Top Smartphones Under 70,000 naira [Week 2]

As promised we bring you a roundup of the best budget smartphones under $170/#70,000 to be had. 

"Best" meaning they offer that perfect combination of price and performance at a balance.

Here is YDTnews' weekly roundup of our top budget smartphones for week 2 

 

1st Redmi Note 9:

 

Sporting a FHD+ panel at 1080p resolution, together with a Mediatek G85 chipset, 4gbs of ram and 128gb of internal memory, the redmi note 9 comes in as a truly strong contender for budget smartphones supremacy. Paired with a 5020mah battery with 18w fast charging, 48mp AI Quad rear  + 13mp in display camera setup for photo and videos, the redmi note 9 offers arguably the best value for money. It supports OTA update as well as 9w reverse wired charging.

It currently costs #68000 on aliexpress.

2nd – Poco M3

    Poco recently branched out from its parent company Xiaomi and their first ever independent phone is this budget king Poco M3 which comes paired with snapdragon 662, 4gbs of RAM and 64/128gb of internal storage. It also features a 6.53" FHD+ IPS display with 1080p resolution, a 6000mah battery promising 2days battery life and is capable of 18watts fast-charge though charging from 0 to 100 in a modest 2½+ hours over type C, it also has reverse charging. 

Poco M3 comes paired with 48mp triple camera array behind and an 8mp snapper in front, both capable of portraits. There is the added advantage of stereo speakers, a dedicated SDcSD slot, infrared port and headphone jack.

 

3rd Realme 7i:

Realme 7i sports a Mediatek G85 gaming CPU, 4gb of Ram and 64gb of internal storage, it features a HD+ display with 90hz refresh rate and runs android 10 out of the box. A 48mp AI triple rear camera array and an 8mp front snapper handle photo and videography functions. It comes with a 6000mah batery capable of 18watts fast-charging and claiming up to 45days standby time. We believe this is a strong value for money device with the only major downsides being the absence of stereo speakers and also savings on screen quality, but still there are others who will argue 720p screens are better for budget gaming as it is less demanding on the GPU.

A new unit costs $167 or #65000 on aliexpress at the time of posting.  

4th Xiaomi Redmi 9

Redmi 9

The Redmi 9 features a 6.53-inch IPS display and is powered by a MediaTek midrange SoC. The two available SKUs differ in RAM and storage size with the lower-tier model offering 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage and the upper-tier 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. The quad-camera includes an additional ultra-wide-angle lens as well as a macro lens for improved versatility.

It offers a long battery life thanks to its large battery, and even includes an audio jack and NFC despite its low price. The FHD+ panel is adequately bright, and the only downside worth mentioning is the somewhat poor mono speaker.

5th Umidigi A9 pro:

 

 

Currently costing #52000 for the 4gb ram/64gb memory and #59000 for the version with 6gb ram/128gb of memory. This device seems to defy the meaning of budget. For build quality this device actually feels like a premium device albeit weighing a bit heavy which can be attributed to its front and back glass with aluminum frame design, and if it couldn't get any better, there's the inclusion of an infrared thermometer for temperature reading; an especially handy feature to have during this pandemic.

It comes bundled with an FHD+ display at 1080p with good brightness and clear enough contrast together with the efficient and still powerful Mediatek helio p60. There's a 32mp quad camera for the 4gb ram variant and a 48mp setup for the 6gb variant together with a 24mp selfie snapper for both models. It comes with a 4150mah battery, 10 watt charge and a SoT of about 8hours on Youtube. A bit mediocre if you ask us plus absence of stereo speakers: Overall a Very good budget device

6th – Honor 9X Lite

Honor 9X Lite

The Honor 9x Lite is a well-made update to last year’s model. Unfortunately, it has to make do without various improvements due to the ongoing trade war between the United States and China in order to continue offering Google’s services. Among others, these include the aging SoC as well as the fairly old version of Android, version 9, that Honor is shipping the device with. To make matters worse Honor has not yet officially announced whether or not the Lite 9X is going to receive a major update.

These issues aside the 9X Lite offers a color-accurate display, plenty of storage space, and a decent dual-camera.

7th- realme c3

realme C3

The Realme C3 comes with a 6.5-inch large IPS display running at HD resolution. It is powered by a brand-new MediaTek mid-range SoC and 3 GB of RAM, and features a total of 32 GB of internal storage. The large 5,000 mAh battery made up for its shortcomings in the triple-camera department.

Visually, we liked the device a lot despite its all-plastic case, and it also comes with a fingerprint reader. Considering its low price, the realme C3 offers a lot for its money.

8th – Motorola Moto G8

Moto G8

The Motorola Moto G8 offers a great overall package. It combines a 6.4-inch HD IPS display with a Snapdragon 665, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage, and a large and long-lasting 4,000 mAh battery. The cameras worked well and produced decent images, and the camera offers an ultra-wide angle and a macro lens.

Considering its low price, the G8 is a decent overall package without major weaknesses.

 

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