Here’s our best picks for the budget conscious
A few years ago any list that we made that compiled phones under the 10K price point would easily be filled with the offerings of local brands. That’s changed drastically over the years, and while there’s still a local brand in this list, there’s a bunch of international players as well. The playing field has definitely changed in the budget segment, which honestly translates to more choices for the regular consumer.
ASUS ZenFone 4 Max
ASUS’ ZenFone Max line of devices has always been one of the longest-lasting phones available to buy in the market, and the ZenFone 4 Max is no exception. But despite being billed as a phone with a massive battery, the ZenFone 4 Max also has other tricks up its sleeve, namely a dual-camera that takes pretty good photos for the price. The phone also doesn’t skimp on the externals, with the ZenFone 4 Max sporting a lovely metal build that’s reminiscent of ASUS’ first dual-camera smartphone, the ZenFone 3 Zoom.
ASUS ZenFone 4 Max Review: Best Budget Big Battery Smartphone
Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Selfie
The Cherry Mobile Flare S6 Selfie is the only phone from a local brand in this particular list, and like its namesake suggests, it’s a phone aimed at people who like taking selfies. Cherry Mobile put in pretty decent camera sensors in the phone, using identical sensors for the front and rear camera. While you shouldn’t be expecting flagship-level image quality from this budget phone, the snaps we took during our review were pretty impressive, to say the least. It has a great price as well, which means it’s the perfect phone for people looking to take great selfies who are on a tight budget.
OPPO A71
OPPO promised a “speedy operation” with their budget A71 smartphone, and surprisingly enough, they’ve delivered on their promise somewhat. With a benchmark score that’s comparable with more expensive devices in the mid-range category, the A71 is a pretty good entry-level Android gaming machine. Of course you’re probably not playing graphically intense games with this thing with the settings set on high, but for the price it actually does pretty well. It also has excellent battery endurance, which is always a good thing.
Vivo V5 Lite
Not to be outdone, Vivo has their own take on the budget selfie smartphone in the form of the V5 Lite. The V5 Lite is actually not a bad phone overall, sporting a MediaTek 6750 octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM plus a roomy 32GB of expandable storage. It also has a pretty good selfie camera, sporting a 16-megapixel front shooter with an f/2.0 aperture. It has most of Vivo’s selfie enhancements as well, so you’re free to take awesome selfies of yourself without spending a bunch.
Vivo V5 Lite Unboxing, Initial Review: Affordable Selfie Phone
Huawei GR3 2017
Huawei’s budget GR3 2017 may be getting a little long in the tooth, but it’s still a pretty great buy. Sporting a full HD panel, a relatively powerful Kirin 655 processor plus a nice-looking (if scratch prone) body, the GR3 2017 is still a relatively decent smartphone even in the waning months of 2017. It has roughly the same hardware as Huawei’s other mid-range smartphone, the GR5 2017, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the phone is able to handle most Android apps well.
Huawei GR3 2017 Review: A Budget Phone That Covers All The Basics
Special mention: Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X
No under 10K list would be complete without a mention of Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 4X. It’s the de-facto phone that Xiaomi fans measure all other phones against in the budget segment of the market. While we haven’t had the opportunity to review the Redmi note 4X, fanatical fans swear it’s the best phone ever made, period, despite not enjoying official status here in the Philippines. Price fluctuates depending on where you get it though, so shop around before you pull the trigger for one.
Xiaomi Announces the Redmi Note 4X Hatsune Miku Limited Edition Smartphone
