Best entry-level smartphones 2019 – buyer’s guide

The Galaxy M10s is the lowest point of entry into Samsung AMOLEDs and it pair the nice screen with a decent in-house chipset. The Exynos is also efficient, and should last a while on the 4,000mAh battery, which you can then top up with the included 15W adapter – the fastest brick you’ll find bundled in this segment.

The M10s has a tick in the fingerprint sensor checkbox, and unlike any other phone for the money, it comes with an ultra wide-angle cam – do you prefer that or the Realme 3i’s depth sensor?

For all its advantages, the M10s occupies the higher end of the entry-level price range. And even so, we don’t believe it’ll be getting Android 10 – Samsung doesn’t have a stellar track record with updates on its cheapest handsets.

Specs

One of the most affordable Galaxies you can get, the A20e isn’t too shabby. It packs a couple of cams, including an ultra wide angle one, and has a fingerprint reader on the back. Samsung’s own Exynos 7884 chipset is good enough for the money, and the bundled 15W charger will quickly top up the otherwise small-ish 3,000mAh battery. It’s got the important stuff covered (RAM, storage, microSD slot) too.

The A20e keeps things compact thanks to its 5.8-inch display, so the battery capacity doesn’t sound like much of an issue – in fact, you may appreciate this Galaxy’s lightness. The A20e gets Samsung’s OneUI so the interface looks like on any other contemporary Samsung, it’s just that we’re not very hopeful it’ll get Android 10. It’s also cheap to the eye and to the touch, but it is cheap to buy too, after all.

Specs

The Nokia 4.2, being a Nokia, is notably more recognizable than a Xiaomi. It’s got pleasing looks too, and one of the coolest power buttons around – it lights up for notifications. It’s also a compact handset, which isn’t all too easy to find these days. It’s got a fingerprint sensor on the back, and the phone supports NFC too – again, not a given at this price. Android purists will also appreciate the fact that the 4.2 is on the Android One branch – clean UI, speedy updates.

By all means, however, avoid the 16GB/2GB version despite its more attractive price tag – neither is enough, regardless of the Android One argument and the dedicated card slot. Additionally, the Nokia 4.2 comes with a rather small-ish 3,000mAh battery, which you have to charge from a 5W adaptor via microUSB. The Nokia 4.2 is not a trend setter in features and technology but it’s reliable and fits the budget just fine.

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The US doesn’t get the A20e, but Samsung sells the A20 proper there and it’s mostly the same phone, but for a few important differences. Chief among them is the display – not only is it 6.4-inches in diagonal vs the A20e’ 5.8 inches, but it’s also AMOLED – nice. It’s not very high-res, though, but it had to fit the budget somehow. The Gorilla Glass 3 protection did make the cut, so that’s good as well.

To go with the bigger display, battery capacity has been bumped to 4,000mAh, and the phone has gotten heavier in the process, but at 169g it’s still among the lighter offerings. A well-rounded entry-level Galaxy with an AMOLED display – that’s it.

Specs