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MagyarNotebookcheck's Top 10 Smartphones under 160 Euros
March 2020 Update. Here you will find the best smartphones under 160 USD/Euros reviewed by Notebookcheck over the last few months. Our list of top models is regularly updated, maintained and commented on and should assist in purchasing decisions.
The flagship smartphones from the established manufacturers always get the most attention. However, not everyone is willing to pay 500 Euros or more. Many people are actually looking for suitable smartphones in the inexpensive entry-level segment, and the price is obviously one major factor. There is no doubt that on paper the specifications reveal significant differences compared to the super smartphones, especially in terms of performance, display and picture quality of the integrated cameras. However, this does not mean that you cannot be happy with an inexpensive smartphone if you have moderate expectations. We list the best smartphones with a current street price of less than 160 USD/Euros that have been reviewed by Notebookcheck over the last 14 months (if the device is still available). The following rankings might be interesting as well:
- Notebookcheck's Top 10 Smartphones (high-end)
- Notebookcheck's Top 10 Smartphones under 500 Euros
- Notebookcheck's Top 10 Smartphones under 300 Euros
- Notebookcheck's Top 10 Phablets (> 5.5-inch)
- Notebookcheck's Top 10 Smartphones < 5-inch
We raised the price limit for entry-level smartphones to 160 Euros (previously 120 Euros) in 2018, which is mainly caused by the generally increasing prices in the segment.
The table can be sorted by clicking its headers or via text filter (e.g. "Snapdragon").
Note: The cheapest street price at the time of the last revision of this article applies to the following list. The sales prices shown in the following table and in the price comparison with the individual articles are automatically updated daily and can therefore differ!
Best Budget Smartphones as of March 2020
Pos. | Date | Rating | Image | Model | Height | Weight | Size | Resolution | OS | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 02/2019 | 79 % |  | Motorola Moto G7 Power Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 Qualcomm Adreno 506 4 GB Memory, 64 GB eMMC | 9.3 mm | 193 g | 6.2" | 1570x720 | Android 9.0 Pie | |
| 2 | 04/2019 | 77 % |  | Xiaomi Redmi 7 Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 Qualcomm Adreno 506 3 GB Memory, 32 GB eMMC | 8.5 mm | 180 g | 6.26" | 1520x720 | Android 9.0 Pie | |
| 3 | 03/2018 | 77 % |  | Huawei P smart HiSilicon Kirin 659 ARM Mali-T830 MP2 3 GB Memory, 32 GB eMMC | 7.45 mm | 143 g | 5.65" | 2160x1080 | Android 8.0 Oreo | |
| 4 | 07/2019 | 76 % |  | Samsung Galaxy A20e Samsung Exynos 7884B ARM Mali-G71 MP2 3 GB Memory, 32 GB eMMC | 8.4 mm | 141 g | 5.8" | 1560x720 | Android 9.0 Pie | |
| 5 | 01/2020 Neu | 75 % |  | Huawei Y6s Mediatek Helio P35 MT6765 PowerVR GE8300 3 GB Memory, 32 GB eMMC | 8 mm | 150 g | 6.09" | 1560x720 | Android 9.0 Pie | |
| 6 | 11/2018 | 75 % |  | Nokia 5.1 Mediatek Helio P10 MT6755 ARM Mali-T860 MP2 2 GB Memory, 16 GB eMMC | 8.2 mm | 151 g | 5.5" | 2160x1080 | Android 8.0 Oreo | |
| 7 | 08/2019 | 75 % |  | Samsung Galaxy A10 Samsung Exynos 7884B ARM Mali-G71 MP2 2 GB Memory, 32 GB eMMC | 7.9 mm | 168 g | 6.2" | 1520x720 | Android 9.0 Pie | |
| 8 | 04/2019 | 75 % |  | Huawei Y7 2019 Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 Qualcomm Adreno 506 3 GB Memory, 32 GB eMMC | 8.1 mm | 168 g | 6.26" | 1520x720 | Android 8.1 Oreo | |
| 9 | 01/2020 Neu | 74 % |  | Nokia 2.3 Mediatek Helio A22 MT6761 PowerVR GE8300 2 GB Memory, 32 GB eMMC | 8.68 mm | 183 g | 6.2" | 1520x720 | Android 9.0 Pie | |
| 10 | 01/2020 Neu | 74 % |  | Wiko Y80 UNISOC SC9863A PowerVR GE8322 / IMG8322 2 GB Memory, 16 GB eMMC | 8.55 mm | 185 g | 5.99" | 1440x720 | Android 9.0 Pie |
Top 10 smartphones from the last 14 months – current reviews are listed first
Editors' Comments
After a lot of changes last month, there is now news this time. However, the Redmi Note 8T gets very close to the 160 Euros mark.
1st - Motorola Moto G7 Power
The Motorola Moto G7 Power has a 6.2-inch IPS screen with the small HD resolution. It is powered by an upper mainstream SoC in combination with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB internal storage. The latter can be expanded via microSD card (up to 512 GB). The highlight of the smartphone is the 5000 mAh battery, which enables very long battery runtimes.
The G7 Power unfortunately only uses a single camera, bit it still takes good pictures. It is also comparatively heavy.
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Smartphones, Phablets, ≤5-inch, Camera SmartphonesNotebookcheck's Top 10 Smartphones under 160 Euros
Pricecompare
2nd - Xiaomi Redmi 7
The Xiaomi Redmi 7 has a 6.26-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1520 x 720 pixels. It is powered by a Snapdragon 632, which is supported by 3 GB RAM. You also get 32 GB internal storage, which can be expanded via microSD card. Other models with 2/16 GB and 4/64 GB are offered as well. The 4000 mAh battery ensures long battery runtimes.
Despite the low price, you can choose between different colors and even get a fingerprint scanner. The GNSS module did not work well in our review, and the utilization of PWM might also be a deal breaker.
Pricecompare
3rd – Huawei P Smart (2018)
When it was first introduced, Huawei's P Smart (2018) was a mid-range smartphone at a much higher price. However, over time it trickled down into the sub 160 Euro range. It is powered by the Chinese manufacturer’s own mid-range SoC and features 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage that can be expanded via microSD card. Its 2:1 5.65-inch display runs at a native resolution of 2160 x 1080 and turned out to be incredibly bright.
Particularly impressive were its decent dual-camera as well as its fast fingerprint reader featuring configurable gestures. Battery life was respectable but nothing to write home about, and Wi-Fi was limited to the 2.4 GHz band.
Pricecompare
4th - Samsung Galaxy A20e
The Samsung Galaxy A20e is one of the more compact smartphones on the market and also comparatively light at 141 grams. It has a 5.8-inch HD+ display, 3 GB RAM, and 32 GB internal storage, which can be expanded via microSD. The dual-camera features an additional ultra wide-angle and takes comparatively good pictures in daylight conditions.
The Samsung smartphone can convince with its pretty long list of features, so it does not require many compromises. The battery also provides long runtimes, only fans of demanding games and selfies will not be happy with the A20e.
Pricecompare
5th – Huawei Y6s
The Huawei Y6s features a 6.09-inch large IPS display running at a native resolution of 1560 x 720. It is powered by a mid-range SoC made by MediaTek, 3 GB of RAM, and 32 GB of internal storage space that can be further expanded via microSD card.
In our review we praised its good camera and battery life. It also features a fingerprint reader.
Pricecompare
6th – Nokia 5.1
The Nokia 5.1 is a comparatively small 5.5-inch smartphone. It features a 2:1 IPS display (1920 x 1080), an entry-level MediaTek SoC that was fast enough for everyday tasks and applications but not much more, and a total of just 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage. Fortunately, the latter can be expanded via microSD card.
On the plus are its use of Android One and its comparatively extensive selection of supported cellular bands. Battery life was decent overall but the phone will most likely have to be recharged every single day.
For a bit more money you can already get the Nokia 5.1 Plus without NFC.
Pricecompare
7th - Samsung Galaxy A10
The Galaxy A10 is currently the least expensive smartphone from Samsung. It has a 6.2-inch IPS display with 1520 x 720 pixels. The mainstream SoC is supported by 2 GB RAM and you get 32 GB internal storage, which can be expanded via microSD-card. The battery has a capacity of 3400 mAh and ensures long battery runtimes.
There are small restrictions for the camera, because it only uses a standard wide-angle lens. The daylight results are still okay though. You have to waive an ambient light sensor and a fingerprint scanner, too.
Pricecompare
8th - Huawei Y7 (2019)
One highlight of the Huawei Y7 (2019) is the 4000 mAh battery, which is already familiar from previous models and once again ensures very long runtimes. Customers can choose between appealing colors for the 6.26-inch smartphone, but the IPS screen still uses the HD+ resolution. 3 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage is on par with the competition.
The dual-camera takes comparatively good results, even though the second lens only collects depth information. Besides a fingerprint scanner, the Huawei smartphone can also be secured via facial recognition.
Pricecompare
9th – Nokia 2.3
The Nokia 2.3 is an Android One smartphone with a 6.2-inch IPS display running at HD resolution. It comes with 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage space that can be expanded via microSD card. The SoC’s performance was pretty poor overall. While it managed to run the vanilla Android One user interface smoothly there is not a lot of performance headroom for much else.
In our review the cheap smartphone from Finland surprised us with its good battery life. On the flip side are poor speakers and no notification LED.
Pricecompare
10th – Wiko Y80
The Wiko Y80 can already be had for less than $100, but it offers a lot for its money. A 5.99-inch IPS display (HD+) sits alongside a rather unique and uncommon UNISOC SoC. While the latter offered a decent level of performance it is definitely an entry-level processor with access to 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage space that can be expanded via microSD card. Unfortunately, the card reader turned out to be extremely slow.
Battery life was fairly good thanks to a 4,000 mAh large battery. That said it could have been further improved if the smartphone would have been a bit more efficient. And last but not least it lacks a fingerprint reader and a notification LED.
Pricecompare
Best Budget Smartphones in Comparison
Size Comparison
Measurement Results
| Motorola Moto G7 Power Adreno 506, SD 632, 64 GB eMMC Flash | Xiaomi Redmi 7 Adreno 506, SD 632, 32 GB eMMC Flash | Huawei P smart Mali-T830 MP2, Kirin 659, 32 GB eMMC Flash | Samsung Galaxy A20e Mali-G71 MP2, Exynos 7884B, 32 GB eMMC Flash | Huawei Y6s PowerVR GE8300, Helio P35 MT6765, 32 GB eMMC Flash | Nokia 5.1 Mali-T860 MP2, Helio P10 MT6755, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Samsung Galaxy A10 Mali-G71 MP2, Exynos 7884B, 32 GB eMMC Flash | Huawei Y7 2019 Adreno 506, SD 450, 32 GB eMMC Flash | Nokia 2.3 PowerVR GE8300, Helio A22 MT6761, 32 GB eMMC Flash | Wiko Y80 GE8322 / IMG8322, SC9863A, 16 GB eMMC Flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response Times | ||||||||||
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 56 (27, 29) | 25 (6, 19) | 40 (17, 23) | 44.4 (20, 24.4) | 54 (25, 29) | 57.6 (28.4, 29.2) | 38 (19, 19) | 44 (22.8, 21.2) | 49.2 (27.6, 21.6) | 77.6 (37.2, 40.4) |
| Response Time Black / White * | 22 (7, 15) | 26 (13, 13) | 18 (5, 13) | 20.8 (7.6, 13.2) | 32 (15, 17) | 38.8 (19.6, 19.2) | 16 (5, 11) | 24.8 (10.8, 14) | 25.6 (12.4, 13.2) | 34.4 (14, 20.4) |
| PWM Frequency | 555.6 (15) | 100 (20) | 349.7 (50) | 100 (10) | 64.94 (10) | 77 (10) | 7692 (25) | |||
| Screen | ||||||||||
| Brightness middle | 608 | 444 | 573 | 475 | 424 | 447 | 451 | 547 | 515 | 423 |
| Brightness | 585 | 441 | 568 | 473 | 397 | 451 | 430 | 543 | 488 | 417 |
| Brightness Distribution | 92 | 90 | 89 | 93 | 85 | 88 | 90 | 94 | 92 | 92 |
| Black Level * | 0.36 | 0.45 | 0.63 | 0.35 | 0.35 | 0.16 | 0.22 | 0.49 | 0.23 | 0.27 |
| Contrast | 1689 | 987 | 910 | 1357 | 1211 | 2794 | 2050 | 1116 | 2239 | 1567 |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 * | 5.08 | 3.94 | 4.2 | 6.8 | 6.45 | 4.5 | 5.44 | 4.5 | 6.1 | 5.7 |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 max. * | 8.74 | 6.72 | 6.4 | 13.4 | 12.76 | 7.9 | 11.94 | 7.9 | 13.4 | 9.8 |
| Greyscale DeltaE2000 * | 5.9 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 8.7 | 8.5 | 4.5 | 7.8 | 5 | 7.7 | 7.2 |
| Gamma | 2.219 99% | 2.294 96% | 2.24 98% | 2.33 94% | 2.231 99% | 2.31 95% | 2.206 100% | 2.35 94% | 2.26 97% | 2.24 98% |
| CCT | 7772 84% | 7445 87% | 7157 91% | 9385 69% | 9108 71% | 7517 86% | 9149 71% | 7400 88% | 8639 75% | 8079 80% |
| Heat | ||||||||||
| Maximum Upper Side * | 32.4 | 39.4 | 35.7 | 35.1 | 39.9 | 37.7 | 38.7 | 37.8 | 28.9 | 34 |
| Maximum Bottom * | 31.5 | 39.4 | 34.1 | 34.3 | 40.1 | 35.9 | 38.7 | 34 | 28.4 | 33 |
| Idle Upper Side * | 26.8 | 31.9 | 34.1 | 29.7 | 34 | 33 | 29.2 | 38.2 | 27.6 | 31.1 |
| Idle Bottom * | 26.5 | 29.9 | 27.9 | 28.7 | 30.3 | 29.6 | 29.8 | 31.5 | 26.6 | 26.7 |
| Battery Runtime | ||||||||||
| Reader / Idle | 1489 | 985 | 1432 | 1021 | 1489 | 2350 | ||||
| WiFi v1.3 | 2143 | 848 | 565 | 715 | 743 | 523 | 753 | 1113 | 919 | 696 |
| Load | 513 | 268 | 202 | 250 | 175 | 276 | 296 | |||
| Power Consumption | ||||||||||
| Idle Minimum * | 1.1 | 1 | 0.62 | 0.66 | 1.38 | 0.7 | 0.51 | 0.63 | 0.87 | |
| Idle Average * | 1.9 | 1.7 | 1.76 | 1.63 | 2.14 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.73 | 2.14 | |
| Idle Maximum * | 2.8 | 2.1 | 1.87 | 1.67 | 2.2 | 2 | 1.85 | 1.76 | 2.19 | |
| Load Average * | 4.1 | 3.3 | 4.47 | 2.77 | 4.21 | 5.4 | 3.17 | 3.79 | 4.96 | |
| Load Maximum * | 6.9 | 5.6 | 6.39 | 3.66 | 6.81 | 6 | 4.44 | 4.66 | 7.61 |
* ... smaller is better
Benchmarks
| Geekbench 4.4 | |
| 64 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Motorola Moto G7 Power | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| Samsung Galaxy A20e | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A10 | |
| Huawei Y7 2019 | |
| 64 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Motorola Moto G7 Power | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| Samsung Galaxy A20e | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A10 | |
| Huawei Y7 2019 | |
| 3DMark | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value) | |
| Motorola Moto G7 Power | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| Samsung Galaxy A20e | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A10 | |
| Huawei Y7 2019 | |
| Nokia 2.3 | |
| Wiko Y80 | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value) | |
| Motorola Moto G7 Power | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| Samsung Galaxy A20e | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A10 | |
| Huawei Y7 2019 | |
| Nokia 2.3 | |
| Wiko Y80 | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value) | |
| Motorola Moto G7 Power | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| Samsung Galaxy A20e | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A10 | |
| Huawei Y7 2019 | |
| Nokia 2.3 | |
| Wiko Y80 | |
| GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 | |
| 1920x1080 T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16 (sort by value) | |
| Motorola Moto G7 Power | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| Samsung Galaxy A20e | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A10 | |
| Huawei Y7 2019 | |
| T-Rex HD Onscreen C24Z16 (sort by value) | |
| Motorola Moto G7 Power | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| Samsung Galaxy A20e | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A10 | |
| Huawei Y7 2019 | |
| GFXBench 3.0 | |
| off screen Manhattan Offscreen OGL (sort by value) | |
| Motorola Moto G7 Power | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| Samsung Galaxy A20e | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A10 | |
| Huawei Y7 2019 | |
| on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value) | |
| Motorola Moto G7 Power | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| Samsung Galaxy A20e | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A10 | |
| Huawei Y7 2019 | |
| AnTuTu v7 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Motorola Moto G7 Power | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| Samsung Galaxy A20e | |
| Samsung Galaxy A10 | |
| Huawei Y7 2019 | |
| AnTuTu v6 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Motorola Moto G7 Power | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| Samsung Galaxy A20e | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A10 | |
| Huawei Y7 2019 | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Motorola Moto G7 Power | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| Samsung Galaxy A20e | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A10 | |
| Huawei Y7 2019 | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| Samsung Galaxy A20e | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A10 | |
| Huawei Y7 2019 | |
| WebXPRT 2015 - Overall Score (sort by value) | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| Samsung Galaxy A10 | |
| Huawei Y7 2019 | |
* ... smaller is better
