August has been a busy month in Chinese smartphone market, talking about new model launches. There have been new models like Redmi Pro (end of July) and Redmi Note 4 from Xiaomi, M3E from Meizu, Cool1 from LeEco and Coolpad marriage, Q5 series from 360. More will come before the end of this year including some flagship models. There is a big war between phone makers to catch a piece of this billion $’s cake.
As the second version of our “Smartphone Buyers Guide” today we will take a look for the models that cost between 100$-200$. There are so many choices when we include old models from last year too, I mean models with old chipsets that has been updated with new series. So they will be eliminated, otherwise this list won’t end 🙂 As an example, I didn’t include Meizu M2 Note or Meizu Metal in this guide, even though both are still very good phones under 200$, because there is M3 Note out and you can buy it under 200$ too. There will be some exceptions, of course, if it’s a bargain.
Speaking of Meizu, let’s start with this makers phones under 200$.
MEIZU M3 Note
$145.89 for 2GB/16GB, $186.99 for 3GB/32GB version.
Display: 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 ( FHD ) screen 403 PPi
CPU: Helio P10 Octa Core ARM Cortex-A53 1.8GHz x 4 + ARM Cortex-A53 1.0GHz x 4
GPU: ARM Mali T860 image processor
System: Android 5.1 ( Flyme 5.1 )
RAM + ROM: 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM / 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM. TF card up to 128GB
Camera: Rear camera 13 megapixel, Corning Gorilla 3 glass, f/2.2 aperture, 5-element lens, Continuous shooting, Panorama, PDAF auto-focus, Two-tone flash
Front camera 5 megapixel, f/2.0 aperture, 4-element lens, FotoNation 2.0, FaceAE
Bluetooth: 4.0
GPS: GPS/A-GPS/GLONASS
Sensors: Hall magnetic sensor, Gravity sensor, IR proximity sensor, Gyroscope, Ambient light sensor, Touch sensor, Digital compass
SIM Card: Dual SIM, Dual standby, Dual Micro SIM cards
Battery Capacity (mAh): 4100mAh
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 15.36 x 7.55 x 0.82 cm / 6.05 x 2.97 x 0.32 inches, 163gr
6000 Series Aluminum alloy, means you have a very solid phone in your hands. Meizu always been about “quality”and last year even its budget phones carried production quality to next step. M3 Note, powered by the octa-core 1.8GHz MediaTek Helio P10 chipset is capable of every daily needs of yours, plus more. 4100mAh battery power will be enough for heavy use whole day, for regular use 2 days. When it comes to fingerprint I’m a fan of front placement, simple idea, I want to unlock my phone to see my notifications when it’s on the desk with a simple touch, don’t want to bother to grab it and place my finger to the back of the phone. Meizu’s mTouch is one of the best in the market, combining 3 key functions in 1 and adding fingerprint sensor to it. As we know from the reviews, both cameras of M3 Note do the job for this price range, i mean they are good enough for most of users. Maybe not as good as Oppo R9 with the same chipset inside (Helio P10), but you get Meizu M3 Note for the half price.
Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/04/23/meizu-m3-note-review/
Meizu M3S
119.90 $ / 169.90 $ (2GB/16GB – 3GB/32GB)
Display: 5.0 inch 2.5D Arc 1280 x 720 HD Screen
CPU: MTK6750 1.5GHz 64bit Octa Core
System: Android 5.1
RAM + ROM: 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM / 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM. TF card up to 128GB.
Camera: 5.0MP f2.0 front camera + 13.0MP f2.2 back camera
Bluetooth: 4.0
GPS: GPS/A-GPS/GLONASS
Sensors: Gravity sensor, Proximity sensor, Gyroscope, Ambient light sensor, Electronic compass
SIM Card: Nano SIM
Battery Capacity (mAh): 3020mAh
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 14.20 x 7.00 x 0.80 cm / 5.59 x 2.76 x 0.31 inches , 142gr
5.5″ is too big for you ? Here is the little brother of M3 Note — Meizu M3S comes with 5″ HD screen, 2.5D curved glass on top of it. Again with metal body, same mTouch 2.1. A powerful CPU from the same class as Helio P10. Having said that, let’s explain this.
MTK6750 is the toned down version of the MTK6755. Features a similar setup as the MTK6755, including an 8-core 4×4 big.LITTLE configuration with Cortex-A53 CPUs. The difference is that the higher-clocked CPUs will only be set to a maximum of 1.5GHz as opposed to 2.0GHz with the MT6755 Helio P10. The typical setup of MT6750 will be [email protected] and [email protected]. GPU is the same, ARM Mali T860 MP2.
XIAOMI Redmi Note 3 Pro
183.99 $ for 3GB/32GB version
Display: 5.5-inch, 1920 x 1080 Pixel Screen with 403 PPI
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 64bit 1.8GHz Hexa-Core ( 2 x A72 + 4 x A53 )
GPU: Adreno 510
System: MIUI 8
RAM + ROM: 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM
Camera: 5.0MP with f/2.0 aperture front camera + 16.0MP with 78 degree wide-angle, f/2.0 aperture back camera
Sensor: Light sensor, G-sensor, Proximity sensor, Hall Sensor, gyroscope, E-compass and fingerprint sensor
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby. One is Micro SIM card slot, the other is Nano card slot, which can also be used as a TF card slot.
Note: Nano SIM card and TF card cannot be used together, because they share the same space of card slot.
Feature: GPS/ A-GPS / Glonass / Beidou
Bluetooth: 4.1
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby, dual Micro SIM cards
Battery Capacity (mAh): 4000
Network:
2G: GSM 900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz; CDMA 2000: BC0
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 15.00 x 7.60 x 0.87 cm / 5.91 x 2.99 x 0.34 inches, 168gr
Yes, Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 will be on the market soon, but Redmi Note 3 Pro with Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 Chipset will still be most users first choice in this price range. Especially for gamers, because of the Adreno 510 GPU of course. For 5.5″ inch screen size lovers, Xiaomi’s Redmi Note series has always been very popular because of its price/performance ratio. Note 3’s 4000mAh battery will help at least one day under heavy use, more with regular use. Phone has a metal back, but its not unibody, you can take out the back metal cover, still feels nice in hand with matte finish. Has a decent 16MP camera with PDAF supporting 0.1s ultra-fast focusing + two-tone flash light. Finger print sensor is on the back that unlocks your phone in 0.3s. Redmi Note 4 will come with Helio X20 CPU as we all know, so Qualcomm fans probably won’t change their Redmi Note’s for a while.
Xiaomi Redmi 3S
127.69 $ 2GB/16GB, 146.89 $ 3GB/32GB
Display: 5.0 inch 1280 x 720 HD screen
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 Octa Core 1.4GHz / Adreno 505 GPU
System: Android 6.0
RAM + ROM: 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM / 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM
Max Storage Expansion: 128GB
Camera: Back camera 13.0MP + front camera 5.0MP
Bluetooth: 4.1
Feature: Fingerprint Scanner, GPS, A-GPS
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby, one is micro SIM card, the other is nano SIM card
Battery Capacity (mAh): 4100
Network:
2G: GSM 900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz CDMA 2000 BC0
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 13.90 x 6.90 x 0.80 cm / 5.47 x 2.72 x 0.31 inches, 144gr
5″ Redmi 3 series was updated with a new chipset recently, powered by a Snapdragon 430 CPU and the model name became Redmi 3s. Snapdragon 430 brings us Adreno 505 GPU with. These specs made Redmi 3s the most powerful 5″ phone in this price range, made it the little brother of Redmi Note 3 Pro. Redmi 3s has an even bigger battery with 4100mAh capacity and having only HD 5″ screen, this little brother will last longer. With that battery, the Redmi 3s weighs only 144 gm, which is good. 13MP/5MP front and rear cameras and fingerprint sensor sounds as the minimum standards in phone industry lately.
Redmi 4 is behind the corner : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/09/03/xiaomi-redmi-4-appears-tenaa-fhd-3gb-ram-699-yuan-105-price/
Xiaomi Mi Max
182.99 $ for 2GB/16GB edition
Display: 6.44 inch, 1920 x 1080 Pixel 2.5D Arc Screen
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 64bit 1.8GHz Hexa core
GPU: Adreno 510
System: Android 6.0 ( MIUI 7 )
RAM + ROM: 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM
Camera: 5.0MP with f/2.0 aperture front camera + 16.0MP with f/2.0 aperture back camera
Sensor: Light sensor, G-sensor, Proximity sensor, Hall Sensor, gyroscope, E-compass, Infrared, Fingerprint sensor, Accelerometer, etc.
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby. One is Micro SIM card slot, the other is Nano card slot, which can also be used as a TF card slot.
Note: Nano SIM card and TF card cannot be used together because they share the same space of card slot.
Feature: GPS/ A-GPS / Glonass / Beidou
Bluetooth: 4.2
Battery Capacity (mAh): 4850
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 17.30 x 8.80 x 0.60 cm / 6.81 x 3.46 x 0.24 inches, 203gr
A BIG surprise in every aspect ! You want the biggest screen size in a smartphone ? And you also want the biggest battery with it ? 6.44 inch + 4850mAh battery for under 200$. Biggest brother of the family, comes with same CPU of Redmi Note 3 Pro, Snapdragon 650, but with less Ram, 2GB for this edition. 16GB for ROM option is not very important because Mi Max has a SD card slot. If you spend much of your time looking on a mobile phone’s screen during the day, especially for media, biggest screen powered with the biggest battery for just 183$, I think this phone is a bargain for its specs.
Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/06/12/xiaomi-mi-max-review-lot-xiaomi/
LeEco Le 2
158.77 $ for 3GB/16GB, 184.89 $ for 3GB/32GB
Display: 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 Screen
CPU: Helio X20 MTK6797 Deca-Core
System: Android 6.0
RAM + ROM: 3GB RAM + 16GB/32GB ROM
Cameras: Front 8.0MP + Rear 16.0MP AF with flash
Bluetooth: BT4.0
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby. ( Dual Nano SIM cards )
Battery Capacity (mAh): 3000
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 15.11 x 7.41 x 0.77 cm / 5.95 x 2.92 x 0.3 inches, 152gr
MediaTek Helio X20 (and X25 with more CPU speed) series started to power many phones. It’s a flagship-grade CPU for sure, not the fastest yes, but little under 100K Antutu score is still something. Heli0 x20 is a deca/10-core CPU to remind you. GPU is also powerful enough, a quad-core Mali T880. This combination is better than any on the market, except flagships like Snapdragon 820 and Exynos 8890 from Samsung, but hey, we are talking about under 200$ phones here, remember.
Le 2 comes in a metal unibody, very well crafted. The screen is 5.5″ in-cell full HD IPS panel. The phone has no 3.5mm headphone jack, first in the market, you get audio from Type-C port in Hi-Fi format. Don’t worry, there is adaptor included in the box, if you still want to use your beloved headphones.
Back Camera is 16MP, supporting 4K video shooting mode, front is 8MP, both sensors are from OmniVision. They give you surprisingly good results for this price range. Only downside may be, for some, battery capacity is 3000mAh. So if you want the most powerful phone in this price range and flagship grade build quality, LeEco Le 2 is your choice.
PS: I need to say something about the colors. I’m enough of these gold, rose gold, grey or white, missed all black phones like in the old days. Matte black would be amazing on Le 2 and I think, most of you will agree. Hopefully, new models will have this options : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/08/19/black-leeco-le-2s-back-cover-looped-antenna/
Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/05/10/leeco-le-2-review/
LeEco x600
117 $ 3GB/16GB
Display: 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 FHD screen
CPU: Helio X10 Octa core 2.0GHz
System: Android 5.0
RAM + ROM: 3GB RAM + 16GB ROM
Cameras: 5.0MP front camera + 13.0MP rear camera with AF face beauty and true flash light
Bluetooth: BT4.0
Sensor: Light sensor , G-sensor , P-sensor, Hall Sensor,Proximity sensor
Navigation: GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby. ( Dual micro SIM cards )
Battery Capacity (mAh): 3000
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 14.70 x 7.40 x 0.95 cm / 5.79 x 2.91 x 0.37 inches, 170gr
The whole success story of LeEco (LeTV) began with this model X600. Dont need finger print ? Is 16GB enough for you (for me its still enough) ? Then just grab this hero for about 117-118$ on some online stores, this will be a real bargain for you. Coming with octa-core 2.0 GHz Helio X10 chipset and 3GB of Ram has a very good configuration for this price. Screen is from Sharp, very vivid, design is very attractive even, for my taste its better looking then X500 or X620, has a style for sure. Sound output is one of the best and 3.5mm headphone jack is present. Helio X10 is last years first example of MediaTek’s Helio series and if we should compare it this years P10, X10 is still better when it comes to performance, except energy efficiency of course:
- Helio P10: Single-core – 882, Multi-core – 3371
- Helio X10: Single-core – 905, Multi-core – 5154
ASUS X550
147.69 $ 3GB/16GB
Display: 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 FHD Screen
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 64bit Octa Core 1.5GHz
GPU: Adreno-405
System: Android 5.1
RAM + ROM: 3GB RAM + 16GB ROM
Camera: Back camera 13.0MP with flashlight + front camera 8.0MP
Bluetooth: 4.0
Improve Touch:
To protect your privacy, avoid of personal information let out. Promise you an undistracted and safe daily life.
GPS: Yes
Sensor: Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Light sensor, Geomagnetic sensor, Gyroscope, Hall sensor
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby. Dual Micro SIM
Battery Capacity (mAh): 3030
Network:
2G: GSM 900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 15.18 x 7.55 x 0.83 cm / 5.98 x 2.97 x 0.33 inches, 156gr
An interesting model from IT giant Asus. Does not have a finger print sensor but has a whole screen to scan your hand-print ! “Equipped with high-tech touch chip owned high capacity of information operation” says Asus. “A totally new way to protect your information”. X500 has a very attractive design and good screen to body ratio with aerial aluminum alloy. Very good cameras indeed for this price, 13MP rear and 8MP f/2.0 aperture front. Promises good low light performance. CPU is last year’s first edition octa-core from Qualcomm, Snapdragon 615, don’t expect much raw performance but it is energy efficient for sure. 3GB Ram is more than enough, you can put a SD card in it so 16GB of Rom is not a big issue. Phone is not unibody so you can change the 3030mAh battery with your second one, many still prefer this solution. 5.5″ full HD screen with 3rd gen Gorilla protection.
Lenovo Vibe P1
148.89 $ 2GB/16GB
Display: 5.5-inch, FHD(1920×1080 pixels) Screen, the 3rd Gorilla Glass Screen
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 615(MSM8939) 64bit Octa Core (Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 and quad-core 1.0 GHz Cortex-A53)
GPU: Adreno 405
System: Android 5.1(Vibe UI 2.68)
RAM + ROM: 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM
Camera: 5.0MP front camera + 13.0MP PDAF back camera with dual color flashlight and auto focus
Sensor: Accelerometer sensor, G-sensor, Proximity sensor, Electronic Compass
Bluetooth: 4.1
GPS: GPS/AGPS
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby, Dual Nano SIM
Battery Capacity (mAh): 5000
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 800/850/1900MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100MHz
Product size: 15.30 x 7.50 x 0.90 cm / 6.02 x 2.95 x 0.35 inches, 189gr
Biggest battery capacity in our list with 5000mAh, yes even bigger than Mi Max. Here is a complete package from Lenovo for daily (long) use. Front placed finger print sensor, 5.5″ full HD good screen with Gorilla Glass 3, 13MP PDAF rear camera with dual color flashlight, 128GB SD card expansion, and metal back build. The black color looks not bad either.
Huawei Honor 5C
189 $ 2GB/16GB
Display: 5.2 inch, FHD(1920×1080 pixels)
CPU: Hisilicon Kirin 650 64-bit octa-core
GPU: Mali T830
System: EMUI 3.1 base on Android 6.0
RAM + ROM: 2GB RAM + 16GB, support external microSD to 128GB
Camera: 13 Megapixel BSI camera, F2.0, support HDR Movie, 8-Megapixel, f/2.0 front camera
Sensor: Accelerometer sensor, G-sensor, Proximity sensor, Electronic Compass
Bluetooth: 4.1
GPS: GPS/AGPS
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby, Dual Nano SIM
Battery Capacity (mAh): 3000
Network: GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz , WCDMA: Bands: B1/B8, LTE FDD: Bands: B1/B3
Product size: 147.1mm × 73.8mm × 8.3mm, 156gr
The Kirin 650, 16nm FinFET manufacturing process (less chip size = less heat), new midrange class octa-core CPU from Huawei’s own kitchen. Clocked at 2.0GHz and holding Mali-T830 MP2 GPU in it, promises many things on paper. The iPhone 5SE killer (who cares?) Honor 5C uses this architecture.
I’m not a fan of Huawei phones, because they always cost more against what they give back to customers in the name of performance.
Honor 5C comes with 5.2″ FHD screen, may be the optimum size for many smartphone users. Does not have any protection glass. Cameras are ok on paper, build quality is: metal back on plastic body. Finger print is on the back. Onscreen keys, reduces screen size to 5″ at home screen. You get a decent performance for this price that’s for sure, the rest is kind of a taste.
360 N4
189 $ 4GB/32GB
Display: 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 Screen
CPU: Helio X20 MTK6797 Deca-Core
System: Android 6.0
RAM + ROM: 4GB RAM + 32GB ROM, support external micro SD
Cameras: Front 5.0MP + Rear 13-megapixel, f2.0, PDAF
Bluetooth: BT4.0
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby. ( Dual Nano SIM cards )
Battery Capacity (mAh): 3080
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 149mm x 75.7mm x 8.3mm, 140gr
Editor’s Choice (if you can find one to buy). MediaTek X20 is a very good chipset, like I stated before. Supporting it with 4GB of Ram is very future based (talking about Android versions). Plus IP67 dustproof and waterproof and a very good design (149mm for a 5.5″ is awesome), having hardware keys (big fan of this red round home key and two little tiny dots, ok the idea belongs to Nubia we all know) and not loosing from screen size in that matter is very ergonomic. 32GB Rom supported with an SD card slot. Good cameras both rear and front, 13MP rear Sony IMX258 sensor, f/2.0 aperture, PDAF, 5MP front, f/2.0 aperture. And all these specs for under 189 $ (official price is even under 150$), believe me most of us don’t need more than this in a smartphone. Downside being, you can’t find 360 N4 easily to buy, and there is upgraded version announced that has 5000mAh battery inside. If 360 manages to produce those phones in enough numbers to feed the smartphone market, can be the next succeess story from China. Their next line is worth to look if you haven’t yet : 360 Q5 & Q5 Plus.
Elephone S3
149.99 $
Display: 5.2 inch Bezel-less 2.5D Arc FHD Incell Screen
CPU: MTK6753 64bit Octa Core 1.3GHz
System: Android 6.0
RAM + ROM: 3GB RAM + 16GB ROM. TF card up to 128GB.
Camera: 5.0MP OV5670 f2.4 front camera + 13.0MP Sony IMX135 f2.2 back camera
Bluetooth: 4.0
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby (Micro SIM + Nano SIM)
Battery Capacity (mAh): 2100
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 900/1900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 800/1800/2100/2600MHz
Product size: 14.20 x 7.05 x 0.83 cm / 5.59 x 2.78 x 0.33 inches, 145gr
I decided not to include any MediaTek MTK6753 based phone in this article (MTK6592 was the king of this class), because for a little higher budget you can get a Helio P10 or X10 even. Elephone S3 is an exception because of its bezel-less design. This phone just don’t have any bezels both sides like Nubia Z11 and has a full metal frame. It has 3GB of Ram, 16GB of Rom supported with an SD card slot. A fingerprint sensor on the back and 13MP+5MP camera configuration with not bad sensors at all. 5.2″ screen size is pocket-friendly. I think Elephone S3 is worth 150$, this is a very good looking and solid phone for sure. Not everybody knows about Antutu benchmark, there are still plenty of users who use these machines as mobile phones only, and I am one of them 🙂
Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/07/01/elephone-s3-review/
For buyers just around the limit of 100$, please check our “phone buying guide under 100$” too. Pepsi P1S still is the best value for money with its 96.99$ price, having MTK6592 64-bit Octa-Core (sorry, it’s a 32-bit CPU) 1.7GHz CPU and a fingerprint scanner in a metal body of 5.5″ size.
