Affordable Android Excellence: Best Smartphones Under $200 in 2024

Submitted ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨Ninjazzon@infosec.pub⁩ to ⁨technology@lemmy.world⁩

https://www.gizchina.com/2024/02/18/affordable-android-excellence-best-smartphones-under-200-in-2024/

While flagship smartphones boast impressive features, spending $1,000 is not a prerequisite for a satisfying Android experience nowadays. If you’re in need of a new smartphone and have a budget of approximately $200, there are numerous excellent options available. Surprisingly, some of the best Android phones under $200 come equipped with features like 5,000mAh batteries, multi-lens camera setups, and the promise of extended software updates.

We thoroughly evaluate various Android phones to ensure optimal performance without encountering unexpected issues down the line. If we were to recommend one Android smartphone in the sub-$200 price range, it would be the latest addition to Samsung’s lineup, the Galaxy A15 5G. Boasting a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED screen, a sizable battery with 25W fast charging support, and more, it offers a compelling package. Alternatively, consider Motorola’s Moto G Play (2024) for a straightforward yet functional device.

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LunarLoony@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I just wish they were smaller. I’d love to have a Nexus 4-sized phone again.

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- mox@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Sony made compact versions of their flagship phones until somewhat recently. They were good, and even had basic open-source OS support. I hope they revive that product line.
  
  Another thing I’d like to see more of is relockable bootloaders, so that we can have something like GrapheneOS without Google hardware.
  
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  - aluminium@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    The Xperia 5 Series is pretty much the successor. They feel tiny in the hand due to being really slim and narrow.
    
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- rizoid@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  This is the main reason why I buy the a series pixel phones. Generally they are smaller. Not small enough IMO, but smaller than the major flagships for sure.
  
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  - ikidd@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    I have a 4a and need to upgrade, and have the same size consideration. Are there any downsides to the 6a that you know of?
    
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- SharkAttak@kbin.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  This! I recently bought a new smartphone and I don't get why screen size has constantly inched up, and pretty much across all price ranges! I'd understand if it was just gaming or photo-oriented ones..
  If this goes on we'll all end up with comically large clown phones.
  
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  - TedJ70@aussie.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    In many markets your smartphone is your primary, or only, computing device. Many people use their phones as media consumption devices. Those are the two primary drivers of our ever growing handsets.
    
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- phanto@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Looks at my Mode one Retro ii Tiny? Check! All day battery? Check! 200$? Check! Do I get called “flip phone” now? Big check!
  
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- krakenx@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Asus ZenFone 8
  
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  - LunarLoony@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Still gigantic. The screen is a good inch-and-a-bit larger than the Nexus 4.
    
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- GraniteM@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Unihertz!
  
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  - LunarLoony@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    …tempting! I enjoy the QWERTY keyboard phones as well. Wonder if they’ll bring back the fold-out keyboard that I lusted over back in 2011…
    
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Pantherina@feddit.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
And then how long do you get any updates?

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- shortwavesurfer@monero.town ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  I flash custom ROMs, so get updates pretty frequently, but that is beyond most people’s capabilities, for sure. I currently use the OnePlus Nord N200 which i got new for $250 and installed LineageOS 20 (Android 13l on it. You can still tell it’s a $250 phone compared to like $1000 phones but the differences aren’t noticeable enough to cause me issues and make me want to upgrade.
  
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  - Pantherina@feddit.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Idk, I bought a used Pixel and use it with GrapheneOS. 150/200€ often, if you repair it yourself its cheaper.
    
    LineageOS is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many components that will likely not get any updates
    
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  - v4ld1z@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    For the uninitiated, what’s Lineage OS? Is that like a FOSS alternative OS?
    
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  - Salix@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Do note that although custom ROMs helps provides OS updates, it does not help with any firmware updates to your phone parts as those are vendor released, and once they stop providing updates, it is no longer secure
    
    I have a OnePlus 3T (2016) that is running Android 11 custom ROM. I use it mainly for some games and browsing. I would never use it as my main phone though. Don’t want to risk all of my info/data on there.
    
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  - Cheradenine@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    That only works if there is support for the phone from developers. For many phones there isn’t any, both because the OEM did not make their source available and no individual Dev was interested in doing support for it.
    
    If you want a new phone that has support you need to research it first.
    
    Phones with Mediatek processors tend to be the worst for this, because the source code often is not released, contrary to the open source license.
    
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- aluminium@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Updates matter shit these days. Honestly. If you have Android 10 or higher 99% of Playstore Apps work today and honestly after Android 10 we haven’t gotten any noteworthy new features.
  
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solrize@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Article is copied from androidcentral.com/best-android-phones-under-200

Their recommendations seem a little bit arbitrary though. And Androidcentral recommended 6 models but Gizchina left one out, the Nokia N100. No idea why.

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- Darkhoof@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Because it is not Chinese.
  
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  - ShepherdPie@midwest.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Samsung isn’t Chinese either.
    
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- tobbue@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Damn, Nokia G100 seems to not be available on the German market. :(
  
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JoeKrogan@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
They are all shit they all come with bloat/adware harvesting your data. So may as well get a cheap one if you need to have one. You’re getting taken for a ride either way. If you can buy one with a vanilla or hardened and privacy oriented one then thats another story.

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- Hyperreality@kbin.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  When I bought my phone a few years ago, motorola offered one with relatively stock android, no forced install of facebook or whatever, several years of (timely) android updates, and a large battery. A few years down the line, and I'm still getting updates and the battery still lasts days.
  
  And it was plastic and came with a cover, so it's survived the occasional fall just fine.
  
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- hannes3120@feddit.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Also they are probably not repairable at all.
  
  Part of the high cost is ensuring that you support the phone not just software wise but also with spare parts for some time and those ultra cheap phones usually do neither
  
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  - LanternEverywhere@kbin.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    No, opposite on the hardware front. The cheap phones tend to be much more physically repairable.
    
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Altomes@lemm.ee ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Honestly in my mind the best phone is a used one with lineage, like my oneplus 8t was $130 it’s in great shape with 256gb and I’m relatively confident it’ll receive updates for years to come from Lineage.

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- clark@midwest.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  I’m sorry if this is the wrong place to ask, but do older phones running Lineage still receive updates? Say, Samsung S9, is it worth installing the OS despite its age? Not too knowledgable on this area, just wanna learn!
  
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  - drengbarazi@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Looks like Samsung Galaxy S9 is [still receiving updates}(wiki.lineageos.org/devices/starlte/). Last build (nightly) was like today.
    
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  - LambdaRX@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Budget Redmi 4A from 2016 just got updated to android 14.
    
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- turbowafflz@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Yah this is absolutely true, I bought a used oneplus 9 last year for $200 and it is so much better than anything new you can get for that price.
  
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- ReveredOxygen@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  I’m running lineage on a moto g7 I got for $150. It works pretty well for the most part, but it chugs a bit when I try to use a browser
  
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Pwnmode@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
This article seems like each piece was written by the companies themselves. Like it says the A15 only.charges at 25w and then uses words like " charges rapidly at 18w" on the next phone. Really shitty writing.

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- sugartits@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  gizchina.com is an unreliable source for impartial information?!
  
  NO WAI!
  
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- Blackmist@feddit.uk ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Almost like they just threw a bunch of press releases into an AI and let it jumble them into an “article”.
  
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Toes@ani.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
My elderly clients tell me $200 is too much for a phone. They want it to be $50 max. It’s always a big hassle

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- QuarterSwede@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  $200 is too much for a phone. That’s why it’s also web browser, Walkman, TV, recipe book, accountant, computer … of course, you know this.
  
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  - Toes@ani.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Right, but to them it’s all worthless features. Except YouTube they like that
    
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- Kecessa@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Flip phone
  
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  - QuandaleDingle@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Surely they won’t complain then…
    
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  - pineapplelover@lemm.ee ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    I got a flip phone for $20. They’re not wrong if all they need is calling and possibly texting.
    
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- Pretzilla@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Used Moto G then
  
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- Mango@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Ask them how they could conceive of a way to make a pocket super computer with only 3 hours of their time with of money and effort.
  
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- emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  There are plenty of feature phones for <$50. Many even have basic cameras, a web browser and even some games.
  
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  - Toes@ani.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Got any solid recommendations?
    
    Whenever I browse them they all look like a scam or don’t support LTE.
    
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Cosmos7349@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I’m currently using a pixel 5a with grapheneos. A little slow, but otherwise great! Usb-c AND a headphone jack? I feel like that gen was far too short.

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THE_MASTERMIND@feddit.ch ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
200 really is enough for a phone if i am being honest unless you need grapheno or camera you are never gonna see a difference.

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aluminium@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
If you are shopping for sub 200$ buy used. I have bought a Note 9, S10E, LG G8, … for under 80$. Imagine what 200$ gets you.

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- wildbus8979@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  None of these are getting updates though.
  
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  - 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Yeah, buying phones that old is dumb advice
    
    worn out battery that probably wont charge fully or last another 2 years
    
    outdated OS that wont get security updates
    
    I’m 100% all for keeping old phones running for many years, but buying a note 9 in 2024 is not how to go about doing that
    
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  - aluminium@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    it doesn’t matter, they don’t stop working If you are a couple of Versions behind. App developers have adopted and Always Support multiple old Versions.
    
    Security - yeah maybe but I’d personally would feels 10x safer using a Stock Android Phone that doesn’t get updated than a up to date Samsung.
    
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  - AzureRT@reddthat.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    You’re right, but all these phones will be better than any current budget. People who just need a phone to do basic things will probably not care updates, and they’ll be fine as long as they don’t download anything off random sites.
    
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cosmicrookie@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Although I daily hate the operating system, my cheapish xiaomi has 120w charging and I never knew I’d love that so much! I can charge to 100% in half an hour!

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- TimeNaan@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Install Lineageos.
  
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  - erwan@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Xiaomi phones are a pain to unlock the bootloader. You have to use their shitty Windows app, wait one week after the first step…
    
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guyrocket@kbin.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I bought Pixel 8 for about $650 and installed GrapheneOS on it. Pretty happy so far.

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- siftmama@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Did the same for pixel 6 pro, but recently it just keeps killing all apps, including the ones that are unrestricted far as battery is concerned. Starting to get to a point where I should reset it and install LineageOS.
  
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  - guyrocket@kbin.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Killing apps? Is closes them when they're running or uninstalls them?
    
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bighatchester@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
My experience with the galaxy a series is they break the first time you drop them . But it’s been about 2 years maybe it got better .

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- caron@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  I’ve had the A34 for a couple of months now and everytime it’s fallen off from bed it has withstood the fall
  
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  - aluminium@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    It depends mostly on the surface material. I can comfortably drop my phone from head hight onto a wood flor, but a drop onto a tile or cocrete floor is leathal from waist height.
    
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- le_saucisson_masquay@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Their parts are pretty cheap and easy to repair.
  
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- pastermil@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  I’ve been rocking a Galaxy A52 bought new up to now. Dropped it many times than I could count. No issue except for the back panel glue breaking apart. Nothing I had to break my bank fixing.
  
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  - bighatchester@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Nice . I had much worse luck . I broke 3 galaxy A phones ( can’t remember the exact names , one was the A5 ) my Galaxy S21 seems in destructible. I slipped on some ice and my phone flew 10 feet in the air and landed on pavement with no issues . Also dropped it in a bunch of cat used cat litter someone had dumped in the garbage for my apartment and had to wash it with dish soap and water . Plus my son dropped it a few times from shopping cart height.
    
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HAL_9_TRILLION@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I bought a Moto G Stylus 4G a few months ago for $39. The Blue Box had some online special for some reason. It’s hard to believe how cheaply you can get a nice phone.

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