Looking for an affordable phone because you either don’t have a big budget at your disposal or you just don’t care about all the fancy features available on more expensive devices? Then keep reading as in this article you’ll find the top 5 Chinese smartphones you can get for under $100!
Top 5 Chinese Smartphones for Under $100
1. Redmi Go
Let’s kick off the list with the go-to smartphone if you’re on an extremely tight budget. We’re talking about the first ever Android Go powered phone produced by Xiaomi, also known as the Redmi Go. Android Go is a lighter and easier to run version of Google’s OS, because of that the handset doesn’t need particularly strong hardware. In fact, we find a low-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 coupled with 1GB of RAM and 8GB/16GB of internal storage expandable via microSD.
In the camera department we find a single 8MP shooter on the back with f/2.0 aperture meanwhile at the front we have a 8MP selfie snapper with f/2.2 aperture.
The smartphone features a compact 5-inch HD display and is powered by a really good sized 3000mAh capacity battery to run Android Go based on Android 8.0 Oreo.
2. Lenovo K9 Note
On the opposite side of the spectrum we have the Lenovo K9 Note, a really interesting device floating at the $100 mark. The smartphone packs a not too large 6-inch display with HD+ and a 18:9 aspect ratio. It’s powered by a good Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 CPU along with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage (expandable).
In the camera department we find two rear shooters of 16MP and 2MP resolution, with the secondary used to capture depth data and add the bokeh effect, meanwhile at the front we find an 8MP selfie snapper.
Finally, the Lenovo K9 Note comes with a good sized 3760mAh capacity battery (with USB Type-C port) at the bottom and runs Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box.
3. Xiaomi Redmi 6A
While we wait for the next budget-friendly Redmi phone to come out in the following weeks, the latest of the series – the Xiaomi Redmi 6A – might still be one of the best devices for under $100. For the price you indeed get a good MediaTek Helio A22 CPU along with 3GB of RAM and either 32GB of internal storage (expandable).
The handset then equips a relatively small 5.45-inch HD+ display, with a 5MP selfie snapper above it. Meanwhile on the back we find a single rear shooter of 13MP.
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The Xiaomi Redmi 6 comes with a 3000mAh capacity battery and runs Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box.
Alternatively, if you’re willing to spend a little over $100, we suggest you check out the Redmi 7 which brings a more powerful CPU, bigger battery, dual cameras and much more.
4. Oukitel C15 Pro
Coming with the same MediaTek Helio A22, we then have the Oukitel C15 Pro. This quite inexpensive device equips a 6.09-inch HD+ display, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage (expandable via micro SD).
Cameras include a primary 8MP sensor paired with a 2MP secondary shooter to create photos with a shallow depth of field effect, at the front we instead find a 5MP camera.
The Oukitel C15 Pro is fueled by a 3200mAh capacity battery and runs Android 9 Pie out of the box.
5. Elephone A6 Mini
Another device that follows all the trends of the time. Meaning a tiny notch at the front, “full screen” design and two rear cameras, is the Elephone A6 Mini.
Elephone’s latest compact phone comes with a 5.71-inch display surrounded by relatively thin top and size bezels, with the small water drop notch hiding a 16MP selfie snapper. Moving onto the back we instead find a 16MP+2MP combo with the secondary used to create a low depth of field effect.
The Elephone A6 Mini is also powered by the good MediaTek Helio A22 along with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage which is expandable via microSD.
Finally, the smartphone comes with a 3180mAh capacity battery and runs Android 9.0 Pie out of the box.
Best Chinese Smartphones for Under $100
This is it for the the month of May, we hope you found your next budget phone among our selection. If you didn’t and you’d like to suggest other Chinese smartphones, please let us and everybody else know in the comments section below!
Well..
5.5″ -> is personal taste
4080mAh -> is great
3GB ram -> is great considered the price
16GB rom -> is terrible
MT6739 Quad -> is terrible
13MP + 2MP rear -> nothing special
5mp front camera -> and so is this
4G LTE -> and this
GPS/GLONASS -> and this
Face ID + Fingerprint -> nice, but doubt it works fine
Android Oreo 8.1 -> a big no no. @75$ there will be no Android upgrade, so not having Pie to start with is a bad deal
And a lot of these examples have either and/or:
– Better software
– Better Socs
– More memory
Especially the better Soc is what makes 4 of the top 5 better then your choice.
In the end, it’s just personal takes what defines the better phone for someone.
There is NOTHING special in ANY of the phones above, if I wanted to do what you did, i’d have an easier job ripping them apart, like seriously? the #1 phone has 1GB ram and LESS (8GB) storage and comes with Android GO! a crappy OS by all means.
All of your comments are silly, espeically (oh this is terrible and so is this, and that is not special) but for a 70$ you get a phone that just about has all features the far MORE expensive phones have and they also come BLOATED with software and not a Clean OS and non of them have more memory.
and the SoC ? bullshit on a daily usage for a regular user. I bought 3 of the T3 Pro phones and they work perfect, no lagging and i actually got a security update (which I totally wasn’t expecting).
At the end of the day, the list is for budget phones under a 100$ and the T3 Pro eats all of those alive for that specification.
there are letv phones and many 4GB+32GB phones with x10/x20 processor(,although on android6 out-of-the-box)
in real day-to-day usage,ram+battery+cpu is more important than anything else;so any phone without 3GB/4GB ram in 2019 shouldn’t be in top-list… like many times,the choices are not the best.
only k9 note and a6 mini is acceptable on the list to watch for below 100$ phone’s choices.
Umidigi A5 Pro is the best, no exception: https://www.gizchina.com/2019/05/21/urgent-discount-umidigi-a5-pro-can-be-purchased-under-90/
U wanna compare a miui to a crappie os from vernee?
You wanna compare the ugly, uncomfortable, primitive looking iOS knock-off called MIUI, to a CLEAN ANDROID 8.1 which comes on Vernee?!
cause if you call “Crappie OS” on Vernee, then you basically HATE the Original CLEAN without Chinese Junk and Spam, Google Android Oreo 8.1 OS!