Moto G4 and G5
The Moto G lineup has made our list for the best cheap Android phones every year since it was first released. Each year it gets a little better too. For 2016 the company went with the Moto G4 for the name, as it's the fourth generation. And while there are two different models, one which has a fingerprint scanner and some improvements, the base model is still $199 and a lot of phone for the price. It will be even cheaper in the coming weeks as the new Moto G5 hits the market in the US. We'd recommend spending a few extra dollars for the G5, if possible.
Buyers will get a bigger 5.5-inch 1080p Full HD display, 16 or 32GB of storage with a micro-SD slot to expand storage, a decent and much improved 13 megapixel camera, 2GB of RAM, and finally a big 3,000 mAh battery. All of this completes a phone that's only $199. It's impressive.
There's a model with more storage, a Moto G4 Plus with a fingerprint scanner, and some other options on MotoMaker.com, but the base Moto G4 for $199 is hard to beat. It's still one of the best overall smartphone experiences for the price.Buy it Now (On sale for $179)
Honorable mention goes out the the Redmi Note 3. However, we're keeping this list mostly to US compatible devices. Outside the US, check it out.
Alcatel Onetouch Idol 3 (4.7-inch)
Alcatel, who typically makes cheap smartphones that aren't all that great, changed things up in 2015. The Idol 3 was surprisingly nice, but as the company got better the new Idol 4 had a higher price tag. Meaning the 3 is still your best bet in terms of cheap.
In late 2015 they announced the Idol 3 with a 4.7-inch display and a wallet-friendly $179 price tag to take on Motorola. It's still available, often for just $119, and is still a good phone if you're on a tight budget.
It has a fast quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor with 1.5 GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and a micro-SD slot. The dual front facing speakers sound quite impressive, and it has two good cameras. A 13 megapixel rear and 5mp front setup. Sadly the battery is only 2,000 mAh, so the G4 might be a better route.
The battery is the weakest link, but with a smaller display battery life shouldn't be too bad. This phone is sleek, runs great, sounds good, looks premium and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. It went on sale a while back, and there's even a 5.5-inch model that can sometimes be found for around $200 right now too.
Or, get the new Alcatel Idol 4 with a free VR headset from Cricket. It typically costs $200 with an activation, but is often on sale for just $99. Otherwise the 4s costs too much for this list. The Idol 3 is still a great all around device.
ASUS ZenFone 3 Laser
The ZenFone 2 has been on this list for a long time, and has been a great phone for those on a budget. However, in 2016 the ZenFone 3 lineup was announced. They have multiple ZenFone 3 models, we want the Laser, not the Deluxe.
After a short wait the entire ZenFone 3 linup is now available in the US. They are amazing phones for a low price. The cheapest of all is the "Laser" model for, you guessed it, $199. And now in 2017 it's just $179.
The ZenFone 3 Laser features the same stunning metal design, 5.5-inch display, and laser-focus camera as the others, but comes in more wallet friendly. Buyers will get a 5.5-inch 1080p display, a Snapdragon processor with 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a microSD slot, and a 13 megapixel rear camera with a blazing fast laser auto-focus. There's also an 8MP front camera and a fingerprint scanner. This phone has a lot for the price.
It became available with support for most US carriers on October 6th. Go get one.
Buy it Now for $199 (on sale for $179)
Moto E 2nd Gen | |
While this next one isn't as good as the first three, it's also much cheaper if you truly can't afford the price point we've been focusing on.
If you want to go really, really cheap, get the Moto E. The new Moto E delivers a quad-core processor, 4G LTE and Android Lollipop in a small package for only $149 outright. However, now it costs only $80. Yes, under $100. The screen is decently sized 4.5-inches, but sadly offers a low 960 x 540 resolution. The first model had dual front facing speakers, but this model that was removed in favor of a bigger screen and 4G LTE. It may be over a year old, but for the price it's hard to beat while staying with a quality brand such as Motorola.
The Moto E 2015 runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, and has plenty to offer for those on a really tight budget. If you have to, get this, otherwise spend a little more and get the Huawei below or the Moto G4.
Buy the Moto E (Now just $81)
Huawei Honor 5x | |
Now for something closer to a premium flagship smartphone, without the high price. Meet the Huawei Honor 5x.
It was announced in January of 2016 and has a fingerprint scanner, metal design and USB Type-C all for $199. This phone is killer for the price. Especially when it goes on sale, which is often.
The Huawei Honor 5x has a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080p Full HD display and is made almost entirely out of metal. It looks and feels like a premium phone, but only costs $199. It's powered by an 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 2GB of RAM, has 16GB of storage, a 13 megapixel rear and 5MP camera setup, and a fingerprint scanner on the back.
Yes a 1080p HD display, fingerprint scanner, metal design, micro-SD card and a 3,000 mAh battery all for only $199. The only downside this has over the Moto G4 is the Marshmallow software isn't stock Android. That aside, it's excellent and worth the price. It comes in Silver, White and Gold and is available from Amazon, Newegg, Huawei and other retailers. If it's out of stock, look elsewhere.
Buy it Now for $199 (On Sale for $169)
If you can afford $249 get the new Huawei Honor 6x. It's the same, only better in every way. Another good route is picking up an on sale Nexus 5X, the OnePlus 2, or many other high-end phones from the past that are dropping in price. Or, try a LeEco LePro 3, or some devices that aren't meant for the US market but support our carriers.
LG Stylo 3 | |
New to this list is the LG Stylo 3. We've seen similar phones hit budget carriers in the past, but this one could be their best one yet. By no means premium, but a good phone nonetheless that will do its job well for only $179.
The LG Stylo 3 is basically a cheaper version of the Galaxy Note 7, in a sense. You'll get a big 5.7-inch display, albeit only 720p HD. It also has a good Snapdragon 435 processor with 16GB of storage, 2GB of RAM and a microSD slot. For the price it also has pretty good cameras on board. Being 13MP rear and 5MP selfie camera up front. It's also running Android 7.0 Nougat, which is a huge plus. Then sliding out of the device is an included stylus for those in need. It might not look too special or be made of metal, but for the price it's a lot of phone.
However, this appears to mostly be limited to Virgin and Boost Mobile, and maybe Sprint. Get one today for $179.
Honorable mentions go out to the ZTE ZMax Pro, Nextbit Robin, or the LeEco S3.
We'll update as more phones arrive throughout 2017.
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