14 best smartphones under 25,000 rubles

Review of the best according to the editorial board. On the selection criteria. This material is subjective and does not constitute advertising and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.

The acquisition of expensive smartphones has lost its former meaning today – all the models produced in the budget and premium classes are in one way or another similar to each other. Now the main differences do not lie in visual forms: the “war” between brands and companies is transferred to the plane of system parameters. The time has come when the possession of a smartphone ceased to be a privilege: it was transformed under the influence of trends and became a necessity.

On this “wave”, the editors of the magazine decided to ask the question: which smartphones are the best in the segment up to 25,000 rubles? And, together with the experts, they prepared an appropriate rating for you, taking the following criteria as a basis for evaluating:

1. technical equipment of mobile devices;
2. user reviews on the ergonomics of smartphones;
3. price indicator;
4. degree of reliability.

Rating of the best smartphones up to 25,000 rubles

Nomination	a place	Name of product	price
Rating of the best smartphones up to 25,000 rubles	1	Xiaomi Mi 9T 6 / 128GB	RUB 20 550
	2	HUAWEI Nova 3 4 / 128GB	RUB 17 450
	3	Honor View 20 6 / 128GB	RUB 22 390
	4	Samsung Galaxy A70	RUB 21,500
	5	LG G7 ThinQ 128GB	RUB 27,990
	6	OnePlus 6 6 / 64GB	RUB 25,690
	7	Honor 10 4 / 64GB	RUB 16,990
	8	Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S 6 / 64GB	RUB 17 850
	9	OPPO RX17 Neo	RUB 16 569
	10	Vivo V15	RUB 20,000
	11	Meizu 16th 6 / 64GB	RUB 21,790
	12	Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) 6 / 128GB	RUB 26,996
	13	Nokia 8.1 64GB	RUB 20,890
	14	Sony Xperia 10	RUB 17,280

This review is based on the analysis of the technical equipment of the RankQuality service.

Xiaomi Mi 9T 6 / 128GB

Smartphone rating (up to 25,000 rubles): 4.9

Xiaomi Mi 9T is the leader in the category of smartphones under 25,000 rubles from the point of view of users and experts. An excellent gadget protected by Gorilla Glass 5, with a 6.39-inch Amoled display and a 48 + 8 + 13 MP triple rear camera. Based on Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 processor, Adreno 618 video chip and 6 gigs of RAM. The set is not the most optimal by the standards of a number of presented competitors, but it gives the necessary potential to work with all possible tasks.

The front camera Xiaomi Mi 9T is made using the same technology as in Vivo 15V – it slides out when you turn on the shooting mode. The matrix resolution here is 20 megapixels, and in terms of numbers this is also not the best result. But in terms of visual quality, this is the best offer of all. Included are all the same basic fingerprint scanner and contactless payment chip – nice functionality. And the gadget is powered by a 4000 mAh battery with fast charging function and high energy efficiency.

Advantages

• the best combination of price and quality;
• powerful main camera (69 MP);
• lack of system friezes when using applications and games;
• stylish hidden camera that free the screen.
• the presence of a fingerprint scanner and an NFC chip.

disadvantages

• not found.

HUAWEI Nova 3 4 / 128GB

Smartphone rating (up to 25,000 rubles): 4.8

An interesting smartphone HUAWEI Nova 3 with a monoblock and a metal-glass body, designed especially for fans of mobile games. This is underlined by the integrated graphics acceleration function GPU Turbo, implemented on the basis of the Mali-G72 MP12 chip. The 8-core HiSilicon Kirin 970 fits perfectly into the edges of the system, but the RAM could have been given more than 4 GB. However, do not forget that the model was released last year, so many decisions should be considered from the perspective of that period.

It's no joke, but today the cost of HUAWEI Nova 3, with all its competitiveness with modern smartphones, is only 13 thousand rubles. If you look at the main technical indicators, taking into account the cost characteristics, then everything looks just amazing: a 3.75 Ah battery with Huawei SuperCharge function, and 40 and 24 megapixel cameras (main and front), and the presence a contactless payment chip, and even an ordinary fingerprint scanner. The ideal model for the second place in the ranking.

Advantages

• the cheapest smartphone in the collection;
• optimal technical parameters in relation to the price;
• the presence of a customizable game mode.

disadvantages

• not found.

Honor View 20 6 / 128GB

Smartphone rating (up to 25,000 rubles): 4.8

One of the bestsellers of the first quarter of 2019. Its “calling card” is the front sight in the upper right corner of the display – a front camera with a resolution of 25 megapixels. For the system configuration Honor View 20, the developers chose a pair of HiSilicon Kirin 980 and Mali-G76 MP10 chips, supplemented with 6 gigs of RAM. The internal memory was 128 GB without the possibility of expanding using flash cards.

Despite the status of a budget smartphone, Honor View 20 received a 48MP main camera, which allows not only taking great photos, but also recording high-quality videos with a resolution of 3840×2160 pixels. The smartphone also includes a contactless payment chip and fingerprint reader. The battery is a 4000mAh high efficiency Li-Polymer battery with fast charging Huawei SuperCharge. With active use of applications, the charge lasts a little more than a day, and this is not so bad, especially in comparison with a number of competitors.

Advantages

• the bestseller of the beginning of 2019;
• quite a powerful system;
• original solution for integrating the front camera lens directly into the display;
• fingerprint scanner and contactless payment chip.

disadvantages

• barely noticeable alert indicator (hidden in the speaker slot).

Samsung Galaxy A70

Smartphone rating (up to 25,000 rubles): 4.8

The main advantage of this smartphone against the background of the closest pursuers (and even the leader of the rating Xiaomi Mi 9T) is a capacious 4500 mAh battery, discharged in 28 hours of talk time or 128 hours of listening to music. With active use of the model, the charge lasts for more than one day, even despite the 6.7-inch Amoled display with a resolution of 2400×1080 dpi and a density of 393 pixels per inch.

The front and rear cameras of the Samsung Galaxy A70 have 32 and 45 megapixels, respectively. At the same time, the quality of shooting on the front camera can be compared with that on the model from Xiaomi, although the latter is inferior in characteristics to this one. This is not a minus, but it's worth taking a note. But the system components really should be viewed from the negative side. The base of Qualcomm Snapdragon 675, Adreno 612 and 6 GB of RAM can hardly be called top-end. Of course, you can play resource-intensive games, open applications too, but without fanaticism for those who like to squeeze out the maximum performance.

Advantages

• 128 GB of internal memory (108 available) and the ability to add 512 GB additional;
• capacious battery 4.5 Ah;
• NFC system and fingerprint scanner;
• all wireless communication systems work stably and without interruptions over a long period of time.

disadvantages

• not the top-end system components for gaming applications;
• plastic housing subject to rapid wear.

LG G7 ThinQ 128GB

Smartphone rating (up to 25,000 rubles): 4.7

Surely LG G7 ThinQ did not come into your sight at the time of release, despite the fact that the model turned out to be quite interesting. First of all, this interest was in the equipment of the smartphone with the CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 and the GPU Adreno 630, as well as 6 GB of RAM. At the same time, the volume of internal storage was 128 GB, and, no joke, but in addition to the gadget you can put as much as 2 TB flash drives.

On the one hand, everything is fine. However, on the other LG, the G7 ThinQ was characterized by an extremely short battery life (you really shouldn't expect much from a 3 Ah battery) and a disgusting 8 MP front camera. Among the features of the model, the presence of Military Standard 810G protection can be distinguished … and this is where the whole story ends. Oh yes, they almost forgot: to find G7 ThinQ after a year in abundance is possible only in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In many other regions, the smartphone “arrives” only by order.

Advantages

• the presence of moisture protection;
• high-quality IPS-display with a pixel density of about 563 ppi;
• powerful “filling”;
• reads memory cards up to 2 TB.

disadvantages

• bad camera on the front;
• short battery life.

OnePlus 6 6 / 64GB

Smartphone rating (up to 25,000 rubles): 4.7

A classic smartphone on Android 8.1 with a glass body, which has earned almost perfect customer reviews over the past 1.5 years. Only battery life lends itself to criticism from them, but this is a sacrifice in the name of stable system operation. The OnePlus 6 has a 6.28-inch Amoled screen with 402 pixels per inch. It is protected by tempered Gorilla Glass 5 and features fingerprint scanning and face recognition.

It is also very important that the smartphone is based on the top processor from Qualcomm: 8-core Snapdragon 845, 2 cores of which operate at a frequency of 2800 MHz. The Adreno 630 chip is responsible for graphics processing, and the speed is provided by 6 GB of RAM. The rear and front cameras have a resolution of 36 and 16 megapixels, respectively, they shoot very well, but without fanaticism. The previously mentioned battery has a capacity of 3.3 Ah. And everything would be very bad if not for the OnePlus Dash Charge fast charging function. If it were not for the high price factor (higher than the next three), then the OnePlus 6 could easily claim the prizes.

Advantages

• acceptable quality of shooting cameras;
• availability of fast charging function;
• top processor of the Snapdragon family;
• nice looking glass body.

disadvantages

• the highest price in the indicated segment;
• lack of an NFC chip.

Honor 10 4 / 64GB

Smartphone rating (up to 25,000 rubles): 4.6

The seventh line remains with one of the flagships of the 2018 model year. All other things being equal, Honor 10 satisfied buyers with the available functionality and low price factor, even in comparison with gadgets from Xiaomi. It also uses an IPS display (but 5.84 inches) with all the standard features such as screen rotation. There is also a 3400 mAh battery, the charge of which lasts more than a day with active use of the smartphone.

As for the “stuffing”, then Honor 10 uses an 8-core HiSilicon Kirin 970 processor and a Mali-G72 MP12 video chip. The RAM is only 4 GB, but this does not prevent the model from showing good performance. Among the shortcomings, we highlight the excessive heating of the smartphone when starting resource games, the soiled back panel (glass) and the muffled sound of the speakers.

Advantages

• the resolution of the main cameras is 16 + 24 Mp, the front one is 24 Mp;
• NFC module;
• availability of fast charging function;
• nice design;
• high popularity among users.

disadvantages

• the smartphone gets very hot in games;
• In almost all color variations of the case (except for white), fingerprints remain on the rear panel.

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S 6 / 64GB

Smartphone rating (up to 25,000 rubles): 4.5

An ambiguous smartphone from the company Xiaomi, released to expand the range of budget gadgets in 2018. This is one of those examples that is not suitable for those who like to take selfies: the front-facing matrix here has a resolution of only 5 megapixels. With the main camera, everything is much better, but compared to Honor View 20 is also not cool: the resolution is only 12 + 12 megapixels with an aperture of 1.8.

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S got the top-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor at 2.8 GHz with 8 cores and huge potential for running demanding games. It is supported by the Adreno 630 video chip and 6 gigs of RAM. The 3.4 Ah battery fits perfectly into the architecture of the gadget, supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 mode and is powered from wireless sources. It should also be mentioned about the integration of the fingerprint scanner into the display and the presence of a face recognition system to lock the device from outside interference.

Advantages

• face recognition system;
• fingerprint scanner and NFC function;
• one of the top processors in the database;
• successful design, pleasant for a wide range of consumers.

disadvantages

• disgusting front camera.

OPPO RX17 Neo

Smartphone rating (up to 25,000 rubles): 4.5

The OPPO smartphone is a variation on the theme of budget Chinese phones, strongly reminiscent of the flagship models from Xiaomi and Huawei. OPPO RX17 Neo relies on a bunch of chips Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 and Adreno 512, “copying” the Samsung Galaxy A9 and only yielding in one thing: there is less RAM by 2 GB. Manufacturers also “saved” on equipping the smartphone with a powerful main camera, leaving that only 18 megapixel resolution. But the front camera of 25 megapixels will delight all selfie lovers.

OPPO RX17 Neo has a fingerprint scanner built into the display, which can be considered an absolute plus of a smartphone. But a 3600 mAh battery with a 6.4-inch screen is not a good idea. In the talk mode, one full charge will last for 28 hours, but when using applications, there are often cases when the smartphone has to be charged 2 times a day. This annoying minus does not allow him to rise higher in the top, although otherwise the device has no complaints.

Advantages

• The optimum ratio of price and quality;
• spectacular design (2 color variations);
• the presence of a fingerprint scanner integrated into the display.

disadvantages

• insufficient battery capacity.

Vivo V15

Smartphone rating (up to 25,000 rubles): 4.4

A smartphone with the thinnest bezels of the screen and the original location of the 32 megapixel front camera, hidden in a special “exit” compartment. The robust mechanism (5 years uptime guarantee) has been made to avoid placing the lens in the body of the display, thereby excluding comparisons with competitors.

The Vivo V15 smartphone uses a chip combination MediaTek Helio P70 and Mali-G72 MP3. Together with 6 GB of RAM, this “filling” provides a comfortable launch of all resource-intensive applications, although there are no adaptive modes for setting games here (unlike the more expensive version Vivo V15 Pro). The model has only 64 gigabytes of its own memory, and it can only be supplemented with flash drives for 256 gigs at the maximum. But the non-removable battery has a capacity of 4000 mAh. It's better than any of its closest competitors, but for a 6.53-inch screen, it's just the bare minimum.

Advantages

• the presence of a fingerprint scanner in the display;
• original smartphone with a “out” camera;
• built-in NFC module;
• full set of accessories;
• low price.

disadvantages

• not found.

Meizu 16th 6 / 64GB

Smartphone rating (up to 25,000 rubles): 4.3

It costs less, but in terms of the set of system components it significantly surpasses the smartphone from Nokia. The combination of 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (2 cores of which give out a frequency of 2.8 GHz) and Adreno 630 + 6 GB of RAM allow you to run on Meizu 16th almost all demanding mobile applications, currently available.

The appearance of the model is beautiful in its classicism, and is emphasized by an aluminum-glass case. The only caveat: the glossy back cover willingly slips and gets dirty, which is why you should immediately buy a cover for your smartphone. The quality of shooting the photo is ideal, and this is the merit of the dual 12 + 20 Mp, as well as the front 20 Mp cameras. The color rendition of the Amoled-screen is as always on top, the sound is too. But the 3010 mAh battery is the main drawback of the model, since its charge is hardly enough for a day of active use.

Advantages

• the ability to take great photos;
• top processor;
• pleasant sounding;
• attractive design (rejection of the “monobrow” on the screen) and lightness (only 153 grams);
• 6 GB of RAM.

disadvantages

• low capacity battery;
• slippery and easily soiled back cover.

Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) 6 / 128GB

Smartphone rating (up to 25,000 rubles): 4.2

One of the interesting offers for less than 25,000 rubles – Samsung Galaxy A9 – is based on the platform Android 8.0. The classic case is made of a combination of metal and plastic, under which there is an 8-core processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 and an Adreno 512 video chip. The volume of internal memory is 128 GB expandable by a card (for another 512 GB), and 6 RAM GB.

The 6.3-inch display, like the entire Samsung line, is made using Amoled technology and has a resolution of 2280×1080 pixels. On the back there are 4 cameras with a resolution of 24 + 5 + 10 + 8 megapixels with LED flash, autofocus and macro mode. The front camera has a resolution of 24 megapixels, and allows you to take high-quality selfies, which is important for many Instagram bloggers and ordinary users. The Galaxy A9 is powered by a 3800mAh battery with fast charging. The NFC contactless payment chip has also become a nice addition to the capabilities. The assembled smartphone weighs only 183 grams, which is an acceptable result compared to competitors.

Advantages

• integrated NFC chip;
• high definition front camera;
• bright AMOLED display;
• optimal technical performance for a budget smartphone of the Samsung family.

disadvantages

• not found.

Nokia 8.1 64GB

Smartphone rating (up to 25,000 rubles): 4.1

Another smartphone of the 2018 model year, which switched to the “fresh” version Android 9.0. It is more expensive than the Galaxy A9 and has slightly less attractive options. The processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 with a frequency of 2.2 GHz on two and 1.7 GHz on six cores, respectively, is responsible for the system performance. The smartphone also has 4GB of RAM and an Adreno 616 graphics chip.

The internal memory of Nokia 8.1 of this version is 64 GB, expandable up to 400. The phone has a non-removable 3500 mAh battery, fast charging function, a dual rear camera with a resolution of 12 + 13 megapixels, as well as a 20 megapixel front camera. The classic features of the case are emphasized by the all-metal design, which also determines the reliability of the model relative to options from other manufacturers.

Advantages

• optimal selection of system components (excluding RAM);
• good front camera;
• robust all-metal housing.

disadvantages

• “Flat” sound from built-in speakers.

Sony Xperia 10

Smartphone rating (up to 25,000 rubles): 4.0

A real “brick” from the Japanese company Sony, whose individuality is revealed in its adaptability to listening to music. The 2019 smartphone is not based on the most optimal system components: for example, Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 or the “backward” Adreno 508. It does not add solidity to the gadget and 3 gigabytes of RAM, although it would seem that it is positioned as a top-end one for its niches. The 8-megapixel front camera and the dual 13 + 5-megapixel rear cameras also do not meet the high requirements set by the Chinese smartphone manufacturers.

However, everything that one way or another concerns the sound in the Sony Xperia 10 is elevated to absolute. None of the leaders in the rating comes close to the quality of playback of audio tracks on this device. The power supply is mediocre: 2870 mAh does not stand up to criticism even with the assembled system set. In general, our verdict can be described as follows. Is the smartphone in the top of the best budget? Yes. Do we recommend taking it? Only if you are a fan of Sony and are chasing a style with high quality sound reproduction.

Advantages

• style and reliability;
• high quality music playback;
• support for memory cards up to 512 GB.

disadvantages

• one summarizing flaw is a rather weak smartphone for 2019.

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Attention! This rating is subjective and does not constitute an advertisement and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.