Fantastic Budget Smartphones Under 10K

It’s that time of the year when you’re looking for a smartphone that seats at the sweet spot between budget and specs. We rounded up these ten fantastic budget smartphones and the reasons to get or not to get one – all under Ksh 10,000.

Huawei Y5 Prime 2018

Our top pick is the Huawei Y5 Prime 2018. In a world of 6″ smartphones, the compact size accompanied by its attractive look and feel plus its solid hardware specs take the budget crown for us. Here are some of its specs:

13MP main camera
5MP selfie shooter with an AI beauty mode
Android 8.1.0 Oreo with EMUI 8.0 on top
4G Support
2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage
3020mAh battery

The Huawei Y5 Prime 2018 is currently going for Ksh 8,799 on Jumia. Read our full review here.

Huawei Y5 2019

The Huawei Y5 2019 is this year’s successor to last year’s Huawei Y5 Prime 2019 which we totally loved. The Huawei Y5 2019 launched in May.

5.71″ dewdrop display with a resolution of 1520 x 720 pixels
Quad-Core 2.0GHz ARM Cortex-A53 MediaTek Helio A22 (MT6761) processor and PowerVR GE8300GPU
13MP main camera
5MP selfie shooter with an AI beauty mode
Android 9.0 Pie on top of EMUI 9.0
4G Support
2GB RAM and 16/32GB internal storage
3020mAh battery
Dual 4G and Dual VoLTE for faster connectivity.

The Huawei Y5 2019 is currently going for KSh 9,749 on Jumia.

Xiaomi Redmi 6A

Our second pick is Xiaomi Redmi 6A. Its offerings pleasantly surprised us. We have come to accommodate the Xiaomi’s MIUI skin that the phone comes in. Here are some of its specs:

13MP main camera
5MP selfie camera
Android 8.1.0 Oreo with MIUI 9.6 on top
4G Support
2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage
3000mAh battery

The Xiaomi Redmi 6A is currently going for Ksh 7,999 on Jumia. Read our full review here.

Infinix Hot 7

The recently launched Infinix Hot 7 comes in two versions – one running Android Go(Oreo) and the other running Android 8.1 Oreo. We’ll be talking about the cheaper Android Go powered Infinix Hot 7 which shares pretty much everything with its other sibling except RAM, storage and the number of rear cameras. Here are some of its specs:

13MP main camera
8MP selfie camera
Android Go(Oreo) with XOS on top
4G Support
1GB RAM and 16GB internal storage
4000mAh battery

If battery life is crucial to you, then get this phone from Jumia at Ksh 9,399.

Infinix Hot S3

Another contender in this sub 10K is the Infinix Hot S3 which is currently on sale by Infinix store on Jumia for Ksh 9,699(the single sim version).* Here are some of its specs:

13MP main camera
20MP selfie camera
Android 8.0 Oreo with XOS on top
4G Support
3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage
4000mAh battery

Read our full review here. * price may change.

Fero Vibe

Fero Vibe is another contender that comes at Ksh 7,500 on Jumia. It’s not a perfect smartphone but this is the best value for money you’re going to get with a 7K phone. Here are some of its specs:

8MP main camera
5MP selfie camera
Android 8.1 Oreo Go Edition with 360 OS on top
3G Support
1GB RAM and 16GB internal storage
3200mAh battery

Read our full review here.

itel S13

itel is another smartphone brand catering to the budget category. The itel S13 is their Android Go powered smartphone focusing on its selfie prowess. You also get an 18:9 aspect ratio display. Here are some of its specs:

5.5-Inch 480p Display
MediaTek MT6580
Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition)
1GB RAM + 8GB internal storage
Dual 5MP cameras
13MP selfie shooter
2400mAh battery

The itel S13 is already available on Jumia and in all itel stores countrywide will be retailing at Kes.7500. Another itel smartphone, the itel P33 is coming soon and will retail at Ksh 6,999. Check out its spec sheet here.

Tecno Spark 2

Tecno makes it to this list with its Tecno Spark 2 that now retails for Ksh 9,299 on Jumia. It packs enough modern specs for a sub 10K phone and would be a perfect choice if you’re coming from a feature phone and you don’t want to miss on the modern design it packs. Here are some of its specs: