The 10 Best Budget Android Phones (Updated 2020)
On the hunt for an affordable Android phone? Fortunately, there are more efficient models, so here are the best budget Androids in 2020.
Over the years, the tech industry, specifically with regard to android based smartphones, has seen an exponential evolution. On paper, this is a great thing, but the more features expand, the more expensive they seem to become. However, it possible to find and acquire some of the best budget Android phones.
These mobile handsets bearing the latest tech any company has to offer are known as flagship models. Going for the best budget android phones is a great way to test some of the new advancements on high-end phones. You do not have to enjoy exceptional features by spending all your savings and earning to buy an expensive phone.
This review includes some low- and mid-range budget phones from new and established brands. Since different brands of phones are always trying to find innovative ways of improving their phones, there is a more expansive selection of cheap androids for buyers to choose from. These options are loaded with useful capabilities and superior technologies that are worth trying.
In this guide, you will find some of the best budget Android phones available on the market today.
1.The REDMI Note 8
2.Samsung Galaxy A51
3.LG Phoenix 3 M150
4. Huawei P30 Lite
5.Galaxy S10e or S10+
6.UMIDIGI A7 Pro
7.TCL 10L
8.Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
9.Huawei Honor 8X
10.Moto G stylus
1.The REDMI Note 8
The REDMI Note 8 Pro by Xiaomi stands out as a practical budget phone with some of the best Smartphone features on the market. That is no surprise considering the work Xiaomi puts in work toward the development of quality, affordable handsets.
Starting off with build quality, the Note8 Pro comes with an interesting exterior. While the frame is made from plastic, the rest of the device is a gorilla glass 5material. All you need to know about gorilla glass is that it offers superior protection. The gorilla glass may be an excellent addition for durability purposes but doesn’t provide the best grip.
Since the battery included on the Note8 Pro is bulky, it puts this device on the heavier side. That shouldn’t be a big deal considering the hours of use its 4.500mAh delivers. Even users with high demand needs can get a good full day out of the Note 8 pro without recharging it.
The handset is designed with a curvy exterior and a glossy finish. These contribute to the elegant external aesthetics of this model. Considering this handset relies on LCD tech, the display on this device isn’t the best. However, it is bright enough and offers sufficient vibrancy and sharpness.
The audio technology on this model is pretty standard and offers adequate audio output. At the bottom of this device, you will locate the audio jack, USB charging and data port, and the speaker outlet.
Read More Key FeaturesIntroducing the Samsung Galaxy A51, a budget handset with a great display and some impressive accompanying capabilities. Since its release in December 2019, this model has done exceptionally well. The A51 has some decent processing power running on the Exynos 9611 chipset. Other note-worthy specifications on this phone include the 128GB storage capacity and a 4GB RAM. With these, performance on the Samsung A51 is reasonably smooth.
Backed by a bright AMOLED display, this phone delivers sharp images on the screen. The display operating at a 2400 by 1080p resolution and will remain clear and bright even under direct sunlight.
If you are big on photography, then this model will not disappoint you. The handset comes stacked with a wide-angle lens, an ultra-wide lens, a depth lens, and a macro lens. All these lenses are equipped to serve different aspects of photography and help take great shots. Using the A51, photography in the day time or even under low light circumstances shouldn’t be an issue.
The model comes with a standard audio jack, a speaker, and a USB-C for charging and data transfer purposes. Speaking of charging, the Samsung A15 is powered using a 4,000mAh battery that will serve low demand users quite well and offer reasonable screen time to intensive users before needing to recharge.
Read More Key FeaturesThe titan black LG Phoenix 3 M150 has an impressive front camera of 5MP. The selfies’ light feature imitates the properties of the main camera by lighting up the display for good looking selfies. The awesome front camera also takes automatic shots the moment it detects a face. The 5MP rear camera has an outstanding autofocus feature that intelligently streamlines the focus generating sharp images.
The android phone utilizes a 1.1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 MSM8909 processor with a 1.5 GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. This is enough memory to run essential apps without any noticeable glitches. You can upgrade the memory up to 32GB by fitting a memory card on the MicroSD slot.
The LG Phoenix supports the necessary smart mobile connections. The phone has an FM radio receiver and is 2G/2G/3G/4G mobile network-enabled. Also, included is a 3.5mm audio jack. A business person looking for a primary phone for communication would benefit much from this phone. The M150 has a removable Li-ion 2500 mAh battery, which lasts for 16.5 days on standby and supports 14 hours of talk.
The 5-inch display has a resolution of 480x854px. From the screen, enjoy remarkably clear images. The screen is equally interactive. You can perform other great features on the screen, like tapping on it to wake the phone instead of using the power keys. You can also create unlimited patterns to lock your home screen, by merely tapping on several points on the screen that assume a pattern.
Read More Key FeaturesTogether with the P30 and P30 Pro, the Huawei P30 Lite constitutes the newest generation of Huawei’s P series of smartphones released in early 2019.
Since this is the Lite version of the P30 collection, many of the features available here are step down versions of those on the premium models. The Lite exterior looks like its P30 counterparts since some of the finishing details are recurrent on all these models. Other notable exterior features include the conveniently placed fingerprint sensor and the simple curved edges that help users grip the device comfortably and adequately.
The phone is available in different shades, from a colorful gradient blue to a plain shiny black exterior.
Upon turning this phone on, you will notice its gorgeous full panel display on a 1080 by 2312 pixel screen that measures 6.15 diagonally. Moreover, this IPS display is quite bright, offering a high contrast display even when outside or when wearing shades. If you enjoy watching stuff on your phone, then this display is quite fitting for this activity.
Moving on, this P30 Lite model features a similar tri-eyed camera design available on the P30 phones. The camera is stripped down and will not produce the quality of images its Huawei P30 counterparts can. That being said, the P30 Lite has a 24MP primary camera, 8MP wide-angle camera at the back, and a 32MP front camera. With these, you can take some decent shots and videos, reaching a maximum 1920 x 1080p resolution.
Audio output on this model is available through a standard headphone jack. You can play anything on the single mono speaker that is quite loud.
While this model features excellent processing power for various intensive operations, the 3340mAh battery used is not the greatest fit.
Read More Key FeaturesIf you are familiar with the Galaxy S10e or S10+ by Samsung, then you will definitely enjoy the S10e and everything it has to offer. The device is made with a great selection of features, many of which are available on the higher end S10, and can rival other flagship phones. With such a competitive edge, it is easy to see why this budget-midrange handset gives some flagship models a run for their money.
The E on this model's SKU stands for essentials. Samsung designed the S10e with every essential smartphone feature you might need. These range from convenience features to a great camera and even performance parts.
The S10e is significantly smaller than the rest of the S10 device but makes much sense ergonomically. Many users find this 5.8-inch model quite convenient to operate even using one hand. Additional features such as the old school capacitor finger sensor may seem dated compared to the new school sensory technologies on the other S10 models. However, this sensor works quite well with the smaller S10e design and is very sensitive to the touch.
On the exterior, theS10e features a nice rounded bottom and a flat display, deviating from the signature infinity screen many Samsung devices have taken on since 2015. The S10e handset comes with a good display, albeit not as great as the S10 one. A 2220 by 1080 resolution and the 19:9 aspect ratio on this AMOLED panel is more than enough for the S10e.
The cameras on this model are identical to those available on the premium S10 model, except without the telephoto camera.
Read More Key FeaturesUMIDIGI A7 Pro is a dream-come-true for photo lovers. With AI-powered cameras, this phone captures clear, highly-detailed 16MP pictures with both its rear-facing and front-facing lenses.
Artificial Intelligence supports many of the camera technologies in the phone such as AI scene detection and AI Beautify to help produce professional-looking pictures quickly. The front-facing camera also uses AI technology for facial recognition when face-unlock is set as a security mechanism.
To ensure both night time and daytime pictures are bright, the camera has a large aperture of f/1.8 that directs a lot of light to the sensor. Nighttime photography is further enhanced by the Super Night mode in the phone which labors to capture as much detail as possible from a scene.
The phone has a 16MP wide-angle lens and a 5MP depth lens to allow you to experiment with different photography styles. Using the wide-angle lens, you can create breathtaking landscape photos that are in focus while with the true-depth camera, you can capture wowing portrait images.
For storage of photos, applications, and other types of data, the Umidigi comes with either a 64GB or 126GB internal memory card. You can expand the storage space further using a micro-SD card of up to 256GB.
The phone boasts an Octa-Core Helio P23 processor that operates at a speed of around 2.3GHz. The functioning of this processor is boosted by the 4GB RAM present on the phone because it allows quick access to actively-utilized data and supports multi-tasking activities.
Read More Key FeaturesBoasting real-time display optimization, the TCL 10L is the best phone for a stunning visual experience. This phone is equipped with a 6.53-inch Dotch LCD screen that uses NXTVISION technology to digitally enhance, sharpen, and increase the vibrancy of your visuals.
The Dotch screen renders visuals from edge to edge of the phone, owing to the thin bezels. This screen design gives the phone an ultra-modern look.
The phone has a quad-rear camera with a dual-LED flash that enables you to take jaw-dropping pictures. The main camera uses a 48MP lens to capture highly-detailed clear shots and makes use of AI technology to ensure images appear true-to-life.
For capturing breathtaking landscape pictures, the phone uses an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens with a 118-degree angle of view. This lens allows the camera to fit a lot of the details in your surroundings into one picture frame.
When taking poignant portrait images, the phone uses its 2MP depth camera to focus on the object in the foreground and blur its background. The 2MP macro lens in the phone works similarly to the depth lens except that the macro lens magnifies the foreground object.
Using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665, this phone processes information at a speed of between 1.8 and 1.9GHz. The 6GB RAM further boosts the data processing speed by readily availing information to the processor and supporting multitasking.
Read More Key FeaturesEye-catching and sporting top-notch technology, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro blends fashion and function perfectly. Equipped with a 6.67 inch Dot Display, the phone renders visuals in stunning HD with an aspect ratio of 20:9.
The Dot display has a bezel-less look, owing to the edge to edge screen that has a punch-hole for the front-camera. This display gives your phone more room for showing images and a futuristic appearance.
Since its rear case is also covered in glass, albeit an eye-catchy colored one, the phone looks like a glass chassis. To prevent the glass from breaking easily and developing ugly smudges, it is made of corning gorilla glass and has an anti-oil coating. There is also a P2i water-repellant coating on the screen to allow you to walk freely in the rain.
The phone can come in white, grey, blue among other shades, and has a slim profile that makes it easy to fit into your pocket. You can also comfortably hold and carry around the phone due to its meager weight of 7.06 ounces.
To ensure tasks are executed quickly, the phone uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G processor with an operating speed of 1.8GHz. Together with the 6GB RAM on the phone, the processor ensures that your phone feels snappy and smooth, and multitasking is supported.
For capturing pictures, the phone has a 64MP rear camera that produces highly-detailed clear images. This camera can also record 4K videos with a frame rate of 30fps.
Read More Key FeaturesThe Huawei Honor 8X is a budget phone with a high-end display. Thin bezels surround the 6.5 inched display for an all-screen front. The 1080x2340 display bears 397 pip densities, making everything from movies to pictures look sharp and pleasant to the eye.
The 19.5:9 aspect parallels vibrant colors for your movies and games as well as excellent viewing angles for your shots. The impressive screen can be customized to your liking depending on the brightness, color density, and screen size you desire. Most importantly, the screen has the Eye Comfort Mode to protect you against eye strain.
You will be attracted to the Huawei Honor 8X by a light-reflecting metal behind with enough grip to protect the phone from slipping off your hands. The phone will also honor you with a 4GB RAM and an extra 64GB storage that you can still expand to get 400GB more using a microSD.
The dual SIM phone is powered by a non-removable Li-Po 3750mAh mash battery. The turbo battery, coupled with full FPS graphic processors guarantee hours of smooth gaming. The phone also features an intelligent power saving mode to increase the battery life.
The Huawei Honor 8x is designed for the good life. What good thing can’t you capture with the dual 20MP+2MP rear camera? With the Night shot mode, the cameras are designed to capture impressive shots even under low light conditions. To the front, the phone has a 4-in-1 light fusion and multi-frame image processing 16MP camera for colorful groundies and selfies.
Read More Key FeaturesThe Moto G stylus is an affordable alternative to Galaxy Note 20. If you are always on the go, you can jot down points on the screen, and the notes will be converted into text.If not for any other feature, you should buy the Moto G Stylus for its camera. With a 48MP primary sensor and 2MP macro sensor camera on the back, you can capture all the details in a picture regardless of the lighting conditions. The f/1.7 aperture adjusts for light as needed. The 12Mp camera employs Quad Pixel technology for bright, detailed, and crisp images and videos.The Moto G Stylus guarantees its users satisfactory utility from whatever app, by ensuring the battery does not run out. The 400mAh battery is designed to last two days on a single charge. Better still, you will enjoy 19 hours of uninterrupted movies and games from the Max Vision full HD display without depleting the battery.In addition to the crystal clear audio powered by Dolby tuned dual stereo speakers, the Moto G Stylus has 4GB of RAM and 128GB extra room for music and games. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 octa-core processor equates to fast performance.Walk to your freedom by owning the Moto G Stylus. The phone is unlocked and gives you the will to choose from multiple network carriers, which best works for you.
Read More Key FeaturesPurchasing a budget phone, just like buying a high-end one is still a complicated process, if not more challenging. The same amount of evaluations and considerations must be made in the pursuit of the perfect cheap phone. Here is a brief guide with more.
Reasons to Invest in a Budget PhoneAffordability is the primary and most obvious reason to invest in a budget phone. And with that affordability comes the ability to choose your favorite brand at a convenient price. Budget Androids are an excellent way to experiment with various tech advancements and actively participate and engage with them.
That said, many critical factors influence this kind of purchase. The variety of features you are interested in is the most influential of these factors.
Important Features You Shouldn’t MissIf you plan on doing a lot of photography or actively engaging your Instagram audience with a great smartphone camera based portfolio, then a good camera is a top priority. Although most budget Android phones are made with far less superior cameras than their flagship counterparts, this is no excuse to settle for less. Always check that the primary and secondary camera MPs, aperture, and other lens specifications are above average.
Battery quality is an imperative part of all phone purchases. You may have all the best features on flagship models crammed into a cheaper phone, but that won’t matter if the battery is insufficient. Unfortunately, most budget Androids have batteries largely incomparable to higher-end models, though there are still cost-efficient Androids that make the most of their battery capacities.
Speed and performance on any phone mostly matter, especially if you plan to do more than just multitask using different apps. Mobile gamers, more so, need phones with enough speed and processing power. Such capabilities ensure their phones keep running smoothly without interfering with their games. A minimum 4GB RAM with ample storage and powerful enough processor should be the baseline for your budget purchase.
A good exterior is similarly an essential part of phone purchases. Many affordable phone options are enabled with good shells and anti-damage features to protect the device. For example, phone makers like Xiaomi, Samsung, and many others use durable material like Gorilla Glass. While budget Androids may not surpass the quality of exteriors on current flagship phones, many incorporate different additions to their exteriors for longer-lasting bodies.
Now that you've got the know-how, you can safely identify the best budget Android for you!
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Share this Buyers Guide About The Author Rachel Scherer (39 Articles Published)Rachel a talented writer who is in consistent search for knowledge in offering exceptional SEO solutions. She prides herself in driving traffic to websites by providing engaging and informative content.She has gained tons of experience in providing blog/website content for reputable companies such as The HOTH and Verblio. Although she can competently handle any type of content writing niche, she has special interest in product reviews. Joining ScreenRant and CBR.com is the highlight of her career as a freelance writer. Rachel finds providing consumers with honest and detailed reviews about the best products on the market quite fulfilling. Her hobbies are reading novels, watching movies, dancing, and swimming. She also loves trying out different recipes during her free time.
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