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MagyarNotebookcheck's Top 10 Smartphones under 160 Euros
August 2019 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 August 2019
| Pos. | Date | Rating | Image | Model | Height | Weight | Size | Resolution | OS | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 04/2019 | 82% |  | 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 | |
| 2 | 03/2018 | 84% |  | Honor 9 Lite HiSilicon Kirin 659 ARM Mali-T830 MP2 3 GB Memory, 32 GB eMMC | 7.6 mm | 149 g | 5.65" | 2160x1080 | Android 8.0 Oreo | |
| 3 | 05/2018 | 84% |  | Motorola Moto G6 Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 Qualcomm Adreno 506 3 GB Memory, 32 GB eMMC | 8.3 mm | 167 g | 5.7" | 2160x1080 | Android 8.0 Oreo | |
| 4 | 08/2018 | 84% |  | Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 Qualcomm Adreno 506 4 GB Memory, 64 GB eMMC | 8.8 mm | 178 g | 5.84" | 2280x1080 | Android 8.1 Oreo | |
| 5 | 06/2017 | 83% |  | Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) Duos Samsung Exynos 7870 Octa ARM Mali-T830 MP1 2 GB Memory, 16 GB eMMC | 8 mm | 158 g | 5.2" | 1280x720 | Android 7.0 Nougat | |
| 6 | 03/2018 | 83% |  | 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 | |
| 7 | 11/2017 | 82% |  | ZTE Blade V8 Mini Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 Qualcomm Adreno 505 2 GB Memory, 16 GB eMMC | 9 mm | 149 g | 5" | 1280x720 | Android 7.0 Nougat | |
| 8 | 11/2018 | 82% |  | 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 | |
| 9 | 09/2017 | 82% |  | Huawei Y7 Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 Qualcomm Adreno 505 2 GB Memory, 16 GB eMMC | 8.4 mm | 165 g | 5.5" | 1280x720 | Android 7.0 Nougat | |
| 10 | 07/2018 | 82% |  | Honor 7A Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 (MSM8937) Qualcomm Adreno 505 3 GB Memory, 16 GB eMMC | 7.8 mm | 150 g | 5.7" | 1440x720 | Android 8.0 Oreo |
Top 10 smartphones from the last 14 months – current reviews are listed first
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While there are no changes this month there are two very promising contenders for this list: the Samsung Galaxy A20e and the LG K40.
1st - Xiaomi Redmi 7
The Xiaomi Redmi 7 ha s a6.26-inch ISP 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
2nd – Honor 9 Lite
The Honor 9 Lite offers a 5.65-inch 2:1 IPS display with a native resolution of 2160 x 1080, and its highlights are a respectable display-to-body ratio and its sleek and slim design. With 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage the device is well-equipped for everyday challenges, and its Android 8.0 Oreo operating system is fairly up-to-date. The phone is bound to receive an update to Android 9.0 Pie in the near future. System performance is decent, however the mid-range SoC struggles with demanding games.
In our review we were particularly impressed by the bright display, the fast LTE modem, and the two dual-cameras that worked very well in daylight. On the downside the speaker was pretty poor and the device lacks support for 802.11ac Wi-Fi. As expected, its glass surfaces are pretty susceptible to fingerprints.
Top 10 Laptops
Multimedia, Budget Multimedia, Gaming, Budget Gaming, Lightweight Gaming, Business, Budget Office, Workstation, Subnotebooks, Ultrabooks, Chromebooks
under 300 USD/Euros, under 500 USD/Euros, 1.000 USD/Euros
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Top 10 Smartphones
Smartphones, Phablets, ≤5-inch, Camera SmartphonesNotebookcheck's Top 10 Smartphones under 160 Euros
Pricecompare
3rd – Motorola Moto G6
What impressed us most about Motorola’s Moto G6 were its very good dual-cameras and its modern and sleek design. While it is true that at the time of writing the phone was only available in a single color, we found Motorola’s choice to be very pleasing. The display was very bright and offered an impressive contrast ratio, and battery life was more than just good. It also runs an up-to-date version of Android, and features 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage that can be further expanded via microSD card.
Our main gripe was its poor Wi-Fi range and the fact that it was limited to LTE Cat. 4.
Pricecompare
4th – Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite (Redmi 6 Pro)
Xiaomi’s Redmi 6 Pro, or rather its European counterpart the Mi A2 Lite, features a 5.84-inch 19:9 IPS-display with a native resolution of 2280 x 1080 pixels, a slightly aged yet nonetheless powerful SoC, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage, and a triple SIM slot. It even supports microSD card memory expansion, an infrared port, and a 3.5-mm headphone jack. Its hardware as well as the comparatively large 4,000 mAh battery are impressive considering the device’s low price.
In our review the smartphone impressed us with long battery life, a bright display, a fast fingerprint reader, and a decent face detection technology. The European model even runs Android One by default.
Nevertheless, there were a few downsides, the most glaring of which were the lack of NFC and the fact that Netflix and other streaming services can only be enjoyed in SD quality.
Pricecompare
5th - Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
The Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) is currently still running on Android 7, but is supposed to get an update to version 8. The great Super AMOLED display only features the small HD resolution on the 5.2-inch screen (16:9). This is still sufficient for crisp images and also improves the battery runtime, which is really good.
Samsung's smartphone offers a decent system performance, full-fledged dual-SIM capabilities, and the support for a microSD card. The voice quality on the other hand is not convincing, and the graphics adapter is not very powerful.
Pricecompare
6th – 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
7th – ZTE Blade V8 mini
The ZTE Blade V8 mini is equipped with a slightly more modern entry-level SoC, which has a modem with support for LTE Cat. 7. The 5-inch IPS display features the small HD resolution. You get 2 GB RAM and 16 GB flash storage, which can be expanded via microSD card. A fingerprint scanner is included, just like two speakers, which provide a comparatively good sound. A dual-cam is rare in this segment and it takes good pictures.
The brightness sensor is a drawback because it did not work really well during our review.
Pricecompare
8th – 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
9th – Huawei Y7 (2017)
The Huawei Y7 (2017) has similar specs to its competitors, but features a high capacity 4000 mAh battery, which enables long battery runtimes. You also get a 5.5-inch display with the small HD resolution, which is okay in practice, but could be higher. It is also unfortunate that Huawei limits the LTE modem to Cat. 4, even though the SoC supports more.
The operating system Google Android 7.0 Nougat is not up to date anymore, and we already mentioned the old security patches during our review. A major update for the Y7 is highly improbable.
Pricecompare
10 - Honor 7A
The Honor 7A is already available for just 139 Euros and shows that you can get a good smartphone for a low price. The IPS screen features a 2:1 aspect ratio with the resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels with sufficient luminance. The camera takes decent pictures in good lighting conditions.
We also liked the battery runtime during our review. However, contrary to the previous model, you only get a plastic case and the WLAN module is pretty slow.
Pricecompare
Best Budget Smartphones in Comparison
Size Comparison
Measurement Results
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 Adreno 506, 632, 32 GB eMMC Flash | Honor 9 Lite Mali-T830 MP2, Kirin 659, 32 GB eMMC Flash | Motorola Moto G6 Adreno 506, 450, 32 GB eMMC Flash | Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro Adreno 506, 625, 64 GB eMMC Flash | Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) Duos Mali-T830 MP1, 7870 Octa, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Huawei P smart Mali-T830 MP2, Kirin 659, 32 GB eMMC Flash | ZTE Blade V8 Mini Adreno 505, 435, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Nokia 5.1 Mali-T860 MP2, Helio P10 MT6755, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Huawei Y7 Adreno 505, 435, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Honor 7A Adreno 505, 430, 16 GB eMMC Flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response Times | ||||||||||
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 25 (6, 19) | 40 (17, 23) | 37.2 (18, 19.2) | 36 (19, 17) | 5.6 (2.8, 2.8) | 40 (17, 23) | 38 (19.6, 18.4) | 57.6 (28.4, 29.2) | 59.2 (30, 29.2) | 55 (32, 23) |
| Response Time Black / White * | 26 (13, 13) | 18 (5, 13) | 24 (12.4, 11.6) | 16 (7, 9) | 5.2 (2.4, 2.8) | 18 (5, 13) | 28.4 (17.6, 10.8) | 38.8 (19.6, 19.2) | 18.4 (3.6, 14.8) | 24 (13, 11) |
| PWM Frequency | 100 (20) | 2315 (17) | 2404 (15) | 240.4 | 2273 (3) | 64.94 (10) | 2315 (14) | |||
| Screen | ||||||||||
| Brightness middle | 444 | 627 | 488 | 554 | 448 | 573 | 413 | 447 | 467 | 417 |
| Brightness | 441 | 622 | 478 | 538 | 451 | 568 | 403 | 451 | 456 | 395 |
| Brightness Distribution | 90 | 82 | 95 | 91 | 91 | 89 | 93 | 88 | 92 | 88 |
| Black Level * | 0.45 | 0.41 | 0.42 | 0.61 | 0.63 | 0.41 | 0.16 | 0.39 | 0.18 | |
| Contrast | 987 | 1529 | 1162 | 908 | 910 | 1007 | 2794 | 1197 | 2317 | |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 * | 3.94 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 4.86 | 2.7 | 4.2 | 6 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 6.46 |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 max. * | 6.72 | 7 | 6.8 | 8.46 | 9.8 | 6.4 | 12.9 | 7.9 | 6.8 | 10.72 |
| Greyscale DeltaE2000 * | 4.8 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 1.6 | 4.6 | 8 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 5.8 |
| Gamma | 2.294 96% | 2.26 97% | 2.41 91% | 2.281 96% | 2.06 107% | 2.24 98% | 2.31 95% | 2.31 95% | 2.35 94% | 2.423 91% |
| CCT | 7445 87% | 7201 90% | 7146 91% | 7770 84% | 6557 99% | 7157 91% | 7923 82% | 7517 86% | 7273 89% | 7839 83% |
| Heat | ||||||||||
| Maximum Upper Side * | 39.4 | 34.6 | 36.4 | 40.6 | 31.9 | 35.7 | 36.3 | 37.7 | 40.7 | 41.9 |
| Maximum Bottom * | 39.4 | 33.2 | 31.8 | 39.5 | 30.4 | 34.1 | 33.1 | 35.9 | 36.2 | 42.3 |
| Idle Upper Side * | 31.9 | 33.7 | 35.8 | 33.3 | 30.2 | 34.1 | 29.8 | 33 | 36.5 | 34 |
| Idle Bottom * | 29.9 | 30.3 | 31.3 | 32.3 | 28.5 | 27.9 | 27.2 | 29.6 | 30.8 | 32.6 |
| Battery Runtime | ||||||||||
| Reader / Idle | 1489 | 965 | 1170 | 1765 | 1564 | 985 | 1021 | 1914 | ||
| WiFi v1.3 | 848 | 601 | 553 | 868 | 738 | 565 | 615 | 523 | 716 | 657 |
| Load | 268 | 253 | 338 | 293 | 449 | 202 | 175 | 402 | ||
| Power Consumption | ||||||||||
| Idle Minimum * | 1 | 0.85 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 0.52 | 0.62 | 1.21 | 1.38 | 0.57 | 1.3 |
| Idle Average * | 1.7 | 2 | 1.81 | 2.1 | 1.17 | 1.76 | 2.26 | 2.14 | 1.61 | 1.6 |
| Idle Maximum * | 2.1 | 2.04 | 1.86 | 3.7 | 1.24 | 1.87 | 2.27 | 2.2 | 1.62 | 2.9 |
| Load Average * | 3.3 | 3.23 | 2.78 | 4.5 | 1.66 | 4.47 | 3.89 | 4.21 | 3.09 | 3.7 |
| Load Maximum * | 5.6 | 4.93 | 4.04 | 6 | 2.94 | 6.39 | 5.96 | 6.81 | 4.26 | 6.4 |
* ... smaller is better
Benchmarks
| Geekbench 4.4 | |
| 64 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Honor 9 Lite | |
| Motorola Moto G6 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) Duos | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| ZTE Blade V8 Mini | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Huawei Y7 | |
| Honor 7A | |
| 64 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Honor 9 Lite | |
| Motorola Moto G6 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) Duos | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| ZTE Blade V8 Mini | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Huawei Y7 | |
| Honor 7A | |
| 3DMark | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value) | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Honor 9 Lite | |
| Motorola Moto G6 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) Duos | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| ZTE Blade V8 Mini | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Huawei Y7 | |
| Honor 7A | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value) | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Honor 9 Lite | |
| Motorola Moto G6 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) Duos | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| ZTE Blade V8 Mini | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Huawei Y7 | |
| Honor 7A | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value) | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Honor 9 Lite | |
| Motorola Moto G6 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) Duos | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| ZTE Blade V8 Mini | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Huawei Y7 | |
| Honor 7A | |
| GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 | |
| 1920x1080 T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16 (sort by value) | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Honor 9 Lite | |
| Motorola Moto G6 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) Duos | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| ZTE Blade V8 Mini | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Huawei Y7 | |
| Honor 7A | |
| T-Rex HD Onscreen C24Z16 (sort by value) | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Honor 9 Lite | |
| Motorola Moto G6 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) Duos | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| ZTE Blade V8 Mini | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Huawei Y7 | |
| Honor 7A | |
| GFXBench 3.0 | |
| off screen Manhattan Offscreen OGL (sort by value) | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Honor 9 Lite | |
| Motorola Moto G6 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) Duos | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| ZTE Blade V8 Mini | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Huawei Y7 | |
| Honor 7A | |
| on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value) | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Honor 9 Lite | |
| Motorola Moto G6 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) Duos | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| ZTE Blade V8 Mini | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Huawei Y7 | |
| Honor 7A | |
| AnTuTu v7 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Honor 9 Lite | |
| Motorola Moto G6 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) Duos | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| Honor 7A | |
| AnTuTu v6 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Honor 9 Lite | |
| Motorola Moto G6 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) Duos | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| ZTE Blade V8 Mini | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Huawei Y7 | |
| Honor 7A | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Honor 9 Lite | |
| Motorola Moto G6 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) Duos | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| ZTE Blade V8 Mini | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Huawei Y7 | |
| Honor 7A | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 7 | |
| Honor 9 Lite | |
| Motorola Moto G6 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) Duos | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| ZTE Blade V8 Mini | |
| Nokia 5.1 | |
| Huawei Y7 | |
| Honor 7A | |
| WebXPRT 2015 - Overall Score (sort by value) | |
| Honor 9 Lite | |
| Motorola Moto G6 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) Duos | |
| Huawei P smart | |
| Huawei Y7 | |
* ... smaller is better
