Rating of the best low-cost smartphones for 2024

Inexpensive smartphones of various brands are incredibly popular with the average consumer. First of all, the user is interested in the relationship between the concepts of cost and technical characteristics. What financially affordable models of leading manufacturers are most in demand in 2024 will be discussed in the presented article.

Criterias of choice

When deciding on the choice of a mobile satellite, a potential buyer pays attention to the following points:

• ergonomics and product design;
• display picture quality;
• performance;
• volume of information storages;
• the capabilities of the main and selfie cameras;
• autonomy;
• the presence of additional, providing comfort, functions;
• the price of the product.

A potential buyer of a gadget is guided by the above parameters, as well as the responses of the owners of the devices of interest to them and the results of tests.

Best budget smartphones

Redmi note 7

The brand's devices are distinguished by their affordable cost and decent technical characteristics. In particular, Note series smartphones attract the user with a capacious battery and a good display. Which is absolutely true for Redmi note 7, in which, in addition to the above, an excellent camera and an original solution for external design have found application.

Often, Redmi's design is a familiar version of the visualization of a modern device, which has a place for a great variety of such devices. In the model under consideration, they worked on the appearance: they added a fashionable gradient, the back cover was made of glass and the vertical camera was removed. In addition to the classic black, there is a choice of more interesting colors: hazy red or neptune blue. A noticeable difference from the models belonging to earlier generations is the appearance of the display: a drop-shaped notch is located closer to the top edge, which makes its area slightly larger. In addition, the screen of this model features large viewing angles and maximum brightness, as well as improved color rendering. The IPS display with a resolution of 2340 * 1080 is equipped with a protective glass panel Gorilla Glass 5.

Active use of the phone during the day is possible thanks to the 4000 mAh battery. The gadget works on a single charge for 1-3 days, fulfilling the various needs of the owner. It should not be forgotten that MIUI has provided power saving settings, as well as a fast charging function.
The company did not save on the processor: it supplied Qualcomm Snapdragon 660. The configuration of the 14nm technology includes an 8-core processor. Graphics accelerator - Adreno 512. RAM is represented by variations of 3/4/6 GB, ROM - 32/64/128 GB, respectively. If necessary, you can expand the memory by installing a microSD. The electronic device is fast and smooth, most of the games are run at maximum settings.

The gadget supports 2-band wi-fi, ac standard, Bluetooth version 5.0, but does not have NFC.

Cameras for the budget level are not bad. The rear one consists of two modules: the main one has a resolution of 48 megapixels and a lens with f / 1.8; additional, which measures the depth of field and creates the effect of blurring the background, with a 5 megapixel sensor and a lens with an f / 2.4 aperture.Flash is bright, adequate autofocus, optical stabilization is not provided.

• updated design;
• full screen FHD + Dot Drop display;
• Corning Gorilla Glass 5;
• good indicator of autonomy;
• good cameras.

• lack of NFC.

Honor 8X

The X series, which partially possesses the flagship features and design features of the leading models, is revealed in a new way in each of the representatives of the line. So, in 8X, developers have increased the usable display area to 91%. In order to achieve this indicator, the engineers have developed a new design of antennas for the smartphone. 8X and a microUSB connector is installed under the glass. In addition, they worked on the design of the phone: they used a dozen glass layers with different levels of reflection. A distinctive feature is a dual camera with a scene recognition function, night mode implementation, the ability to create video at 480 fps. Among other things - the demanded FNC chip, a slot for 3 cards (2 SIM cards and memory cards), 4/64 GB (4/128 GB) of memory sufficient to satisfy the needs of an ordinary user, a 3700 mAh battery.

The design of the 8X is similar to that of its predecessors. A distinctive point is the design of the rear panel: it consists of reflective and practically non-reflective glass. The first is allocated approximately ¾ of the entire surface, the remaining ¼ of the area is occupied by the second.

The model is presented in 3 colors: elegant black and two bright ones (blue and red).

The display has a diagonal of 6.5 ″ - the largest available in the arsenal of smartphones presented by Huawei. The matrix produced by LTPS technology has a resolution of 2340 * 1080 pixels. In the upper part there is a small bang.

As marketers assure, the model is equipped with a second generation vision protection mode, which reduces the proportion of blue color in the screen backlight in order to reduce eye fatigue.

The device operates on the Android 8 version. The native shell Emui 8.2 is used. Considering performance, it should be noted that the device is based on the Kirin 710 single chip.

Like most devices, Honor has a 3750mAh battery. In conditions of active use from morning to evening, this charge should be sufficient.

The rear camera consists of two modules: the main one with a resolution of 20 MP and an f / 1.8 lens and an additional one of 2 MP. The front camera has found a 16 megapixel sensor and a lens equipped with an f / 2.0 aperture.

The device supports the ranges LTE FDD, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC.

• availability of NFC;
• pleasant reproduction of the color palette, sufficient viewing angles;
• good call quality;
• good performance level.

• susceptibility of the glass panel to scratches.

Samsung Galaxy A40

A40 differs in compact dimensions. This model has a lower height, width and weight than its predecessors. The display has a diagonal of 5.9 ″. If we talk about the ratio of the dimensions of the display to the body, the smartphone has the best indicator among its brothers - 85.5% of the front surface is occupied by the screen. A similar result was obtained due to the minimal size of the frames around the screen and a small chin: in this it is similar to the flagship Galaxy S10.
The phone case is made of plastic. The assembly was done with high quality.

The A40 uses a good quality Super AMOLED display with an aspect ratio of 19.5 to 9. It is bright enough, conveys rich colors and contrast. At the same time, it is distinguished by excellent visibility in the sun. It is convenient to read with it in a dark room at minimum brightness. Since this type of screen is capable of supporting acidic tones, for those who prefer a less saturated color gamut, support for several color profiles is provided.

The drop-shaped notch for the camera is hidden, but this takes up a useful part of the screen (unlike similar designs of Xiaomi and Huawei), since the notification bar moves down. The top of the screen is covered with Gorilla Glass 3.

The phone is equipped with a mid-budget Exynos 7904 chip. This processor is not very powerful. However, its performance is sufficient to quickly launch applications and animations.The implementation of game processes is also possible: heavy variants function at medium settings without failures. 4 GB of RAM is enough for a significant period of time.

The battery capacity is 3100 mAh. This indicator is not high, but it may be enough for daytime use, given the implementation of telephone conversations, short games, watching videos online, listening to music, organizing mini-photo sessions.

On the rear side of the device there are two cameras: the main one with a resolution of 16 megapixels with an aperture of f / 1.7 and a wide-angle one, which has the corresponding characteristics of the following values: 5 megapixels and f / 2.2. Selfie camera with a matrix resolution of 25 megapixels, in good lighting conditions, provides a high level of detail, as well as a wide dynamic range. Maximum video resolution FullHD at 30 fps. An interesting proposal from the manufacturer is the self-moji function, by selecting it when starting the front-end, you can create a cartoon character with your own appearance.

The device operates under Android 9. The One UI shell used is designed to facilitate the process of controlling the device with one hand. Considering the size of the gadget, which fits comfortably in the palm, the finger reaches almost every element of the display.

• ergonomics;
• image quality;
• stable operation of the capacitive fingerprint sensor;
• the presence of an NFC chip.

• short cord for charging the battery;
• low quality headphones;
• fast appearance of scratches on the back panel.

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus

The design of the device retains the features inherent in a typical Sony Style: general austerity of the external design, large size of the upper and lower frames, sharp-angled. The phone is made in 4 colors: black, gold, blue and pink. Model will appeal to those who like to feel the weight of the device in their hand. For those who are a fan of thin and lightweight gadgets, this is rather a minus.

The 5.5 ″ screen, made using the IPS technology, will not be able to cause any special complaints: it has good viewing angles, natural color palette reproduction, high display resolution (Full HD). There is an oleophobic coating. In street light, the picture on the display becomes less bright, but readable.

The work of the device is controlled by Android 7.0 and the branded shell Xperia UI. The heart of the electronic device is the MediaTek MT6757 Helio P20 quad-core chipset. This processor is not able to meet the increased demands of those who are used to exploiting the gadget to its fullest, incl. for active games.

The sizes of the memory are: operational - 4 GB, built-in - 32 GB. It can be expanded with a removable memory card.

As for the battery life, at first glance, the thickness and weight of the product suggest a higher value than 3430 mAh, and the indicated value may seem low. But the test results are generally decent - a continuous ten-hour video display is being implemented. For an active user, the device works on a single charge for a day, and with a low load - up to 2 days. The phone supports fast charging mode.

The main and rear cameras are characterized by resolution indicators of 23 megapixels and 8 megapixels, respectively, and an aperture value of f / 2.0. Photos in the daytime are of good quality. Photos taken under artificial lighting can be blurry. When shooting at night, remember to lower the brightness, because the image may be overexposed.

• good screen image quality;
• the ability to make contactless payments via NFC;
• the presence of the port of Tour C and the aptX code;
• separate slots for memory card and 2 nanosim-cards, which makes it possible to use them simultaneously.

• weight and dimensions of the product;
• average productivity.

Meizu M6T

Model the budget segment is equipped with a full-format display, a dual camera that allows you to create pictures with a blur effect, fingerprint sensors and face recognition.

The body of the smartphone is polycarbonate. Almost the entire front panel is occupied by a bezel-less display that protects 2.5 D glass. The size of the side frames is minimal. Navigation through the menu is carried out by means of the virtual button mBack, which is built into the screen. On the back, you can find a centrally located vertical block that includes a dual camera. Above it - a flash, below - a fingerprint scanner. Rounded corners ensure a comfortable fit in the user's palm.

The 5.7 ″ Full-View screen with an 18/9 aspect ratio is characterized by a resolution of 1440 * 720. Thanks to the IPS-matrix used in the device, a good color palette and comfortable viewing angles are realized. The only drawback is that the brightness margin may not be sufficient if you operate the phone under a bright sun. However, the anti-glare properties of the matrix make up for this moment.

The gadget is based on the Mediatek MT6750 8-core processor. Graphics accelerator - Mali-T860MP2. The model has two versions: a regular one with RAM / ROM indicators - 3 GB / 32GB and an advanced one with 4 GB / 32GB (64GB) memory, respectively.

It is possible to increase the size of the information storage using a memory card up to 128 GB.

The battery capacity is average at 3300 mAh: this charge will last for 1-2 days of active use, depending on the operations that the owner will carry out. The smartphone runs Android 7.0. The most frequently used programs will be accelerated by the One Mind technology.

The speaker in the Meise M6T is loud enough. The sound through the headphones is normal, but not perfect. Supported networks LTE, Bluetooth 4.1. A hybrid slot for 2 sim cards is provided.

The dual camera of the phone is equipped with a main 13 MP sensor and an additional 2 MP module, providing you with the best pictures in daylight conditions. The front 8 MP camera has a Samsung CMOS sensor with 2.0 aperture, which allows you to get better images. ArcSoft editing algorithms allow you to make adjustments to the smallest details of the resulting image.

• modern frameless screen;
• security with face and finger scanners;
• good picture quality of the main dual and front cameras.

• processor performance: lacks power for a number of games;
• there is no USB Type-C connector;
• there is no demanded NFC.

Summarizing

The rating presented above is based on indicators of the technical characteristics of gadgets and the level of popularity with an ordinary buyer. Basic data on each of the rating positions are presented in the table below: