The best cheap phones for (almost) every budget
There’s little reason to pay top dollar for a phone these days. These are our favourite Android devices and iPhones for R2 911,75 to R7 279,37.
WIRELESS CARRIERS GO out of their way to make expensive smartphones seem affordable.
You may wonder why you shouldn't buy a Samsung Galaxy S21 if you have to pay nothing down and only R399 a month for it.
The answer is, whether you pay it all at once or in 36 monthly installments, you’re still spending hundreds of dollars on a phone.
Your pricey device may also keep you locked to the network, leaving you unable to switch wireless carriers until the phone is paid off.
Forget the spendy option and get a seriously great, more affordable phone instead.
We’ve tested dozens to find the best cheap smartphones that aren't annoyingly slow.
Our top pick, the Google Pixel 4A, is as good as almost any device, and our other choices strike a great balance between price and luxury.
What makes the iPhone SE so special is the processor that's powering it—the A13 Bionic chip, which is the same one you'll find in the iPhone 11 Pro that's several hundred dollars more.
You won't find performance anywhere near as good for this price on another phone.
All your favourite apps and games, even if they're graphically intensive, will run without a hitch for years to come.
And, as usual, Apple will likely keep this phone updated for three or four more years, which is much longer than all of the Android phones in this guide.
The single camera on the back snaps some nice photos, though since Apple did not bring Night mode down from its high-end iPhones, it won't fare as well in low-light scenes as competitors like the Pixel 4A.
The glass back design is also more fragile than Google's phone, so it's a good idea to buy a case.
iPhone SE costs R 7999 from Apple and Takealot.
Samsung Galaxy A32 5G (R 4 998,99)
Best Under R 5000
If you don't want to spend a dollar more than R5000, then snag Samsung's Galaxy A32 5G (8/10, WIRED Recommends).
Despite the plasticky build, it's a renaissance Android phone and it costs just R4998,99.
The MediaTek Dimensity 720 5G chip powering it offers smooth performance; it ran games like Dead Cells with barely a hiccup.
And as the name suggests, there's 5G on this phone—robust sub-6 5G that works on all major carriers.
The 6.5-inch screen isn't an OLED panel like on the Pixel 4A, but LCD. It does have a perk though: a 90-Hz screen refresh rate.
It increases the number of times per second that images refresh on the screen from 60 to 90, giving you a smoother experience.
It's a small but nice upgrade. The battery life is even better. The 5,000-mAh cell lasts two full days on a single charge, so you don't need to plug in every night.
The main 48-megapixel camera on the back of the A32 5G is surprisingly great, managing to capture a lot of detail with overexposing the image.
As is the case with most Samsung phones, it tends to strip out shadows too much and over-saturates a bit, but this is still a reliable shooter, even at night, with the dedicated Night mode.
Samsung retains all the little things you want in a phone, like a headphone jack, a MicroSD card slot, NFC for contactless payments, and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.
Best of all, it promises to deliver two OS upgrades to this device and up to four years of security updates. That kind of software support is very rare on a phone this affordable.
★ Another Option: OnePlus Nord N10 5G (R5,599.00)
The Nord N10 5G doesn't run as smoothly as the A32 5G, the 4,300-mAh battery isn't as long-lasting, and 5G support isn't as robust (5G is only available at selected networks).
But it has a similar 90-Hz LCD screen and the photos snapped by rear cameras are fairly decent, even in low light (even if they are a little oversaturated).
The only OS upgrade it will get is to Android 11, but OnePlus will issue security updates for three years.
Moto G Power 2021 (R3 632,23 )
Best Battery Life
Want the longest possible battery life? Two days is pretty great from the A32 5G above, but Motorola's Moto G Power (2021) can last around three full days on a single charge thanks to its 5,000-mAh battery. It frequently dips to R3 341,65, which makes it even better value.
The Snapdragon 662 chip inside with 4 gigs of RAM is perfectly adequate; you'll be able to run all your apps and games just fine.
The 720p LCD display isn't as nice as our other picks, but it still gets bright enough to see it in sunny conditions outdoors.
Similarly, the rear camera system fares well during the day, but it's not as good as the A32 5G or Pixel 4A in low light.
It only comes with 64 gigabytes of storage, so you'll want to make use of the MicroSD card to add more space.
There's a headphone jack and a fingerprint sensor too, but sadly, no NFC. That means you can't use this phone to make contactless payments with services like Google Pay.
The biggest downside? Motorola only offers two years of security updates and one OS upgrade (to Android 11).
★ Another Option: Nokia G20 (R3,399)
There are speedier, similarly-priced phones to the G20—it stutters if you try to use too many apps in succession—but if you don't use your phone much, this is a solid option that is cheap and will last two and a half days on a single charge.
The screen doesn't get super bright, but the camera is decent and there's even a Night mode for better low-light images.
Nokia promises three years of security updates and two OS upgrades.
Two big caveats: It doesn't work on some networks, and it doesn't support 5-GHz Wi-Fi, which is necessary for some services like wireless Android Auto.
TCL 20 Pro 5G (R6800) or TCL 20 SE (R2900)
Other Great Budget Phones
There are technically three phones in TCL's 2021 smartphone lineup: the TCL 20 Pro 5G (R6600), TCL 20S (R3750), and TCL 20 SE (R2900).
We're omitting the 20S here because any of the other sub- phones above are better choices. But there are good reasons to go for the other two.
TCL's 20 Pro 5G has the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G chip as the Galaxy A52 5G, but its performance is a little smoother. It's powerful—arguably the best-performing phone in this guide, save for the second-gen iPhone SE.
It's easily the nicest and most luxurious-feeling device as well, with an aluminum frame and glass on both sides, though that makes it more fragile. It's also the only Android phone here with wireless charging support.
The 6.67-inch AMOLED screen is colourful, and it gets bright enough to see outdoors.
The 4,500-mAh battery cell comfortably lasts more than a full day of use, and it has the usual niceties like NFC, a headphone jack, and a MicroSD card slot.
The only reason it's not our top pick is that TCL only promises two OS upgrades and two years of security updates, so the Google and Samsung phones above will be supported for a longer time.
Also, it has 5G access but it isn't available on other networks, and there's no IP rating for water resistance. It has a pretty good camera system, but it's not as good as the aforementioned competitors.
As for the TCL 20 SE, its camera performance is poor in daylight and low light, but it runs better than the Nokia G20 above. You'll still see slowdowns if you try to do too many things quickly.
It's also larger, making it a bit more unwieldy to hold, but the 5,000-mAh battery inside helps it get through two full days before needing a recharge.
Like the G20, it doesn't support 5-GHz Wi-Fi. It will get only two years of security updates (no promise of OS upgrades). If you can spend extra for the Moto G Power 2021 (or wait until it goes on sale), it's the better option.
Should You Buy Now?
Yes and no. All of our picks are excellent buys, but Google is expected to debut the Pixel 5A in August. There's a strong chance it will replace our top pick. If you're in no rush, you should wait.
Consider Last Year's Flagship Phones
If none of these phones have the features you want or aren't as powerful as you like, your best option is to look for last year's flagship smartphones, which might be steeply discounted. Sometimes they're easy to find but some manufacturers stop selling them altogether.
Keep in mind that you'll lose a year of software support. For example, last year's OnePlus 8 costs just R6 527,36 right now, a pretty great price considering how powerful it is, but it will get only two more OS upgrades and three more years of security updates.
Check Network Compatibility
If you buy an unlocked phone on this list and try to take it to one of your wireless carrier's retail stores, they may tell you it isn't compatible with the network. It likely is.
Just use a paper clip or SIM ejection tool to pop the SIM card out of your current phone, then slide that SIM into your new phone. If it doesn't work at first, reboot the phone or wait a couple of hours.
If you need a new SIM, try ordering one online from your carrier, or try to get them to give you a SIM when you activate a line in the store (if you're starting coverage).
Tell them you have a phone. Many times, reps will want to sell you a phone; that's one potential reason they might hassle you into buying a different device in the store.
Having said that, please make sure whatever phone you buy will work on your wireless network. Listings on retailers like Amazon should state clearly which networks it will be compatible with. Also, make sure the listing says that the phone is being sold "unlocked."
A Word of Caution
If a phone isn't listed here, or if it's refurbished, be careful. It's easy to waste money or time when you're shopping for affordable phones.
It's hard to get a sense of how a cheaper phone will act in the long term when you use it in a store for five minutes, and retail employees may not be much help.
Make sure you read reviews online. A good rule of thumb is to avoid most devices that originally came out before 2020.
They probably won't continue to get software and security updates for long, if they're even being supported now.
For example, we do not recommend buying the iPhone XR anymore at its current retail price.
It's still a good phone (8/10, WIRED Recommends), but it's only R1 454,16 cheaper than the more powerful iPhone 11, which is vastly superior in many ways, and absolutely the iPhone to buy if your budget can stretch to R11 999 .
*Most of the prices were converted from US prices, please check with local stores for accurate prices.
This originally appeared on Wired US