Best Smartphones Under £400 (Spring 2020)

Best Smartphones Under £400 (Spring 2020)

If your smartphone budget is under £400, here’s the best affordable mid-range Android mobiles you can buy in 2020. I’ve tested and reviewed all of these devices from Google, Oppo, Huawei, Samsung and beyond, and this is my pick of the greatest budget-friendly phones you can buy in the UK.

First up, Google’s Pixel 3a is just £300 right now, ahead of the Pixel 4 launch later in 2020. Despite this low price it’s among the best mid-range camera phones, plus you get the latest stock Android 10 OS. And the 3a XL boasts a bigger screen and battery, if you like, for £350.

If you fancy something a little different for a similar price to the XL, check out the Huawei Nova 5T. This is one of my favourite affordable phones that I reviewed this year, with P30-style specs and smart camera tech. The Honor 20 Pro isn’t too different, although with a slightly bigger battery and rejiggered camera tech.

Continuing the list of best budget smartphones under £400, we have the Oppo Reno 2Z and Motorola One Hyper – two full-view mobiles with pop-up cameras. Either will do the job for your everyday snaps and are ideal for media lovers, really impressing despite the low cost.

And if you’re set on a Samsung but don’t have the cash for an S20, check out the A51- although it’s not without its flaws.

You can see my reviews of all of these smartphones here on Tech Spurt, and check out my other round-ups of the greatest budget blowers of 2020.

50 Comments

  1. Mads Vind Knudsen on November 29, 2021 at 12:18 pm

    i respect your choice of anime backgrounds.



  2. Poochy Poachy on November 29, 2021 at 12:19 pm

    I hope Nokia makes one of these lists eventually



  3. Bedirr Uysalll on November 29, 2021 at 12:22 pm

    Add xiaomi note 10 lite



  4. Wilfredo Barrett on November 29, 2021 at 12:22 pm

    I really prefer a 2yr old version of a flagship rather than a 2020 midranger. I get flagship quality design, an older SD 8 series processor, great cameras, NFC, IP waterproof, wireless charge…And some downpriced as low as $400.



  5. Mohammad ALObaedy on November 29, 2021 at 12:23 pm

    Where is realme X2 pro



  6. Mason Boone on November 29, 2021 at 12:23 pm

    Watching this on my Samsung Juke 🙂



  7. Zuriel Royce Dacoco on November 29, 2021 at 12:23 pm

    Huawei’s Nova 7 series is a killer (excluding Nova 7i) but it isn’t released worldwide yet.



  8. RAS TreySav on November 29, 2021 at 12:25 pm

    All of these are better than the new iphone SE



  9. Luca Tulp on November 29, 2021 at 12:25 pm

    Watching this on an cracked iphone 😭🤣



  10. Sean Crowe on November 29, 2021 at 12:26 pm

    I don’t think the reviewer knows about the organ harvesting in China to have made that joke when reviewing a Chinese phone



  11. Jason Chamberlain on November 29, 2021 at 12:28 pm

    Tech Spurt makes you love whatever phone he recommends and is great reassurance to any customer



  12. daniel day on November 29, 2021 at 12:28 pm

    Whats the best out of these phones



  13. Gautam _1 on November 29, 2021 at 12:29 pm

    Where’s k20 pro



  14. leo black on November 29, 2021 at 12:29 pm

    2:10 😂😂😂😂😆😃🙂😔😢😢😭😭😭



  15. Neil Goodman on November 29, 2021 at 12:30 pm

    Hey bubbalah, you should put up a list of the phones best to least, 5-1, I would be really…really thankful.
    Warmly,
    the Left Coast in PDX



  16. Aka Konoha on November 29, 2021 at 12:32 pm

    Thank you 🙂 would you go for pixel 3 or 3a? Thank you (I’m looking for a compact phone)



  17. Paris Malaspinas on November 29, 2021 at 12:33 pm

    I mean i love them all but im pretty sure these phones never get upgraded..am i right? and if they do get regularly updated which one of these would you guys pick



  18. Bij Dikh on November 29, 2021 at 12:35 pm

    I feel like if you’re gonna spend $400 on an A51, you might as well get a used or refurbished S10 Plus for $20 or so more.



  19. TheThunderwesel on November 29, 2021 at 12:35 pm

    I’m still waiting on one of you tech reviewers to make a "Best phone if you dont care about a camera" video lol



  20. Fistagon777 on November 29, 2021 at 12:36 pm

    was a pretty bad review of the phones, i left knowing no more then before i clicked on this video



  21. JC Mn on November 29, 2021 at 12:37 pm

    You look like Bear Gryll and your accent also sounds more like him



  22. Karma Sucks on November 29, 2021 at 12:41 pm

    I purchased a new smartphone recently which I HIGHLY recommend to everyone.
    Best quality Samsung phone for the money! It s on sale on amazon with this link: https://amzn.to/396wpyB



  23. daniel day on November 29, 2021 at 12:44 pm

    What is the best out of all of these phones I’m thinking of getting oppo reno 2z



  24. ThePharaohsCat on November 29, 2021 at 12:44 pm

    Great. Have you got a similar list just more compact or lighter hardware? Thx



  25. Abdullah Malik on November 29, 2021 at 12:45 pm

    Realme X2 Pro beats out almost all of the phones mentioned in the video.



  26. Lori on November 29, 2021 at 12:45 pm

    I suggest you put the name of each phone on the screen when you presenting them because otherwise is hard to follow



  27. sanjay kunwar on November 29, 2021 at 12:46 pm

    u guys never heard about realme x2 pro ? that’s a flagship killer phone right there !



  28. Zain:) on November 29, 2021 at 12:47 pm

    where is the a71?? its better than the a51



  29. Ich habe eine Frage on November 29, 2021 at 12:48 pm

    This guy really loves ryuko



  30. Mircea Alexandru Baciu on November 29, 2021 at 12:50 pm

    How about Xiomi???



  31. bubu mic on November 29, 2021 at 12:50 pm

    My P20 Pro still works !! And it has IR blaster !!



  32. Douglas Walker on November 29, 2021 at 12:51 pm

    A big fan of your vids, but quick question – isn’t the Huawei skin called EMUI – ‘EE EM YOU EYE’ 🙂 or emotion UI..



  33. Mickeyro on November 29, 2021 at 12:52 pm

    A71 is still under 400 dollars and is far superior than the A51 and looks almost identical



  34. dewarmc on November 29, 2021 at 12:53 pm

    I’ve enjoyed another phone review and roundup of what is available, however I would like a detailed review on the same companies or phones, looking at how easy or hard it is to remove all the unwanted installed Apps, that one may not use, or currently use something else as a preferred App and may want to remove to free up RAM usage and de-clutter, thanks…



  35. Faheem Productions on November 29, 2021 at 12:57 pm

    5:40 my smartphone A51 😍



  36. BombBoi on November 29, 2021 at 12:57 pm

    How many phones this dude have



  37. Illyrian900 on November 29, 2021 at 12:58 pm

    I like oppo Phone and that Kamera thats really nice



  38. tsuyagami on November 29, 2021 at 1:02 pm

    No realme phones? Are they not good?



  39. hasan banoon on November 29, 2021 at 1:02 pm

    Not sure about UK, but in the US BestBuy sells the Moto G stylus for $300. For $300 you get a Snapdragon 665, which is a very decent chipset, 4GB Ram, 128GB storage, a stylus, if you like jotting notes, a punchhole camera cutout and a very capable camera set, which includes an action cam feature, wide, ultra wide and macro features. (I wouldn’t say the pen/stylus are S-Pen quality, the screen is AMOLED, or it has SD865 but some corners had to be cut to make a phone that is $300 that ‘mostly’ feels like a flagship.)



  40. Watkinator on November 29, 2021 at 1:03 pm

    I love fingering my phones glowing ring piece.



  41. Farid Amin on November 29, 2021 at 1:08 pm

    My first choice Google Pixel 3a
    My second choice Oppo Reno 2z
    My third choice, no phone



  42. cal stamper on November 29, 2021 at 1:08 pm

    This man said Emuiey nononono its E M U I



  43. Clash Robert on November 29, 2021 at 1:09 pm

    Is there any phones with capacitive buttons instead of on-screen buttons that is up to spec with other mid-range phones?



  44. Bunny on November 29, 2021 at 1:10 pm

    yeah i was also hoping to see the xiaomi. i dont think this guy even compares it.



  45. Caterina on November 29, 2021 at 1:11 pm

    you’re watching evangelion. i see you’re a man of culture as well.



  46. Simón E. on November 29, 2021 at 1:11 pm

    I can’t find any pixel 3a for 300,can someone help please? (I live in Spain)



  47. Anarchy Jay on November 29, 2021 at 1:13 pm

    I’ve always gone straight to the samsung flagship models…sadly my s10 plus met an untimely end recently so I had to buy a phone to see out my contract. Went for the A51 and it’s made me realise how stupid I am to just go straight for the most expensive model! Other than the wireless charging, I’m struggling to see why I would pay more for the s10 I had. Admittedly I don’t really game on it, just general use and I’m not massively techy but I’m so surprised. Your review convinced me to give the A51 a go and my mind is officially blown!



  48. Carl G on November 29, 2021 at 1:13 pm

    Picked up a Nova 5T for £240 the other day. Your review helped a lot, thank you. Subscribed mate 🙂



  49. Mohamed Raees on November 29, 2021 at 1:15 pm

    Watching in samsung a51 and loves it



  50. MaikelDRuffy on November 29, 2021 at 1:16 pm

    Xiaomi Mi 9T ~300€ or Huawei P30 ~400€ both are great for its price.
    But is it worth the 100 bucks?
    P.S. great review!