The best budget smartphones in 2022

To enjoy a convenient and modern phone in 2022, it is not necessary to shell out a fortune for it. We also do not offer to buy outdated models. Every manufacturer has budget smartphones. Budget is not the same as bad. This is a full-fledged synonym for the price / quality ratio. Flagships in 2022 cost decently – the ruble exchange rate is “storming”, components are becoming more expensive. So why not pay attention to models with affordable prices?

Together with Nikolai Meshkov, a senior engineer at Service-my, we selected the best budget smartphones in 2022. If you are rational about personal finances, then the selection of the best budget smartphones according to KP is for you.

Editor’s Choice

Little M4 Pro 5G

The brand quickly broke into the market and holds a leading position among gadget fans in 2022. Initially, the company supplied its products only to India. I took it by the fact that for modest money the user received a mobile phone with a top-end feature: a capacious battery or a productive processor. The rest of the indicators were just satisfactory. But now the Chinese manufacturer has learned to do “good” on all fronts and has expanded the geography of sales.

Judge for yourself: this best budget smartphone has the most durable Gorilla Glass 3 display glass. The screen refresh rate is 90 Hz, which means the animations will be smooth when scrolling the display. The flagships have 120, and the very simple ones have 60 Hz. Here the company maintains parity. The design of the case is such that it matches the image of a young person, and nothing defiant for an adult business person. Matte plastic. The colors are black, yellow or azure blue. The camera block is painted in strict black. The filling – from the processor to NFC and even the antenna for 5G communication – this means that this budget smartphone will be relevant for a few more years.

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Top 20 best budget smartphones according to KP

1. Nokia G21

The Finnish brand is returning to the global smartphone market and has introduced several variations of budget models by 2022. For our ranking of the best, we took the G21 model. From the box we get a protective case made of thick transparent silicone and screen protection with a film. The back cover is lined with plastic in a fine mesh. So the smartphone does not slip in the hand. 

Since the handset runs on pure Android, the manufacturer added a Google button to the standard volume and unlock buttons – you can call a voice assistant with it. Screen refresh rate 90 Hz.

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2. Xiaomi Redmi Note 10

According to our expert, the best choice among budget smartphones would be Xiaomi note 10 4/64, as this phone has a good 5000 mAh battery, which is important in today’s world. In addition, the smartphone is equipped with a good 60 Hz Amoled matrix, an excellent 48 MP main camera and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 678 processor with a large supply of power, which will be more than enough in the future. An additional convenience of using this smartphone is a slot for 2 SIM-cards and a slot for an additional memory card.

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3. Infinix Note 11

The case of this budget smartphone is made of plastic. The coating is matte (black, blue or green), so you won’t have to wear it without a case and wipe your prints forever. If you look at the mobile phone from the side of the display, then in the rounded edges and the colored edge of the case around the black frame of the display, you can read references to the IPhone XE – remember, did the Cupertinites have such a state employee? We do not hint at plagiarism, in 2022 it is generally difficult to blame someone for deliberate borrowing.

The manufacturer left slots for two SIM cards and a flash card. There is a connector for the classic headphone conductor (3,5 mm). Charging – USB Type-C. So if you are switching from another budget smartphone to this one, then the old mini-USB cords will not work. But the new wire made it possible to implement the fast charging function.

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4. realme C11

This phone can be safely included in the class of “ultra-budget” smartphones. The same tube that parents buy for schoolchildren when there is no desire to spend money on an expensive gadget, and the child does not want to walk with a push-button mobile phone. But even for undemanding adults, the model will be quite a working help: a camera, instant messengers, simple games – all this is in the model.

The developers even managed to integrate face unlock, but there is no fingerprint sensor here. But there is NFC for contactless payment. Sold in grey-blue only.

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5. Itel Vision 2s

Another contender, for those who, to the question “What kind of smartphone do you need?”, First of all, gives out: “Cheap!”. At the same time, the state employee cannot be called mediocre. It takes its place in the ranking of the best phones quite legally. The main market for this brand is African countries. There, its democratic price is especially decisive, but it also finds its buyer with us. 

In terms of design, nothing outstanding – such were smartphones ten years ago. But the manufacturer (oh, miracle!) did not make the block of cameras stick out. Today, brands make such a compromise, since lenses need a little more space than the rest of the stuffing. And in order not to inflate the mobile phone in thickness, only the block of cameras is increased. Because of this, he often scratches, beats, etc. Immediately, the cameras are recessed into the body, which means they are better protected. In terms of image quality, everything is very, very basic. There is a fingerprint scanner.

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6. I live Y21

Compared to other best budget smartphones of 2022, this model stands out with its fresh design. The case, of course, is plastic, but there is a mirror substrate under the back panel. It shimmers so beautifully that it is not clear from a distance, but is it real glass for an hour? In general, the smartphone looks more expensive than its price. 

“Not a flagship” in it gives out a 3,5 mm headphone jack, although its presence for many owners of wired headsets will be a plus. 

The company did not bother with an abundance of cameras on the rear panel, but managed with two. But they are doing well. Yes, and the front 8 megapixel is naturally a gift for fans of selfies and video calls.

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7. Xiaomi Redmi 9 (NFC)

A fresh budget smartphone with a surprisingly capacious battery and excellent performance. Xiaomi has long established itself as a quality electronics manufacturer at affordable prices with a reasonable approach to filling. The phone has a large screen (6.53 inches), excellent memory (64 GB), the main 13-megapixel camera is equipped with artificial intelligence.

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8. Oppo A16

This is the youngest model in the Chinese company’s current lineup for 2022. The developers did not stint on plastic with overflows, which is why the smartphone looks decent without a case. There is a version with a deep dark blue and light blue color. Let’s add here the current USB-C charging interface, an almost frameless screen (with an oleophobic coating that does not leave greasy marks), and a fingerprint sensor. 

Daytime photos on a smartphone are solid. They would add a bit of contrast – this can be done with a standard editor – and generally super. But the night mode is extremely useless. It is even surprising that such a budget camera was squeezed out of the maximum for shooting in daylight, but did not work properly on the software component of shooting in low light.

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9. HUAWEI P40 Lite

High-quality, convenient and fast smartphone with excellent cameras based on artificial intelligence from one of the largest companies in the world. A capacious battery allows the phone to work all day in active use. Google services are not available to the smartphone and the manufacturer recommends not using the phone at temperatures below -10 degrees.

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10. Xiaomi Redmi 9C 

At one time, the Redmi line from a company from China was a breakthrough. The cases of smartphones were made of metal, they kept charging for a record long time, the processors in them were a cut above those of competitors. And all this is mega-budgetary. 

In 2022, other companies have learned to do this as well. Except for the metal case. But Xiaomi, unfortunately, left this practice, switching to utilitarian plastic. And yet, the 9C is a solid model and a really budget one. 

You can buy such a phone for a child, an elderly person, and yourself as a second or third handset for work. And if you are constrained in finance, then it will still be a great purchase.

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11. ZTE Blade A3

Even after all the currency perturbations of our time, in 2022 it is difficult to find something cheaper and more budgetary, and at the same time, something new and could be called a “smartphone”. Some reviewers jokingly called him a “country” mobile phone. 

He calls, turns on the radio, normal digests the correspondence in the “messengers”, you can watch the video on YouTube. The screen quality, however, leaves much to be desired. Games are only the most primitive. The rest will hang. There is also an NFC module for contactless payment.

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12. realme C21

A smartphone with a powerful battery and fast charging will delight its owner with a whole day of active work. In addition, according to the manufacturer, even with 5% of the remaining battery power, you can use WhatsApp for up to 85 minutes. The 13-megapixel camera with artificial intelligence algorithms promises bright and clear photos. Also not to mention the gaming processor with a maximum clock speed of 2,3 GHz, which guarantees smooth operation during games.

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13. OUKITEL WP5 Pro

A phone potentially capable of maintaining its relevance for more than one year. High performance, upgradable operating system and excellent protection against mechanical and thermal damage. Before buying, you should pay attention to the size of the smartphone – a protected case and a capacious battery significantly increase the size and weight.

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14. BQ 6430L

Budget smartphone of the brand, one of the most successful samples of the company. A laconic body with a barely protruding block of four cameras at once. True, only one main lens fully shoots, the others are involved in post-processing, although the manufacturer could add both a wide-angle and a telephoto lens. 

But this would obviously reduce the cost of the model. So we are content with what we have. Fortunately, there is a very solid front camera immediately at 20 megapixels.

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15. Honor 30i

Although not the newest smartphone, we have before us a strong mid-budget, which eventually moved into a more democratic class. In other words, at the time of release it was a mobile phone with good characteristics, which had a more premium version without the i prefix. 

But time is relentless, new models appear, and past favorites fade into the background. However, for our rating, this option is very suitable. First of all, we put a “like” for the case: the cover with overflows in the colors of shimmering blue, ultraviolet sunset and midnight black. 

We understand that the brand here focuses on the artistry of the names, and without looking at the live coloring it is difficult to imagine what it is about. But believe me, it looks very fashionable – the colors flow from one to another. I want to wear such a handsome man without a case. The screen has a built-in fingerprint sensor, the display is juicy. The processor is a bit old, but it is enough for everyday tasks.

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16.Samsung Galaxy A12

Due to fluctuations in the rates of the Samsung model, the models strive to completely and completely move to a higher segment. For 2022, this simple model is more or less suitable for our requests from the brand. The back cover is slightly rough – made so that it does not slip. However, the owners of the model complain that the coating is quickly erased. 

Otherwise, there are no complaints about the assembly: the case is assembled soundly. A decent camera is integrated. Basic applications and messengers work without freezes. At the minimum settings, it will pull out modern toys, but you won’t get pleasure from such gaming.

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17. HONOR 10X Lite

This smartphone takes into account absolutely everything that may be required – this is a long operating time, and a huge amount of memory, a large bright screen, a fast processor and a whole arsenal of cameras. The Honor brand was previously part of the Huawei group, hence all the strengths (high quality of components and assembly) and weaknesses of the device come from: due to US sanctions against Huawei, Google services are not available on the smartphone, while Yandex services work flawlessly.

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18. Moto G20

Like Nokia, Motorola’s product on the list of the best budget smartphones of 2022 looks a little exotic. But it’s good to know that the brands that revolutionized the era of total population mobilization are finally back in the game. 

On the shelves of stores, the state employee is presented in two colors – hot pink or pale blue. The brand placed four lenses on the camera unit at once for different shooting scenarios. Phenomenal photo quality is not worth waiting for, but in its price segment it is rather the top. 

Even night shots look decent. The mobile phone has a great implementation of “swipe” management: you can set a specific trajectory for smearing your finger across the screen, for example, to turn on a flashlight or take pictures.

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19.Samsung Galaxy A32

The smartphone runs on an up-to-date operating system with convenient access to all necessary and not so applications. It is comfortable to view any data on the large screen, good viewing angles, no flickering allow you to spend time with your phone with pleasure for a long time. An impressive amount of energy, combined with a high-performance and energy-efficient processor, will ensure long and productive operation of the device.

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20. INOI 5 2021

A balanced budget smartphone with support for two SIM cards (nano SIM). The convenient location of the control buttons on only one side, such a phone can be placed horizontally on the stop and, if necessary, adjust the sound volume without the risk of accidentally pressing other control buttons. Speed ​​and performance is comparable to phones that are much more expensive and also run on an optimized version of Android.

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Leaders of the Past

1. Vsmart Joy 4

Affordable gaming and entertainment smartphone powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 octa-core 665GHz processor. The FHD+ resolution bezel-less screen delivers a great picture. The phone is able to continuously work more than 2.0 hours of Internet surfing and 20 hours of talk time, and all thanks to a powerful battery of 45 mAh and a multi-core processor that saves energy. And the machine intelligence algorithm emphasizes your best qualities in photos.

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2. Blackview BV9100

A rugged smartphone with a very capacious battery and a charge distribution mode. A modern charger fully charges the phone in just 2,5 hours.

The device is not afraid of any dust with water, or shock, or extreme temperatures from -30 ° to +60 °.

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3. Moto G6

Comfortable, thin and light smartphone with a large screen and a long-lasting battery. A good set of cameras (64 MP main, 8 MP ultra wide-angle with a viewing angle of 119 °, 2 MP micromodule with a focal length of 4 cm, 2 MP monochrome module) thanks to which the phone allows you to take great pictures, and the built-in shooting modes will allow you to create real masterpieces.

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4. Lenovo K12 Pro

This brand has tried to enter the domestic market several times. With mobile phones, to be honest, they have not yet developed. Laptops are being bought, but smartphones have gone unnoticed. Despite the postfix Pro in the name, this is not a flagship at all. The body is made of rough plastic, the RAM is only 4 GB, so you can’t play new shooting games in good quality. 

But a decent supply of internal storage (128 GB), a very capacious battery, a case made of moisture-repellent material. There is a fingerprint scanner on the rear panel, and under the “hood” the Snapdragon processor is not top-end, but the company itself remains the main trendsetter in the world of mobile gadgets.

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How to choose a budget smartphone

To choose a budget smartphone, it is unlikely that any separate, specific advice is required, because budget smartphones, since they are no different from non-budget ones, except for their cost. Therefore, the recommendations will be standard.

Performance

For those who do not understand mobile phone processors and are not ready to judge the performance of chips on the fly, we suggest looking at the RAM parameter. Ideally, it should be at least 2022 GB for 4, and preferably 6 or 8 at once. Then applications will fly, freezes will be minimized.

Camera

We all want to choose the one with the best camera when choosing a smartphone. We have to state that in the budget category all the optics and matrices in the phone are plus or minus the same. Of course, there are models with an emphasis on photographic qualities, but this is a rare exception. From budget smartphones in 2022, you can expect juicy and bright shots in daylight, a less sharp picture indoors, and rather mediocre shooting at night. But the selfie camera varies from model to model. That is, there are indeed worthy samples, but there are quite passable ones.

Do not chase after novelties

The flagships of past years have now become budgetary. What is a flagship? This is a top-end filling, impeccable assembly, advanced technologies for its age. Yes, in terms of mobile games, they will not be able to show themselves well. But if you, as they say, call and surf in social networks, do not be afraid to look at the models of past years.

Battery

Although the smartphone is budget, the best models are supplemented with capacious batteries with a reserve of about 5000 mAh. This is enough for a day under the condition of a full load or for two days, if used measuredly.

Popular questions and answers

Nikolay Meshkov, senior engineer of the Service-my company answered the most frequently asked questions from KP readers.