Rating of the best smartphones under 200$ in 2022 (TOP5)

HONOR 10X Lite

Unlocks TOP HONOR 10X Lite. The design is typical for smartphones in this price segment. Due to the display size of 6.67 inches, the device feels really big and a bit thick.. The fingerprint scanner is on the side, it works quite quickly. The back glossy surface is easily soiled and quickly gets dirty, but we must pay tribute, the smartphone does not slip out of the hands. By the way, oh display — the resolution here is Full HD, the frames are thin, and a cutout for the front camera is left on top. In general, the screen is not bad, it has high brightness and does not glare, there is no flicker, the eyes do not get tired when using it. The camera consists of 4 modules, only digital zoom is available. Pictures even in daylight at 48 megapixel resolution are a little blurry and lose color, so post-processing is needed. It is not recommended to shoot at night, because the camera simply cannot cope with a lack of lighting, and the software sharpens too hard and adds noise.

Camcorder without stabilizer, video quality is tolerable, but when shooting it is better not to touch the zoom slider, because it is fraught with pixelization of the picture. Again, shooting at night is not recommended. The Kirin 710A is on board — the processor is clearly not a gaming processor, it throttles when heated, but it is suitable for everyday tasks. The amount of memory is 128 GB with the possibility of installing a memory card. Autonomy is quite good — up to 15 hours of work when viewing Full HD-video.

The smartphone is suitable for unpretentious users who do not plan to conquer photo exhibitions or become avid gamers on it. The price of the model is 160$, which makes it the most expensive smartphone in the TOP. Compared to other devices in the rating, it does not have anything outstanding, so I can only recommend buying it to those who love Honor smartphones.

HUAWEI P smart 2021

4th place in the TOP is HUAWEI P smart 2021. What do we have? A screen with barely noticeable frames, 4 cameras and a capacious 5000 mAh battery. From memory — a regular drive for as much as 128 gigabytes, and even the ability to put a memory card! The front camera is hidden at the top of the screen. There is a fingerprint scanner on the side panel, which has already become the standard for smartphones in this price range. It is somewhat recessed into the case, so you have to iron the smartphone several times to unlock it, which is sometimes annoying. Full HD display here at as much as 6.67 inches, as in Honor X10 Lite, so you won’t envy people with small hands. The Kirin 710 is on board — the processor is unlikely to allow the smartphone to reveal its gaming potential, and throttling is already completely unpleasant.

In general, hardware is “average” compared to other models from the TOP. The camera for this price segment is decent — 48 megapixels with good software post-processing. It is also not necessary to expect something supernatural from her, but the model does not position itself as a photo flagship. In daylight, the pictures are, as expected, decent, but at night the quality is somewhat “floating”. The autonomy of work compared to competitors is also not so hot — about 10 hours when playing Full HD-video at maximum brightness. Well, an unpleasant cherry on the cake — lack of Google services, as in other Huawei smartphones.

This smartphone can be described as «normal». Indeed, there is nothing outstanding in this device compared to competitors. The lack of Google services is a very serious minus, because in order to install applications you will have to get all kinds of crutches from the closet. The price is 150$, which is almost 10$ cheaper than Honor 10x Lite with almost equal characteristics. If you are a fan of Huawei, then you can take it, if not, you should consider other models in the TOP.

Realme C21

Third place — Realme C21. I would call the design of this smartphone «classic». The back surface is matte and rough, which greatly adds points to this model in terms of practicality. It does not slip out of the hands and does not get dirty from fingerprints. On the back surface is a module of 3 cameras and a fingerprint scanner, to which everyone is so accustomed.. It also works quite fast. The screen here is 6.5 inches, which has a positive effect on the size of the smartphone, and the front camera is located in a teardrop-shaped section on top. The resolution here is 720×1600, which is lower than in previous TOP models, and the display itself has a lower brightness, and the colors are somewhat distorted when it is reduced.

In general, the display can hardly be called high-quality. The 13-megapixel camera shoots well during the day for its budget levelespecially considering post-processing. There is no stabilization, like previous TOP models, so you won’t be able to shoot video on the go. I was surprised by the night mode — it is much better than that of Huawei P Smart, and Honor X10 Lite generally breaks in all respects. The sharpness of the photo in the dark, of course, is not the highest, but noise is cut off, and the picture is quite bright and saturated. The front camera here, as elsewhere, is average, but worthy for its price segment.

On board is a MediaTek Helio G35 — completely underpowered hardware that is only suitable for games at the lowest settings.. For everyday functions, of course, there is enough power. The processor, by the way, is not as prone to throttling and overheating as previous TOP models, which is good news, given the price. True, the memory is not enough — 32 or 64 GB with the possibility of installing a memory card. Surprised and autonomy — 25 hours of HD-quality video playback.

This smartphone specifically saves the price — 11 tens of dollars. I believe that for such money you can forgive him not the highest screen resolution, and low memory, and even a processor. But you will get a device with good autonomy for everyday tasks. In general, this is a good budget device!

Samsung Galaxy A12

Silver medal goes to Samsung Galaxy A12. By design, everything is standard. The back surface is matte, corrugated, non-marking. The fingerprint scanner is built into the power button and works quickly. The display has a size of 6.5 inches, which allows the smartphone to be somewhat compact.. The screen resolution, like Realme C21, is 720×1600. It’s hard to single out anything unusual in this display. It is quite bright, readable in the sun, colors convey well. In general, a strong «middle peasant». Autonomy is also decent here — up to 21 hours of operation when playing video in HD quality at maximum brightness.

The processor here is similar to that of Realme C21 — MediaTek Helio P35 on 12 nm process technology. Like the G35, this chipset can hardly be called a gaming chipset. You should not expect special performance in games, but enough for everyday tasks. The camera also surprised: the main camera module of 48 megapixels allows you to shoot bright enough and juicy pictures. in daylight for its price segment. At night, here, like other TOP models, everything is not so rosy, but let me remind you again: we are talking about a budget smartphone. Memory on board 128 GB, yes possibility of expansion. A feature of Samsung smartphones is the OneUI shell, which is quite pleasant and easy to use, although it is limited in customization.

The price of a model with 128 GB of permanent memory and 4 GB of RAM is about 150$. In fact, this model differs little from the same Realme C21, but it definitely wins in terms of the camera. In terms of price-quality ratio, this smartphone will be a good purchase if you need a model from the budget segment.

Xiaomi POCO M3

The gold medal goes to the Xiaomi POCO M3 smartphone. Inexpensive, but high-quality model. Here, for your money, you get a 6.53-inch thin-bezel screen with a resolution of 2340×1080, when most competitors have 1600×720. The display is bright, colors are good, readable in the sun, does not flicker and does not tire the eyes. The device is compact, the back panel is plastic with a skin-like texture: does not slip, does not get dirty, pleasant to the touch. Memory on board as much as 128 GB with the possibility of expansion, there are two slots for SIM-cards. Performance is uncompromising thanks to the Snapdragon 662.

The processor does not heat up and practically does not throttle. Yes, you won’t be able to play games on ultras, but you can still play quite comfortably on medium-low graphics settings. Autonomy — 17 hours of video viewing, but note: Full HD + resolution! By the way, manufacturers claim that the battery will not lose capacity even after 1000 recharge cycles. The camera is represented by 3 modules: 48 MP + 2 MP (depth) + 2 MP (macro). The pictures come out good — both during the day and at night, and various post-processing modes help make them even better. The MIUI 12 shell is pure Android with a minimum of pre-installed junk.

For 130$ we get a budget smartphone with a high-quality display, good autonomy and a large amount of memory. In addition, the smartphone has a decent camera. The processor is not as powerful as we would like, but the smartphone is not positioned as a gaming one: this would negatively affect autonomy. In general, the top model for their money.