Cheap and cheerful with the features you really need

Here are three smartphones costing less than $200 that could meet the needs of many.

The realme C2 features a 6.2-inch display, 32GB internal storage and two cameras on the rear for $199

Last week Samsung delighted the masses with the announcement of their latest flagship smartphone range. Priced at $2249, their top of the line smartphone, Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G, with all its bells and whistles, will fight for the crown of the best smartphone in 2020. It will have more performance, greater cameras and improved features. However, if your needs are more modest, you might be happy with a phone that just handles the basics.

I’ve been looking at three smartphones costing less than $200 that could meet the needs of many. Doing the maths: you could buy 10 of these phones and still have forked out less than the cost of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra.

It is surprising what you can get for $150. The Aspera Gem is a dual-SIM 4G smartphone. It runs the Android operating system, meaning you have access to the same app store and choice of apps as you’d find on many other Android smartphones.

With 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage on-board it won’t perform to the same speed levels of flagship phones, but for basic tasks like calling, texting, emailing and web browsing, you’d hardly notice.

Aspera Gem $149

Cheap smartphones: Aspera Gem $150

The Aspera camera has an 8MP lens on the back, a 5MP lens on the front, and a handy flash for selfies at night. The cameras won’t capture images worthy of printing and framing at home but will do the job to remember a moment in time.

At $149 we were surprised to see a fingerprint sensor and facial recognition options for unlocking the phone and didn’t mind the removable battery should you ever need to replace it.

High end phones these days have ditched the removable battery in the quest to make phones thinner and lighter handsets, but being able to swap in a second battery can be handy.

Its 16GB of storage is not large, but there is a microSD slot for adding extra capacity to store images and video.

The 5.5-inch display performs best at full brightness. However, it does lack the higher contrasts and detail you’d see in more flagship models, but again — for the basics, it meets the criteria and exceeds on price.

Nokia 2.3 $199

Cheap smartphones - Nokia 2.3

If you’re looking to spoil yourself and spend up to $200 the Nokia 2.3 and realme C2 are a worthy step up. The familiar brand Nokia, now owned by Chinese manufacturer HMD Global, has a large range of smartphones and the Nokia 2.3 sits towards the bottom. But it stands tall.

The large 6.2-inch display looks excellent with almost no bezel around the edges. There’s just enough space for the Nokia branding.

The extra $50 step up from the Aspera Gem delivers double the internal storage capacity (32GB) with two cameras on the rear. The rear camera does a much better job of capturing images, especially outdoors where light and contrast is managed really well.

It runs the same Android operating system. We also liked the addition of the Google Assistant button for easy access to a quick Q&A with your new digital companion.

Realme C2 $199

Cheap smartphones: realme C2

At the same price point comes the Oppo-owned brand realme. New to the market, realme has come out swinging to add more value to every price point. This phone has a 6.1-inch display that fits well in the hand.

There’s virtually no bezel, and only a slight tear drop on the screen to fit the front facing camera — no ugly black notch. With extra RAM at 3GB and double the storage of the Nokia 2.3 at 64GB, this is serious value for money.

The dual camera set up on the rear performs at the level of the Nokia. With expandable storage and a rather attractive rear casing we imagine the realme will appeal to younger buyers who want a smartphone that looks great, but is capable too.

Geoff Quattromani is a tech commentator across radio, print, online and television. Check out his podcast “Technology Uncorked” for new information each week.