The U.S based mobile network carriers offer good deals on the smartphones, but the consumer needs to stick to an expensive plan for a certain period of time, usually two years. There are few unlocked smartphones sold by the companies like ZTE, BLU, Asus, and Alcatel. However, there are even better options to get a smartphone with high-end specifications for less than $300. The Chinese online reseller, Gearbest sells most of the smartphones launched in China and ships them to almost all over the world. One important thing to know is that all these devices come with pre-installed Google Play Services and includes Play Store and other GAPPS.
First, let’s take a look at few 4G smartphones that are currently retailing under $150:
The Xiaomi Redmi 4A is officially launched in China and is the cheaper variant of the affordable Redmi 4. It is priced at $144 and comes in Gold and Rose Gold color options. It comes with unibody design and sports a 5-inch HD display on the front. Under the hood is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 SoC coupled with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. At such a low price, the device packs a 13MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP selfie camera. It comes backed by a 3,120mAh non-removable battery and runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It supports dual SIM dual standby and offers 4G LTE along with other basic connectivity options.
The Le 2 from LeEco looks similar to the LeEco Le S3 that was launched in the U.S and even sports few similar hardware. While the device is retailing for $249 in the U.S, the users get it for almost half the price on Gearbest including free shipping. The Le 2 comes with an all-metal unibody design and lacks the 3.5mm audio port. The user gets the USB Type-C CDLA headset which can be connected to the USB Type-C port. It comes with a 5.5-inch Full HD display and is powered by MediaTek Helio X20 deca-core processor. It packs 3GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, 16MP rear camera, and an 8MP front camera. The device is backed by a 3,000mAh battery and supports fast charging.
Unlike the above mentioned two manufacturers, the Ulefone is a little known Chinese brand. The Ulefone Metal is the company’s latest affordable smartphone with a metal built body. For just $121, the device comes with dual SIM dual standby support and offers 4G LTE connectivity. On the front of the device is a 5-inch HD display protected with Gorilla Glass 3. The device comes with a MediaTek MT6753 octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. The 3,050mAh battery on this device can give at least a day of normal usage. There is also a fingerprint sensor placed on the back of the device.
The smartphone manufacturer Cubot and the popular app developer Cheetah Mobiles jointly launched their second gen smartphone, Cubot Cheetah 2. The device is now available for just $140 and packs decent hardware. There is a 5.5-inch Full HD display on the front along with a physical home button integrated with a fingerprint sensor. The Cubot Cheetah 2 includes 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and offers almost stock Android experience. On the camera front, there is a 13MP sensor on the rear and an 8MP sensor on the front for selfies. It is powered by a 3,000mAh battery and comes with USB Type-C port for charging.
Below are the 4G Smartphones that are currently retailing between $150 and $300:
The Xiaomi Redmi 4 is one of the best affordable available in the market. It comes with a 5-inch HD display that can easily fit in one hand. At such a low price, the Redmi 4 comes with an all-metal body and also sports a huge 4,100mAh battery that can easily give more than a day of usage. The device also packs a Snapdragon 430 octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. There is a 13MP rear camera with PDAF and a 5MP selfie camera on the front. On the back of the device, there is also a circular fingerprint sensor which makes the device a bit more secure. It is available in Gray, Silver, and Gold color options.
The ZUK series from Lenovo offers high-end specifications at very affordable price. The ZUK Z2 is the latest flagship smartphone from the company. It is now retailing at just $190 and is powered by the Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor coupled with Adreno 530 GPU. The ZUK Z2 comes with a 5-inch Full HD display and includes 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. No other device in the world offers such an high-end specifications at this low price. There is also a 13MP rear camera with f/1.8 aperture and an 8MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture. It runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and will soon receive the latest Android 7.0 Nougat update.
The Xiaomi Mi Max is one best for the multimedia consumption as it comes with a huge 6.44-inch Full HD display. It is priced at $240 and includes decent mid-range specifications. Under the hood, the Mi Max comes powered by 1.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 octa-core processor coupled with 3GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. It runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with the customized MIUI 8 laid on top. In the camera department, the device comes with a 16MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. The 4,850mAh battery also keeps the device to be powered for a longer durations. It comes with dual SIM dual standby and offers connectivity features like 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and MicroUSB 2.0 port
The Elephone S7 with a 2.5D glass on the front and a curved glass on the back looks elegant in Blue color. It comes in two variants – The HelioX 20 powered Elephone S7 comes with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage is priced at $210 and the another variant with Helio X25 SoC, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal storage costs $230. It runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and comes with almost stock Android UI. It offers 4G VoLTE connectivity and supports dual SIM dual standby. Other specifications on this device include a 13MP rear camera, 5MP front camera, and a 3000mAh battery. Apart from the Blue color, the Elephone S7 also comes in Black color option.
The Redmi Pro is yet another Xiaomi smartphone in the list. It is company’s first smartphone to come with dual camera setup. The device comes with a price tag of $198 and is available in Silver and Gold color options. The device comes with brushed Aluminum body and features a 5.5-inch Full HD OLED display and a 2.5D glass laid on top. It is powered by MediaTek Helio X25 deca-core processor coupled with Mali-T880 GPU and 3GB RAM. It has 32GB of internal storage that can be further expanded via MicroSD card slot. The device runs on the international version of the MIUI 8 based on ANdrodi 6.0 Marshmallow. The dual lens camera on this device is equipped with a 13MP and 5MP sensors.
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The recently launched Umi Z smartphone sports a 5.5-inch display with Full HD resolution and 2.5D curved on the top. It is powered by the MediaTek helio X27 deca-core processor clocked at a whopping 2.6GHz. The 4GB of RAM on this device can handle even the graphic intensive games. It comes with 32GB of internal storage that can be further expanded upto 256GB using the MicroSD card slot. The device comes with a 13MP sensor on front and back of the device, and both the sensors are accompanied by LED flash. Though the device measures 9.1 mm thickness, it includes a 3,750mAh battery. It runs on vanilla flavored Android 6.0 Marshmallow and will be upgraded to Android 7.0 Nougat soon.
The Xiaomi Mi 5 is still the company’s flagship device in their foreign markets. While the Xiaomi Mi 6 is expected to launch in the next couple of months, the 2016 launched Mi 5 is available for just $270. The device comes with a 3D curved glass on the back. It sports a 5.15-inch Full HD display with Gorilla Glass protection. The device is powered by Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor clocked at 1.8GHz and comes with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. Talking about the cameras, there is a 16MP rear camera with 4-axis OIS and a 4MP front camera for selfies. With all these specifications, the device is kept powered on by a 3,000mAh battery, and it also supports Quick Charge 3.0.
If you have noticed a price change for any of the above-listed devices, share the information with us by commenting below.
