There are so many great phones you can buy in the UK, but £1,000+ phones aren’t likely to appeal to savvy buyers looking for a bargain. Nowadays you can get a “flagship killer� for half that price, but what if you wanted to save even more money and still walk away with a top phone? In this list we’ll be running through the best phones under £300 in the UK!
Read more: Where to buy phones in the UK | Best UK mobile network
Best phones under £300:
Editor’s note: We’ll be updating this list of the best phones under £300 regularly as new cheap phones launch.
1. Xiaomi Mi 9T
The Xiaomi Mi 9T was never officially launched in the UK, but it can be found through plenty of online retailers. It’s a good thing too, as the Chinese brand’s Mi 9 spin-off — dubbed the Xiaomi K20 in India — is just too good a phone at such a ridiculously low price to not consider in the below £300 bracket.
Android Authority‘s Ryan-Thomas Shaw crowned it his favorite mid-range smartphone of all-time, and it’s not hard to see why. Blazing performance, a highly versatile rear triple-lens camera, stunning design, and a gorgeous, bezel-less AMOLED display are just a few of the amazing features that belie the phone’s cost price.
Our verdict: Xiaomi Mi 9T review: Probably the best mid-ranger right now
The only minor gripe you can really have with the Mi 9T is Xiaomi’s muddled MIUI software skin, but even that has improved over previous Xiaomi phones. This phone basically has it all.
You can usually pick up the global version (which will work fine on UK networks) for just under the £300 mark from Amazon sellers.
Xiaomi Mi 9T specs:
- Display: 6.39-inch, Full HD+
- SoC: Snapdragon 730
- RAM: 6GB
- Storage: 64/128GB
- Rear cameras: 48, 8, and 13MP
- Front camera: 20MP
- Battery: 4,000mAh
- Software: Android 9 Pie
2. Samsung Galaxy A51
Samsung has historically had a spotty record in the budget phone sector, but its still recent overhaul of the A series has led to some of the South Korean giant’s best affordable phones ever made. Case in point: the Samsung Galaxy A51.
The A51 is one of Samsung’s best ever mid-range phones.
The Galaxy A50 combines style and features in the way you’d expect from any Samsung phone, with a top-quality 6.5-inch AMOLED display, a quad-camera setup (main, zoom, ultra-wide, macro), and a large 4,000mAh battery. It may not have the most powerful chipset on the market, but the Exynos 9611 is more than capable of handling everyday use and even 3D gaming.
The Galaxy A51 is priced at £329 as standard, but regularly falls below that at a variety of retailers both online and on the high street.
Samsung Galaxy A51 specs:
- Display: 654-inch, Full HD+
- SoC: Exynos 9611
- RAM: 4GB
- Storage: 128GB
- Cameras: 48, 12, 5, and 5MP
- Front camera: 32MP
- Battery: 4,000mAh
- Software: Android 10
3. Redmi Note 8 Pro
Want an affordable phone with a killer main camera? The Redmi Note 8 Pro from the Xiaomi sub-brand has you covered with a crazy 64MP shooter that delivers some gorgeous results.
The other three lenses (wide-angle, macro, and depth) aren’t quite as impressive, but luckily the Redmi Note 8 Pro is great in other areas too.
Related: Redmi Note 8 Pro vs Redmi Note 7 Pro: Specs and price compared!
These include a huge 4,500mAh battery, a headphone jack, a crisp, waterdrop-notched display protected by Gorilla Glass 5, and a very capable MediaTek Helio G90T SoC that’s surprisingly solid for casual mobile gaming.
Like the Mi 9T, MIUI is still an acquired taste, but the Redmi Note 8 Pro is yet another phone from Xiaomi that’s far better than it has any right to be for just under £250.
Redmi Note 8 Pro specs:
- Display: 6.53-inch, Full HD+
- SoC: MediaTek Helio G90T
- RAM: 6GB
- Storage: 128GB
- Rear camera: 64, 8, 2, and 2MP
- Front camera: 20MP
- Battery: 4,500mAh
- Software: Android 9.0 Pie
4. Honor 9X
There are plenty of great Honor phones available in the UK, but the Honor 9X is the best you can get on a low budget. it’s not quite on par with the Honor 20 or Honor 20 Pro, but the Huawei sub-brand hasn’t skimped on features here.
That’s especially true in the camera department, where Honor has included a 48MP primary sensor, an 8MP wide-angle lens, and a depth sensor for bokeh-style shots.
The selfie camera is also a pop-up shooter which leaves the 6.59-inch display uninterrupted by notches or punch holes. There’s also a microSD slot, a USB-C port, and a headphone jack, as well as a sizeable 4,000mAh battery.
The Kirin 710F SoC won’t be topping any benchmarks and the wide-angle camera is a little underwhelming, but you can’t argue with great value, and the Honor 9X is definitely that.
There’s technically an upgraded version available in the form of the Honor 9X Pro, though the only changes are the shift from plastic to glass, a physical fingerprint sensor, and a slightly more powerful chipset. However, the Pro variant lacks Google Mobile Services and so doesn’t officially support the Play Store or Google apps.
Honor 9X specs:
- Display: 6.59-inch, Full HD+
- SoC: Kirin 710F
- RAM: 4GB
- Storage: 128GB
- Cameras: 48, 8, and 2MP
- Front camera: 16MP
- Battery: 4,000mAh
- Software: Android 9 Pie
5. Realme X2
Realme
Not satisfied with losing ground to Xiaomi, the Realme X2 is another phone for under £300 with a 64MP primary camera and an almost top-tier specs sheet.
The only real letdown for the Realme X2 is ColorOS, which is an ugly, cluttered take on Android (grab a launcher). Otherwise, it’s a challenge to find anything to grumble about.
The battery is massive and charges rapidly at 30W, the processor is plenty speedy backed by a whopping 8GB RAM, and the display is a punchy AMOLED panel. For just over £250 the Realme X2 is a steal.
Realme X2 specs:
- Display: 6.53-inch, Full HD+
- SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
- RAM: 8GB
- Storage: 128GB
- Rear camera: 64, 8, 2, and 2MP
- Front camera: 32MP
- Battery: 4,000mAh
- Software: Android 9.0 Pie
>6. Motorola One Vision
Motorola has a reputation for delivering quality mid-range phones thanks to its G series, but if you want something a little more experimental then look no further than the Motorola One Vision.
The One Vision’s two hallmark features are its elongated 21:9 aspect ratio display and dual camera. The latter is the real star of the show, as the 48MP main shooter produces some amazing results considering the phone’s price tag.
Read more: Motorola One Vision specs
The Samsung-made Exynos 9609 also performs surprisingly well and the Android One software is the purest OS experience outside of buying a Google Pixel phone.
The battery life is a bit of a letdown and the punch hole is far too large, but the Motorola One Vision is a fun, experimental phone for a great price.
As for the more popular Motorola G series, the Moto G8 Plus falls a little behind its predecessors in offering a complete killer package but is still an excellent choice if you want a robust phone in your pocket.
Motorola One Vision specs:
- Display: 6.3-inch, Full HD+
- SoC: Exynos 9609
- RAM: 4GB
- Storage: 128GB
- Rear camera: 48MP and 5MP
- Front camera: 25MP
- Battery: 3,500mAh
- Software: Android 9.0 Pie
Those are the best phones under £300 in the UK! If your budget can stretch a little further be sure to check out the best phones under £500. We’ll add more great, affordable phones as they hit the market.
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