Android smartphone spec and price showdown

Android fans in South Africa have a wide range of brands from which to choose, each selling models ideal for various budgets.

MyBroadband compared budget, mid-range, and flagship smartphones from Honor, Huawei, Oppo, Samsung, Vivo, and Xiaomi in terms of specs and pricing.

Connecting to the Internet and communicating on the go is critical in the modern age, and budget smartphones can offer South Africans an affordable means of doing so.

While these devices lack performance compared to the more expensive options available, they still enable users to enjoy mobile games, take pictures and videos, and stream content.

Android smartphone manufacturers make mid-range and higher-specced smartphones to meet the wants and needs of those with more to spend.

These can offer impressive performance, photographic capabilities, and better experiences when streaming content.

We have compared Android smartphones from various brands across various budgets regarding specs and pricing below. We only included the most recent generation available from each brand.

Budget segment

The most affordable option we selected in the budget segment is the Xiaomi Redmi 13C, which features a 50-megapixel (MP) primary camera, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a MediaTek Helio G85 processor.

The smartphone features a 720p display with a 90Hz refresh rate. The best price we found for the Redmi 13C was R2,799.

Samsung dominates Android smartphone sales in South Africa as it sells a wide range of affordable smartphones.

We selected the Samsung Galaxy A05s for the comparison. It packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and a 1080p display with a 90Hz refresh rate.

Samsung sells the Galaxy A05s for R2,999.

Huawei’s Nova Y71 is the most expensive smartphone featured in the budget segment of the comparison. However, it features the most memory.

For R3,999, the Nova Y71 offers a Kirin 710A processor, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 720p display with a 90Hz refresh rate.

Mid-rangers

The mid-range segment includes smartphones priced from R8,099 to R12,999, with the cheapest being the Honor x9a.

It packs a Snapdragon 695 5G processor, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 1080p display with a 120Hz refresh rate.

For R700 more, South Africans can get the Oppo A78 5G. It features a MediaTek Dimensity 700 chip, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 720p 90Hz display.

Samsung sells the Galaxy A54 5G for R8,999. The smartphone packs the company’s in-house Exynos 1380 SoC, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage.

The Galaxy A54 5G has a 1080p display with 90Hz refresh rate.

Those who prefer Qualcomm’s processors can get the Redmi Note 13 Pro for R9,199 or the Huawei Nova 11 Pro for R12,999.

The Xiaomi smartphone features an FHD+ 120Hz display, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chip.

On the other hand, the Nova 11 Pro packs a Snapdragon 778G 4G processor with similar RAM, storage, and display specs.

Top of the range

Honor’s 90 Pro 5G device is the most affordable in the flagship segment at R10,999. However, it offers impressive specs for the price.

It packs a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC with 12GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and an FHD+ 120Hz display. It costs R4,600 less than the next-most affordable option.

Vivo sells the V27 5G for R15,599, and it features a MediaTek Dimensity 7200 ship with 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 1080p display with a 120Hz refresh rate.

While not officially shipped to South Africa, residents can get the Xiaomi 14 Pro for R19,890 from Oukitel.

It packs a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 1440p 120Hz display.

Huawei fans can get the P60 Pro for R24,999 from the manufacturer’s South African website. It has a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 4G chip, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and an FHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate.

The most expensive option listed in the segment is the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra at R29,999.

It features specs similar to those of the Xiaomi 14 Pro. However, it is the only device with a stylus and a quad rear camera setup.