Recognition: Ryan-Thomas Shaw / Android Authority
While expensive flagship smartphones are making the headlines, there is a booming market in the UK for budget phones that are great if you’re looking to save some cash. While you won’t get the latest bells and whistles, cheap phones can still offer competitive performance, camera quality, and additional features without breaking the bank.
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If you’re tired of spending a small fortune on every phone, or if you’re looking for an inexpensive first foray into the world of Android, you’re in luck. Here are some of the best phones to buy in the UK under $ 200.
Best Phones Under £ 200:
Editor’s note: We’ll update this list of the best phones under $ 200 as new ones hit the market.
1. Redmi Note 9
It’s easy to get lost in the ever-confusing sea of entry-level smartphones from Redmi. However, this is characterized by an excellent price-performance ratio on paper.
The Redmi Note 9 costs less than 200 euros and has a total of five cameras, a Full HD + display, a huge battery and the latest Android operating system.
Connected: Redmi Note 9 Pro review
You get dual SIM support, a microSD expansion, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a Gorilla Glass 5 display. Also on offer are 18W fast charge and 9W recharge, which can be useful when a friend’s phone needs a quick charge. This shouldn’t be a huge problem for the Note 9 as it comes with a massive 5,020 mAh battery.
Check the prices for Redmi Note 9
Redmi Note 9 specifications:
- Display: 6.53 inches, Full HD +
- SoC: MediaTek Helio G85
- R.A.M: 4GB
- Warehouse: 128 GB
- Cameras: 48, 8, 2 and 2MP
- Front camera: 13MP
- Battery: 5020 mAh
- Software: Android 10
2. Realme 7
Recognition: Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
Realme is one of the fastest growing brands in the smartphone space and is mainly focused on the budget segment. The Realme 7 is the company’s version for a smartphone under £ 200 and has some features for the price.
The Realme 7 is powered by the Helio G95 chip from Mediatek, which is not very fast, but is sufficient for the device to run smoothly. This includes 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. There’s a 6.5-inch 1080p 90Hz IPS display that makes for a solid content-consuming experience, and a sizeable 5,000mAh battery so the phone won’t work after a day.
The Realme 7 has great battery life and solid performance.
Realme contained 30W of Dart Charge in the Realme 7, which delivers a claimed 50% charge in just 26 minutes. In a pinch, it could be incredibly practical to refill so quickly.
Connected: Realme 7 Pro rating
There are a total of four cameras on the back of the device. The only two that should really interest you are the 48-megapixel main sensor and the 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera. The former can record Ultra HD 30fps video and 1080p 120fps slow motion. The 16-megapixel selfie camera can also record 1080p video at 30 frames per second.
Overall, the Realme 7 is a solid option for market participants for under £ 200 with great battery life and solid performance.
Realme 7 specifications:
- Display: 6.5 inches, Full HD +
- SoC: Mediatek Helio G95
- R.A.M: 6 GB
- Warehouse: 64 GB
- Cameras: 48, 8, 2 and 2MP
- Front camera: 16MP
- Battery: 5,000mAh
- Software: Android 10
3. Motorola Moto G8
Motorola
Motorola’s G-Series phones have been a staple of the UK mid-range for years, and the Moto G8 is another winner for the venerable budget family.
The 6.4-inch low-resolution display isn’t the best on the market and the Snapdragon 655 won’t win any speed tests, but the Moto G8 has some unexpected perks like a triple camera (standard, ultra-wide and macro), a fingerprint sensor, and a clean software experience.
Moto G8 Specifications:
- Display: 6.4 inches, HD
- SoC: Snapdragon 655
- R.A.M: 4GB
- Warehouse: 64 GB
- Cameras: 16, 8 and 2MP
- Front camera: 8MP
- Battery: 4,000 mAh
- Software: Android 10
4. Xiaomi Poco X3 NFC
Recognition: Ryan-Thomas Shaw / Android Authority
Xiaomi’s Pocophone or “Poco” line has become synonymous with an excellent price-performance ratio. The Poco X3 NFC is no exception to this rule.
For £ 199 you get a big, bright IPS 120Hz display, solid performance, long battery life and a good selection of cameras. The excellent hybrid stereo speakers and the included headphone jack ensure multimedia consumption.
We rated the Snapdragon 732G as “good enough” in our Poco X3 NFC test. With 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage, the phone is enough to handle most tasks smoothly. Players must qualify for the flagship killer Poco F2 Pro.
The Poco X3 NFC is fantastic as long as you can live with in-software ads.
The 5,160 mAh battery allows the phone to last a long time. Thanks to the 33 W fast charging, the X3 NFC can keep up with the competition and charge the device from 0% to 100% in 63 minutes.
What makes such a great datasheet for £ 199 possible is the software tradeoff. Xiaomi contained in-OS ads that weren’t particularly intrusive, but made the phone look less “premium”.
Overall, the Poco X3 NFC is a fantastic device for the money, as long as you can stand the in-software advertisements.
Xiaomi Poco X3 NFC specifications:
- Display: 6.67 inches, Full HD +
- SoC: Snapdragon 732G
- R.A.M: 6 GB
- Warehouse: 64 GB
- Cameras: 64, 13, 2 and 2MP
- Front camera: 20MP
- Battery: 5.160mAh
- Software: Android 10
5. Samsung Galaxy A21s
The Galaxy A21s is one of the cheaper smartphones from Samsung and offers a lot for its price of 179 euros.
The large 6.5-inch display is only interrupted by a small hole in the upper left corner and is surrounded by relatively thin bezels. Together with the included headphone jack, this size is great for watching movies on the go.
There are four cameras on the back of the phone. Two of them are a 48MP main camera and an 8MP ultra-wide camera. Combined with the 13MP selfie camera, the setup looks pretty complete for a phone in this price range.
The massive 5,000 mAh battery offers long battery life and Samsung has included a 15 W charger. All of these things together make the Galaxy A21s one of the best phones you can get.
Overall, on well under budget, the Galaxy A21s is a great option for those in the market for a cheap and cheerful smartphone.
Technical data of the Samsung Galaxy A21:
- Display: 6.5 inches, HD
- SoC: Exynos 850
- R.A.M: 3 GB
- Warehouse: 32 GB
- Cameras: 48, 8, 2 and 2MP
- Front camera: 13MP
- Battery: 5000mAh
- Software: Android 10
6. OnePlus Nord 100
Recognition: Ryan-Thomas Shaw / Android Authority
The OnePlus Nord N100 is the company’s cheapest smartphone. It’s essentially a renamed Oppo A53, which means the battery will last for two days.
On the front is a 720P 90 Hz IPS display, a pinhole camera, and some thin bezels. On the back there are three cameras, a capacitive fingerprint reader and OnePlus branding. The body is made of plastic to keep costs down so the Nord N100 doesn’t feel particularly good.
The four total cameras consist of a 13MP main sensor, a 2MP macro, a 2MP depth sensor and an 8MP selfie camera. The camera performance is reasonable for the price, but is not particularly noticeable.
The large battery of the OnePlus Nord N100 has a long service life.
What does The battery life is striking. The Nord N100 helped us with pretty heavy usage for two days during our test period. For those who do the occasional social media check and text messaging, expect three or even four days. This phone has strong stamina.
OnePlus included a few amenities such as a headphone jack, a fast fingerprint scanner and a microSD expansion. Overall, the Nord N100 is a decent smartphone for £ 179.
OnePlus Nord N100 specifications:
- Display: 6.52 inches, HD +
- SoC: Snapdragon 460
- R.A.M: 4GB
- Warehouse: 64 GB
- Cameras: 13, 2 and 2MP
- Front camera: 8MP
- Battery: 5,000mAh
- Software: Android 10
7. Nokia 6.2
It’s hard to pick just one phone from the increasingly confusing portfolio of Nokia mid-range and entry-level phones, but the Nokia 6.2 stands out clearly from the competition right now.
The Nokia 6.2 may not have the raw performance of some other phones under $ 200, but it looks far superior thanks to its high-tech polymer construction. You also get a Zeiss triple camera with a 16-megapixel main shooter, a 5-megapixel depth sensor and an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera.
With 64GB of expandable storage, 4GB of RAM, and the almost standard Android One software, you’ve got a great phone.
Nokia 6.2 specifications:
- Display: 5.71 inches, HD
- SoC: Snapdragon 439
- R.A.M: 3 GB
- Warehouse: 32 GB
- Cameras: 13 and 2MP
- Front camera: 8MP
- Battery: 3,000mAh
- Software: Android 9 Pie
There you have it, our picks for the best phones under £ 200. If you’re looking to spend a little more, check out our guide to the best phones under $ 300 and the best phones under $ 500. We’ll be adding more budget phones to this list as more hit the market.