Best
budget smartphones: buying advice
The first thing that you should know
when buying a budget smartphone is that there's always a compromise compared to
top-of-the-range phones out there. Don't expect performance to rival the latest
iPhone or other high-end
Android
smartphones. Although budget smartphones will offer similar features
to the most expensive phones, they're built to a price, so tend to have
lower-quality, lower resolution screens, slower processors, less storage,
poorer cameras and fewer features (such as no NFC or support for 4G).
There are two main operating systems
that you will find on a budget smartphone: Google Android and Windows Phone 8.
Both of these operating systems will let you download the major apps such
Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Whatsapp and more. However, if you want Google apps
including Gmail, YouTube, Maps and others, you should to opt for a smartphone
running Android.
We like Windows Phone, but the choice
of apps is much more limited, especially when it comes to UK-specific ones and
those for physical gadgets such as smart home devices. Also, apps may not have
the same set of features that you get on Android. You can't download TV shows
from BBC iPlayer on Windows Phone, for example. And that will be a deal-breaker
for some people.
Hardware
Processor
At the moment we have a strange
situation where some cheap phones have the same processor - and performance -
as much more expensive phones. For example, the new 4G version of the Motorola
Moto E has the popular Snapdragon 410 CPU. Yet, there are lots of phones
costing twice at much as the Moto E's £109 price with exactly the same chip.
What's important is not the
benchmark results (they're a way to compare phones to see if one is better or
worse than another) but whether they feel responsive in real-world use. You'll
need to read our reviews to find out whether a phone performs well or not.
Battery
Battery life is also a factor in
performance. However, there's isn't a great difference between the best and
worst budget phones in this respect. They generally have similar size batteries
which typically last a day (and a bit) in 'normal' use.
Of course, if you use the phone for
hours on end to browse the web, use it as a sat nav, play games or watch videos
you'll find the battery might run out well before the day is out. Battery saver
modes won't really help here, since the only modes which will significantly
extend battery life will also prevent you from doing those things and limit use
to phone calls and text messages.
Screen
When it comes to screens, arguably
the other component you should care about, there are some things to look out
for. One is resolution. With screen sizes gradually increasing, low resolutions
mean text and icons can look blocky and jagged. On a 5in screen, 1280x720 is
the minimum you want, but higher is always better. On smaller phones with, say,
4.5in screens, you can get away with 960x540, but again a higher resolution is
better - all else equal.
Screen quality and brightness may
not be so important to you, but it's worth checking our reviews to find out if
a screen is particularly good or bad.
Cameras
People's phones are increasingly
their main camera, so it pays to choose a phone with the best possible camera
for photos and videos. Cameras are the first items to be cut down in budget
phones, so it's common to find low-quality, low-resolution sensors and lenses.
We always take test photos and videos and explain whether they're any good or not
in our reviews.
What you can't do is to look at a
camera's specifications and work out if it will take good shots or not: the
numbers are largely meaningless.
Don't overlook the front camera.
It's rare not to get one at all if you're spending over £60, but quality varies
hugely. Avoid anything with a very low VGA (640x480) resolution and aim for at
least 1.2 or 2Mp. Numbers do matter at this level, as manufacturers often
really skimp on the front camera, so if selfies or Skype chats are order of the
day, choose a budget phone with a good front camera.
Software
We've already mentioned the
difference between Android and Windows Phone. Android is the best choice for
most people, but be aware that manufacturers often add their own interfaces on
top of Android. Google's own Nexus phones and Motorola's have 'plain' Android,
but the rest are customised to greater or lesser degrees. Again, our reviews
will give the specific details.
Some of these interfaces have extra
features worth having, or a replacement camera app that's much better than the
stock Android one. Others take it too far and can also be sluggish and
unresponsive.
Going or a phone with plain Android
generally means you'll get any updates faster, especially when a whole new
version of Android comes out. It can be a wait of many months for other phones,
or they may not get updates at all.
Customer
service and warranty
We recommend buying phones from
somewhere that offers good customer service and easy returns, should you be
unlucky enough to have any problems with faulty hardware. Cheap deals might
seem tempting, but they could turn out to be expensive if you can't get a
faulty phone repaired. We've put together a guide on buying from the grey
market which explains the advantages (and many disadvantages) of buying from
the increasing number of Chinese retailers which offer shipping to the UK.
Best
budget phones reviews:
20.
UMI Fair
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 11 November 15
- RRP: £95.19 from European warehouse
The UMI Fair has an excellent
specification for not a lot of money. With a thin, metal frame it looks much
more expensive than it is, and it includes all the features you're likely to
need with a removable battery, microSD support, a fingerprint scanner and
dual-SIM 4G LTE connectivity. Performance is adequate and the camera more than
satisfactory, making this something of an all-rounder.
Read our UMI Fair review.
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 19 March 15
- RRP: £49.99 with £10 EE top-up
The Microsoft Lumia 435 is the best
phone you can buy under £50, even accepting the tired old Windows Phone apps
argument. Bottom of Microsoft's line-up and just £49.99 on PAYG it's by no
means a great phone, but for first-time or light users it wipes the floor with
similarly priced Android phones (and iOS at this price point is just a pipe
dream - or a nightmare, but whichever way you look at it, it's not going to
happen). Unlike the more expensive Lumia 535, Microsoft has confirmed that the
Lumia 435 will get Windows 10 when it is released later this year, which will
make this the cheapest entry point for a Windows 10 computer, and that alone
makes it well worth a look.
Read our Microsoft Lumia 435 review.
18.
UMI eMax
Mini
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 17 November 15
- RRP: £95.19 from China (plus import duty); £122.39 from Europe
The UMI eMax Mini is a very decent
attempt at a budget Android phone with mid-range specs, and a strong rival to
the Vodafone Smart Prime 6 that tops our budget phones chart. It's slower than
the original UMI eMax in our benchmarks, but in real-world use it feels just as
fast. The cameras have been improved and also the design, in our opinion,
resulting in a cheap phone that offers strong value for money.
Read our UMI eMax Mini review.
17.
Ulefone
Paris
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 21 October 15
- RRP: £88.39 (plus taxes - shipping from China)
The Ulefone Paris is a great budget
buy at £88, but bear in mind that you may also need to factor in import duty.
Even so, it's a great rival to the £125 Vodafone Smart Ultra 6, which sits at
the top of our budget smartphone chart, with faster core hardware and 4G
dual-SIM functionality, but a lower-resolution screen. The camera isn't as
impressive as the rest of this budget phone's spec, but it's still acceptable
for such a cheap device.
Read our Ulefone Paris review.
16.
UMI Iron
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 20 October 15
- RRP: £149.99 inc. VAT
The UMI Iron is a good buy at
£149.99, and the first we've seen to include eye-scanning security. This is a
cool feature, if no more secure than the requirement for a four-digit PIN.
Although the heart-rate scanner didn't work in our tests and the Micro-USB
charging port seemed oddly misshaped, the UMI Iron nevertheless offers a good
set of hardware and more than acceptable performance for the money.
Read our UMI Iron review.
15.
UMI eMax
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 9 July 15
- RRP: £115.59 (plus import duty)
UMI's eMax offers superb value for
money. It's not as good-looking as other UMI phones we've reviewed, but the
eMax has a big and bright full-HD screen for enjoying media and more, and
showed very capable performance in the majority of our benchmarks. Photography
is decent at this price, and enthusiasts will appreciate the Rootjoy support.
At £115 you can't go far wrong with the UMI eMax.
Read our UMI eMax review.
14.
Ulefone
BeTouch
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 14 July 15
- RRP: 147.06 (plus import duty)
Ulefone's BeTouch is an unrivalled
deal at £147. It's fast, it's dual-SIM with 4G connectivity, it has a working
fingerprint scanner for security, the screen is large and with an HD resolution
plenty crisp enough for the money, and there is absolutely no bloatware. A few
minor quibbles aside, it's genuinely difficult to fault this phone at this
price.
Read our Ulefone BeTouch review.
13.
UMI Hammer S
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 20 October 15
- RRP: £108.79 inc. VAT
We really like the UMI Hammer S.
It's not the fastest phone you'll find at this price, but it's fast enough for
daily use. The design is nice, and genuinely useful technology - USB-C and the
fingerprint scanner for example - comes at an attractive price. A strong rival
to the excellent Vodafone Smart Ultra 6.
Read our UMI Hammer S review.
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 14 May 15
- RRP: From £13.50 per month, £109.99 PAYG or £129.99 SIM-free
The Microsoft Lumia 640 is a worthy
upgrade over the Lumia 630, and this Windows Phone now presents very good value
for money. This is the Moto G of the Windows world, with a near-identical spec
and a £20 lower price tag. Which phone you choose will come down to your
software preferences - many users will be happy with Windows Phone, but if
third-party apps feature heavily on your wishlist you may find that extra £20
for the Moto G money well spent.
Read our Microsoft Lumia 640 review.
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 9 April 15
- RRP: £149 inc. VAT
If you're looking for a cheap 4G
smartphone then the Moto E 4G is the best deal on the market right now. If you
would rather have a cheap dual-SIM phone with 3G connectivity then the mark 3
Moto G is your best bet. But the new Moto G 4G for 2015 is not the best phone
for either customer, and its larger, higher-resolution screen, marginally
improved photography credentials and stereo sound are not enough for us to turn
a blind eye to its £60 higher price, slower hardware and missing software
features.
Read our Motorola Moto G 4G 2015 review.
10.
Moto G 4G
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 13 August 14
- RRP: £135 inc VAT
Motorola's Moto G is the best budget
smartphone around. At £135 it's got great build quality, an excellent screen,
decent cameras and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean soon to be upgrade to 4.4 KitKat.
Read our Moto G 4G review.
9.
EE Rook
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 22 July 15
- RRP: £39 inc VAT (existing customers)
If you don't mind the basic design,
the EE Rook isn't a bad little phone at all. We can hardly argue with the price
of £39 for existing customers and the performance is better than we expected
for a sub-£50 phone. It's mainly the miserable viewing angles of the screen
which put us off so you are better off spending a little more if you can afford
it.
Read our EE Rook review.
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 21 October 15
- RRP: £109 inc VAT
If you love Samsung Android phones
then you'll like the Galaxy Core Prime. It does lack a few features, but the
missing ambient light sensor is one cut corner too far. For only £79, we prefer
Vodafone's Smart Prime 6. It has a 5in 1280x720 screen, better cameras and an
ambient light sensor. Plus it runs an essentially plain version of Android.
Read our Samsung Galaxy Core Prime review.
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 12 November 15
- RRP: 149 Euro + 12 Euro shipping (approx £105 + £8.50 shipping)
Although you can't just walk into a
shop and buy it in the UK, this Just5 Blaster 2 is certainly a better
budget buy than the Samsung Galaxy Core Prime. At around £105 it's no
surprise to find a plastic build, but we appreciate the inclusion in the box of
interchangeable colour covers. The screen is good, if a little dull, and
performance is spot-on at this price point. The cameras are acceptable, and the
software free of bloat. A good all-round budget option.
Read our Just5 Blaster 2 review.
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 15 September 14
- RRP: £145 inc VAT
With a bigger screen, much better
speakers and improved cameras, the new Moto G is a great budget smartphone. The
lack of support for 4G will be a deal-breaker for some, though. It isn't
without its rivals, but if you're specifically looking for a budget dual-SIM
Android phone, it's a good choice.
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 7 July 15
- RRP: £99 inc. VAT
We're much keener on the Harrier
Mini than we are its bigger brother. While both phones offer very good value,
£99 sounds much more appealing than £199, and we prefer the Mini's more compact
design. Performance is slower and the screen isn't as good, but you won't get
top-end specs from either phone. But as much as we think the Harrier Mini is a
great deal, the Vodafone Smart Prime 6 offers better value. It's £20 cheaper
and has a larger, better screen, and it seems more adept in photography. Buy
the Harrier Mini over the Smart Prime 6 only if you'll benefit from Wi-Fi
Calling once it becomes available.
Read our EE Harrier Mini review.
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 24 September 15
- RRP: £129 inc VAT
For a brand-new smartphone maker's
first effort, we're impressed with the Wileyfox Swift. It's a stylish little
handset which offers essentially the same specs as the Moto G for less money.
We love the customisation available in Cyanogen OS but elements such as the
cameras aren't as good as rivals. Vodafone's Smart Ultra 6 remains a better
option for slightly less money - unless a 5.5in screen is too big in which case
look at the Smart Prime 6 as an alternative.
Read our Wileyfox Swift review.
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 25 June 15
- RRP: £79
The Vodafone Smart Prime 6 is a
great budget smartphone that we think is worth more than the £79 that Vodafone
asks for it. Its processor may not be able to compete with grey-market phones
like the Doogee F1 Turbo Mini, but it handles day-to-day use just fine with no
noticeable lag. While the Moto E 4G performed slightly better during our
benchmarks, the Smart Prime 6 has a bigger screen, better camera and is £30
cheaper, making it our choice out of the two handsets.
Read our Vodafone Smart Prime 6 review.
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 3 March 15
- RRP: £109 inc. VAT
The new Moto E 4G is a worthy
upgrade over the original Moto E, with upgrades in every area. For an extra £20
it adds 4G LTE connectivity and a front-facing camera, plus performance and
storage improvements. It might not be as fast as the grey-market Doogee F1
Turbo Mini, but this Moto E 4G is a much better deal than the EE Kestrel,
making it the best budget 4G phone intended for UK sale we've seen.
Read our Motorola Moto E 4G review.
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 4 August 15
- RRP: £125
The Vodafone Smart Ultra 6 is worth
its £125 price tag without a doubt. It's one of the best experiences we've had
with a budget smartphone, and nothing about this phone suggests that it's
budget apart from its price tag. Compared to the Smart Prime 6, this is definitely
the better option to go for and we'd definitely pay the extra £50 for it – it's
more powerful, has better cameras and a larger, higher quality display. It
won't run the latest 3D mobile games but for every day use, it's a great phone
and the fact that you can add up to 128GB of external storage means that
there’s more storage than you can shake a stick at. Great work Vodafone.
Read our Vodafone Smart Ultra 6 review.
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