Smartphone buyer's guide: April 2016

April 2016

GSMArena team, 20 April, 2016.

Under €100

We've split this chapter in two: the bare essentials and phones just under €100. Some regional brands have dirt cheap phones, but we take a more global look. The locals will still get a mention at the end of the chapter.

The bare essentials group is a bunch of different OSes. They are great for people that mostly need a phone, but with some smartphone perks - whether its IM chat like WhatsApp or just good Maps, feature phones rarely offer those (and if they do, you'll probably get a clunky app that is never updated).

The LG Joy is a small phone (4" screen) from early 2015 that runs Android 4.4 KitKat. It's low on processing power and storage too - the one we found has only 512MB of RAM and 4GB storage, but some versions have double that. Still, with GPS, microSD slot and a decent 5MP camera it will get you where you need to go.


LG Joy
Pros Cons
  • 4" screen with 480 x 800px resolution (233ppi)
  • Android 4.4 KitKat
  • Dual-core processor; 512MB RAM
  • 4GB storage; microSD slot
  • 5MP camera
  • 1,900mAh battery
  • LTE (150mbps)
  • Old OS
  • Low on processing and storage for apps
Preview

Android has always struggled a bit in the sub-€100 field, but Samsung's Tizen found itself a niche there. The Tizen Z1 is the baby of the lineup, with specs mostly identical to the Joy, but it recently received the latest OS update - the benefit of first-party software. Also, for this price you get a dual-SIM phone (but no LTE).


Samsung Z1
Pros Cons
  • 4" screen with 480 x 800px resolution (233ppi)
  • Tizen 2.4
  • Dual-core processor; 768MB RAM
  • 4GB storage; microSD slot
  • 3.15MP camera
  • 1,500mAh battery
  • Dual-SIM
  • No LTE
  • Weakest camera of the three
Review

There's also the Microsoft Lumia 530, which has essentially the same specs, but has become less attractive as of late. First, its 4GB of storage will probably prevent it from getting updated to Windows 10 (there's no clear confirmation either way). Second, HERE Maps was sold off and while Microsoft is developing a replacement, it's not clear how functional the WP8.1 version will be - in a blog post, the HERE team said that its apps will be removed the Windows 10 store, while the WP8 will only get bugfixes.


Nokia Lumia 530
Pros Cons
  • 4" screen with 480 x 800px resolution (245ppi)
  • Windows Phone 8.1
  • Dual-core processor; 512MB RAM
  • 4GB storage; microSD slot
  • 5MP camera
  • 1,430mAh battery
  • Optional dual-SIM
  • Probably no Windows 10 upgrade
  • Questionable SatNav app future
  • No LTE

We move on to the more serious players, which incidentally represent the same three OSes and fall in the "90 and a bit" euro price range.

The LG Spirit is really worth the upgrade over the Joy, so unless you're sure you want the cheapest phone, we'd recommend saving up for a bit longer and going with this one.

It starts with the screen - 4.7" 720p is about the size and sharpness as an iPhone 6 (though with worse colors and contrast). The camera is solid too - 8MP stills and 1080p videos. Not iPhone 6 quality, of course, but solid. The processing power is on par too with a quad-core processor. Note that we found the H420 version with Cortex-A7 but there's one with Cortex-A53. That's the LTE-enabled H440 version.


LG Spirit
Pros Cons
  • 4.7" screen with 720 x 1,280px resolution (312ppi)
  • Android 5.0 Lollipop
  • Quad-core processor; 1GB RAM
  • 8GB storage; microSD slot
  • 8MP camera; 1080p video
  • 2,100mAh battery
  • Optional LTE
  • Optional dual-SIM
  • Not all versions get LTE or 64-bit A53 processor
Preview

Microsoft's answer is the Lumia 550. The phone launched with Windows 10 (avoiding the 530's issues) and comes with a 4.7" 720p screen like the Spirit. The camera isn't as good though - you only get 5MP/720p. The entry-level chipset means even Windows feels sluggish, another knock against the Lumia.

As with the Joy/Spirit, the Lumia 550 is strongly preferred over the 530.



Microsoft Lumia 550
Pros Cons
  • 4.7" screen with 720 x 1,280px resolution (315ppi)
  • Windows 10 Mobile
  • Quad-core processor; 1GB RAM
  • 8GB storage; microSD slot
  • 5MP camera; 720p video
  • 2,100mAh battery (42h Endurance)
  • LTE (150mbps)
  • Sluggish chipset
  • Camera not as good as the competition
Review

The Tizen candidate is much improved too. You get a 5" 720p screen and it's a Super AMOLED - even though it's an older generation, it's the best screen in its price segment.

Tizen's weakness is apps (same goes for Windows), Samsung's solution is to add Android app support. On all the platforms we've seen, added Android compatibility is less than perfect, but it's an excellent compromise for rare apps - the apps not in the Windows Store are out of Lumia's reach and that's that.


Samsung Z3
Pros Cons
  • 5" Super AMOLED with 720 x 1,280px resolution (294ppi)
  • Tizen 2.4
  • Quad-core processor; 1GB RAM
  • 8GB storage; microSD slot
  • 8MP camera; 720p video; 5MP selfie cam
  • 2,600mAh battery
  • Dual-SIM
  • No 1080p video
  • No LTE

Sub-€100 phones we skipped and why

The Yu Yuphoria launched to much fanfare, but unfortunately its availability is limited to India. The Lenovo A6000 is a solid phone too, but can be equally hard to find. Both boast 5" 720p screens, quad-core processor and 8MP cameras. Solid if your local shop has them, but not good enough to warrant importing them.

YU Yuphoria Lenovo A6000
YU Yuphoria • Lenovo A6000

The LG K4 was released a month ago, but we dropped it in favor of the older Spirit. Its screen has sub-HD resolution, you don't get 1080p video (lower resolution stills too, 5MP) and no Android Marshmallow. At roughly the same price, we'd have the Spirit.

Compared to the 550, the Microsoft Lumia 535 has a bigger screen (5" vs. 4.7") and a 5MP selfie cam (vs. 2MP). However, we picked the newer model for its better screen (brighter, better sunlight).

LG K4 Microsoft Lumia 535
LG K4 • Microsoft Lumia 535

Reader comments

Time to update this segment guys. Its almost October, and we need a new, refreshed guide.

  • AnonD-541790
  • 27 May 2016
  • Hkt

If you love speed...... Get an iPhone.

  • AnonD-541790
  • 26 May 2016
  • Hkt

If you love speed...... Get an iPhone.