Budget smartphone

[boyse7en]

My Xiaomi Mi A1 phone is getting a bit long in the tooth and is starting to show its age in battery performance, so I'm thinking of replacing it in the near future. Think i bought it in 2017, so it has lasted pretty well.

I'm not really into phones, so some help on what to look for/what brands to consider would be appreciated.

What I need/want
Fingerprint unlock
SD Card expansion slot
Decent camera for stills
Battery that will last all day
Headphone socket
Size no more than 155 x 75mm-ish


An IR blaster would be good, but not essential (I'll just have to buy a new remote for the TV)
Don't need 5G

I haven't got a fixed budget in my head, but less than £250 for sure. Preferably much less

[blue_haddock]

I'm running a moto g9 plus and it seems to tick most of your requirements and from experience the whole moto G range have been great budget options.

[tribalsurfer]

blue_haddock said:

I'm running a moto g9 plus and it seems to tick most of your requirements and from experience the whole moto G range have been great budget options.

I'm running a G8 plus and can confirm also that these are a good range. My only annoyance is the very loose fitting charge port. Even the slightest of knocks and the cable falls out. Do you find this with the G9 Plus ?

[S6PNJ]

Get another Xiaomi - anything from the Redmi 9A upwards (check specs as the '9' series has hi and low spec phones, as I expect, do the other ranges).

I Have an old Xiaomi (6A) still going strong (just....) and there are 2 other 9A's in my family - just seen they are down to £99 so maybe it's time for me to upgrade....

Buy via TopCash back and get an additional 2.2% off (see link in my profile)

Edited to say - didn't spot the size requirement!!

Edited by S6PNJ on Monday 14th March 15:59

[Riley Blue]

tribalsurfer said:

blue_haddock said:

I'm running a moto g9 plus and it seems to tick most of your requirements and from experience the whole moto G range have been great budget options.

I'm running a G8 plus and can confirm also that these are a good range. My only annoyance is the very loose fitting charge port. Even the slightest of knocks and the cable falls out. Do you find this with the G9 Plus ?

I also have a G9 Plus, no issues with charge port. It's a big lump for the OP though, 170x80.

[boyse7en]

Riley Blue said:

I also have a G9 Plus, no issues with charge port. It's a big lump for the OP though, 170x80.

That would be too big. My current phonejust squeezes into my cycling jacket pocket, anything bigger won't fit and that would mean buying another jacket.

[STe_rsv4]

I've just gone from a Galaxy S8+ to a xaiomi Mi11 Lite and its fantastic! This is probably the first "budget" phone Ive had as nearly always had flagship models, but there was no way I was paying around £70 / month for the latest and greatest.

Processing speeds are good, camera seems good so far, especially the 64MP shot.
good screen resolution, plenty of memory (128Gb) plus expandable memory available. The rapid charge gets from 0 to 100% in around 45 minutes. Side fingerprint scanner works every time. Stereo speakers sound good.
Think you can buy them outright with deals for around £250 now.

[mike9009]

We are all using various models of OPPO phones and been really happy with them.

This one is 9mm longer than your spec but is cheap enough to treat yourself to a new jacket or cycle mount......

https://oppostore.co.uk/a15.html

Mine is the same size and fits in both my cycle jackets......

[ooo000ooo]

blue_haddock said:

I'm running a moto g9 plus and it seems to tick most of your requirements and from experience the whole moto G range have been great budget options.

Also a big fan of motorola, currently using a g30 which matches what you are looking for apart from being a few mm wider

[blue_haddock]

tribalsurfer said:

I'm running a G8 plus and can confirm also that these are a good range. My only annoyance is the very loose fitting charge port. Even the slightest of knocks and the cable falls out. Do you find this with the G9 Plus ?

No i cant say i've noticed any issue with the port.

[Scrump]

Moto g series would be my recommendation.
I have switched to a Samsung a32 (as it was free) but would go back to a Moto G if it was my own money.

[wrong_turn]

Huawei P Smart 2019 works well for me. It looks ok, has all the Android apps (it predates the ban). I think was about £160, probably less now if it's still available. It does everything I need, mainly web browsing, navigation and usually still at 80%+ at the end of a day of usage, more like 95% if I just keep it on me for texts etc. It can handle 3d gaming if that's a factor.

My previous phone was an Honor, identical to the Huawei but with a slightly better camera, and a bit cheaper. I lost it and the helpful staff in Tesco said my lost phone was out of stock, but they had the Huawei which is identical except for the camera. I even got the same colour (nice metallic blue gradient).

[Corso Marche]

Just wondering if the OP has found a suitable device?

It's incredibly tricky to find a smaller size phone these days. Android and close to 150x70mm are the criteria.
Pixel 5 and 4a from a couple of years ago seem the closest possible options. I just can't find anything from other manufacturers which are current.

[Easternlight]

I've been using a 4a since Christmas and can't fault it, would rather it had an SD slot but that's just me.

[JackReacher]

Corso Marche said:

Just wondering if the OP has found a suitable device?

It's incredibly tricky to find a smaller size phone these days. Android and close to 150x70mm are the criteria.
Pixel 5 and 4a from a couple of years ago seem the closest possible options. I just can't find anything from other manufacturers which are current.

The new galaxy s22 meets the size requirement, its the only phone I've been tempted to replace my s10e with because of the small size. But it certainly isn't budget, even if you take advantage of the £200 trade in on any phone offer, brings it in at about £500

[OutInTheShed]

Anyone had a recent Nokia?

[Corso Marche]

JackReacher said:

The new galaxy s22 meets the size requirement, its the only phone I've been tempted to replace my s10e with because of the small size. But it certainly isn't budget, even if you take advantage of the £200 trade in on any phone offer, brings it in at about £500

Yeah, I was in a phone shop last week and spotted a Samsung on display which looked the right size and so went straight over to it. Only to see the label beside it said S22 so I walked away. It's for the wife, and she's not going to spend that much money on a higher end phone.
Pity, as the S22 is just the right size physically to replace her existing phone.

[NiceCupOfTea]

I bought a Poco X3 NFC about a year ago when my old OnePlus 3T died. It does everything on your list apart from being quite big. Cost £180. I have got bored with Android after being an early adopter and want to try an iPhone next, but I can't quite get on board with spending over a grand on a phone when I can get something that does pretty much everything for an eighth of the price. I would have to keep it for 5 years to make it worthwhile!

[boyse7en]

Corso Marche said:

Just wondering if the OP has found a suitable device?

It's incredibly tricky to find a smaller size phone these days. Android and close to 150x70mm are the criteria.
Pixel 5 and 4a from a couple of years ago seem the closest possible options. I just can't find anything from other manufacturers which are current.

Not got one yet.
Mainly the size issue is what is putting me off too.
Was tempted to stick with Xiaomi and get a Mi11 Lite, but despite ticking all the other boxes it is a bit big.

Almost considered an iPhone Mini, but realised that it is well beyond my budget.

[boyse7en]

Just to wrap this one up, I've finally bought a phone – A Poco M4 Pro 256

It seems to have everything i want in terms of spec and, crucially, was on offer on the official website reduced to £159. It's also in a rather natty yellow