With that in mind, let’s go find ourselves some real low- and mid-tier devices
+that we can use for real-world testing in 2025.
+
+<div data-nosnippet>
+
+<p>TL;DR: If you want broadly representative Android hardware for real-world web
+performance testing in 2025, buy a <a
+href="https://www.samsung.com/uk/smartphones/galaxy-a/galaxy-a15-5g-blue-black-128gb-sm-a156bzkdeub/"><strong>Samsung
+Galaxy A15 5G (SM-A156x)</strong></a> (low-tier) and a <a
+href="https://www.samsung.com/uk/smartphones/galaxy-a/galaxy-a54-5g-green-256gb-sm-a546blgdeub/"><strong>Samsung
+Galaxy A54 5G (SM-A546x)</strong></a> (mid-tier). Both are mass-market, widely
+ranged across regions, have multi-year software support, and map well to Chrome
+DevTools’ _Low-_ and _Mid-tier_ presets.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+### Why the Samsung Galaxy A15 and A54?
+
+* **Distribution market penetration:**
+  * Samsung leads global shipments and the _A_ series is the backbone of that
+    share. These models are sold/carrier-ranged across Europe and North America,
+    so you’re testing on what people actually use. [^1] [^2] [^3] [^4] [^5]
+* **Device and hardware capabilities:**
+  * Both are self-style low- and mid-range devices with hardware characteristics
+    to match. [^9] [^10] [^11] [^12]
+* **Support and longevity:**
+  * Both lines ship with four generations of Android OS updates and five years
+    of security patches, so they’ll have a decent shelf life. [^6] [^7] [^8]
+* **Price-point:**
+  Typically $199 for the A15 5G, well under the A54’s original $450 RRP. [^13]
+  [^7]
+
+Based on these factors along, many devices might make the grade, so let’s look
+in a little more detail.
+
+## Real Low-Tier Mobile for 2025: Samsung Galaxy A15 5G
+
+<figure>
+<img src="{{ site.cloudinary }}/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/a15.avif" alt width="1440" height="920" loading="lazy" style="mix-blend-mode: darken;">
+<figcaption>Image credit: samsung.com</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+The A15 is one of the cheapest mainstream 5G handsets Samsung markets worldwide:
+you’ll find it in Latin America, Africa, Europe, South Asia, and North America.
+That ubiquity is quite rare; most lower-end Androids tend to be regional brands
+(Infinix, Tecno, Lava, etc.).
+
+The A15 also reflects what a budget-conscious, mainstream consumer gets in
+2024/25: limited CPU/GPU headroom, middling storage I/O, and memory constraints.
+Perfect for showing how web performance characteristics change when you head
+toward the floor of mass-market devices.
+
+* **Release date:** December 2023 <span id="jsA15Age"></span>
+* **Cost at release:** $199
+* **Chipset:** [MediaTek Dimensity
+  6100+](https://www.mediatek.com/products/smartphones/mediatek-dimensity-6100plus)
+  * MediaTek say themselves that the Dimensity 6100+ chip is <q>a highly capable
+    5G SoC for mainstream and entry-5G smartphones…</q>. [^11] [^12]
+* **Memory/Storage:** 4–8 GB LPDDR4X, UFS 2.2.
+  *  Universal Flash Storage 2.2 is a almost exclusively found in low- to
+     mid-tier devices. [^12]
+* **Screen:** 6.5″ FHD+ 90Hz AMOLED.
+  * Lots of pixels, but the 90Hz panel won’t hide any jank if you don’t meet
+    your frame budget.
+* **Support window:** four generations of OS updates and five years of security
+  updates. [^8]
+* **Why it’s representative:** It’s cheap, everywhere, and carrier-marketed in
+  the US (T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon), while being widely retailed across the
+  UK/EU. That combination gives huge base coverage. [^3] [^4] [^5] [^13]
+
+### Good Low-Tier Alternatives
+
+* **Xiaomi Redmi 13C 5G:**
+  * Dimensity 6100+ chipset
+  * 6.74″ 90Hz screen
+  * Aggressively priced and widely sold in Europe.
+* **Moto G34 5G:**
+  * Snapdragon 695 chipset
+  * UK/EU ranging and very low retail price
+  * Good for testing entry level but newer hardware. [^14] [^15]
+
+## Real Mid-Tier Mobile for 2025: Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
+
+<figure>
+<img src="{{ site.cloudinary }}/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/a56.jpg" alt width="1440" height="960" loading="lazy" style="mix-blend-mode: darken;">
+<figcaption>Image credit: samsung.com</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+While not even ‘flagship-lite’—its Exynos 1380 chip and GPU are properly
+mid-market—the A54 is one of [the world’s top-selling mid-tier
+Androids](https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2023/08/29/top-10-selling-smartphones-all-from-2-companies-apple-and-samsung/),
+and it has staying power in both carrier contracts and SIM-free contexts.
+
+Further, Samsung sells essentially the same A54 device everywhere, which makes
+test data reproducible between Europe, India, Southeast Asia, Latin America,
+and even the US. Many competitors (e.g. Xiaomi, OPPO, realme) tend to fragment
+their mid-tiers by market.
+
+Finally, both the A15, and A54 get Samsung’s long software support, meaning they
+will likely still be in market for several years.
+
+I actually went out and bought myself an A54 5G after conducting this research!
+
+* **Release date:** March 2023 <span id="jsA54Age"></span>
+* **Cost at release:** $450 US
+* **Chipset:** [Exynos
+  1380](https://semiconductor.samsung.com/processor/mobile-processor/exynos-1380/)
+  * Samsung’s own chip is decidedly mid-range [^10] [^9]
+* **Memory/Storage:** 6–8 GB, UFS 2.2
+  * More RAM than the A15
+  * Still much slower storage—think HTTP cache reads
+* **Screen:** 6.4″ 120Hz AMOLED
+  * Slightly smaller screen but faster refresh rate than the A15
+* **Support window:** four generations of OS updates and five years of security
+  updates. [^7]
+* **Why it’s representative:** The A5<i>x</i> line is the volume mid-range many
+  Europeans actually buy. If your site flies here, you’re golden on most
+  mid-tier Androids.
+
+<script>
+  (() => {
+
+    // Dynamically calculate device ages
+
+    const monthsBetween = (from, to) => {
+      let months =
+        (to.getFullYear() - from.getFullYear()) * 12 +
+        (to.getMonth() - from.getMonth());
+      if (to.getDate() < from.getDate()) months -= 1;
+      return Math.max(0, months);
+    };
+
+    const formatAge = (fromDate, now = new Date()) => {
+      const totalMonths = monthsBetween(fromDate, now);
+      const years = Math.floor(totalMonths / 12);
+      const months = totalMonths % 12;
+      return `${years} ${years === 1 ? 'year' : 'years'} and ` +
+             `${months} ${months === 1 ? 'month' : 'months'}`;
+    };
+
+    const setAge = (id, year, month, day = 1) => {
+      const el = document.getElementById(id);
+      if (!el) return;
+      const release = new Date(Date.UTC(year, month, day));
+      el.textContent = `(${formatAge(release)} ago)`;
+    };
+
+    // Devices
+    setAge('jsA15Age', 2023, 11);
+    setAge('jsA54Age', 2023, 2);
+  })();
+</script>
+
+### Good mid-tier alternatives
+
+* **Galaxy A55 5G:**
+  * Successor with Exynos 1480 chipset
+  * Four generations of OS update and five years of security updates
+  * Very similar to A54 [^16]
+* **Redmi Note 13:**
+  * Europe-wide launch
+  * Note 13 5G/Pro 5G are common mid-range alternatives to Samsung in Spain/CEE
+  * Useful to cross-check different SoC/storage stacks [^17] [^18] [^19]
+
+{% comment %}
+## Regional Variants
+
+The **Samsung Galaxy A15 5G**  and **Galaxy A54 5G**  are sensible **global
+defaults** because they’re widely available, reasonably priced, and benefit from
+multi-year Android/One UI updates. Other brands and devices operate or fragment
+their handsets incredibly regionally.
+
+If you want region-specific options, I would consider:
+
+### UK & EU
+
+- **Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 (family)**: mass-market mid-tier across Europe; useful
+  foil to Samsung for SoC/storage diversity.[^20] [^21]
+- **Motorola Moto G34 5G**: budget 5G widely ranged by UK carriers; good
+  “entry-level but new” proxy.[^22]
+
+### North America
+
+- **Samsung Galaxy A25 5G**: frequently carrier-ranged as an affordable step-up
+  5G; keeps you in Samsung’s ecosystem while lowering headroom vs A54.[^23]
+- **Moto G Power 5G (2024)**: common prepaid choice; sanity-checks lower-end
+  Qualcomm/MediaTek stacks seen in the US market.[^24]
+
+### India
+
+- **Redmi Note 13 5G**: staple mid-tier with strong distribution and value
+  pricing.[^25]
+- **Motorola Moto G34 5G**: popular, aggressively priced; clean Android and
+  broad offline availability.[^26]
+- (A15 5G remains a valid low-tier global baseline here thanks to Samsung’s
+  update policy and retail presence.)[^27]
+
+### Southeast Asia
+
+- **OPPO A58 (4G/5G variants)**: A-series is a volume workhorse in SEA retail;
+  good to test OEM skin + storage I/O differences.[^28]
+- **realme C55 / C65**: value-tier phones with wide offline reach; a realistic
+  proxy for “cheapest recent Android” experiences.[^29]
+
+### Latin America (incl. Brazil)
+
+- **Motorola Moto G-series (e.g., G54/G34)**: Motorola remains strong in
+  LATAM/Brazil; G-series is the everyday baseline.[^30]
+- **Samsung Galaxy A15/A25**: ubiquitous across carriers/retailers; easy to
+  source and maintain for multi-year testing.[^23]
+{% endcomment %}
+
+## Closing Thoughts
+
+The web is used on billions of people, but not all devices are created equal. If
+we’re serious about building a fast, accessible web, we need to calibrate our
+benchmarks against hardware that people actually own and not just the flagships
+we keep in our pockets and the presets that DevTools hands over.
+
+Having just _one_ real device in your arsenal is a great place to start, and in
+2025, that’s the Samsung Galaxy A15 5G for low-tier, and the Galaxy A54 5G for
+mid-tier testing.
+
+- - -
+
+[^1]: [Canalys Q2 2025](https://www.canalys.com/newsroom/global-smartphone-market-q2-2025): Samsung #1 with 19%, lead underpinned by Galaxy A series
+[^2]: [Canalys Europe (2024)](https://www.canalys.com/newsroom/europe-smartphone-market-q4-2024): Europe returned to growth; Samsung remained #1 with 46.4M shipments
+[^3]: [T-Mobile US page for Galaxy A15 5G](https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone/samsung-galaxy-a15-5g)
+[^4]: [AT&T prepaid page for Galaxy A15 5G](https://www.att.com/buy/prepaid-phones/samsung-galaxy-a15-5g-prepaid.html)
+[^5]: [Verizon prepaid page for Galaxy A15 5G](https://www.verizon.com/smartphones/samsung-galaxy-a15-5g-prepaid/) (US only)
+[^6]: [Samsung: ‘Four generations of OS upgrades’ and ‘five years of security updates’ for select Galaxy devices](https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-sets-the-new-standard-with-four-generations-of-os-upgrades-to-ensure-the-most-up-to-date-and-more-secure-galaxy-experience)
+[^7]: [Samsung Newsroom UK launch of A54/A34](https://news.samsung.com/uk/the-samsung-galaxy-a54-5g-and-galaxy-a34-5g-awesome-experiences-for-all): five years of security updates; four generations of OS updates. £449 UK RRP for A54.
+[^8]: [Samsung product page confirms A15 5G is also offered with five years of security updates and four generations of OS updates](https://www.samsung.com/uk/smartphones/galaxy-a/galaxy-a15-5g-blue-black-128gb-sm-a156bzkdeub/)
+[^9]: [Notebookcheck review of Galaxy A54 5G](https://www.notebookcheck.net/Samsung-Galaxy-A54-5G-review-A-powerful-mid-range-smartphone-with-many-upgrades.710600.0.html)
+[^10]: [Wikipedia: Samsung Galaxy A54 5G, SoC (Exynos 1380), release, and core specs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_A54_5G)
+[^11]: [Notebookcheck: Galaxy A15 5G review.](https://www.notebookcheck.net/Samsung-Galaxy-A15-5G-smartphone-review-Important-updates-for-the-affordable-phone.819065.0.html) Dimensity 6100+ class and pricing
+[^12]: [Wikipedia: Galaxy A15 5G SoC, memory, storage, OS support summary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_A15)
+[^13]: [TechAdvisor: UK launch pricing: A15 5G £199 (A15 4G £169)](https://www.techadvisor.com/article/2176227/samsung-galaxy-a15.html)
+[^14]: [TechRadar: Moto G34 5G UK sale & £149.99 pricing](https://www.techradar.com/phones/moto-g34-review)
+[^15]: [Vodafone UK press release: Moto G34 5G](https://www.vodafone.co.uk/newscentre/press-release/the-motorola-moto-g34-5g-is-now-available-on-vodafone-evo/)
+[^16]: [Samsung newsroom](https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-galaxy-a55-5g-and-galaxy-a35-5g-awesome-innovations-and-security-engineered-for-everyone): A55 5G continues five years of security updates and four generations of OS updates policy; Exynos 1480 and EU retail presence
+[^17]: [Xiaomi global launch of Redmi Note 13 series](https://www.androidauthority.com/redmi-note-13-series-global-launch-3403087/)
+[^18]: [Xiaomi official specs for Redmi Note 13 5G](https://www.mi.com/global/product/redmi-note-13-5g/specs/)
+[^19]: [StatCounter vendor share Spain](https://gs.statcounter.com/vendor-market-share/mobile/spain): Samsung & Xiaomi dominate—useful proxy for EU mid-range tastes
+{% comment %}
+[^20]: [Xiaomi: Redmi Note 13 5G specs (global)]( https://www.mi.com/global/product/redmi-note-13-5g/specs/)
+[^21]: [StatCounter: mobile vendor share, Europe]( https://gs.statcounter.com/vendor-market-share/mobile/europe)
+[^22]: [Vodafone UK: Moto G34 5G ranged on Vodafone]( https://www.vodafone.co.uk/newscentre/press-release/the-motorola-moto-g34-5g-is-now-available-on-vodafone-evo/)
+[^23]: [Samsung UK: Galaxy A25 5G product page]( https://www.samsung.com/uk/smartphones/galaxy-a/galaxy-a25-5g/)
+[^24]: [Motorola US: Moto G Power 5G (2024)]( https://www.motorola.com/us/smartphones-moto-g-power-5g-2024/p)
+[^25]: [Xiaomi: Redmi Note 13 5G specs (global/India availability varies)]( https://www.mi.com/global/product/redmi-note-13-5g/specs/)
+[^26]: [Motorola India: Moto G34 5G]( https://www.motorola.in/smartphones-moto-g34-5g)
+[^27]: [Samsung: OS/security update policy (multi-year updates for A-series)]( https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-sets-the-new-standard-with-four-generations-of-os-upgrades-to-ensure-the-most-up-to-date-and-more-secure-galaxy-experience)
+[^28]: [OPPO: A58 product page]( https://www.oppo.com/en/smartphones/series-a/a58/)
+[^29]: [realme: C55 product page (C-series reference)]( https://www.realme.com/global/realme-c55)
+[^30]: [StatCounter: vendor share, South America and Brazil]( https://gs.statcounter.com/vendor-market-share/mobile/south-america and https://gs.statcounter.com/vendor-market-share/mobile/brazil)
+{% endcomment %}