5 cheap but great smartphones

Do you want a good, productive smartphone with a decent camera and a normal amount of memory, but are not ready to pay $1000 or more for it? The good news is that today it is quite possible to buy an excellent device for a relatively modest price.

We present to you several smartphones that are worth paying attention to.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12

Many consider the Redmi Note 12 from Xiaomi (or Xiaomi - people pronounce the name of this brand differently) to be the best budget smartphone of 2023. The phone is equipped with an excellent AMOLED display with support for 120 Hz frequency, its performance is quite high, and the battery life is decent thanks to the large battery.

Among the advantages, we can also note the presence of splash protection (IP53), minimalistic design and a dedicated slot for a memory card.

As for the disadvantages, first of all, it is worth noting the low quality of shooting with a wide-angle module, the lack of stereo speakers and slight throttling with low performance. In addition, this model has less RAM than its competitors.

Despite the shortcomings, this smartphone can easily be called one of the best in the price category up to 90,000 AMD. It won't be easy to find another phone at this price that has a fast AMOLED screen, a wide-angle camera, and splash protection.

• Operating system: Android 13 (MIUI proprietary shell).
• Display: 6.67 inches, AMOLED, 2400 × 1080, 120 Hz.
• Platform: 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 (4 ARM Cortex-A73 cores with a frequency of 2.8 GHz, another 4 ARM Cortex-A53 cores with a frequency of 1.9 GHz).
• RAM: 4/6/8 GB.
• Flash memory: 64/128 GB.
• Cameras: 50 + 8 + 2 MP.
• Two SIM cards, separate slot for memory card.
• Battery capacity: 5000 mAh.
• Price: from 70,000 drams

Infinix NOTE 30

Infinix NOTE 30 is equipped with a large 120 Hz screen, stereo speakers, which are rarely found in smartphones in this segment, a large amount of memory, plus a dedicated memory card slot. It charges quickly, and performance is at a fairly high level. In addition, the design of the device is very nice, similar to an iPhone, with a glass back, which will surely appeal to many users. All this makes the smartphone one of the best in its price category.

As for the shortcomings, it is worth noting, first of all, the lack of options for camera focal lengths and the strangely implemented portrait mode. In addition, the smartphone is quite large and heavy, which for some can also be a serious disadvantage. It also has a lot of pre-installed applications, which can also be a disadvantage for users.

• Operating system: Android 13 (XOS proprietary shell).
• Display: 6.8 inches, IPS, 2460 × 1080 pixels, 120 Hz.
• Platform: 8-core MediaTek Helio G99 (2 ARM Cortex-A76 cores, 2.2 GHz, and 6 ARM Cortex-A55 cores, 2.0 GHz).
• RAM: 8 GB.
• Flash memory: 128/256 GB.
• Camera: 64+2+0.08 MP.
• Dual SIM cards, dedicated memory card slot.
• Battery capacity: 5000 mAh.
• Price: from 70,000 drams.

TECNO POVA 5

The TECNO POVA 5 smartphone has a large screen with a frequency of 120 Hz, a decent amount of memory, good performance and excellent battery life - thanks to a 6000 mAh battery, the device can work for 2 days without recharging. And he looks very, very stylish!

But there are also disadvantages to it. First of all, the camera of the smartphone is quite mediocre, and it does not have a wide angle or a macro camera, and the portrait mode is implemented a little strangely, but for users of smartphones of this brand this has already become something familiar. The disadvantages include the fact that the smartphone has a large number of pre-installed applications, many of which you most likely will not use. Plus, it's quite heavy.

• Operating system: Android 13 (proprietary HiOS shell).
• Display: 6.8 inches, IPS, 2460 × 1080 pixels, 120 Hz.
• Platform: 8-core MediaTek Helio G99 (2 ARM Cortex-A76 cores, 2.2 GHz, 6 ARM Cortex-A55 cores, 2.0 GHz).
• RAM: 8 GB.
• Flash memory: 128/256 GB.
• Camera: 50+0.08 MP.
• Two SIM cards, separate slot for memory card.
• Battery capacity: 6000 mAh.
• Price: from 62,000 drams.

HONOR X8a

The HONOR X8a smartphone stands out among others with its large 6.7-inch screen, almost without frames, the presence of a wide-angle camera and fairly high quality shooting on the main camera, which has as many as 100 megapixels. In terms of the quality of the main camera, this smartphone is definitely the leader in today's list. In addition, the device is thin and light, even despite its large diagonal.

As for the minuses, the smartphone does not have a mini-jack, there is no slot for a memory card, and the wide-angle camera does not take very good pictures. In addition, the battery life and performance of the phone are quite average and there are problems with throttling.

• Operating system: Android 12 (Magic OS shell).
• Display: 6.7 inches, IPS, 2388 × 1080 pixels, 90 Hz.
• Platform: 8-core Mediatek Helio G88 (2 Cortex-A75 cores, 2.0 GHz, 6 Cortex-A55 cores, 1.8 GHz).
• RAM: 6/8 GB.
• Flash memory: 128 GB.
• Camera: 100 + 5 + 2 MP.
• Dual SIM cards, no memory card slot.
• Battery capacity: 4500 mAh.
• Price: from 70,000 drams.

Samsung Galaxy A24

Samsung Galaxy A24 received an AMOLED screen with 90 Hz, good performance, a wide-angle camera and a 50-megapixel main camera with an optical stabilizer. In today's selection, this is the only budget smartphone that has optical stabilization on the main camera, which allows you to take high-quality photos even in low light and when shooting at night.

The downside is that the wide-angle camera doesn’t take very good pictures, there are no stereo speakers on the smartphone, and there’s also no charger included.

• Operating system: Android 12.
• Display: 6.5 inches, Super AMOLED, 2340 × 1080, 90 Hz.
• Platform: 8-core MediaTek Helio G99 (2 ARM Cortex-A76 cores, 2.2 GHz, 6 ARM Cortex-A55 cores, 2.0 GHz).
• RAM: 4/6/8 GB.
• Flash memory: 128 GB.
• Camera: 50 + 5 + 2 MP.
• Two SIM cards, separate slot for memory card.
• Battery capacity: 5000 mAh.
• Price: from 75,000 drams.