What is a budget device?
Best Budget Phones In South Africa
Xiaomi Mi 11T Pro
Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
Oppo A74 5G
Nokia X20
Samsung Galaxy A22
How to buy a budget phone
Budget phones range from R4000 to R8000. The budget smartphone category is the most competitive in South Africa, with the greatest number of models and brands on offer. Here are the key features you should be looking for if you are a committed budget-phone shopper.
SCREEN: Size is not as important as quality, but 6 inches is adequate for most. OLED screens now appear on some budget models. These look stunning and use less battery than the older LCD screens. If you are a serious gamer or compulsive video watcher, shoot for Full-HD (1080p). A high refresh rate (anything above 60 hz) produces smoother scrolling and much better video viewing, but it takes a toll on your battery.
CAMERAS: More cameras are not necessarily better. Some “cameras” are simply sensors to support the main camera. Look for versatility in the camera app, with a Pro mode to go full manual settings and to get full resolution.
5G: The roll-out of 5G in South Africa has finally got some momentum and we can expect broad coverage by the end of 2022. How useful it will be remains to be seen, but it seems available as an inexpensive upgrade option when shopping for budget phones.
BATTERY: The biggest impacts on battery life are the screen size and brightness, and 5G. We recommend at least 4000mAh if you have a screen 6 inches or bigger. Fast charging is now on offer from all the phone makers, but they are not all equally effective, and fast charging might degrade your battery. Newer versions of Android have much-improved power management systems, to save your battery.
MEDIA: All the models on test here have a headphone jack socket and a microSD memory slot for storing video, photos, and music. Most of today’s flagship phones have neither a headphone socket nor a memory card slot.
NFC TO PAY: Tapping your phone to pay is set to become commonplace in the next year, but only phones with a near field communication (NFC) chip can tap to transact.
Which phone is made in South Africa?
In 2019, the Mara smartphone factory was launched with President Cyril Ramaphosa in attendance and government declarations of its importance.
How much is Mara S phone in South Africa?
In case you want to buy affordable phones in South Africa, you should take a look at the Mara S. This is the most affordable model released by the Mara Group, with the price set at R899.