How cheap can an Android phone be
HOW LOW CAN AN ANDROID GO?
A RECENT ONLINE search for an inexpensive smartphone turned up a selection of very low-priced Android phones, so we could not resist investigating how low you can go. With prices of flagship phones from the major brands now pushing $2,000, what do you get if you spend less than 10% of that buying something that looks similar and supposedly has similar capabilities?
The search inevitably led to eBay, and some very dodgy claims. But checking the bottom of the barrel was essential for this article, so we looked for the cheapest Android smartphone claiming reasonable specs from a local supplier, and purchased an unbranded “M20 Pro” for just $61 delivered.
Would the M20 be the brilliantly priced 4G, 4GB, 13 megapixel, 4000mAh, Android 8.0 unit claimed? We’ll get to that, but as well as the very cheapest option we needed something a little better to compare with.
The lowest priced smartphone with credible good reviews was the Umidigi A3 Pro, an eBay special at $121 delivered, from “umidigi-auofficial”. The specification was comprehensive, running on Android 9+, so we ordered one.
You can order the same phones direct from China, but the saving was only a few dollars, so going with Australian sellers for guaranteed delivery, returns and local warranty was a no-brainer.
And for a reasonably new benchmark we compared against our 2018 Samsung Galaxy Note8, which has proven a very capable phone with an excellent camera.
SO, WHAT WAS DELIVERED? M20 PRO, $61
The M20 Pro arrived well-packaged in a plain white box. The charger was a European plug, but the seller had disclosed that, and we have no shortage of USB chargers. The phone came with a pre-applied screen protector and a clear soft case. A rear sticker included helpful instructions.
The M20 Pro screen is 5.8-inches as claimed, but has larger top and bottom bezels than in the eBay illustrations. It felt solid and weighed 186 grams vs the Note8 at 6.3 inch screen and 200g. The M20 back cover includes a multi camera square that is slightly out of alignment with the case – a bit disconcerting. Two of the “lenses” are fake anyway, it has a single rear camera, with no flash.
Behind the battery there are spaces for two 3G SIMs and a micro SD memory card. Yes, 3G SIMs – like many eBay phones, they list 4G in the description but don’t say what it relates to. Check the operating frequencies before you buy – some phones on offer are 2G (or “GSM”) only and useless in Australia. 3G currently works well on most networks, but will be phased out within five years.
One more surprise – when booting up, the M20 celebrated with a very loud musical fanfare, which it repeated on powering off. The M20 has huge volume available, which could be embarrassing when switching off in a plane, but no doubt there is a way to override it.
UMIDIGI A3 PRO, $121
The Umidigi came in a premium box, and has the look and solid feel of a premium phone. With a satin metal surround, notched 5.7-inch screen and an off-white glass back, it is a visual clone of recent iPhone models. It also came with a pre-applied screen protector and a soft black plastic case.
On boot up it prompted to transfer contacts and apps from another Android phone. Followed the simple instructions, it talked to the Note8, and moments later the transfer was complete.
An initial disappointment was the A3 Pro sound – minimal, metallic and horrible for music. We found Sound Enhancement in the settings, switched it off, and the sound was greatly improved. Can’t figure that one out..
Long ago we stopped carrying a digital camera and came to rely on phone cameras, making camera performance our dealbreaking factor when choosing a phone. To see how our cheapies performed, we took a series of photos using all three phones in the same conditions. No surprise: the M20 Pro took decent but low resolution snapshots in bright sunlight, and had limited low light capabilities.
The Umidigi A3 Pro was substantially better, with some wide shots in bright sunlight showing excellent detail, but resolution fell off rapidly when zoomed in.
Night photos were sharp but very noisy, and overall the Note8 was well ahead on quality.
THE REAL M20 PRO STORY
By this point it was obvious that the M20 Pro did not operate like an Android 8 device. At $61 we were not expecting much, and it seemed a solid phone that did a good job of calls and text. The facial recognition was quick to set up and worked well for screen unlocking, but some other apps were very slow. Google Maps froze completely but, oops, the advertising never said it had GPS... Fingerprint recognition was easy to set up – on the screen, not on the fake circle on the back.
But it did not connect to anything or unlock the phone, or distinguish between fingers or thumbs.
Checking “About Phone” in the Settings confirmed the specifications as advertised, and connecting to a PC for downloading photos showed 32GB of memory with only a fraction used. So we installed some device checking apps – Phone Check, Device Information and DevCheck. They all reported the same story:
Specifications claimed on eBay: Android 8.0, 1280 x 720 screen, 4000mAh battery, 13 MP camera, 4GB+32GB memory, 8-core processor, 3G dual SIM
Measured specs: Android 4.4.2, 960 x 480 screen, 1000mAh battery, 3.7 MP camera, 512MB+2GB memory, dual-core processor, 3G dual SIM
We never believed the M20 memory claims anyway, and the battery said 4Ah on one side and 3.7Ah on the other so was a bit sus, but: Android 4.4.2 Kit Kat, when the phone itself tells you it is 8.0 Oreo? Someone went to a lot of trouble faking these specs.
Bottom line: as a big (low resolution) screen phone for basic use maybe the M20 is okay, but if you want a new smartphone with current tech you need a bigger budget than $61.
THE SURPRISING UMIDIGI A3 PRO
At double the M20 price the A3 Pro is still a very cheap smartphone with a very upmarket look. Note that there is also a cheaper Umidigi A3 model with the same looks and slightly lower specs – we have seen it advertised as low as $95.
Our device checking apps verified that the eBay description of the A3 Pro was quite accurate:
Verified spec: Android 9.0, 1512 x 720 screen, 3300mAh battery, 12 MP camera, 3GB+12GB memory, Quad core processor, 4G dual SIM
We used the Umidigi A3 Pro day-to-day for a couple of weeks and it performed well. It looks the part - several people asked “is that the new iPhone model?” and the battery life seemed excellent. So how does it differ from smartphones that are ten or more times the price?
The twin rear cameras can perform a few tricks, but producing high resolution photos when zoomed in is not one of them, and low light photos are noisy. If photos beyond daytime snapshots are crucial to you this phone doesn’t quite make the grade.
The sound quality out of the single speaker is not great, but there is a headphone jack or Bluetooth options for much better audio.
Apps like Google Maps can lag a bit in launch and operation.
You can assume that the glass front and back are not top spec, so may break easily.
If these points are not show stoppers for you, then yes, a cheap Android could be your next best friend!