Android phone under...
 

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[Closed] Android phone under £250

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My Nokia 8 is on its way out.
Been looking at Moto g8 power, refurbed S9 etc.
Had my eye on the redme X2, but it's out of budget. :-/

Battery life should be good, needs NFC, and camera should be good (the g8 is apparently a bit meh). 64gb internal memory minimum, and something not that sluggish.
Access to Google apps would be nice, so no huawei.

SIM free, as it's for work use too.

Anything I should be looking at?


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 10:26 am
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Pixel 3a has just been reduced to £279. I'd stretch budget and get that

Excellent phones.

https://store.google.com/gb/product/pixel_3a


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 10:31 am
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Not sure the G8 Power has NFC?
The G8 Plus does, and better optics than the Power...


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 10:36 am
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3A is a good shout, should still have about 2 years of software updates too.


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 10:59 am
 Creg
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My Oppo Reno has been fairly decent.

You can get the Reno Z on Amazon, SIM free for under £250.

48mp camera, 128gb storage and decent battery life.


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 11:04 am
 cp
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3a is a no brainer at that price IMO if you want new new.

I'd also look at warranty replacement Pixel 2 and 2XL on eBay - they are new devices (labelled up as refurbished) and are going for silly cheap for what they are - 120-150 quid.


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 11:07 am
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Access to Google apps would be nice, so no huawei.

I bought a Huawei recently, and have no problem with Google apps.


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 11:09 am
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Most newish Huawei phones play OK with Google and Play Store.

Should the Pixel 3a appeal, buy from Currys (who have stock at £279), and sign up as a new member to Topcashback, you get another £15 off, albeit from TCB. But £264!

Link to new joiner offer

Cracking article here on the best cheap phones too.

Best budget Chinese Phones


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 11:28 am
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The upcoming 4a wil be worth a look...
https://www.techradar.com/news/google-pixel-4a-could-be-cheaper-than-the-iphone-se-and-pixel-3a-and-offer-more


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 11:44 am
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Moto G8 Plus.


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 12:01 pm
 BigM
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I have a warranty replacement Pixel 3xl for sale at £200 if you're interested, bought it for the other half to try and wean her off i-phones but no luck.


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 12:46 pm
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Pixel 3a is £50 and from £13 a month at ID mobile. Cheaper than paying upfront.


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 12:56 pm
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I recently got a Xiaomi MI 9T Pro ... Has been much better than the iphone7 it replaced.

I think they can be had for about £250 now if you Google around


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 1:09 pm
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My Nokia's speaker packed up. Have gone with a pixel 3a. £210 of eBay.
Happy with it so far.


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 2:24 pm
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Go 2nd hand from a dealer? Much more for your money, better for the environment.


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 2:26 pm
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Pixel 3a ain't waterproof, and no wireless charging, not for me.


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 2:28 pm
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Topic starter
 

Cheers all.

Ended up with the realme 6.
The pixel 3a would have been a little of a stretch.
The best budget phone reviews linked above confirmed it for me.

I was put off the moto as reviews say it's slow charging only, and I have a tendancy to run my phone low, quick charge to 80% etc..

Cheers all


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 2:46 pm
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NBITF Where do you get wiureless charging and waterproofing for less than £250 new? Does anyone do that?

Only one with wireless charging in that top 15 was £449. And that wasn’t waterproof.


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 2:48 pm
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lovewookie

Nice one.


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 2:52 pm
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NBITF Where do you get wiureless charging and waterproofing for less than £250 new? Does anyone do that?

My Ulephone Armor XS is waterproof, shockproof etc, 64gb, wireless charging, 5000mah battery and stock android 9 for £190. The camera isn't brilliant but usable. I'm very happy with it.


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 5:50 pm
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NBITF Where do you get wiureless charging and waterproofing for less than £250 new? Does anyone do that?

Only one with wireless charging in that top 15 was £449. And that wasn’t waterproof

Just got a brand new pixel 3xl for £240. Wireless charging. Waterproof. At least 18 more months of android updates.

Stopped myself from getting new to the market phones. Wait a year and they plummet in price.


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 6:17 pm
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Moto g8plus. My family all run moto phones g5 upwards - they are great kit for a relatively low price. All fasT charge 😉


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 9:27 pm
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As above, g8 plus charges really fast.


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 9:33 pm
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This:

slackboy

Pixel 3a has just been reduced to £279. I’d stretch budget and get that

Excellent phones.\

I'm hanging out for the 4a as it'll be bought with a bonus I got in April & I've never had a new phone (always get end-of-line discount ones) so wanted to treat myself. But, if I hadn't been doing that it would be a 3a all the way....


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 9:54 pm
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My next phone will be a Moto G# when my G6 plus gives up. I cannot think why I’d want to spend more than £250 on a phone.


 
Posted : 17/05/2020 10:34 pm
 nbt
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Can anyone recommend something at a reasonable price (sub £250, preferably sub £200?) with a decent camera that DOESN'T have a massive screen? a 5" screen would be ok, 4.5" better. I'm happy to look at refurbs

Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact and XZ2 Compact are the only options I've found so far, but even a refurb XZ2 is at the top end of my price range, or far above in some cases - seen them going for £340!


 
Posted : 18/05/2020 8:23 am
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Something to consider: older phones with smaller screens had a lot of unused "space" around the screen, whereas on the newer phones the phone isn't much bigger than the screen, so they end up being not too far away from each other in terms of size (if that's your concern).

I'd personally get a second hand Pixel 3a.


 
Posted : 18/05/2020 8:39 am
 nbt
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forked wrote:

Something to consider: older phones with smaller screens had a lot of unused “space” around the screen, whereas on the newer phones the phone isn’t much bigger than the screen, so they end up being not too far away from each other in terms of size (if that’s your concern).

I’d personally get a second hand Pixel 3a.

it's a valid point, cheers. a quick look online suggests the size difference will be noticeable - 151.3 x 70.1 x 8.2mm³ for the Pixel 3a against 135 x 65 x 12.1mm³ for the XZ2 compact - and if you see the side by side pics the size difference is noticeble

https://cameracreativ.com/smartphone-comparison/google-pixel-3a-vs-sony-xperia-xz2-compact

Having said that, the Wileyfox Swift I'm currently using is 141.15 x 71 so actually slightly larger than the Xz2 Compact. Moto G 4g I had before that was 129.9 x 65.9 so TINY compared to the others

The Swift does the job but it's geting slow and the camera is awful.


 
Posted : 18/05/2020 9:16 am
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Can anyone recommend something at a reasonable price (sub £250, preferably sub £200?) with a decent camera that DOESN’T have a massive screen? a 5″ screen would be ok, 4.5″ better. I’m happy to look at refurbs

Ha! I was about to post the same thing. I have a Redmi Note 7, which is a great phone but it's just too damn big. I have an iPhone 8 for work which is the perfect size, but would prefer Android and cheapish.


 
Posted : 18/05/2020 11:51 am

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