yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] XDARoni:
What is Your Favorite Phone Under $250?​

Any phone under $250 is considered a "budget phone". But just because you're only spending a fraction of the cost of the flagship phones, doesn't mean you're getting a bad device. This year we have seen a bunch of new budget phones hit the market that have impressive specs, cameras, build quality ect.

Honor reached out to us to ask our community what their favorite phone under $250 is right now. Think of all the different devices that have an MSRP of under $250, and think about which one seems the most impressive to you. Leave a detailed comment in the comments section below. Let us know why you want that particular device, or why you might already own it.

We are curious to see which phone is the budget favorite among the XDA community.

​

Prizes

Out of everyone that shares their thoughts in the comments section, three winners will be selected to win a pair of Bluetooth headphones.

thank you to everyone who participated in this thread. We have selected three winners which are dimitrispas22, tliebeck, and CJ2311.

We thank Honor for sponsoring this post. Our sponsors help us pay for the many costs associated with running XDA, including server costs, full time developers, news writers, and much more. While you might see sponsored content (which will always be labeled as such) alongside Portal content, the Portal team is in no way responsible for these posts. Sponsored content, advertising and XDA Depot are managed by a separate team entirely. XDA will never compromise its journalistic integrity by accepting money to write favorably about a company, or alter our opinions or views in any way. Our opinion cannot be bought.
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] Dadarocks:
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro, hands down. A great set of cameras, Okay software experience, great chip inside backed up by adequate battery capacity is anybody's dream. This delivers just that. Most other phones in this segment lacks in one or the other department.. This one delivers in most..
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] culiacanazo:
Well just because it isn't offered anywhere else for the price bracket, I'll have to say the LG Stylo 3, which for around 100 bucks has

• FP Sensor

•Alright capacity battery AND removable at that

•3.5 (sad we got to this state where this needs to be mentioned!)

•Ext SD

•Pen

•nougat (so not so old), rootable, alright processor, camera, screen, etc
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] steven360:
Definitely the Mi A2 and the Mi A2 lite. Personally I prefer the Mi A2, but it just depends on the user. They offer great specs for a great price, I really like Xiaomi since Huawei is not being a ***** to the community.
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] AndyYan:
Zenfone Max Pro M1 or Mi A2.

Notchless screen, current-gen Qualcomm chip, readily BL unlockable, good dev support.

One certain manufacturer here leaves a lot to be desired in these aspects...
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] dimitrispas22:
xiaomi redmi 5 plus!

low price ¦ almost excellent performance (for its price) ¦ 3,5 for wired headphones

Bluetooth to connect bt headphones without a problem ! :) ¦ great camera and even better if you add root it and enable camera 2api for google camera with portrait mode. eis, motion and etc greate community on the custom forum! ¦ great IPS display rather than Huawei y... pro (which is even more expensive )

great speaker! ¦ 5ghz wifi ¦ IR blaster ¦ all day battery 6-8 hours sot!

and so on! /

missing parts > usb type c and lack of nfc
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] saturday_night:
Is XDA so horny for the money that you cant stop having a sponsor that doesnt support your own community?!? I still cant understand why anybody is making an article or thread for sponsoring of huawai/honor devices. But as we saw with apple in 1997 everybody takes money from everybody if they need it even if apple takes money from microsoft to avoid bankruptcy. But i dont think the servers of XDA would go down if one sponsorship ends. Just start using your brain instead of your wallet.
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] tliebeck:
Xiaomi Mi A1. Tried it as a daily driver for a while. Has an unlocked bootloader. Good XDA support including full LineageOS support, which I made use of. Xiaomi spent their budget well on the product, as everything works pretty well (rather than some cheap phones which allocate too much cost on one gimmick in exchange for poor performance elsewhere).

And not sure if this really counts as "sub $250" even though I paid $249 for it new: Essential Phone, my current daily driver. Presently $309 on Amazon, which doesn't fit this thread. Stock UI, unlocked bootloader, Pie on day one, has yet to crash. Works great with Magisk. Best phone I've owned in a long time, using it as my daily rather than Samsung stuff that cost 3x that.

Personally I wouldn't enter my email password on a Chinese-made phone with a locked bootloader/stock ROM. I'm very impressed by the product, but wouldn't touch it (for real personal use) due to security concerns. Chinese OEMs are well insulated from US law by way of the Chinese government, so they have little to lose by non-compliance.
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] Weirdo-I-Know:
Galaxy Core LTE G386W.

It does what I need, is small enough, is cheap. Don't know why I would need more. And on Kitkat it works very well it never lags or shutters. I am really happy with the phone.

But I assume that for this contest, you will need to give a Honor phone to win because huawei cannot find legit good comments about their phones. Keep copying apple huawei, you will only be less of a brand and more of a ctrl-c + ctrl-v.

Plus locking bootloader for better UX should have made the whole xda community be angry at Huawei, not crawling for their money. Shame on xda staff. Shame
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] wyldnewbie:
Not sure what your limits are

But i just purchased a new LG V20 on ebay for about 230USD. So far, i am totally pleased with it (Specifically, an H918).

Good size, nice display removable battery.
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] EzhilG:
Hi guys,Thanks for this giving wonderful oppurtunity to share my favourite phone under $250

Hey guys,Here are the top 6 features of MiA2 that I loved and I will also include the rating that I will be giving to each aspect of this Smartphone.

DESIGN- 9/10. There is a camera hump that is why I gave 9.

CAMERA- 10/10. The best camera at this price.

PROCESSING- 10/10. The best class processor at this price.

BATTERY- 8/10. Just 3000 mAh battery instead of giving 4000 mAh battery.

SOFTWARE- 10/10. Fully stock android.

HARDWARE- 8/10. It is because there is no 3.5mm Headphone jack.

-----------------------------------------------------

BELOW ARE THE TOP 6 FEATURES OF Mi A2:

-----------------------------------------------------

1. DESIGN: It comes with a fully metallic design and also the beautiful 5.99" Full HD+ Large display with Gorilla Glass 5 Protection. It has the fingerprint sensor on the back.

2. CAMERA: It comes with those 20MP+12MP Rear AI dual camera and 20MP front facing camera. These can Take clearer daytime photos with the 12MP lens and large 1.25μm pixels and also Low-light photos are brighter with

the 20MP lens.It has 4-in-1 Super Pixel, based on pixel binning technology.These Dual cameras takes beautiful pictures with the combination of AI. On the front,it has 20 MP font facing camera with AI Beautify 4.0. The best thing about it is that there is a single camera on the front but still that camera takes Amazing portrait shots.

3. PROCESSOR: It is powered with Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 and it has also the AI engine. The multitasking is great and you can play high end games flawlessly.

4. HARDWARE: It comes with USB Type-c and also Supports with Qualcomm Quick Charge 4.0

5. SOFTWARE: It is a smartphone that comes with Android one support which means that it will get faster android updates in time and it runs on fully stock android. It just now runs on latest Android Oreo 8.1 and lastest security patch!

6. PRICE: This is main and very exciting thing about this smartphone. At this price this smartphone has great features and I think this is very less price for this Smartphone and everybody should take a look at this device in this price range.

Verdict : ONE word it’s competition KILLER at AFFORDABLE price. BEST PHONE under $250 EVER.
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] CedArctic:
Galaxy J7 (2017)

Taking into consideration the current market standing, the Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) has to be my favorite choice in the segment.

While it doesn't push the budget limit too much (you can pick it up for around $185 or less), it still has many benefits:

Fair price to performance ratio at its current price

Really good cameras for this budget segment

Extremely solid build quality which I value in a budget phone

Solid support

Active XDA Community

Good battery life

Harmonic balance between Bloated Stock Skin and Barebone AOSP
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] Awesomeness_1307:
I would say the best phone in this budget has to be the Honor 8X. It has a massive 6.5 inch display with a notch, but that can be hidden, so no issues there. The movie watching and gaming experience is really awesome. The design too, for the price, is absolutely magnificent. The chipset too, for the price, is a very capable one, and one of Huawei's latest chips. The cameras are also pretty good. The inability to unlock the bootloader might be off-putting, but there is a chance it could be unlocked, as with some other Huawei devices. But you can just put Nova Launcher on it if you want. It's a really great phone and according to me, the best in this price range.

Oh, did I mention, the battery is like 3700 mAh, so that shouldn't disappoint either.
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] inknow:
If you're buying second hand, the LG V20 falls into that price range, as well as some of the older Samsung Galaxy phones, such as the S6 Edge. You'll get a lot of support, premium quality, as well as excellent cameras. Bang for buck the LG V20 is probably the best phone out there under $250.

But if we're going for first hand purchases, the Le Pro 3. While the Le Max 3 has already come out for the same price, the Le Pro 3 has an amazing community behind it, so your phone will have the latest Android and a variety of ROMs to choose from for every version up until now. It has pretty good cameras, both forward and rear facing, Snapdragon 821, 6GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and a 4070mAh battery. It was designated as a flagship killer when it came out, and the price dropped since it didn't manage to do that - and now it's a flagship killer killer with flagship killer specs. Once you flash a well polished ROM, it feels premium, albeit dated (slightly large chin and forehead, no notch).
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] dariotr:
Definetly the Xiaomi Mi A2. Android One at such a minor price is extremely nice. I've already bought it and it's 6GB memory for under 250$ with 128GB storage. Best mid class phone ive ever seen until yet.
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] andrea2004:
in my opinion the a5 2017 galaxy at the current price is worth, waterproof, good camera and decent battery. the downside is the performance, I'm not saying it is a slow phone but that compared to competitors at the same price you can have more, nothing to say about the construction quality that is excellent; the software and the samung experience 9.0 with android oreo, unfortunately there is no bixby.
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] nitindabas:
HONOR 9N

Under $250 the best phone is the honor 9n because first of all its an HONOR device so feature packed emui and faster updates which is an important factor for most of the users then it has also has a decent enough battery that combined with emui gives good battery life for the moderate or the heavy users and then it has also decent enough cameras with good bokeh effect and acceptable low light performance and now the main thing the display of the phone which is a full hd+ 19:9 accept ratiopanel display so yeah it means it has a notch.Quality of the dispaly is preety good and also offers great viewing angles and all this is powered by a kirin 659 proccesor which we have already seen is a very capable chip so it will handle day to day tasks without breaking a sweat and all these things packed within a beautiful glass sandwich body with metal frame which makes the device looks very premium so without a doubt honor 9n is arguably the best device under $250 with very few compromises.....
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] CO.Wildfire.OL:
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1! Best 180$ ever spent + Best Device ever had!!

Specs highlights: SD636 | 4GB+64GB | 5000mAh | 6" FHD+ | Dual Cams | Stock Android

Bonus: Best XDA Devs with Official Lineage OS support for Custom ROMs!
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] ChristianFS1:
I'd go with the Nokia 6.1, which is currently selling for around $230 USD (alright, it was approximately 270 at launch, but who cares).

All-around decent specs, fairly manageable size, still has a headphone jack (!!!), pretty much guaranteed software updates for a while by virtue of being part of the Android One program. A solid device, IMO.
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] APP-Maker:
For me it is the Xiamoi A2 for around ~200$ in Germany :)

It has:

-Dual Camera

-32/64/12 GB options (okay...sadly no SD Card but still good ;))

-Fast Snapdragon 660

-FingerPrint

-Great colours

-Bluetooth 5.0

And last but most important for me:

Android One 8.0

*-*
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] DoR3M3:
Is anyone aware that Android promoted the Xiaomi Mi A1 earlier in the year as The Android One phone?

Now later in the year it's the Mi A2!

I have not owned a Mi A2, but I had the pleasure of owning a Mi A1, and it's awesome!

Take a look at Android's site, because if these weren't the killer phones, then you might ask yourself, why they are getting the spotlight from Android!

https://www.android.com/one/
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] androidbadboy:
My favorite phone under $250 is my Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (version with Global Stock Rom, Snapdragon, 3GB of RAM, 32 GB of internal storage).

The interface of this phone is well known to Xiaomi users called MIUI. Strangely, browsing menu is as fast as browsing a flagship Samsung device. I can have many apps open and it doesn't lag. Maybe because I don't play games. It has a perfect screen of FullHD 1920x1080 so I don't have problems with apps displaying black areas like in phones with strange screen ratios. The phone is flat, has area for 3 main buttons reserved under the main screen and not on it which is very useful. The device has no edge type so I can hold it in one hand and write text messages without fear that my hand will by mistake touch the screen and launch some function or press a button. They battery is 4100 mAh so I can charge it every 2 days. If not for the poor quality of pictures taken by it's camera it would be a perfect phone.
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] OneDiablo:
Leco Le Max 2

The LeEco Le Max 2 was released in May 2016. It has a 5.7" QHD LTPS IPS display, quad-core 2.16GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, and either 4GB of RAM with 32/64GB internal storage, or 6GB of RAM and 64/128GB internal storage. On the rear sits a hefty 21MP f/2.0 camera, with OIS, and up front is an 8MP f/2.2 selfie camera. Additional features include a fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C port and a 3100mAh battery. god phone
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] SimurghXDA:
ZUK Z2 Pro

good support OREO (official) and now P (custom)

Snapdragon 820 Quad-Core 2.15Ghz

128GB storage

6GB RAM

USB Type-C

but only a 3200Mah battery (much too small capacity)

but 21MP average camera (similar quality than Le Max 2)
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] nycourtclerk:
Xiaomi A2 lite basically because it has a headphone jack (ironic considering the prize) and USA bands (T-Mobile)
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] monster1612:
I'm no less than impressed with the Essential Phone (which I picked up for $250 on Prime Day; not sure if it counts, considering its current price of $500, but still). It's got:

a decent 4GB RAM + 128GB of internal storage (with no SD card, but wait towards the end...)

very fast updates (it got Android P the same day as the Pixels. that says it all.)

a pretty good camera setup (a custom Gcam port seems to help even more)

a simple but elegant design (no logos or anything. just a very nice back.)

a camera cutout/notch (which actually predates the iPhone X; also, it's beautiful and arguably is implemented better)

USB-C (which means that with a USB-C to USB 3.1 adapter, I can plug in an actual flash drive or external HDD!!)

no bloatware (just Google's apps, a custom camera app, and that's really it)

decent battery life (I can use it all day and still have a little bit left before I charge it)

... and a unique design to top it all off.

It's a phone I've been eyeing for a year. And it runs very well. Kudos to the Essential team for making a phone that feels well-made and runs even more smoothly.
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] finnal123:
redmi note 5 pro, good price, okay display, specs, and fantastic miui
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] tech_infinity:
Xiaomi MiA2.

Android One program so fast android updates!

Great build Quality

Amazing specifications

A good camera!
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] Siddk007:
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro:

Love it or hate it,"MIUI 10" is awesome with a plethora of features

"5.99 inch Full HD+ IPS display" is surprisingly good

"Dual 12 MP + 5MP rear cameras with an LED flash and a 20 MP front-facing camera" are really good for the price

"1.8GHz octa-core Snapdragon 636" is battery efficient and gives a smooth and lag free experience

"4,000mAh battery with fast charging support" lasts all day long even with heavy usage

"IR Blaster" comes very handy for operating a lot of home devices

"Custom ROM/Kernel support" is excellent for this device
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] kristiansja:
Xiaomi Mi A2 (220 EUR)

It has stock android

android one program

headphone jack

decent display and camera.

Its almost the perfecto phone for me. Everything except usb-c
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] Zinc64:
I'd go with the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite (the blue one with black bezels ?), slightly over the regular Mi A2.

Also put the Red Note 5 Pro in the running.

Waiting to see what the Red Note 6 Pro looks like as well.
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] fuzzychicken:
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1

Best bang for your buck.

There are other phones with little better features than this phone but the ability to root and install ROM of your choice is a plus. I paid for the phone so what I do with my phone is my choice.

There is not a single manufacturer that provides updates for more than 2 years (if at all), hence the ability to root and install ROMs is an important feature.

Since Honor asked for reader's comment, here is mine.

Honor has really nice phones and I would definitely take a plunge but since Huawei, in general, decided that the users won't be allowed to unlock the bootloader, I have dropped Huawei/Honor devices from my future choices until things are changed on this front. You guys should seriously think about this decision esp. when there are conscious decisions made to lock you out of the North American market.
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] herecomedatboi:
My vote goes to the Mi A1. Had it for two months and was an awesome phone. Where I live, you won't find anything better under €200. If we would be talking under €300, I would choose the Mi A2 (Which I upgraded to). A lot snappier. Only cons are the removal of the micro-sd card slot and I kinda miss the 2x zoom that my Mi A1 had.
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] MuhammadBilal:
If You Want A Brand New Phone Under $250, I Would Suggest Xiaomi Mi A2. Great Specs, BL Unlock Available, Perfect Stock Android, and A Nice Pair of Camera. If A Used Phone Is Okay, Then Galaxy S7 Edge is The Way To Go. Android Oreo With Capable Specs, Good Battery + Display, And Active Development Support. Living In Pakistan, I Can't See Many Other Options Under $250 Without Forgoing Either Good Hardware Or Unlocked BL.
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] Ladha:
It would've been so much more better if they were able to fit in an SD660. But considering all it has and the price, the 636 is great balance between low power usage and great performance.

---------- Post added at 07:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:01 PM ----------

What confuses me is as to why they didn't include a bigger battery (4000mAh) just like other xiaomi phones. I wouldn't mind a slightly thicker phone and the higher capacity wouldn't affect the production price either.
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] Noe_cuupz:
Well, best all-rounder Redmi Note 5 Ai / Pro

HW

- SD636

- 4000 mAh

- FHD ~ 18:9 (today standard)

- Good Cam

- SDcard slot (even hybrid but it's there)

SW

- Android 8.1 "Global/Indonesia" (MIUI 10 even some like it, some don't)

- Bootloader Unlocking

- XDA Developing support (typical Xiaomi device)
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] laststandrighthere:
my favorite phone under $250 would be a refurbished pixel xl, still 2018 ones of the best and the camera no words!
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] henmadx:
Redmi 3 Pro (IDO)

my favorite phone is xiaomi redmi 3 pro (ido) :D , this phone is amazing because it's cheap in my country and many users, this phone is very good in its era, the screen size is very fit 5.0 inches and very good to hold, the snapdragon 616 processor is pretty good for games and social media, the battery is also durable 4100an mAh, but unfortunately the Android version is still 5.1 (Lolipop) there is no upgrade from the developer :crying: but it's okay for a long battery and not too many useless features :o , the camera is good for 1080p video with 30 fps , BL unlock available but don't want BL unlock because I also appreciate xiaomi developers and makers :good: .
[Honor 8X Guides, News, & Discussion] Gen5:
I would say the Meizu x8 (it is coming out soon) is a pretty good phone for under $250.

It comes with at least a 64 GB storage capacity, the snapdragon 710, 4 or 6 GB of RAM depending on the storage capacity, and android 8.0 (oreo). It uses USB type-c and has dual cameras, a tall display, and a 3210 mAH battery.

Another good option is the Xiaomi redmi note 5 pro.

It comes with a 64 GB storage capacity and 4 or 6 GB of RAM, the snapdragon 636, and android 7.1.2 (nougat). It also has a tall display, dual cameras, and a 5000 mAH battery.