The last few weeks have brought the interesting Redmi 9 and Honor 9A smartphones to the market and have made us discover OPPO A52.
We arrived in July 2020 and, like every first Sunday of the month, the time has come to draw conclusions more valid Android devices in the range under 200 euros. The last few weeks have given us several interesting news, we have had the opportunity to try OPPO A52, a device that has proved to be very valid, and there has been the announcement of Redmi 9 and Honor 9A. Let’s take a look at the most valid low-cost products available on the market, reminding you that the prices taken into consideration are only those of Amazon Italy and the official sites of the manufacturers.
OPPO A52
This is a spoiler. If you’ve been following us for some time, surely you know that the slots at the top of the intallght Tech main page are limited and designed to give the right emphasis to every single study or review. For this reason, it sometimes happens that one piece is published before the other. This is the case, given that the OPPO A52 review is already ready but will arrive on these pages only in a few days. In the meantime, we can already tell you that it is a very valid device, compared to the 179 euros required by Amazon Italy to take it home (4 / 64GB).
Arriving in Italy on May 22, 2020, the smartphone did not really speak much about itself, but it surprised us during the trial weeks. In particular, its main strength is the exceptional autonomy, which thanks to the 5000 mAh battery has almost always allowed us to reach the two days. However, the smartphone convinces practically in all aspects, from the good display to the complete connectivity department (there are triple slots, NFC and USB Type-C), passing through an excellent audio compartment and for cameras that do not disappoint in contexts of good brightness. The only flaws are not exactly top performances (but more than good for the average user) and some smudges at the level of selfies and night photos. Surely OPPO A52 is one of the best devices under 200 euros.
Realme 6
In the chapter dedicated to OPPO A52 we talked about good but not top performance. So some of you are wondering which devices we are referring to. Well, among these there is certainly Realme 6, which makes brute force, but above all of the panel with a 90 Hz refresh rate, one of the main strengths. It must be said that in this case, we have to make a small tear to the rule, given that Realme 6 is sold at a price of 202.89 euros through resellers (4 / 64GB). For a few euros, it seemed a real shame not to insert it, since it is a very interesting device.
The aforementioned 90 Hz panel is able to guarantee that extra touch in terms of fluidity. When we try displays of this type, we often struggle to return to 60 Hz: it is one of those technologies that is revolutionizing the smartphone market in practice. The other strengths of the device are found in the complete software, in the 30W recharge and in the connectivity department (there are also triple slots, NFC and USB Type-C). Too bad only for some photographic burrs, as well as for autonomy, not exactly the best. In any case, Realme 6 is one of the best solutions in this price range.
Redmi Note 9 / Redmi Note 9S
If you have always liked the Redmi Note series, the Chinese company has also produced excellent devices this year. We have properly tested the “basic variant” of Redmi Note 9, the 3 / 64GB one that is sold for € 199.90 on Amazon Italy and, net of some small burrs, we felt good. To note the fact that the 4 / 128GB model costs 169.79 euros on Amazon through resellers, so you may want to focus on this variant. The device has an excellent screen (despite not being exactly the brightest), a photographic sector that does not disappoint expectations, exceptional autonomy and a complete software sector. There are NFC, USB Type-C and triple slot. If you are interested in this model, we invite you to consult our review of Redmi Note 9. The aspects that have not convinced us completely are the performance, not exactly the best (SoC MediaTek) and other small smudges (like some not exactly pleasant contrasts which are created when the display brightness is maximized). In any case, Redmi Note 9 is certainly able to convince the public to whom it is addressed. If you are among those who do not use NFC but prefer better performance, you might think of pointing to Redmi Note 9s, a device sold at 194.90 euros on Amazon Italy through resellers (4 / 64GB).
Market choice: Redmi Note 8
As for it best-selling smartphone in this price range According to Amazon’s Bestseller smartphone ranking, Redmi Note 8 has dominated for months, a device that is convincing many Italians. On the other hand, the price represents the classic “offer that cannot be refused”: 145.62 euros through resellers (4 / 64GB). The most attentive of you will surely know that in reality Redmi Note 8 has not arrived in “official” ways in our country, but the ROM is the Global one and there is support for the 20 bands, so people are still finding themselves very well.
Pay attention only to the absence of NFC, which is not present on this model. Instead, there are the USB Type-C port and the audio jack. For the rest, Redmi Note 8 is an excellent device, which has a good build strength, an excellent screen, a complete software compartment, a good camera and granite autonomy. If you are among those who need NFC, we recommend you take a look at Redmi Note 8T, which is the model that officially arrived in Italy which has this chip and has some other slight differences. In this case, the price is 154 euros through resellers (4 / 64GB). For about 10 euros more you could give us a little thought.
Upcoming Arrivals and Announcements: From Redmi 9 to Honor 9A
The smartphone market is continuing at its usual pace, despite everything. In the last few months, one announcement has arrived after another and, as always, we are here to summarize a bit what has happened lately. The latest news is Redmi 9 and Honor 9A, two devices announced in the last week of June 2020 regarding our country. The first is a smartphone that focuses heavily on autonomy (5020 mAh battery) and the “aggressive” price of 149.90 euros on the official website (3 / 32GB). A very similar speech applies to Honor 9A, given that it mounts a 5000 mAh battery and costs 149.90 euros on HiHonor. In this case, however, Google services are missing. For more details on the two devices, we advise you to consult the announcement of Redmi 9 and that of Honor 9A.
To conclude, the devices that have just arrived are the ones we mentioned last month. So let’s do a quick overview of the models you might want to explore (but we haven’t had the chance to try): Sony Xperia L4 (199 euros on the official website), Realme 6s (more information here), Alcatel 3X / Alcatel 1SE (here the complete press release), Huawei Y6P / Huawei Y5P (here all the details), Huawei P Smart 2020 (announcement news), Huawei P40 Lite E (here more information) e Honor 9X Lite (here we have explained everything). In short, the models to look at are certainly not lacking.
