While flagship smartphones boast impressive features, spending $1,000 is not a prerequisite for a satisfying Android experience nowadays. If you’re in need of a new smartphone and have a budget of approximately $200, there are numerous excellent options available. Surprisingly, some of the best Android phones under $200 come equipped with features like 5,000mAh batteries, multi-lens camera setups, and the promise of extended software updates.
We thoroughly evaluate various Android phones to ensure optimal performance without encountering unexpected issues down the line. If we were to recommend one Android smartphone in the sub-$200 price range, it would be the latest addition to Samsung’s lineup, the Galaxy A15 5G. Boasting a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED screen, a sizable battery with 25W fast charging support, and more, it offers a compelling package. Alternatively, consider Motorola’s Moto G Play (2024) for a straightforward yet functional device.
I just wish they were smaller. I’d love to have a Nexus 4-sized phone again.
Sony made compact versions of their flagship phones until somewhat recently. They were good, and even had basic open-source OS support. I hope they revive that product line.
Another thing I’d like to see more of is relockable bootloaders, so that we can have something like GrapheneOS without Google hardware.
The Xperia 5 Series is pretty much the successor. They feel tiny in the hand due to being really slim and narrow.
Sadly, the Xperia 5 is significantly larger than the compact models.
Its way taller yes, but not much wider and waaay slimmer. I have both and in the hand the 5 almost feels smaller.
That being said, the 21:9 Aspect ratio makes certain things annoying to use, especially Apps that place UI elemts on the top.
Are you by any chance comparing to the XZ2 Compact? That one was an outlier. The others in the Compact line (like the z1c in my link) were much closer to the Xperia 5 in thickness.
Trust me I know my Z compacts ;). I got em all but the Z3. Its hard to describe but the Z1 feels kinda thick and bulky. The 5 I feels nicer honestly. That being said XZ1 still is my #1 in terms of Hand feel.
The XZ2 feels the worst sadly. I hate the odd shape and I sometimes get cramps typing. But thats an issue with the entire XZ2 and XZ3 Line. Thank god they went away with that odd shape in future Sony phones
Z5 Compact is also very nice, but I couldn’t find it atm to fit in the shot.
This is the main reason why I buy the a series pixel phones. Generally they are smaller. Not small enough IMO, but smaller than the major flagships for sure.
I have a 4a and need to upgrade, and have the same size consideration. Are there any downsides to the 6a that you know of? I have to be able to put GrapheneOS on it as I won’t use stock android. Seems like it’s on the device list.
My wife has a 6a. A few things that she has noticed but not deal breakers. After installing a glass screen protector the finger print reader is really hit and miss. I went to enable face unlock but Google doesn’t allow it on the 6a. Custom ROM would solve that, however I don’t know about graphene. Not the best cell reception. Not a huge case selection. At least compared to non (a) versions. Battery life under heavy use is just ok.
Graphene, Lineage, and DivestOS all run great in my experience.
Better performance and battery life.
All very easy to install on Pixel.
I’m using a 6a. I used graphene for like a week but didn’t like it. The only downside I have is no wireless charging. I’ll be getting an 8a as soon as it comes out for that reason. My wife is using a 7a and I’d say it’s perfect.
Hmm, I might wait a while until the 7a comes down more. The 4a is holding me for now I guess.
This! I recently bought a new smartphone and I don’t get why screen size has constantly inched up, and pretty much across all price ranges! I’d understand if it was just gaming or photo-oriented ones…
If this goes on we’ll all end up with comically large clown phones.
In many markets your smartphone is your primary, or only, computing device. Many people use their phones as media consumption devices. Those are the two primary drivers of our ever growing handsets.
Don’t forget the “bigger number means better” marketing.
Looks at my Mode one Retro ii Tiny? Check! All day battery? Check! 200$? Check! Do I get called “flip phone” now? Big check!
Asus ZenFone 8
Still gigantic. The screen is a good inch-and-a-bit larger than the Nexus 4.
But weirdly identically width and length and just .5 inches taller.
Google Nexus 4 5.27 x 2.7 x 0.36 inches | 4.90 oz Asus ZenFone 8 5.83 x 2.7 x 0.35 inches | 5.96 oz
It’s because of narrower aspect ratio on newer devices. That’s why it doesn’t make any sense to compare them with diagonal. Also there’s variation in bezel thickness. For example s23/s24 has larger sized display than zenfone 10, but they’re nearly identical in total body size.
Unihertz!
…tempting! I enjoy the QWERTY keyboard phones as well. Wonder if they’ll bring back the fold-out keyboard that I lusted over back in 2011…