Rating of the best budget smartphones 2018-2019

Nowadays there is a huge number of smartphones available on the market for every taste: from modest dialers to high-performance “shovels”, from budget phones to premium devices.

And, fortunately for most users of inexpensive gadgets, even relatively cheap smartphones can sometimes boast immodest characteristics worthy of flagship models. We'll talk about these devices.

What is the cheapest smartphone to buy? Is it worth choosing a budget device at all, or is it better to save up for a higher quality, more expensive model? You will receive answers to all these questions in this article.

Huawei Y5 2021

Costs, on average, 7,019 rubles.

The Huawei smartphone features a bright 5-inch IPS screen - 16:9 with 294 pixels per inch, natural color reproduction and excellent viewing angles. It even has an automatic brightness mode.

Huawei has equipped the Y5 2021 with a 3000 mAh battery. Considering its small 5-inch screen and not too power-hungry MediaTek MT6737T processor, this battery lasts for 11 hours of continuous operation at full load.

Pros:

• You can expand the memory by 128 GB.
• The 8-megapixel main camera has an f/2.0 aperture for better low-light performance. In addition, it has autofocus and a powerful dual-tone LED flash.
• Convenient proprietary EMUI shell.

Minuses:

• You cannot save applications and games to the memory card.
• There is little RAM - only 2 GB, and flash memory - 16 GB.
• The front camera, as one user put it, “clearly conveys the presence of some kind of creature in front of the screen.”

ASUS ZenFone 3 Max ZC553KL

The best choice for those who do not want to overpay and actively use the gadget for everyday tasks is the budget ASUS ZenFone 3 Max ZC553KL. When developing this model, the manufacturer relied on reliability and battery life. This is a relatively inexpensive (average cost about 15,000 rubles) and at the same time productive smartphone with a 5.5-inch screen, IPS matrix and excellent screen resolution of 1920x1080. The case is silver, metal with plastic inserts.

The eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 MSM8937 chip in combination with the Adreno 505 graphics processor is responsible for the operating speed. The amount of RAM is not impressive: only 2 GB, which is not enough for a gadget in this price category. The device has 32 GB of internal memory; a 128 GB memory card can be installed. The gadget adequately performs resource-intensive tasks, games and applications load without problems, and hardly slow down (except for the top games).

A distinctive feature of ASUS ZenFone 3 Max ZC553KL is a powerful battery with a capacity of as much as 4100 mAh . This volume is enough for two days of intensive use of the gadget. You can charge other devices using your smartphone - an OTG cable is included in the package.

Zenfone 3 Max is equipped with a 16 MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture. The photographs are high quality, rich, with good detail. The only drawback of the camera is that it takes a long time to find focus. The 8 MP front camera is not satisfactory.

• excellent OS optimization;
• capacious battery;
• high-quality camera;
• strong build;
• The fingerprint scanner functions without problems;
• bright screen.

• there is no separate tray for a memory card;
• faint sound;
• problems with OS update;
• slips in your hand.

ASUS ZenFone 3 Max ZC553KL on Yandex Market

Nokia 2

The average price is 7,460 rubles.

This inexpensive smartphone with a good camera and battery has a pleasantly heavy feel thanks to its aluminum frame. The back cover, made of polycarbonate, can be removed to access slots for two nanoSIM and microSD cards up to 128 GB.

The Nokia 2's screen is surprisingly good considering its price. The smartphone has a 5-inch LCD display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 and a good aspect ratio of 16:9. It has a wide range of brightness, which is very useful when you want something

read in the dark. The only negative feature of the screen is the thick frames at the top and bottom. The display occupies about 67% of the front panel.

Nokia 2 runs a stock version of Android 7.1.1 Nougat. The pre-installed apps include Nokia Mobile Care, which allows you to troubleshoot problems, check and manage your device's status, or check its warranty status.

Pros:

• Very capacious 4100 mAh battery.
• You don't have to choose between two SIM cards or more memory. All three cards can be used at the same time.
• The speakers and microphone work perfectly, without wheezing or voice distortion.
• The smartphone fits very comfortably in the hand.
• The main 8 MP camera has an auto focus sensor and can shoot video up to 720p at 30 frames per second. It can't compare to the quality of the best camera phones of 2021, but in daylight the photos come out bright and clear.

Minuses:

• Only 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal storage.
• The Snapdragon 212 processor is a wizard when it comes to saving power, but it's slow and won't handle modern games or a lot of open apps.
• Adreno 304 GPU does not support Open GPL 3.0.

Honor 7X 32GB – a powerful device from 2021

The selection of the best budget smartphones concludes with the Chinese Honor 7X, which was popular in 2021 due to its functionality and affordability. The cost of the device is 10 thousand rubles. The case material is metal, available in four colors – black, red, blue and gold.

Fly FS530 Power Plus XXL

Costs, on average, 5,850 rubles.

The main advantage of this gadget is the battery, the capacity of which is an impressive 4900 mAh. Given its small 5-inch screen and ultra-low power consumption MediaTek MT6737 chipset, you'll forget the last time you charged your smartphone.

Due to the presence of only 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of ROM, the FS530 Power Plus XXL will not handle either hardware-demanding games or “heavy” applications. But its rear camera is surprisingly good - 8 MP with autofocus, and produces high-quality, detailed photos in good lighting.

Pros:

• There is a slot for expanding memory up to 64 GB.
• Bright screen.
• Loud and clear sound.
• Good build quality.

Minuses:

• Weak processor, little memory.
• The back cover is very slippery and difficult to open to get to the required slots.

Motorola Moto C Plus 16GB

Motorola is slowly returning to the Russian market and offering a tangible choice among its smartphones. The budget model is Motorola Moto C Plus 16GB. An inexpensive smartphone, which could compete with, for example, the Meizu M5c.

The body is plastic, but the design is quite nice. The M logo on the back cover especially stands out. The display has a diagonal of 5 inches, resolution - HD. The processor is MediaTek MT6737, but the amount of RAM is small - 1 GB, 16 GB of internal memory. But the Motorola Moto C Plus has a capacious battery - as much as 4000 mAh, which with such characteristics should provide a high level of battery life.

• Screen diagonal: 5 inches

• Screen resolution: 1280×720

• Weight: 162 g

• Number of SIM cards: 2

• Processor: MediaTek MT6737

• Memory capacity: 16 GB

• RAM capacity: 1 GB

• Battery capacity: 4000 mAh

• Camera: 8 MP

• Memory card support: yes

• Support for 4G networks: yes

ZTE Blade A6 Lite

Can be purchased for 8,990 rubles.

In the top 10 inexpensive smartphones of 2021, there is no equal to the device from ZTE in terms of battery capacity - 5000 mAh. The 5.2-inch screen with bright and saturated colors does not glare in the sun, and the body, made of soft touch plastic, fits comfortably in the hand.

However, hidden under the beautiful body is a not very fast quad-core Snapdragon 210 processor - the youngest model of 2015. 16 GB are allocated for internal storage, and 2 GB for RAM.

Pros:

• There is a fast charging function.
• You can increase the memory by 128 GB.
• The battery holds a charge for a very long time.
• High quality build.

Minuses:

• Weak processor.
• Plastic case.
• The main 8 MP camera is inferior in quality to many competitors.

⇡#Nokia 3.1

• Operating system: Android 8.0 Oreo.
• Display: 5.2 inches, IPS, 1440 × 720.
• Platform: MediaTek MT6750N (eight ARM Cortex-A53 cores with a frequency of 1.5 GHz).
• RAM: 2/3 GB.
• Flash memory: 16/32 GB.
• Camera: 13 MP.
• Dual SIM cards, memory card slot.
• Average price: 9,000 rubles for the 16 GB version.

Why you should buy: famous brand, nice design, NFC, pure Android.

What can stop it: a simple filling, a low-resolution display.

But this is a real “alternative” to the Moto G5s located above - with a small screen, NFC and from the legendary brand. The characteristics, however, are even less attractive, especially in the 2/16 GB version, and only this one falls into the designated price segment.

Due to the latest version of pure Android (and quickly updated), the “damage” from a weak hardware platform is reduced - using Nokia 3.1 will be moderately pleasant. This feeling is reinforced by a very nice design, due to which, in fact, the smartphone made it into our rating.

Alternative: Sony Xperia L1 . Instead of a completely fresh Nokia, there’s last year’s budget Xperia. The exchange, at first glance, is so-so, but in essence they are very similar: the platform of the Sony smartphone is even weaker, it has the same amount of permanent memory and RAM. And there is about the same amount of charm: L1 has preserved the traditions of the brand, this is the very “building block” that Xperia was for many years in a row - and which it ceased to be quite recently.

ZTE Blade V8 mini

Sold for an average of 9,990 rubles.

This beautiful model with an aluminum body is equipped with a 5-inch IPS display. Its main advantage is the Snapdragon 435 processor, which is faster than the previous participants in the ranking of inexpensive smartphones in 2021 in terms of price and quality. The amount of internal and RAM memory is also okay - 32 GB and 3 GB, respectively.

The Blade V8 mini has also been named by the company as it features a dual rear camera setup consisting of a 13MP primary sensor and a 2MP secondary sensor responsible for adding depth to photos. The camera's aperture can be changed from f/1.0 to f/8.0, allowing you to take clear and bright photos at night.

Pros:

• Pleasant to the touch and durable metal body.
• You can expand the memory up to 128 GB.
• There is a fingerprint scanner.
• Quite fast, although outdated chip.
• Rich colors on the screen.
• The 2800 mAh battery lasts all day, even with intensive use of the device.

Minuses:

• Poor speaker placement. If the phone is on the table, the sound will be muted.
• Slow autofocus on the main camera.

BQ Aquaris V

This model from the Spanish company BQ can be considered universal: suitable for both work and entertainment. With an average cost of 10,990 rubles. The smartphone has attractive characteristics: Full HD screen, reliable Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 chip, sufficient RAM, capacious battery and high-quality cameras. The design is both simple and strict: a metal body with rounded edges and a fingerprint scanner on the back. The model is equipped with a 5.2-inch display with an IPS matrix and a standard resolution of 720x1280 pixels. Screen protection is provided by durable tempered Dinorex glass.

The main camera is 12 megapixels, the front one is 8 megapixels, with flash. A lot of manual and automatic settings: panorama, group photo, HDR mode, adjusting sharpness, white balance, etc. During the day, the pictures are of good quality, bright, clear, and detailed. In low light and at night, detail deteriorates, but only slightly. The battery capacity is 3100 mAh, this volume is easily enough for a day. The eight-core processor from Qualcomm allows you to load applications and games quickly and smoothly. Installed OS – Android version 7.1, with the ability to upgrade to future versions.

On a note! The smartphone is available in combinations of 2/16 GB and 3/32 GB, both of which can be purchased at prices up to 15,000 rubles.

• powerful processor;
• bright and clear Full HD display;
• reliable screen protection;
• high-quality photographs;
• constant updates from the manufacturer;
• 4G support.

• the SIM card tray is loosely secured;
• body thickness;
• It’s hard to find additional accessories on sale (cases, film, protective glass)

BQ Aquaris V on Yandex Market

Huawei Nova Lite 2017

It costs, on average, 9,990 rubles in Russian stores.

The elegant five-inch smartphone in a metal casing attracted users for several reasons. The main one is its beautiful design. It is noted in almost all reviews.

Secondly, Nova Lite 2021 has a good processor from Qualcomm - Snapdragon 425.

Thirdly, it has a very fast fingerprint scanner.

Other advantages:

• It is possible to expand the memory by 128 GB.
• The 3020 mAh battery is enough for a whole day of use “both in tail and mane.”
• There is a convenient event indicator.
• Slim body.

Minuses:

• The 13 MP main camera is of average quality, although it can be fine-tuned.
• It is better not to use it without a case, the device is very slippery.
• Internal storage has a capacity of 16 GB, and RAM memory is 2 GB.

Huawei P20 Pro: Hawkeye

Don't fall, but this is the first smartphone with a triple camera. Moreover: Huawei P20 Pro can rightfully be proud of a 40 megapixel sensor and five times hybrid zoom. So this device sees very far away: Mohammed does not have to go to the mountain, because the mountain can be easily and quickly brought closer. There is also hybrid stabilization. True, it can’t cope with shooting video in 4K, but it can handle 1080p resolution (30 fps) without problems. If you want to become a great photographer, but don’t want to carry around a healthy DSLR with you... You know what to do.

Only with this hawk's eye you need to be more careful and protect it like the apple of your eye: there is too much glass in the body, alas.

Advantages

triple camera high-quality OLED display powerful processor support for two SIM cards 128 GB of memory

Flaws

no audio jack, poor sound quality, fragile glass

Meizu M5s

Can be purchased for an average of 10,990 rubles.

The beautiful metal 5.2-inch device is offered in two versions - with 16 GB and 32 GB of built-in storage. Meizu did not skimp on the amount of RAM - 3 GB.

The MediaTek MT6753 processor installed in the M5s is the standard choice for budget and mid-range devices. You can't expect performance miracles from it, but it can handle new games at low or medium settings.

Pros:

• There is a fast charging function.
• It is possible to expand the information storage by 128 GB.
• The 3000 mAh battery lasts for at least two days of work with daily surfing the Internet.
• There is a fingerprint scanner.
• Good rear 13 MP camera with F/2.2 aperture and autofocus.

Minuses:

No FM radio.

Meizu M6

The average price is 9,590 rubles.

Design is not the strong point of this smartphone. The build quality is good, but the polycarbonate body is not as durable as metal. However, this disadvantage is compensated by many advantages. In particular, it is a 13 MP f/2.2 camera that takes very good pictures in daylight. In low light, grain becomes more noticeable. Also - which is rare for an inexpensive device - the smartphone has 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of flash memory. For those who prefer to save a little money, there is also a 16 GB version.

The gadget is also equipped with a 3070 mAh battery, a fast fingerprint scanner, and an eight-core MediaTek MT6750 processor, designed for budget-level devices. It's not very powerful, but the chipset's capabilities are sufficient for most games.

Pros:

• Excellent 5.2-inch screen with good color reproduction.
• The front camera is 8 MP, not 5 MP like most competitors.
• Android 7.0 Nougat with FlyMe OS 6.0 looks like a user-friendly interface.
• Most ports, buttons and parts of the phone are ergonomically placed. They are located in places where they are easy to reach.
• It is possible to expand the memory.

Minuses:

The only disadvantages of the Meizu M6 include its fragile plastic body.

⇡#Samsung Galaxy J4 (2018)

• Operating system: Android 8.0 Oreo (proprietary shell).
• Display: 5.5 inches, AMOLED, 1280 × 720.
• Platform: Samsung Exynos 7570 (four ARM Cortex-A53 cores with a frequency of 1.4 GHz).
• RAM: 2 GB.
• Flash memory: 16 GB.
• Camera: 13 MP.
• Dual SIM cards, memory card slot.
• Average price: 9,200 rubles.

Why you should buy: famous brand, AMOLED display.

What can stop it: mediocre performance, no fingerprint scanner or NFC, plastic case.

This option is strictly for fans of Samsung or very famous brands in general – as well as for those who know a lot about mobile displays. In this category, almost no one puts AMOLED in their smartphones (almost - because see the alternative below). But only the Korean god of marketing knows why Samsung doesn’t put an NFC module in its budget models. The Chinese at least have an effective explanation - in the Celestial Empire it is simply not needed, all mobile payments there are made using QR codes. But the Koreans have marketing, marketing and more marketing. If you want a cheap phone, be patient.

As a bonus, the front camera here is equipped with a flash, and the main aperture is ƒ/1.9. A record for this collection.

Alternative: Highscreen Fest Pro . We sacrifice a big name and get another smartphone with a screen based on organic light-emitting diodes. The diagonal, however, is five inches - now this can only cause attacks of nostalgia. In terms of performance, the Fest Pro is comparable to the Galaxy J4 (2018), but it has more memory – 3/32 GB. And it is also 2,500 rubles cheaper.

Xiaomi Redmi 5A

The average cost is 6,450 rubles.

If you are looking for an inexpensive smartphone with a good camera and good hardware, pay attention to the Redmi 5A. This model has a small 5-inch IPS screen, which is quite bright and easy to read even in sunlight. In the display settings, Xiaomi allows users to select automatic brightness mode, enable or disable reading mode (bluelight filter), and adjust text size.

The 3000 mAh battery lasted continuously for 11 hours and 22 minutes in performance tests. In comparison, the ZenFone Max Plus M1, with its over 4,000mAh battery, only lasted 11 hours and 30 minutes.

On the back of the Redmi 5A there is a 13-megapixel camera with f/2.2 aperture, autofocus and LED flash. There's a good range of camera features, including: HDR, panorama, various scenes, filters and manual mode. The best pictures with a minimum of “noise” are taken in not very bright light. However, in poor lighting, dark shades blend into each other.

Pros:

• Nice screen.
• The Snapdragon 425 processor is sufficient for most everyday tasks and games.
• It is possible to expand the memory. The microSD slot is not combined with the SIM card slot.
• The desktop can be divided into 2 desktops.

Minuses:

• There is little free built-in memory (16 GB) and RAM is also not very much - 2 GB.
• No fingerprint scanner.
• No gyroscope sensor.

Sony Xperia XZ2: plays ahead

If you want to have not just a cool smartphone, but also an intermediary between you and the virtual world, then this is your choice: the Dynamic Vibration System (DVS) will help you feel what is happening in a movie or game. Whenever you miss the cheerfully vibrating joystick of your PS4, the Xperia XZ2 will gladly come to the rescue.

An undoubted advantage is the Motion Eye camera. It became the first smartphone camera to record 4K HDR video. Its 19-megapixel sensor has its own memory, capturing video fragments at frame rates of up to 960 fps. And the predictive photography function gives the camera superpower: having deftly noticed movement or a smile in the intended frame, it immediately begins to buffer the image. The camera will do everything itself, even before you have time to thoughtfully click on the screen.

Advantages

HDR Full HD flagship performance Motion Eye Dynamic Vibration System

Flaws

large dimensions no audio jack

Xiaomi Redmi 4X

Can be purchased for an average of 12,000 rubles (in the top configuration).

First place in the ranking of high-quality and inexpensive smartphones in 2021 went to another Xiaomi model. This is the only phone in our top 10 that has three versions at once: with 16, 32 and 64 GB of built-in storage. The latest version has the largest amount of RAM - 4 GB. But it also costs the most.

The front of the phone looks the same as previous Redmi series devices. The smartphone is equipped with a 5-inch IPS display with contrasting, rich colors. The body of the Redmi 4X is made of metal and is pleasantly heavy.

The heart of the smartphone is the eight-core Snapdragon 435 processor, and its gaming performance is sufficient for most games. For example, Asphalt 8 works great with the highest graphics settings.

Thanks to the 13 MP rear camera, photos taken with Redmi 4X look quite detailed. With one condition - if they are made in daylight.

Pros:

• There is a slot for memory expansion.
• Excellent 4100 mAh battery that lasts up to 2 days without recharging.
• There is a fingerprint scanner.
• Very loud sound.
• There is an infrared port.

Minuses:

• Slippery and easily soiled body.
• The fingerprint sensor does not always work the first time.

Xiaomi Mi Max 2 64GB

The leader of the 2021 rating is the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 64GB smartphone. It contains characteristics close to flagship ones, and all this for an average amount of about 12,200 rubles. Practice shows that the Chinese brand Xiaomi today produces the best economy-class smartphones. In this case, we have a phablet with a 6.44-inch screen.

Important! Despite the impressive size of the display, the smartphone looks stylish and elegant, fits easily in a woman’s hand and is almost invisible (weight 221 g, body thickness - 7.6 mm).

The body is made of solid metal, with a choice of two color options, black and gold. The wide display with IPS matrix produces stunning color reproduction, the image is bright and contrasty.

In terms of functionality, the gadget is also pleasing: there is a fingerprint scanner, fast charging, and a modern type of USB Type-C connector. The hardware here is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 MSM8953 processor with 8 cores, reliable and productive, although inferior to the hardware of most flagships. The software is as follows: proprietary Chinese shell MIUI 8.5 and Android 7.0. However, updates arrive quickly and are installed without problems. The combination of 4/64 GB memory ensures intensive operation of the device without lags or slowdowns.

You don’t have to worry about recharging for 2-3 days, since the impressive 5100 mAh battery capacity also means excellent autonomy. The camera (12 MP main, 5 MP front) is not outstanding, but is capable of creating quite decent shots. An abundance of smartphone accessories can be found both in retail and online stores. Perhaps the best smartphone in terms of price-quality ratio.

• multifunctionality;
• build quality;
• excellent technical characteristics;
• battery capacity;
• gorgeous display;
• original OS MIUI 8.5
• laconic design

• weak camera;
• No

Xiaomi Mi Max 2 64GB on Yandex Market