The focus is constantly on smartphones with fast processors, high RAM, massive storage, high megapixel cameras and many other such features.
While the world raves at the specifications of these super powerful phones, there’s no denying that there is demand at the other end of the spectrum: Basic phones with 4G data connectivity.
People could be interested in cheap 4G smartphones because of the low cost, or because they like simple phones, or because they want to keep a second phone for the excellent battery life they offer.
It should be noted these cheap 4G phones are meant for basic tasks like calling, texting and surfing the internet. They may lag if graphics-intensive apps are used.
In fact, using a cheaper 4G phone may actually be a pleasant experience after the complication of more expensive phones.
DH looks at a few basic smartphones that are capable of 4G data transfer:
Nokia 1
One of the cheapest phones available in the market is the Nokia 1, costing just about Rs 4,400 on e-commerce websites.
With a 4.5 inch screen, it is a handy phone that was released last year. It runs on the Android 8.1 Oreo Go edition.
Powering the phone is a MediaTek MT6737M chipset (1.1 GHz CPU) and the set has 8GB of internal storage and 1GB of RAM. It can accommodate a microSD card of upto 128GB in the second SIM slot. The main camera has a resolution of 5 MP, while the front camera is 2MP.
For comparison, an iPhone XS has a 12 MP camera and the Samsung S10 has 12 and 16 MP main cameras. Apart from megapixel count, image quality also depends on the sensor, which records the scene being shot.
It has a 2150 mAh removable battery and Nokia claims that it has a standby time of up to 15 days.
The other features are Wi-fi, Bluetooth, FM radio and LED flash.
Just two days ago, Nokia announced this phone’s successor, the Nokia 1 Plus and it is expected to cost around Rs 7,000.
Xiaomi Redmi 6A
Released in the middle of 2018, this handset sports the MediaTek MT6761 Helio A22 chipset (2.0 GHz CPU).
The handset has a 5.45 inch in-plane switching (IPS) screen and runs on the regular Android Oreo 8.1 operating system. The set can be bought with 16 or 32 GB internal storage and 2 GB RAM. There are two SIM slots on the phone and also a dedicated slot that can accommodate a microSD card up to 256 GB.
The phone has a 13 MP main camera and a 5 MP front camera with an LED flash on the rear panel. The camera is capable of recording 1080p video at 30 fps.
The phone has a 3000 mAh non-removable battery.
The set costs about Rs 6,000 for the 16 GB version and about Rs 6,500 for the 32 GB variant.
Panasonic Eluga Ray 530
The Eluga Ray 530 is a pretty new phone, having been released in October last year.
The phone is powered by a MediaTek MT6739WA processor that runs at 1.3 GHz.
Phone security is taken care of with a fingerprint sensor and a face unlocking system.
The phone has a 5.7 inch IPS display and runs on Android 8.0 Oreo. The phone has dual SIM slots and a dedicated slot that can take a microSD card upto 128 GB of memory.
The internal storage is 32GB and the set has 3GB of RAM.
The main camera is a 13 MP one, while the front camera is a 5 MP shooter. This phone is capable of shooting 1080p video at 30 fps.
The battery is a 3000 mAh non-removable one.
It is priced around Rs 6,500 on e-commerce websites.
Asus ZenFone Lite L1
One of the few budget phones with the Snapdragon 430 chipset, it has a CPU that runs at 1.4 GHz. The phone was released in October last year.
The phone runs on Android 8.0 Oreo.
The handset has a 5.45 inch IPS screen and is capable of 1080p video recording at 30 fps. The main camera is 13 MP and the front camera is 5 MP. There is also an LED flash.
The phone has 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. This dual SIM set has a dedicated memory slot that can take up to a 512 GB microSD card.
The phone has a 3000 mAh non-removable battery and is priced around Rs 5000 online.