Summer on a low-cost — the best low-cost Android smartphones of mid-2018

The Chinese manufacturer traditionally pleases with insanely packed hardware, but at the same time with a decent price. The Doogee S60 is a protected smartphone, and not only water- and dust-protected according to the IP68 standard, but also resistant to falls due to the reinforced case, which even needs to be disassembled to insert a SIM card. The bad thing is that the microUSB is sunk into the case very deeply, and only original accessories will fit the smartphone. This is worth paying attention to when buying.

And there are surprisingly few compromises in quality — a display with an IPS matrix, a Full HD resolution, a diagonal of 5.2" and a PPI of 423. The ratio of the display to the body is only 56%, but you should not expect sophistication from protected devices. But there is enough power — an eight-core system on a Helio P25 chip with frequencies up to 2.5 GHz and 6 GB of RAM is enough for stable operation and even unpretentious games. The performance of the smartphone in AnTuTu is 61495 points. The built-in charger is 64 GB, there is support for charger cards, but through a combined SIM card tray.

The main camera of the device has a resolution of as much as 21 MP, is equipped with a Sony IMX230 sensor, digital stabilization and HDR support. The front camera has a resolution of 8 MP. We note the slow autofocus, but in general the quality of the shooting is decent.

The Doogee S60 is equipped with an NFC chip, which is rare for low-cost devices. Wireless charging is even more rare, and the device has it. However, the battery capacity of 5580 mAh makes it a little useful, albeit a pleasant addition. The smartphone runs on Android 7.1 with a proprietary Freeme OS shell. It has practically no unnecessary applications, except for programs for an active lifestyle, but the Russian localization is not the best.

A representative of the Zenfone series, this device offers the user a couple of interesting features for a little money, although it is inferior in other parameters to price analogues. The display is 5.5", 2.5D glass with Gorilla Glass protection, IPS matrix, but the resolution is 1280x720, so the PPI is only 267. Like

The power is provided by a low-cost Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 quad core with a frequency of 1.4 GHz and an Adreno 505 video core. RAM 3 GB, permanent 32 GB. There is support for charger cards — and what is nice, a microSD card does not interfere with the installation of two nanoSIM cards. The performance is not impressive — only 36,000 points according to AnTuTu. The smartphone runs on Android 7.1.1 with a proprietary ZenUI shell.

Cameras are one of the strengths of Zenfone 4 Maximum There are two modules, 13 MP and 5 MP. The first is the main one, the second is a telephoto, there is a wide-angle shooting and support for super-resolution mode up to 52 MP. The front camera is 8 MP without autofocus with a viewing angle of 80 degrees, there is support for HDR.

A nice feature of the model is a fingerprint scanner on the front panel, a 5000 mAh battery with support for charging other devices. Fast charging is also available (unnamed, 2A), but it works poorly — a full charge of the standard charger is dialed in 4 hours. In general, Asus Zenfone 4 Max is an interesting branded low-cost employee who will satisfy the needs of an undemanding buyer.

One of the most affordable representatives of the Honor line, the “Nine Light” is equipped with a display with a non—standard diagonal of 5.65", a resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels, has an excellent PPI — 427, and a rounded 2.5D glass. The screen-to-body ratio is 76%, but the user will have to get used to the diagonal.

The smartphone runs on Huawei's own development — an eight-core system on a HiSilicon Kirin 659 chip with frequencies up to 2.36 GHz and a Mali-T830 MP2 video accelerator. RAM is 3 GB, permanent — 32 GB, charger card support is available due to the combined slot in the SIM card tray. In AnTuTu, the smartphone scores 87998 points.

Both the front and rear camera of the device are dual-module. The main module is 13 MP rear, the module for determining the depth is 2 MP. The aperture is f/2.2, there is support for the bokeh effect and phase autofocus. The front camera has the same set of sensors, but the aperture is f/2.0. There is also no flash.

A fingerprint scanner is available and located at the back, the battery has a capacity of 3000 mAh, NFC support is present. The smartphone runs on Android 8.0 with a proprietary EMUI 8.0 shell. In general, for Huawei fans, the Honor 9 Lite model will be an excellent and, most importantly, an inexpensive option.

The updated Nokia 6 (2018) model was presented not so long ago and is a very tempting option for a modest low-cost. It is equipped with an IPS display with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, 2.5D glass and Gorilla Glass protection. The ratio of the display to the body is quite acceptable 73%. We note the attractive copper edging along the frame, which gives the smartphone a premium appearance.

The smartphone's power is provided by a system on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 chip with eight cores operating at a frequency of up to 2.2 GHz, as well as an Adreno 508 video core. RAM is 3 GB, permanent — 32 GB. It can be expanded at the expense of a charger card, for which a separate slot is allocated in addition to two slots for nanoSIM. Due to the fresh processor in AnTuTu, the model scores 90918 points.

The main camera of the Nokia 6 (2018) has a 16-megapixel module with phase autofocus, f/2.0 aperture and dual LED flash. But there is no support for optical zoom or bokeh effect, since there is only one module. There are interesting auto-HDR and dual-shot modes, when both the main and 8-megapixel front cameras work simultaneously. Support for shooting 4K 30 FPS video is available.

The device runs on pure Android 8.1 Oreo and is included in the Android One programme, so it will receive updates in a number of the first. Among other things, there is NFC support, and the charging port is USB Type-C. The smartphone's battery has a capacity of 3000 mAh, there is no fast charging. In general, for fans of stock Android, this is a great model for their money.

The Note 5 Pro model is a replenishment of Xiaomi's popular low-cost line. The smartphone is equipped with a rounded IPS screen with a diagonal of 5.99" with a resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels, due to which it feels like a smartphone with a screen size of 5.5" in the hands, and is more convenient to use for some consumers.

The system on the chip is an eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 with Kryo 260 cores and an Adreno 509 video core. The smartphone has 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of ROM, there is also a version of Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro 64 GB / 4 GB with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of ROM, but it also costs $40 cheaper. The filling of the Pro version is enough to earn an impressive 115629 performance points in AnTuTu.

The smartphone is equipped with two modules of the main camera. The first with a resolution of 12 MP has an aperture of f/2.2, the second has a resolution of 5 MP, an aperture of f/2.0 and provides a depth of the image. Plus, the image is improved by artificial intelligence, such as automatic scene selection, as well as quite a flagship pixel size, as much as 1.4 microns. The front camera has a resolution of 20 MP and an aperture of f/2.2.

The Redmi Note 5 Pro runs on Android 7.1 with a proprietary optimized MIUI 9.5 shell, and is equipped, among other things, with an IR port for controlling household appliances. A fingerprint scanner is also available, and the battery capacity, traditionally for the Redmi line, is 4000 mAh, plus support for Quick Charge 2.0 fast charging.