Notebookcheck's Top 10 Smartphones under 160 Euros

The Nokia 5 features a 5.2-inch IPS display with 1280 x 720 pixels. We noticed the good luminance during our review. Both the SoC and the memory equipment are typical for this segment. The smartphone also supports with great battery runtimes and a good camera. You also get full dual-SIM capabilities thanks to a dedicated microSD slot. A fingerprint scanner is integrated as well.

The visible backlight bleeding on black pictures is an issue. LTE Cat.4 is also a pretty old standard, but it does at least cover a lot of bands. An update to Android 8.0 Oreo is already in Beta testing.

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.

The Motorola Moto G5 is a compact smartphone, and it also has one of the smaller panels at 5 inches. In return, you get the Full HD resolution on the small screen, which is a rare combination that provides crisp images. It features 3 GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage, which can be expanded via microSD card. The replaceable battery is rare by now. It manages decent runtimes, and the camera takes good pictures under daylight. Lenovo also confirmed an update to Android 8.0 Oreo.

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.

Samsung probably thought it does not always have to be an OLED screen and equips the Galaxy J3 (2017) with a PLS panel for the first time. It is a 5-inch panel with 1280 x 720 pixels, but the manufacturer unfortunately did not manage to integrate an ambient light sensor. Inside the aluminum case is Samsung's own Exynos SoC with 2 GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage.

We liked the long battery runtime, the good camera, and the precise location. The quality of the microphone on the other hand iss less convincing and Samsung also switched to a non-removable battery this time.

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.

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.

The LG Q6 originally started with a recommended retail price of 349 Euros. We criticized the low performance during the review, but it is more than adequate for this price range. The current price also includes 3 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage. The 2:1 display looks modern and is comparatively compact at 5.5 inches. It features the high FHD+ resolution.

While the main camera is decent, we are not convinced by the front camera. The battery runtime could be longer, but the LG smartphone should still manage a full day.

The LG K10 (2017) is the biggest model from LG's entry-level line-up. Thanks to its 5.3-inch IPS display, 2 GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage, it is competitive in its segment. The storage can also be expanded via microSD card. The battery runtime of the replaceable battery is decent, and the camera takes good pictures in daylight.

We are not that impressed by the sound qualities of the K10. The speaker is rather tinny and we were not impressed by the microphone quality, either. The update policy from LG is exemplary though; the K10 does not only get regular updates, but an update to Google Android 8.0 is planned as well.

The specs of the Xiaomi Redmi S2 suggest we are dealing with a mainstream smartphone, but the price dropped significantly. Besides a 5.99-inch IPS screen with the small HD+ resolution, you get 4 GB RAM as well as 32 GB internal storage. The Xiaomi smartphone is powered by a fast upper-class Snapdragon SoC.

Selfie fans will be happy with the 16 MP front camera, but we really liked the battery runtime as well as the current Android 8.1 Oreo during our review.