Best Cheap Android Phones of 2019

Best Cheap Android Phones Android Central 2019

• Best Overall: Moto G7
• Best Value: Nokia 7.1
• Upgrade Pick: Google Pixel 3a
• Best Features: Samsung Galaxy A50
• Best Build Quality: Nokia 7.2
• Best Battery Life: Moto G7 Power
• Best Under $200: Nokia 4.2
• Best Under $100: Alcatel 1X
• Best With a Caveat: Xiaomi Mi 9T
• Best Outside The U.S.: Xiaomi Redmi Note 7

Best Overall: Moto G7

The Moto G7 and its other budget counterparts on this list have awesome, high-resolution touchscreens, reliable software, and great cameras. Some features, like NFC, drive up manufacturing costs, so you have to weigh whether you need NFC-enabled features like mobile payments. And the Moto G7 also lacks the same graphical power as its more expensive competitors, but most games play without issue, even at medium or high settings, because Android games are designed to play on hardware of all sizes and prices.

At the same time, Motorola's given the G7 a computational and memory upgrade, shipping the new Snapdragon 632 along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage standard, numbers that would have been unheard of in a $300 phone just two years ago.

The Moto G7 has all the major features you need from a modern smartphone.

Motorola has had years of practice making the Moto G line into a budget powerhouse; when it designed the first Moto G back in 2013, it eschewed expensive materials like metal and glass and focused instead on the core experience. Starting in 2016, Motorola began finding ways to add important features like fingerprint sensors, and now the Moto G7 is made from a premium-feeling and resilient plastic frame and is covered on the front and back with Gorilla Glass.

But while the Moto G lineup tends to use less expensive components and materials, Motorola's excellent manufacturing results in a device that does not sacrifice quality.

At the same time, Motorola understands its audience, which is why it includes a dual camera setup to the Moto G7. The second camera adds depth effects like portrait mode without sacrificing the excellent pedigree of the main 12MP sensor.

Finally, if you're in the U.S., the Moto G7 is one of the few sub-$300 phones to work on all four U.S. carriers, and it's even sold at directly at a few carriers, another advantage of Motorola's long-standing relationship with companies like Verizon.

Best Value: Nokia 7.1

The Nokia 7.1 brings a ton of value to a $280 unlocked phone. From the dual camera setup that shoots impressive low-light photos to the premium-feeling 6000-series aluminum design, you would be forgiven for thinking this device costs double its actual retail price.

The best part isn't even the hardware — the phone ships with Android 9 Pie on board, and thanks to Android One, will get two years of platform updates and security patches. The downside is that it's only compatible with GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile in the U.S., meaning that if you're on Sprint, Verizon, or one of their prepaid subsidiaries, you're out of luck.

Upgrade Pick: Google Pixel 3a

The Pixel 3a manages to pack all of the best parts of the standard Pixel 3 into a more affordable package by using a middle-of-the-road chipset and a polycarbonate body. The result is a nearly identical-looking phone for hundreds less that takes incredible photos using the same image processing and Night Sight technology.

While it'll run you an extra Benjamin over the Moto G7, the Pixel 3a is without a doubt the phone you should look at if photography is your main priority. It's not just good for its price, the Pixel 3a takes some of the best photos of any phone on the market, even though it only has one lens. You also get a squeaky clean build of Android with three years of guaranteed software updates. It's also available at three of the four major U.S. carriers, which is a first for the Pixel lineup.

Best Features: Samsung Galaxy A50

Samsung isn't usually associated with good cheap phones — at least that used to be the case — but in 2019 the company has invested tremendously in its new Galaxy A line, bringing the best features of its flagships down to a much more reasonable price bracket. The Galaxy A50 is one such beneficiary, with a beautiful 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display — probably the best on this list — along with a super-fast Exynos 9610 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and a huge 4,000mAh battery.

But the pièce de résistance of the Galaxy A50 is its triple rear camera setup, which includes a main 25MP sensor, an 8MP secondary super wide-angle camera, and a third 5MP sensor for depth. There's also a massive 25MP front-facing selfie camera, too, hidden in the teardrop notch.

To justify its $275 to $350 price (depending on where you buy it), Samsung's included an under-display fingerprint sensor, something missing on all the other phones on this list. Samsung's also making a big deal of its One UI software, which runs on top of Android 9 Pie.

Best Build Quality: Nokia 7.2

The Nokia 7.2 is the successor to the ultra-successful (see what we did there?) Nokia 7.1, and it's better in every way. It continues the company's legacy of outstanding build quality with a super-strong polycarbonate frame — that green colorway is even nicer-looking in real life — that feels like metal but can withstand scratches and drops far better.

The hardware has been given a nice boost over the 7.1, too: a Snapdragon 660 processor powers the Nokia 7.2, along with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which ensures it's going to last well into the 2020s. Nokia also puts Android One on all of its phones, ensuring at least two platform updates and regular security patches — something the company has over our top pick, the Moto G7.

But the real reason to look into the Nokia 7.2 is its triple-camera setup, which includes a massive 48MP primary camera. You can also choose to use the ultra-wide camera for incredible landscape shots, or grab some impressive portrait photos with the dedicated depth sensor.

Best Battery Life: Moto G7 Power

If you're more into viewing content than worrying about how good that content looks, the Moto G7 Power is the better choice than the Moto G7 — or practically any other budget handset. It's got a massive 5,000mAh battery that keeps it going longer than practically any phone on the market, but trades in some screen resolution — its 6.2-inch display is only 720p, compared to the 1080p panel on the main Moto G7.

Other than that, though, the Moto G7 Power has the same basic specs as the G7 — a Snapdragon 632 processor and 3GB of RAM, as well as a rear fingerprint sensor and a 12MP rear camera. It also features Motorola's excellent Android software, which takes Google's stock Android Pie and adds a bunch of Moto Experiences, including an unmatched ambient display and some handy gestures.

But really, at $249 the main draw here is the price — and the amount of crazy uptime you're going to get with this phone. If you're not the kind of person who likes to charge their phone every night, or just uses it all the time, this is the one to get.

Best Under $200: Nokia 4.2

If you were impressed by the Nokia 7.1's build materials for the money, the Nokia 4.2 features the same design, and similar construction (the frame is metal but the body is plastic) for just over half the price. Its tiny teardrop notch means you get an almost all-display device, and you still get Android 9 Pie thanks to the phone being part of the Android One program.

There's a fingerprint sensor along the back, and a dedicated Google Assistant button on the side for quick voice commands. The power button doubles as a notification LED, glowing different colors to denote specific apps, and remarkably, this $190 phone has NFC to allow for Google Pay — something you almost never see in this price range.

You do have to sacrifice a bit of performance, but in the end, Nokia's latest is a steal at under $200.

Best Under $100: Alcatel 1X

There's not much fancy or extravagant about the Alcatel 1X; it's all plastic, and has a mere 1GB of RAM. But if all you need is a basic smartphone to make calls, browse the web and social media, and take a few photos of questionable quality, the 1X is a great option.

It runs Android Go Edition, a scaled-back version of the operating system that's optimized to run well on low-level hardware. That hardware isn't all bad, either; the 5.3-inch display is refreshingly easy to use in one hand, and has a modern 18:9 aspect ratio for squeezing in as much content as possible. You also get a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, and the 1X is compatible with both AT&T and T-Mobile's networks.

If you're looking for something a bit more robust, but still under $100, Amazon is currently selling the much more powerful Alcatel 3V for $99.99, though it's usually on sale for $150. The 3V features a bigger 6-inch screen and double the RAM of the Alcatel 1X, but doesn't run the Android Go software so the experience may not be quite as smooth.

Best With a Caveat: Xiaomi Mi 9T

Xiaomi isn't a well-known name in the West, but it should be: this company is making some of the best Android phones you can buy, for considerably less than competitors like Samsung or even Nokia. The Mi 9T is the international version of the Redmi K20, which is one of the most popular phones in China and India. For under $300, you get one of the most comprehensive spec sheets out there, including a Snapdragon 730, 6GB of RAM, a 4000mAh battery, and a beautiful 6.4-inch display.

But the best part of the phone is its triple-camera setup on the back, which includes a super-sharp 48MP main sensor along with ultra-wide and telephoto cameras. And the motorized 20MP front-facing camera pops out of the phone like party trick, which also allows for a near bezel-less display.

U.S. buyers take note: The version on Amazon US is an international model and won't work on Sprint or Verizon or any of their MVNOs. It will work perfectly on AT&T and T-Mobile. It also has no U.S. warranty.

Best Outside the U.S.: Redmi Note 7

If you don't know the Redmi brand from Xiaomi, you should probably learn about it. The company doesn't officially sell its products in the U.S., but the Chinese company has been expanding like crazy into India and parts of Asia and Europe. The Redmi brand is its budget line, taking on Honor, OPPO and Vivo, and the Redmi Note 7 is one of the best deals you can find.

Like the Honor 8X, if you're in the U.S. you're buying a phone that wasn't really made for that market — but it will work great on AT&T and T-Mobile (and their sub-brands Cricket and Metro, along with other MVNOs). But Xiaomi is a company that you should probably learn more about, because the Redmi Note 7, with its Snapdragon 660 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage — all for under $200 — is one of the best deals in town.

The back has a massive 48MP camera, along with a second 5MP sensor for depth, and the 6.35-inch display is incredible for the price.

U.S. buyers take note: The version on Amazon US is an international model and won't work on Sprint or Verizon or any of their MVNOs. It will work perfectly on AT&T and T-Mobile. It also has no U.S. warranty.

Bottom line

There's no shortage of awesome Android phones these days, whether you want to spend more than $700, less than $300, or even $100. The above phones represent the best of a set limitation — that of not wanting to overspend on a product that, inevitably, will need to be replaced in a couple of years.

But that's the beauty of a device that costs a third of what you'd spend on a Galaxy S10 or Pixel 3. It offers 90% of what those phones cost and can be replaced more easily. While you may miss out on some of the more advanced features like waterproofing and wireless charging, and you may not receive as many updates, or for as long, these phones represent a new breed of budget devices you can feel confident in buying.

And the Moto G7 is the best value of the bunch.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide

Daniel Bader is the Managing Editor of Android Central. As he's writing this, a mountain of old Android phones is about to fall on his head, but his Great Dane will protect him. He drinks way too much coffee and sleeps too little. He wonders if there's a correlation.

Andrew Martonik is the Executive Editor, U.S. at Android Central. He has been a mobile enthusiast since the Windows Mobile days, and covering all things Android-related with a unique perspective at AC since 2012. For suggestions and updates, you can reach him at andrew.martonik@androidcentral.com or on Twitter at @andrewmartonik.

Hayato Huseman is a recovering trade show addict and video editor for Android Central based out of Indianapolis. He can mostly be found complaining about the cold and enthusing about prog metal on Twitter at @hayatohuseman . Got a tip or inquiry? Drop him a line at hayato@mobilenations.com.

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