Flagships are more costly than ever especially in 2019, but with the top-end, cheaper/budget smartphones are better. You can buy Cheap Mobile Phones in Australia at a cost of less than $300/$400 and still get a smartphone that will perfectly fit you in. The cheaper smartphone prices also make the best budget handsets more attractive in the longer term, although you might want to purchase these handsets straight away, and then pay only for your minutes, texts and information.
You will not find a more useful list of Best Budget Smartphones 2019 if the value for money is your number one priority. After spending numerous hours, we have done our best and ranked Nokia, Motorola, Honor and other major brands on the best cheap phones. So, without beating about the bush, let’s get it on.
1: Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite (Price AU$230-270)
Cheap Phones Australia don’t come better than that. With a 19:9 grade display, dual rear cameras and decent performance, this Mi A2 Lite have a premium design. The storage is generous and we love the fact that with microSD cards you can increase the internal 64GB space to 256GB without sacrificing dual SIM support. An ideal budget smartphone to buy!
Key Features
- Weight: 178 grams
- Dimensions: 149.3 x 71.7 x 8.8mm
- Display: 5.84-inches IPS LCD (1080 x 2280 Pixels)
- OS: Android 8.1 Oreo (Upgradable)
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 625
- Rear Camera: 12MP + 5MP
- Front Camera: 5MP
- Battery: 4000mAh
- RAM & ROM: 3GB/4GB with 32GB/64GB
2: Moto G7 Power (Price AU$340-380)
The G7 Power is a decent alternative to Huawei and Honor’s offerings around that price with an almost pure Android interface, and its huge battery means a comfortable two-day battery life with a light usage that can easily be extended to three if needed.
Key Features
- Weight: 193 grams
- Dimensions: 159.4 x 76 x 9.3mm
- Display: 6.2-inches LTPS IPS (720 x 1570 Pixels)
- OS: Android Pie 9.0
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 632
- Rear Camera: 12MP
- Front Camera: 8MP
- Battery: 5000mAh
- RAM & ROM: 3GB/4GB with 32GB/64GB
3: Honor 10 Lite (Price AU$313-370)
Honor did it once more with the 10 Lite which is one of the Cheap Android Phones 2019 for you to buy. For just AU$300 or a little more, it’s offering an exceptional battery life, with a large display and dual cameras. These cameras are low-light and a plastic phone, though, but the performance is up to snuff and it’s the best cheap smartphone alongside the Moto G line.
Key Features
- Weight: 162 grams
- Dimensions: 154.8 x 73.6 x 8mm
- Display: 6.21-inches IPS LCD (1080 x 2340 Pixels)
- OS: Android Pie 9.0
- Chipset: HiSilicon Kirin 710
- Rear Camera: 13MP + 2MP
- Front Camera: 24MP
- Battery: 3400mAh
- RAM & ROM: 4GB/6GB with 64GB/128GB
4: Motorola Moto E5 (Price AU$140-199)
The Moto E5 is one of Best Mobile Phone under $300 Australia. You can spend a little more, of course, and get something better, but you won’t want to throw the cheapest phone into the bin a couple of days later. The design and construction qualities along with a number of features such as the screen, the camera, and the fingerprint scanner and battery life impress us greatly. Be aware that some of the features of more expensive alternatives are not available in this smartphone.
Key Features
- Weight: 174 grams
- Dimensions: 154.4 x 72.2 x 9mm
- Display: 5.7-inches IPS LCD (720 x 1440 Pixels)
- OS: Android 8.0 Oreo
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 425
- Rear Camera: 13MP
- Front Camera: 5MP
- Battery: 4000mAh
- RAM & ROM: 2GB with 16GB
5: Huawei P Smart 2019 (Price AU$400-420)
With its flagship phones making waves at the top of the market, Huawei had a very powerful 2018, but it did not forget the skilled, price-conscious shopkeepers. If you want to use an affordable handset with a large 18:9 display, premium, and rear fingerprint scanner, Huawei P Smart is an excellent option.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with an excellent camera as Moto G6 – but still an exquisite and budget phone.
Key Features
- Weight: 160 grams
- Dimensions: 155.2 x 73.4 x 8mm
- Display: 6.21-inches LTPS IPS LCD (1080 x 2340 Pixels)
- OS: Android Pie 9.0
- Chipset: HiSilicon Kirin 710
- Rear Camera: 13MP + 2MP
- Front Camera: 16MP
- Battery: 3400mAh
- RAM & ROM: 3GB with 32GB/64GB
6: Moto G6 Play (Price AU$197-329)
The Moto G6 Play is, without a doubt, a great surprise. The device has a better battery life (and a cooler fingerprint sensor) next to the other two G6 phones. The display and premium (but plastic) design of 18:9 means that it feels just as well as smartphone twice their price.
Amazingly, it’s loaded with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack but alas, doesn’t come with a micro USB. But we will forgive that on its strengths and recommend it as one of the best pocket-friendly phones of 2019.
Key Features
- Weight: 175 grams
- Dimensions: 154.4 x 72.2 x 9mm
- Display: 5.7-inches IPS LCD (720 x 1440 Pixels)
- OS: Android 8.0 Oreo
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 730
- Rear Camera: 13MP
- Front Camera: 5MP + 8MP
- Battery: 4000mAh
- RAM & ROM: 2GB/3GB with 16GB/32GB
7: Honor 9 Lite (Price AU$220-319)
It has been a while, but the Honor 9 Lite is still one of the best budget smartphones that can be purchased, even at AU$220. You can get it a lot less now, so it’s more of a bargain. It has a beautiful design, good specs and good performance, including four cameras. What else, you want without breaking your banks?
Key Features
- Weight: 149 grams
- Dimensions: 151 x 71.9 x 7.6mm
- Display: 5.65-inches IPS LCD (1080 x 2160 Pixels)
- OS: Android 8.0 Oreo
- Chipset: HiSilicon Kirin 659
- Rear Camera: 13MP + 2MP
- Front Camera: 13MP + 2MP
- Battery: 3000mAh
- RAM & ROM: 3GB/4GB with 32GB/64GB
8: Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 (Price AU$230-250)
This is the only bad spot for this excellent budget smartphone, although it lacks NFC. Performance is brilliant at this price, but battery life is the best thing about it. The phone lasts one day and much of a second day with a 5000mAh battery. It blows out of the water other budget smartphones. It is a large and bright display and a barely changed Android software keeps things uncomplicated and Google focused.
Key Features
- Weight: 180 grams
- Dimensions: 159 x 76 x 8.5mm
- Display: 5.99-inches IPS LCD (1080 x 2160 Pixels)
- OS: Android 8.1 Oreo
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 636
- Rear Camera: 13MP + 5MP or 16MP + 5MP (6GB RAM Model Only)
- Front Camera: 8MP
- Battery: 5000mAh
- RAM & ROM: 3GB/4GB with 32GB/64GB
9: Nokia 5.1 (Price AU$297-315)
The Nokia 5.1 is indeed the Best Android Phone under $500 Australia with a superb 6000 aluminum body series, fine detail on buttons and camera and an FHD + 18:9 5.5 screens. While the budget itself is the only way it can manage more advanced mobile games – but the performance isn’t seamless. However, Nokia 5.1 is definitely a tenting budget option for general tweeting, snapping and texting.
Key Features
- Weight: N/A
- Dimensions: 151.1 x 70.7 x 8.2mm
- Display: 5.5-inches IPS LCD (1080 x 2160 Pixels)
- OS: Android 8.0 Oreo (Android One)
- Chipset: MediaTek Helio P18
- Rear Camera: 16MP
- Front Camera: 8MP
- Battery: 2970mAh
- RAM & ROM: 2GB/3GB with 16GB/32GB
10: Moto E5 Plus (Price AU$243-392)
Last but absolutely not least, a large screen, long-lasting battery, and low price tag are provided by the Moto E5 Plus, making it a great contestant for the most budgetary smartphone in the market. Thanks to its slightly lower performance and lower resolution screen versus the three best places are missing – but it is still an excellent budget buy.
Key Features
- Weight: 196.6 grams
- Dimensions: 160.9 x 75.3 x 9.4 mm
- Display: 6-inches IPS LCD (720 x 1440 Pixels)
- OS: Android 8.0 Oreo
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 425
- Rear Camera: 12MP
- Front Camera: 5MP
- Battery: 5000mAh
- RAM & ROM: 2GB/3GB with 16GB/32GB
What Will You Get for Your Money?
When you’re looking for the Best Budget Smartphones under $300, you have to take into account that the manufacturer will cut some corners and you won’t get the same speed, features and quality you could afford with a smartphone that set users back two, three, or even four times the price.
Budget smartphones used to be recognized instantly through their low-resolution displays, a small amount of storage, and chunky plastic body, but things in this area are continuously improving. Nowadays, a smartphone with a full HD display and an under 8mm metal body can be bought for AU$300 or less.
Most of the budget-friendly devices will support 4G connectivity – but not all will be backed by NFC. Normally, Chinese devices often house HotKnot which works like NFC.
