TOP 5 inexpensive smartphones with waterdrop notch

The Redmi line Xiaomi is aimed primarily at young people who are not ready to pay a lot of money, but at the same time wants to get modern chips from a smartphone like a dual camera or face unlock. The new Redmi 7 is exactly such a smartphone.

The entire front panel of the smartphone is occupied by a display with a diagonal of 6.26". The screen resolution is 1520x720 pixels, which is not so much with such a diagonal. If you switch to Redmi 7 after the device with FullHD resolution, the display will definitely seem grainy. If the eyes are not spoiled, then the picture looks quite normal and does not cause discomfort. The brightness margin of the screen is decent, everything is read normally in the sun. Plus, there are traditional screen settings from MIUI: a separate reading mode, changing the colour rendering, zooming and waking up with a double touch.

The smartphone case is plastic, but due to the gradient iridescent back cover and teardrop-shaped cutout, the smartphone is definitely not boring. However, glossy plastic gets dirty quickly, and accidental scratches are clearly visible. If you don't want to risk the back cover, use the silicone case that comes with the kit.

The Redmi 7 has a dual 12 MP main camera. The design resembles Huawei P Smart 2019 32 GB , when the modules hang over each other, and the camera itself is moved to the upper left corner. It is important to keep in mind that we have a low-cost solution in front of us, so do not expect miracles from the camera. During the day, with good lighting, the frames are not bad, in artificial lighting, too, more or less (if you don't zoom in too much). At night, the situation is predictably sad. The front-facing camera has a so-called "beautifier", which slightly photoshops and evens the selfie.

The manufacturer also pleased potential buyers with a separate slot for a memory card and two SIM cards, the presence of an audio output for headphones, a fingerprint scanner and a tenacious 4000 mAh battery with an energy saving function. But the use of outdated microUSB was a little frustrating, but USB-C is still a rare guest in the low-cost segment.

Taking into account the price of $120, Redmi actually has one competitor — except for the new Samsung Galaxy A10 32GB 32 GB / 2 GB there's not much to remember. Well, Chinese smartphones from unpopular brands with a dubious reputation.

Under pressure from Chinese smartphone builders, Samsung gradually got rid of the unnecessary touch of elitism and began selling its inexpensive smartphones without markups for the brand and cutting functionality. The new Galaxy A10 is already a frank swim into the waters of Xiaomi's ultra—low-cost. So it's hard to remember right away when Samsung released an interesting, functional and cute smartphone with a price tag of a little less than $150.

So, the smartphone is equipped with a fairly large 6.2 TFT display with a teardrop-shaped cutout for the front camera. The screen resolution is 1520x720 — not perfect, but you can hardly find a better one for this money. The display shows good colours and contrast. However, it is worth preparing for the fact that there will be a typical distortion of colours for TFT matrices if you look at the screen from an angle.

According to Samsung, the Galaxy A10 has about a 90 percent screen-to-body ratio, which is certainly fine considering its affordable price. The back panel of the Galaxy A10 is made of solid glossy polycarbonate, which looks exactly like its money. That is, not very expensive. Taking into account the large screen, modern design and variability of colours, A 10 creates a pleasant impression and does not look like something ultra-cheap, bought for the last 3 kopecks.

As a processor, the smartphone uses an eight-core Exynos 7884 chip, which is in the same league as the Snapdragon 625. It is complemented by the ARM Mali-G71 MP2 GPU, 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of built-in storage (plus there is support for memory cards). In everyday work, the smartphone behaves quickly, the shell handles well with the distribution of RAM. In ordinary undemanding games, the picture is the same. But above everything is not so rosy, there is not enough iron power on PUBG and the game lags even at minimum settings. However, we didn't expect anything else for this money.

If in the new {!!! block='price' idgood='1541963' !!! If the Chinese managed to install a double camera, then here we have the usual single option. As it turned out, there is no particular difference in quality between them: the A10 also clicks well in daylight, blurs objects in the background and suffers during night filming.

In terms of additional functions, the smartphone does not shine, but it does not disappoint either: slots for a pair of Sim cards and memory cards are separate, there is a full-fledged audio output and a charge-saving function, but there is no fingerprint scanner, which is now found in every state employee.

The branded "azure with a tint" colour of Huawei flagships is increasingly found in inexpensive models of the company. The new Y7 was no exception, so it is difficult to distinguish it from other more expensive models of the company.

Moreover, there is also a large screen with thin frames, a fashionable drop cutout for the front and the main camera with several modules. In fact, the case here is plastic, and the back cover is glossy, not glass.

IPS screen with a diagonal of 6.25" received an aspect ratio of 19:9 and a resolution of 1520x720 pixels. Of course, for such a large display, this is not so much, FullHD would look better, but it's not to say that individual points are very striking. The colour rendering is surprisingly pleasant. There is a colour temperature adjustment option in the settings, but everything looks great out of the box.

Y7 2019 received an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 (not the proprietary Kirin) with Adreno 506 video, 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of permanent memory. The hardware is quite low-cost-friendly and, usually, there is enough of it in everyday tasks. However, periodically the shell freezes on animation for a fraction of a second, and the transition between windows is accompanied by sagging frames. Most likely, with the firmware update, this problem will be solved, but for now the sediment remains.

The main camera module, slightly protruding on the back of the smartphone, consists of two sensors with a resolution of 13 and 2 MP. The second one helps with background blurring and it doesn't have any other options. Despite the fact that the smartphone is relatively inexpensive, Huawei's ability to squeeze all the juices out of the camera software is also evident here. With high-quality lighting, the device snaps really good pictures and works correctly with blur. With poor lighting, the quality drops sharply, just like any other smartphone for $190.

The disadvantages of Y7 are mainly manifested in small things. The headphone jack is located on the upper end, which is why the wire may interfere a little. There is a face unlock, but it sometimes does not work, or vice versa, it works when it is not necessary. On the other hand, separate, not hybrid slots are provided for a pair of SIM cards and a memory card.

In general, the new Y7 leaves a pleasant impression (especially in appearance), but the combination of price, with a leisurely shell and some minor flaws prevent it from competing for the title of the perfect low-cost smartphone. On the other hand, the camera here is much more successful than the competitors, so it's worth choosing the right model based on your own requirements.

At the beginning of 2018, Huawei released the first P Smart model, which attracted with a cute design, affordable price, dual camera and elongated display. The smartphone was actively bought, so a year later (in 2019), the company presented an updated version with improved hardware, a fashionable cut-out drop and an attractive price tag.

The smartphone case is made of polycarbonate. Interestingly, the plastic is very similar to glass and looks more than decent. This is especially true of the model with azure iridescent coloring, which has become the trademark of the company's senior models. The option in black looks good, but not so advantageous.

The entire front panel of the smartphone is occupied by an LTPS display with a diagonal of 6.21" and a FullHD resolution (2340 x 1080). It is very similar to the display of the recent Honor 10 Lite 32 GB / 3 GB / Dual , only the factory calibration of colours is cooler here. This is adjusted in the settings. Otherwise, it has a normal brightness margin, high image contrast and colour saturation.

Huawei P Smart 2019 uses an eight-core mid-level Kirin 710 chipset as a platform. The amount of RAM is 3 GB, the built-in storage is 32 GB. Such a bundle is more than enough for any everyday tasks, and the interface works smoothly and quickly, without lags. And the games are running. But with modest graphics settings.

Of the additional buns, we note the presence of an NFC chip, a fingerprint scanner and a separate headphone output. The dual camera also got prettier, which learned a couple of tricks of older models like night mode and auto-detection of the scene with adjustment. Of the inconveniences, only a hybrid card tray catches the eye, you can insert either two SIM cards or one SIM card plus a memory card. And, perhaps, an outdated microUSB. Many smartphones in the $200 category have already switched to USB-C.

In terms of price, P smart 2019 floats somewhere on the border between the low-cost and the average price segment, where one of its competitors is Huawei Y7 2019 32 GB / 3 GB . He also has a design in the style of older models and a good camera, but weaker hardware, not such a good screen and no NFC. But the price is $25 less.

Samsung's new Galaxy A40 stands out with an unusual screen. With the advent of the frameless era, the 6.2-inch diagonal became the de facto standard. The A40 has a slightly smaller diagonal, 5.9", which made it possible to make the smartphone more compact. The feeling of lightness is complemented by a light weight of 140 g — this is definitely one of the lightest devices with an elongated display. In terms of design, the smartphone looks like most of the heroes of today — a drop-cutout for the front camera, small frames, a glossy plastic cover for glass with iridescent gradient coloring.

The display resolution remained at the standard 6.2 – 6.4 diagonal level (2280 x 1080 pixels), and instead of the IPS matrix, a more expensive AMOLED was used. Therefore, the screen turned out to be excellent even by the standards of much more expensive smartphones. Plus, the AMOLED matrix consumes less energy, so with a 3,100 mAh battery, the Galaxy A40 works the same day and a half as smartphones with a more capacious battery.

As a motor, the smartphone uses Exynos 7904 and 4 GB of RAM. The computing capabilities of the device are not at the highest level. In benchmarks, the result is almost the same as that of the Galaxy A30. This means that the hardware of the smartphone does not have a reserve for the future. The games are being launched, but the flagship performance is not worth waiting for.

I am glad that Samsung did not save on small things: there is a modern USB-C plus a separate headphone output, there is an NFC module, a fingerprint scanner and fast charging. Plus Wi-Fi supports 5 GHz, and Bluetooth has an up-to-date index of 5.0. Well, the tray for SIM cards / memory cards is separate, not hybrid. Also, the new Galaxy A40 stands out with a good 25-megapixel selfie camera. The main camera is double, all according to the precepts of 2019. The quality of the shooting is approximately for your money — very good shots with the right depth and blur are obtained during the day, with poor lighting, the quality traditionally falls. Sharpness suffers especially.

In general, for its $300, the Galaxy A40 looks like a great smartphone. It's hard to believe that Samsung has managed to adapt and succeed so well in the initial and middle price segment. But there is one caveat: throwing a little on top, we will get powerful competitors in the face of flagships from Xiaomi Mi 8 64 GB / 6 GB (still a great smartphone) or new Huawei Nova 4 128 GB / 8 GB , which have more powerful hardware, better cameras, and a set of additional buns in some ways even more interesting.