12 Best Unlocked Android Phones Under $300 (Nov 2017)
“Are you looking to buy a Top Android phone under $300?
If YES, Then You are in the right place.
Choosing a PERFECT Android phone which can fulfill your needs isn’t an easy task.
Because there are lots of Android phones being launched each and every day.
And its not an easy task to select a PERFECT Android phone based on your needs and requirements.
That’s why i have selected 12 Best unlocked Android Phones below 300 dollars which may help you to fulfill your needs.
I believe these are 12 Best smartphones below $300 in the market right now.
Let’s get started to know what are those phones
But before we start, let me clarify some important points.
Editor’s notes:
1. All the devices in this list are Unlocked Phones which means you can freely choose any wireless carrier to use in your phone. You can read this post to know more about a Unlocked phone.
2. Some phones in this list are shipped only in U.S whereas some phones are shipped internationally and available in many countries.
3. I’ll update this post frequently Because new Android devices are being released almost everyday so I will try to keep only best performing Android devices in this list and remove the older devices.
Recommended: If you have lower budget i.e less than $300, you can check out my latest article where you can find Best Android Phones below $200.
12 Best Unlocked Android Phones Under $300
1) Moto G5 Plus $299
2) Honor 6x $229
3) Galaxy a3 2017 $269
4) Moto-X-Pure-Edition $185
5) ZTE Axon 7 mini $237
6) Moto G4 Plus $199
7) HTC One M9 $199
8) Samsung Galaxy J7 $203
9) Sony Xperia XA ultra $293
10) Galaxy J5 16 $187
11) BLU Pure XR $299
12 ) Asus Zenfone 2 $289
1. Moto G5 Plus:
Motorola gained its popularity back after long time by launching G series and this is the 5th and latest budget device from Motorola. Every year Moto G series stands out from the crowd when it comes to budget Android phones and this year is no exception. The “Plus” in G series is the highest variant where they include superior hardware and features and that’s what I’m going to talk about now.
The Moto G4 plus came with 5.5 inch display but this year Moto G5 plus comes with 5.2 inch display with full HD screen and IPS LCD display.To protect the screen from any damage, it comes with Gorilla Glass 3.
The snapdragon 625 and 4GB ram under Moto G5 plus helps to run smooth and lag free. It comes Android nougat out of the box. You may expect a future software update from Motorola.
The primary camera of the phone has 12MP with f/1.7 and dual flash. The secondary camera comes with 5MP. Note that you can also record a 4K video using Moto G5 plus (US variant)
It doesn’t have the USB-C port and it has normal USB port which may not a huge deal for many users.
It has 3000mAh battery and fast charging feature which can help the mobile to charge quickly under 90-100 minutes.
And finally Yes, it has old 3.5mm headphone which is an important thing to check before buying any phone these days.
These are the pros and cons of Moto G5 Plus.
PROS:
The fingerprint scanner works fasts and responsive.
Just like Moto G4, Moto G5 plus is also compatible with all the 4 major networks of U.S i.e AT$T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.
Camera quality is really good and it captures good zoom-in and low light photos. Considering the price of G5 plus, this could be the best camera you can get right now.
You don’t need to sacrifice your 2nd SIM slot to use a micro-sd card. Moto G5 is a proper dual SIM phone with a dedicated slot for an external memory card.
If you remember correctly, Moto G4 plus had plastic back while the new Moto G5 Plus has non-removable metal back body which is really a great improvement from Motorola.
The home button in front not only unlocks your phone but it can also some amazing things like swipe left to go back, swipe right to view recently opened apps and holding for a while will bring your Google assistant. Not all the people will use this feature, but still time saving options for many users.
CONS:
Auto-brightness is not working properly in in-door conditions which can be fixed by a OTA update.
Even though it has Moto display by which you can see notifications by tapping on a display, It doesn’t have physical LED notifications. This is really a sad part of this phone. By having physical notification LED, one can see if they’ve got any notifications from couple of meters but you don’t have the same feature in Moto display.
Get Moto G5 Plus
Price: $299
Final thoughts:
If you are thinking to buy a good android phone below 300 dollars, this posts may have already given some good ideas on which device you should buy in this budget.
Honestly saying, you can’t expect high-end specs and hardware in a budget of $300. But the above mentioned devices does have decent enough hardware and features for its budget. If you are using any Android phone in this budget which is better than these mentioned devices, I’m looking forward to hear from you.
If you think some other best devices didn’t make it to the list, do let me know via comments. I hope this post may have helped you get an insight about the best budget Android phones within $300 that you would want to buy.
2. Honor 6x
Honor 6x is a successor to its last year’s Honor 5x which got huge hit in the market. Honor has made few improvements from its last year’s mid-range device. In my opinion, Honor 6x is one the top Android device of 2017 in this budget.
Huawei has followed their strategy of providing excellent metal body design in Honor 6x just like Honor 5x. This is power-pack Android phone which you consider buying below $300.
Let’s see the core specifications of this phone.
Specifications:
Size: 5.5 Inches
Weight: 162g
SIM: Dual SIM
OS: Android Marshmallow 6.0
CPU: Octa-core
Chipset: HiSilicon Kirin 655
Storage: Internal memory of the device is 32 GB and external SD card can be used in SIM 2 slot.
RAM: 3 GB
Camera: Primary: Dual camera i.e 12 MP+ 2 MP with phase detection, auto-focus and LED flash Secondary: 8 MP
PROS:
One of the most important thing that every Android user wants is, battery life. And Honor 6x won’t disappoint you with its battery life. It has 3340 mAh which can easily last more than a day for average users and for heavy users it can last around 6 hours.
The cellular call quality in Honor 6x is good.
Fingerprint scanner in the rear can unlock the screen in about 0.3 seconds which is really a great thing for a mid-range device.
Another best thing about Honor 6x is, its camera. The quality of the camera is really great for mid-range device like this.
CONS:
Honor 6x doesn’t support fast charging which could be disappointing for many users. But its larger battery can helpful in this case.
Speaker volume is just average, it could have been better.
“In a budget of $300, Honor 6x really stands out from the crowd which can surely satisfy you with its rich features”
Price: $249
3. Galaxy a3 2017
The Galaxy a3 2017 was launched on January 2017 and it is a successor to the last year’s A3. Most people ignored it when it was launched because of higher but now it costs only $250. If you want a mid-range device with premium features from Samsung, this is the perfect phone for you.
Galaxy a3 2017 comes with same 4.7 inch display as A3 2016, but lots of things have changed in terms of design and look of the phone.
The design of Galaxy A3 2017 is very similar to Galaxy S7 and you may think its Galaxy S7 mini but it’s actually not. Take a look below,
Galaxy a3 2017 vs Galaxy s7
See, both devices looks similar to each other. Now moving on, both front and back of Galaxy a3 comes with glass which is really a good thing to have in a $250 Samsung phone.
The Galaxy a3 2017 comes with 720P display which may be drawback for some users but for a 4.7 inch device, I think this is a good combination. The super AMOLED display provides a great screen quality and perfect viewing angles.
The exynos 7870 processor can perform well for daily tasks but it may not be suitable for heavy multi-tasking users. This is very important thing to keep mind before buying this device.
It comes with 16GB internal storage which is not good enough these days but you can use SD card in the SIM 2 slot.
The 13MP rear camera provides decent image quality but there are some noise and lack of details because the absence of OIS. The front camera have been improved from 5MP to 8MP and it does a good job. The maximum video quality you can record on this device is 1080P which is mediocre.
The most important and my favourite thing about Galaxy a3 2017 is, it has IP68 water and dust resistant which you may not found in many android devices in this range. Samsung has done a great job by providing this important feature in a mid-range device.
A 2350 mAh battery can last up to more than a day for moderate users and for heavy multi-tasking users it can last up to 5-6 hours. It may not have fast charging feature but it can charge fully in 90 minutes.
PROS:
Premium build quality with front and back glass.
2. Comfortable and compact.
IP68 is a great bonus for this device.
It has always-on-display feature.
CONS:
Slow fingerprint reader.
No physical LED notification.
Lack of OIS.
If you want Galaxy S7 mini lookalike with the same features, Galaxy s3 2017 is the perfect choice for you.
Price: $249
4. Moto X pure edition
Moto X Pure Edition is also Known as Moto X Style.
Moto X Pure Edition was released on September 2015 and still considered as one of the best and cheap Android phones costs less than $300.
Let’s take a look at the key features of Moto X Pure Edition.
Specifications:
Size: 5.7 Inches
Weight: 180 gram (approx)
SIM: Nano-SIM (You may need this nano-sim cutter to cut your SIM which costs around $8)
OS: Android Lollipop 5.1.1 upgradable to Marshmallow 6.0.1
CPU: Quad-core 2.3 GHz
Chipset: Hexa core CPU, Qualcomm snapdragon 808.
Storage: Internal memory of the device is 16GB and external storage can be expandable up to 256 GBRAM: 3GB
Camera: Rear camera is 21 MP and secondary camera is 5 MP
Screen protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Battery: Non-removable Li-Po 2525 mAh battery
PROS:
The design of Moto X Pure edition is extremely neat and elegant. Most people appreciate the phone because of the design and look of the phone.
The Camera quality of Moto X Pure Edition is way better than other Moto devices. They have improved the quality of camera in Moto X pure edition and tons of customers are already satisfied with this improvement.
Just like Moto G4, this phone also works on almost every wireless career in the US and also it supports LTE .
The phone has lots of options to customize your phone in many ways. You can also buy this phone by using Moto Maker. Moto Maker lets you to choose the color, storage capacity, back color and few other things before purchasing it. But you need to purchase the product from official Motorola site. (not from Amazon)
You can quickly charge your Moto X phone with the help of Turbo Charger just like Moto G4.
Moto X pure edition has 3GB of RAM which is good enough to do multi-tasking without much hassle.
CONS:
Moto X pure edition has average battery life in heavy usage.
Some users have also complained that the device gets heated if you play any HD video/game.
“If you want a device which should be both attractive, beautiful and run smoothly, then here is Moto X Pure edition for you.”
Price: starts from $185
5. ZTE Axon 7 mini
If you have read my latest post where i have shared 4 Best Budget Android phones under $400, you may have seen that i have listed ZTE’s Axon 7. But in this post, we have his little sibling i.e Axon 7 mini.
There are few major difference between these two devices which i’m going to share right now. But if you want the full comparison between these two devices, check it out here from GsmArena.
One of the major difference in Axon 7 mini is, its screen size i.e 5.2 inches whereas 5.5 Inches in the bigger version. Axon 7 mini runs in Snapdragon 617 processor whereas Axon 7 runs in Snapdragon 820. The secondary camera in both phones are almost the same, but the rear camera in Axon 7 mini is 16 MP which is 20 MP in Axon 7.
Here’s the full specifications of this phone.
Specifications:
Size: 5.2 Inches
Weight: Approx 153g
SIM: Dual Nano-SIM Standby
OS: Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
CPU: Octa-core processor
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 617
Storage: 1. Internal: 32 GB Internal 2. External: Expandable up to 256GB (Hybrid slot)
RAM: 3GB
Camera: Primary: 16 MP with phase detection, auto-focus and dual-LED flash Secondary: 8 MP
Battery: Non-removable 2705 mAh Li-lon battery
PROS:
Another phone with great build quality which comes with aluminium uni-body. Let me remind you that both Axon 7 and Axon 7 mini is designed by Design works, A BMW Group Company.
Just like HTC M9 and Axon 7, this Axon 7 mini has also powerful dual speakers.
The Fast charging 2.0 is another great thing about Axon 7 mini which can charge up to 46% in 30 minutes.
Axon 7 provides capacitive keys in screen for navigation which can be confusing for some users but Axon 7 mini provides virtual navigation keys which is really easy and useful for most of the users.
CONS:
If you want to view the notifications, you need to press the bell icon in the screen. That’s the only irritating thing i found in Axon 7 mini.
“Axon 7 mini may not be as fast as its bigger brother, but still it has got some decent features in this price tag which won’t disappoint you”
Price: $258
6. Moto G 4th Gen
This is the 4th model of Moto G series by Motorola.
The previous three mobiles of Moto G are already successful and they are aiming to do the same for the 4th version. This is another best budget android phones from a well established brand like Motorola.
The latest version of Moto G was released on May 2016.
Let’s see about what are specs of Moto G 4th Gen.
Specifications:
Size: 5.5 Inches
Weight: Approx 155g
SIM: Dual SIM Standby
OS: Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
CPU: 1.5 GHz Octa-core processor
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 617
Storage: 1. Internal: Moto G 4th Gen comes in 2 variations. Moto G 4th Gen with 32 GB of internal would cost $230 whereas 16 GB of Internal storage in Moto G 4th would cost only $200. 2. External: Expandable up to 256GB
RAM: 2 GB
Camera: Primary camera of the phone is 13 MP and Secondary is 5 MP
Battery: Non-removable Li-lon 3000 mAH battery.
There is a lot of confusion between Moto G 4th Gen and Moto G4 plus. So here is the answer for them.
Difference between Moto G 4th Gen and Moto G4 Plus
PROS: The camera quality in Moto G 4th Gen has improved compared to other version of Moto G.
Full HD Screen: As you may know, Moto G4 comes with 5.5 Inches and the resolution of 1080*1920 Pixels which is indeed a great improvement because last year Moto G3 came with 5 Inches and 720*1280 Pixels of resolution.
Moto G 4th Gen Display
One of the main advantages of Purchasing Moto G4 is it doesn’t have any bloatware installed. Most people get irritated when they notice lots of bloatware installed in their newly purchased phone. Thankfully, Moto G4 is a bloatware free device.
Another best part about Moto G4 is it comes with 3000 mAh battery which gives battery life up to nearly 2 days with normal usage. Moto G4 offers Turbo charging feature where the battery gets charged very quickly. But this can be done only with the Turbo charger which comes with the device when you purchase it. Here is the live demo of How quickly turbo charger can quickly charge your phone.
Credit: AllAboutTechnologies
The BEST Part of purchasing Moto G 4th Gen is it comes with Amazon Prime offer which mean you can get Moto G4 in just $149.99 instead of $199.99 if you are a Amazon prime member. If you don’t know what Amazon Prime is, then no problem. I’ll explain the benefits Amazon prime in brief.
1. Amazon Prime offers unlimited 2-day free shipping for limited set of products. (and Moto G 4th Gen is one of them)
2. Same day delivery is also available for Amazon prime members. But it is available in certain locations only. want to know is you location eligible for same day delivery? find out here. (minimum amount for same day delivery is $35)
3. Stream unlimited videos in Amazon prime. (get more details about Amazon prime video) There are lots of other benefits of Amazon prime. All these benefits costs only $99/year or $10.99 a month.You can become a Amazon Prime member by following this link.
You don’t need to worry about the carrier compatibility when you purchase Moto G4. Because Moto G4 is fully compatible with 4 major carriers of US i.e AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.
Now let’s see what are the CONS of Moto G4.
CONS: There is no NFC in Moto G4. Though not everyone might use NFC but Moto G4 lacks this useful feature.
Moto G4 is one of the best budget phones but still it lacks a great feature i.e Fingerprint scanner. However, they have included Fingerprint scanner in Moto G4 plus. If you are thinking to buy Moto G4 but got disappointed of not having Fingerprint scanner, you may consider buying Moto G4 Plus. Currently both devices costs almost the same.
Battery isn’t user replaceable in Moto G4.
“Moto G4 is large, beautifully designed Android phone which can easily satisfy the users by it’s RICH Features”
Price: $199
7. HTC One M9
You might be wondering why i’m talking about an older device when HTC M10 has been already in the market for sometimes now. Well, this article is about good Android phones only below $300. That’s the reason i haven’t included HTC M10 in this list.
But HTC One M9 isn’t very old though. It is a decent branded phone which has still got to offer for many normal and average users.
First let’s see the specs of this device.
Specifications:
Size: 5.0 Inches
Weight: 157g
SIM: Nano- SIM
OS: Android Lollipop 5.0 and upgradable to Android Nougat 7.0
CPU: Octa-core
Chipset: Snapdragon 810
Storage: 32 GB internal storage with dedicated slot for Micro-SD card
RAM: 3 GB
Camera: Rear camera is 20 MP with auto-focus and LED flash whereas secondary camera comes with 4 MP
Sensors: Accelerometer, gyro, proximity and compass
Screen protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Battery: Non-removalbe Li-Po 2840 mAh
PROS:
Build quality: HTC is regarded as one the best company for providing high quality hardware in their phones and HTC One M9 is no exception. The aluminium body of HTC M9 is really great and it feels premium in hand.
HTC M9 Body
The dual speakers in front of the display adds a great value to this phone because it provides clear and loud audio. The speakers of HTC M9 is one of the best speaker in smartphone market these days.
The IR blaster in the phone is really a great feature by which you can control devices such as TV. If you are wondering how does it work, you can watch this video to clear your doubts.
CONS:
The placement of power key is not very user-friendly. HTC should have put the power key in the center, but they have kept it slightly lower than the middle which can be inaccessible sometimes.
Even after having 20MP camera, the quality is poor or you can say below average.
The larger bezels in the display consumes much spaces which isn’t very cool. HTC should’ve provided a display with minimal bezels to make it more clean and elegant.
“If i want to describe HTC One m9 in 3 words here are they, Fast, well built and affordable”
Price: $249
8. Galaxy J7 2016
Undoubtedly one of the best device by Samsung in a mid-range category is Galaxy J7 2016. It is one of the most successful phone of 2016 and still it is one of the best phone in this budget.
I know that you may be wondering why i’m suggesting you a phone of 2016 model and why not 2017? right?
Some people have rumored that Galaxy J7 2017 is in process but it be costlier than the previous one i.e Galaxy j7 16. If you have a higher budget, then you can wait or else i’ll suggest to get one Galaxy j7 16 model.
Here are few important specs of Galaxy j7 16.
Specifications:
Size: 5.5 Inches
Weight: 170g
SIM: Dual Micro-SIM
OS: Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
CPU: 1.6 GHz octa-core processor
Chipset: Exynos 7870 octa
Storage: Internal 16 GB and SD card (dedicated) supports up to 128 GB.
RAM: 2 GB
Camera: Primary: 13 MP with auto-focus and LED flash Secondary: 5 MP with LED flash
Battery: 3300 mAh removable battery.
PROS:
Design: One of main aspect which i personally like about Galaxy J7 is it’s design. The design and look of the phone is great and amazing.
Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 display
It has super AMOLED Display with HD resolution which does a great job just like it’s smaller brother i.e Galaxy J5 16.
Another good thing about this device doesn’t lag much. Well most people admit that every Samsung device does lag frequently. This isn’t completely true. The reason behind the lagging of Samsung devices are bad optimization of software and UI i.e Touchwiz. If you are a normal user, then you may not have a any performance problem in this phone. If you are a heavy users who plays a lot of games, browse a lot in phone, then the device may struggle a little bit.
Great battery life: Battery size in j7 16 has improved from earlier version i.e 3000 mAh to 3300 which is really a great thing. Galaxy j7 16 can last up to almost 3 days for normal users, for average users it can last more than a day and for extremely heavy users it can last around 6 hours.
Cellular call quality in Galaxy J7 is good.
CONS:
Lack of notification LED isn’t very good for advance users like me. Personally i’m more dependent in LED notification because it saves much time. If you are not a fan of this, this won’t cause any problem to you.
Again the quality of the speakers in J7 device isn’t very good. You may need to use earphones instead of that.
Lack of Auto-brightness sensor.
“The upgraded version of Galaxy J7 can easily impress anyone with its major improvements”
Price: $207
9. Sony Xperia XA Ultra
This is the only Sony mobile in my list and it is worth considering if you are seriously looking to purchase an Android phone in less than $300. Let’s see some important specifications of this phone.
Specifications:
Size: 6 Inches with the resolution of 1080*1920 Pixels
Weight: Approx. 202g
SIM: Single Nano SIM
OS: Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow (Planned to upgrade to Android 7.0 Nougat)
CPU: Octa-core Cortex-A53
Chipset: Mediatek HelioTM P10
Storage: 16GB Internal memory and external memory can be expandable up to 200GB
RAM: 3GB
Camera: The rear of the comes with 21.5 MP and the secondary camera of the phone is 16MP.
Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity, compass
Battery: Non-removable Li-Ion 2700 mAh battery
PROS:
In the budget of $300, you can’t expect a 6 Inch phone from a well established branded company but Sony had delivered a unexpected phone with 6 Inches and full HD screen resolution. This an excellent stuff by Sony.
Well no need to you tell that Sony cameras are very popular and high quality in the world. No matter what features they provide in their Android phones, they will try to provide excellent camera quality in their Android phones. They have also done a great job by providing 21.5 MP in the rear camera of Xperia XA Ultra. The front camera of the phone comes with an excellent 16MP which is really unexpected from a $300 Android phone. Both rear and front camera of the phone comes with Auto-focus and LED Flash which is great thing.
Most Android users are worried about the charging time of their phones and Sony has taken care of it in this phone. They have provided quick charger with phone. A 10 minute quick charging can give you up to 4-5 hours battery life. But the thing is, you need to purchase the quick charger separately. It costs less than $20. You can find it here.
CONS:
It doesn’t have fingerprint scanner which most of the users want these days. But you can’t complain either because in this budget range, not all phones have fingerprint scanner.
It comes with non-removable 2700 mAh battery which isn’t so great. Because if you are a heavy user, battery can’t last long enough. But just like i said before, they have enabled quick charging feature so that charging can be done quickly.
You can also watch the short review video below by GsmArea.com to get additional information about Sony Xperia XA Ultra.
“Sony Xperia XA Ultra provides great camera (both rear and front) with premium looks and metal build quality”
Price: $299
10. Samsung Galaxy J5 16
If you remember my previous version of this article, I’ve added Galaxy J5 2015 edition in this list. But now after huge research i just finalized that Galaxy J5 2016 is a better option than Galaxy j5 2015.
This is another best android phone not even under $300, but you can buy this phone even less than $200. Pretty amazing right?
Let’s talk the general specifications of this phone.
Specifications:
Size: 5.2 Inches
Weight: 159g
SIM: Dual SIM standby
OS: Android Marshmallow 6.0.1
CPU: Quad-core 1.2 GHz
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 410
Storage: Internal 16 GB and external storage up to 256 GB with dedicated slot.
RAM: 2 GB
Camera: 13 MP rear camera with auto-focus and LED flash whereas secondary camera comes with 5 MP and LED flash.
Battery: 3100 mAh removable battery.
As you can see Galaxy J5 2016 edition is slightly better than the older boy. I would like to say that if you are using older Galaxy J5 version, it might not be worth upgrading.
Because both devices comes with same chipset i.e Snapdragon 410 but 0.5 GB extra RAM in 2016 edition. Another reason for not upgrading is, both the devices comes with almost same camera quality and features.
If you are not using J5 2015 edition and searching for a good phone or if you want to upgrade your Android experience from any older Android device, then you should definitely consider this best budget phone from Samsung.
For older Galaxy J5 users, i’m not saying that you shouldn’t buy this phone. There are also few improvements in the newer edition which is worth noticing. And that’s what i’m going to talk about now.
Let’s see what are PROS Galaxy J5 16 has got.
PROS:
Samsung has done a great job by improving the battery size from 2600 mAh to 3100 mAh which is more than enough for average users and for heavy users you can expect around 4-5 hours battery life. If you are expecting more battery life, you should buy Galaxy J7 2016 which i’m going to talk about below in few moments.
Another benefit of Galaxy J5 16 is, its High quality Super AMOLED display.
Galaxy j5 16 display
The screen size has been also improved from 5 to 5.2 inches which provides great brightness and color quality.
Not all Android phones these days offer dedicated slot for SD card but Galaxy J5 16 doesn’t disappoint you with this feature. It offers dedicated slot for SD card and another 2 different slots for 2 SIM cards.
Galaxy J5 16 offers flash for front camera just like J5 15.
As you may already know, Galaxy j5 16 comes with Android Marshmallow 6.0.1. But the latest update from Samsung gives a useful new feature called “S Bike mode” which can be really useful for those who drives the bike more frequently. So what is this “S Bike mode”? Whenever you get a call from someone while riding the bike, S bike mode will inform the caller that you are driving the bike. If the call is urgent, S bike mode will ask the caller to press #1. After that you’ll get a call when you stop the bike. Remember that if “S Bike mode” is turned on, you can’t make even a urgent call when the driver is still driving a bike.
OTG is available in Galaxy J6 16.
Few CONS of Galaxy J7 16 are,
CONS:
Just like 2015’s Galaxy J5, the newer version too lacks few basic sensors.
The sound from the speakers is average. If you are OK with that, then no problem at all.
The cellular call quality should have been better.
“If you are looking for a best budget Android phone from a trusted brand, then you should definitely consider buying Galaxy J5 16”
Price: $169
11. BLU Pure XR
Blue Pure XR is available in the market since August 2016.
BLU is offering great mid-range features at a decent price of $273. It comes with 5.5 inches Super AMOLED display with full HD screen. Gorilla glass 3 comes with the phone to protect the screen.
The phone comes with Android marshmallow 6.0 with custom UI which isn’t great but its not a big deal though you can use launchers such as Google now to get rid of bad UI. It has 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage which can be expanded up via micro-sd slot which uses in the SIM 2.
The fingerprint reader is fast and the 16MP rear and 8 MP secondary camera in BLU Pure XR makes this phone a pretty good deal for its price.
Let’s see what are the pros and cons of this budget phone.
PROS:
The built quality of Blu Pure XR with aluminium body and glass in front is gorgeous and looks pretty good.
The Super AMOLED display in BLU Pure XR is very sharp and good.
The quality of loudspeaker while playing any videos/ games is pretty high.
BLU Pure XR offers 3D touch feature which is available in only limited number of Android phones. Huawei’s mate S was the first phone to offer 3D touch feature and later Apple also adopted this 3D feature in their iPhone. BLU’s Pure XR may not be powerful as iPhone 6s but it offers good enough features for its price tag. If you want a phone with decent specs with 3D touch feature, then you can try BLU Pure XR.
CONS:
The camera quality is not enough for it’s price range.
The phone performs well in normal usage but when it comes to multi-tasking, it struggles to perform.
“Other than camera quality, BLU Pure XR offers good features and gives tight competition for it’s competitors”
Price: $271
12. Asus Zenfone 2
Asus Zenfone 2 is one of the most successful mobiles launched by Asus.
Asus Zenfone is 2 is available in the market from January 2015.
Here are some key features and specs of the phone.
Specifications:
Size: 5.5 Inches
Weight: Approx. 170g
SIM: Dual SIM ( 1st SIM 2G/3G/4G/LTE, 2nd SIM 2G only)
OS: Android 5.0 Lollipop (upgradable to Android 6.0 Marshmallow)
CPU: 2.3 Quad core GHz Processor
Storage: Card slot is available and can support up to 256 GB. Internal memory of the phone is 64 GB.
RAM: 4GB
Screen protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Camera: Rear camera of the phone has 13 MP and the secondary comes with 5 MP.
Battery: Non-removable Li-Po 3000 mAH battery.
PROS: Cheap and Best: This is one of the promising phone on this list. Because it gives you excellent features at cheap price. Many phones claim to give you good features at small prices but most of the phones fail to deliver on what they promise. But Asus Zenfone 2 has already satisfied thousands of it’s customers by delivering what they promise. You can also checkout the awesome reviews of Asus Zenfone 2 here.
One of the main advantages of having Asus Zenfone 2 is it’s screen size i.e 5.5 inch display with full HD screen resolution which is good enough to play games and videos with ease.
The device has 64GB of Internal memory which is quite enough to install lots of apps, save videos and much more. If you are a guy who depends more in internal storage of the phone, then Asus Zenfone may be the option you may have.
Asus Zenfone 2 has a new feature called NFC (Near Field Communication) which isn’t very popular outside U.S but it can help you in many situations. If you have not heard anything about NFC before, let me give you a short definition “NFC is another standard for wireless data transitions. By using NFC Feature, you can send local files to your nearest device or you can pay bills from your phone” Still don’t understand what is NFC? then read this post to clear your doub
OTG feature is available in Asus Zenfone 2. Recommended: What is OTG and cool ways to use it?
It has quick charging feature which can charge your phone fast.
It has active Dual SIM cards which mean you can use both of your SIM cards and micro-sd card together without any hassle.
CONS: Despite of having 3000 mAH battery, Asus Zenfone has average battery life. If you travel a lot, you may need to buy a power bank but its not a big deal for heavy users.
It comes with more than 40 Pre-installed apps which isn’t a good thing at all. You won’t be able to uninstall it, you can only disable it.
The quality of the camera is average.
The device has dual SIM feature but supports only 2G in the second SIM.
“If you want to buy an Android phone with larger screen, smooth performance and great design, then Asus Zenfone 2 may be the best choice for you”
Price: $254
