LG made 1.2 cents in profit for every phone it sold last quarter
LG’s latest earnings report shows just how tough the smartphone market is getting. On the one hand, LG Mobile shipped 8.1 million LTE smartphones, its best result ever. On the other hand, it sold fewer premium models in Korea and spent a lot of money marketing its flagship G4 in the US against models by Apple, Samsung, et al. (The company singled out Apple, saying that iPhone sales hurt its earnings this quarter.) The net result was a mobile operating profit of just 200 million won ($172,000) or 1.2 cents per phone. The good news is that the LG G4 has only been on sale in the US for two months, so it may have a stronger impact on LG’s bottom line next quarter.
On top of a tight smartphone market, LG’s Home Entertainment division said that global demand for LCD TVs was “soft,” as revenue dropped 22.7 percent to 3.93 trillion won ($3.59 billion). However, the company is bullish on its 4K OLED TVs, and plans to expand its lineup “with newer designs at more attractive price points.” For the quarter, LG saw an overeall drop in sales of 7.6 percent and earnings that were down 45 percent over last year to 226.4 billion won ($195 million). And if not for the company’s profitable Home Appliance division, that number would’ve been a loss.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, LG
Source: LG
LG announces its financial results, mobile sales increase only 1% year-on-year
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LG has today announced its financial results for Q2 2015 and the results are, well, meh. As a whole company, LG Electronics made a decent profit of 226.4 billion won, or about $206.38 million USD, in what it called an “extremely challenging environment”, however the results of the mobile division speak of a different story.
Despite increasing sales overall by 1% year-on-year, LG saw a decline of 3% in overall device shipments to 14.1 million. LG largely attributed this to a decline in demand for premium smartphones in its home country of Korea, however noted that US revenue had grown 36% year-on-year thanks to mid-range devices. LG intends to rectify this by marketing both its premium range and mid-range better in hopes that will increase its profits.
It’s kind of disappointing to hear that even LG is doing poorly in this current climate, especially given that its LG G4 is definitely the best smartphone it has every put out. But these are the times we live in, and LG has to find a way to get its profits back up on the back of its devices – LG G Pro 3 anybody?
What do you think about LG’s financial results? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
The post LG announces its financial results, mobile sales increase only 1% year-on-year appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
OnePlus 2 vs the competition: by the numbers
The successor to the “flagship killer” is finally here, boasting an improved design, high-end specifications and a very appealing price tag. But does the OnePlus 2 have what it takes to challenge the very best smartphones on the market right now? Until we get our hands on an OnePlus 2 review unit for deeper analysis, it’s hard to accurately answer this question, but we can at least dive in and take a look at how it compares to the competition on paper.
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The OnePlus One was a rather large smartphone and the OnePlus 2 is an equally hefty beast, featuring a large 5.5-inch display like its predecessor. Despite rumors suggesting the OnePlus 2 would make the jump to QHD, it turns out that the phone packs the same Full HD resolution as the original OPO. This means that the display here won’t quite live up to the standards of the LG G4 or the Samsung Galaxy S6, but should be on equal footing to devices like the HTC One M9 and Sony Xperia Z3+.
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While the size and resolution of the display remain unchanged, just about every other aspect of the phone has been significantly upgraded. Even the battery gets a nice jump up to 3,300 mAh, which bests the sizes offered by most other flagships.
| OnePlus 2 | Galaxy S6 | One M9 | Xperia Z3+ | LG G4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 5.5-inch LCD Full HD (1920 x 1080) |
5.1-inch AMOLED QHD (2560×1440) |
5-inch LCD FullHD (1920×1080) |
5.2-inch LCD FullHD (1920×1080) |
5.5-inch LCD QHD (2560×1440) |
| SoC | Snapdragon 810 | Exynos 7420 | Snapdragon 810 | Snapdragon 810 | Snapdragon 808 |
| CPU | 4x 2.0GHz Cortex-A57 4x 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 |
4x 2.1GHz Cortex-A57 4x 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 |
4x 2.0GHz Cortex-A57 4x 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 |
4x 2.0GHz Cortex-A57 4x 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 |
2x 1.8GHz Cortex-A57 4x 1.4GHz Cortex-A53 |
| GPU | Adreno 430 | Mali-T760 MP8 | Adreno 430 | Adreno 430 | Adreno 418 |
| RAM | 4GB (64GB model), 3GB (16GB model) | 3GB | 3GB | 3GB | 3GB |
| Storage | 16/64GB | 32/64/128GB | 32GB | 32GB | 32GB |
| MicroSD | No | No | Yes, up to 128GB | Yes, up to 128GB | Yes, up to 128GB |
| Unlocked Price | $329 (16GB), $389 (64GB) | $700 | $650 | $650 | $540 |
On the processing side of things, we see the familiar Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SoC that is powering the latest flagships from HTC and Sony. LG’s G4 offers a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 package rather than an octa-core 810 and Samsung has its own 14nm Exynos chip in its Galaxy S6. The v2.1 Snapdragon 810 apparently addresses the overheating issues, but other handsets featuring the updated chip, such as the Xperia Z3+ and One M9, still tend to get a little warm for our liking. The OnePlus 2 will match other smartphones in terms of performance, but some heat issues may still be present.
One area that the OnePlus 2 does go above any beyond the competition is the choice to go with 4GB of LPDDR4 memory. While the performance differences between 3GB and 4GB are unlikely to manifest in anything other than heavy multitasking scenarios, the higher bandwidth of LPDDR4 should bring performance improvements when recording and processing very high resolution media files and when gaming, as well as helping to reduce battery drain. LPDDR4 RAM can also be found in the Galaxy S6 and the HTC One M9, while a growing range of mid-range handsets are now including 4GB of RAM, including the ZTE Axon phone and the Asus ZenFone 2. It must be mentioned that this extra RAM is only to be found on the 64GB storage model, with the base unit opting for just 3GB of RAM.
Camera technology is a big talking point with this generation of smartphones and the OnePlus 2 remains competitive in this segment too, at least on paper. The handset comes with the same 13 megapixel resolution as last year but with an f/2.0 aperture and some new lenses. The OnePlus 2’s camera doesn’t quite match the raw resolution of handsets like the One M9, G4 or Galaxy S6, but the improved aperture should result in some decent low light performance. There’s also optical image stabilization and laser auto focus this time around, which are welcome extras.
We’ll have to go hands-on with the OnePlus 2 in more detail before making any final decisions. The 5 megapixel “selfie” camera is pretty standard compared with what’s out there right now, and some other handsets may provide slightly clearer looking shots.
| OnePlus 2 | Galaxy S6 | One M9 | Xperia Z3+ | LG G4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camera | 13MP rear 5MP front |
16MP rear 5MP front |
20MP rear 4MP front |
20.7MP rear 5MP front |
16MP rear 8MP front |
| Battery | 3,300mAh | 2,500mAh | 2,840mAh | 2,930mAh | 3,000mAh |
| LTE | Category 6 | Category 6 | Category 6 | Category 6 | Category 6 |
| Dual-SIM | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Fingerprint Scanner | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Wireless Charging | No | PMA and Qi | No | No | Qi (optional cases) |
| Unlocked Price | $339 (base), $389 (64GB model) | $700 | $650 | $650 | $540 |
Usually, lower-cost flagship smartphones undercut their premium tier competitors by omitting some unnecessary extras, but the OnePlus 2 isn’t holding back here either. The smartphone features a fingerprint scanner this time around, which is located in the physical home button. The Snapdragon 810 also supports QuickCharge 2.0 technology for faster recharging, and there’s a USB Type-C connection, so that you won’t have to fumble around with plugging in cables in the future. The smartphone’s camera has also picked up a laser autofocus module, something which we first saw with the LG G3.
However, the OnePlus 2 doesn’t feature everything that some might put on their flagship list. There’s still no microSD card slot for extra storage, although the smartphone does come with up to 64GB of storage. There’s also no built-in wireless charging technology and the battery cannot be removed, which was a common complaint made about the handset last time around. These features may make a difference to some consumers, while others might may not care them.
| OnePlus 2 | ZTE Axon | Honor 7 | Meizu MX5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 5.5-inch LCD FullHD (1920×1080) |
5.5-inch LCD QHD (2560×1440) |
5.2-inch LCD FullHD (1920×1080) |
5.5-inch LCD FullHD (1920×1080) |
| SoC | Snapdragon 810 | Snapdragon 810 | Kirin 935 | Mediatek MT6795 |
| CPU | 4x 2.0GHz Cortex-A57 4x 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 |
4x 2.0GHz Cortex-A57 4x 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 |
4x 2.2GHz Cortex-A53 4x 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 |
4x 2.2GHz Cortex-A53 4x 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 |
| GPU | Adreno 430 | Adreno 430 | Mali-T628 | PowerVR G6200 MP4 |
| RAM | 3 or 4GB RAM | 4GB | 3GB | 3GB |
| Storage | 16/64GB | 32GB | 16/64GB | 16/32/64GB |
| MicroSD | No | No | Yes, up to 128GB | No |
| Camera | 13MP rear 5MP front |
13MP + 2MP dual rear 8MP front |
20MP rear 8MP front |
20.7MP rear 5MP front |
| Battery | 3,300mAh | 3,000mAh | 3,100mAh | 3,150mAh |
| LTE | Category 6 | Category 6 | Cateogy 6 | Category 4 |
| Dual-SIM | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fingerprint Scan | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Wireless Charging | No | No | No | No |
| Unlocked Price | $329 starting | $499 | $322 | $290 |
Overall, the OnePlus 2 builds on the solid foundation of its predecessor and offers up some serious competition to the more expensive market leaders, barring any hit-and-miss hardware issues like last time. However, there is also increasing choice in the $300 – $400 price bracket, with the ZTE Axon, Honor 7 and Meizu MX5 all offering competitive specifications at prices around $100 either side. The OnePlus 2 has some advantages, especially when it comes to processing hardware, but other cheaper Chinese smartphones are similarly feature rich these days.
The OnePlus 2 goes the extra mile with regards to performance and nicely bridges the gap between the plethora of Chinese mid-tier phones and the premium flagships, but whether or not the extra performance is worth the higher price tag will be up to individual consumers.
Root now available for LG G4 carrier models
One of the benefits to having an Android phone is the ability to customise any number of settings and features once you’ve performed a root, which is akin to jailbreaking which iPhone users may be accustomed to. Rooting relies on an unlocked bootloader and while a root was achieved for the unlocked version of the LG G4, the carrier branded models have so far had to wait.
If you’ve been waiting then you’re in luck as root is now available for carrier branded models of the LG G4, both for the major US carrier devices (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon) and other international carriers. Recognised developer thecubed and others have built the “Low Effort Root” for carrier branded models but this is definitely not for the fainthearted; if you’re a novice and think bootloader is something related to your car, then this is definitely not for you.
LG G4 in video:
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As with all mods, you’ll need to be able to precisely follow a long list of steps and you’ll need to download and install tools for your computer to get the job done. Like most Android customisations, you may end up with a bricked device that cannot be recovered so don’t tempt this unless you’re happy with the risk!
To root your carrier branded LG G4, head over to XDA Developers (in the source link below), read through all the posts and ask about anything you’re unsure of before you attempt anything. Back up all your data and take your time; there’s nothing worse than rushing and ending up with a bricked phone.
For more on what you can do with your Android smartphone, check out our Android customization series and head over to Android Authority on YouTube to see more about the latest apps, handsets and comparisons.
LG may move up its “super premium phone” as well
Gripped between Apple at the high-end, and a pack of hungry Chinese players at the bottom, the Korean smartphone industry is in turmoil. Tiny Pantech narrowly avoided shutting down thanks to the intervention of a group of local investors, but even the mighty Samsung and LG are struggling to cope with the pressure. The former just moved up the launch of its fall flagship, the Galaxy Note 5, and now it looks like LG will follow suit.
According to industry sources cited by Business Korea, LG has abandoned its plan to release its “super premium phone” in October, and is now pushing hard to release the device as soon as possible. The launch of this high-end device is apparently “imminent,” said the sources.
This super premium LG phone is reportedly developed in “profound secrecy,” and details about it are very hard to come by. Our hunch was that LG was preparing a metallic iteration of the G Pro series, but according to Business Korea’s sources, the device could be an entirely new model, a G4 variant, or even the LG G5.
Buyers are not swayed by the G4’s leather back
LG Mobile’s CEO Juno Cho first talked about the company’s plans for a device that “stands before the G series” in March, during the MWC show. Cho did not offer any details, other than that the mystery phone would launch in the second half of the year. Than the G4 launched, and while it sported an optional leather cover and solid specs, it was clearly outshone by Samsung’s metal and glass Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge duo.
Several reports have suggested that the G4 is not performing as well as LG had hoped. Add the fact that the Note 5 will land early this year and the unrelenting pressure of the Apple juggernaut, and LG’s decision to accelerate the release of its super phone seems entirely justified.
When will we see this new device? IFA, in early September, could be a good bet, especially now that the absence of a Note announcement will give it more room to shine. But that’s just speculation for now.
Last chance to enter the Choose Your Own Android Phablet Giveaway: LG G4, OnePlus 2 and more!
The AA Deals Store offers great deals on the daily, but today there’s something a bit more special for you. Are you feeling lucky? You could win one of the hottest devices in the market, and participating won’t cost you a penny.
The “Choose Your Own Android Phablet Giveaway” is simple to enter, so why not try your luck and see if you can be the proud owner of one of these oversized phones? The winner of this giveaway gets to choose one of the following handsets:
Here’s how to enter: Simply head to the giveaway page and enter your email address in the space provided. That will score you one entry into the contest. If you’d like to enter more than once, you can do that, too. After entering your email address, share on Twitter for additional entries. The more your friends and followers enter, the more entries you receive. Make sure you enter with a valid email address so StackSocial can contact you if you win. Keep in mind only one registration per person is allowed. And you should give a valid email, as that is how the winner will be contacted. Any efforts to skew the selection process will result in disqualification, so let’s play nice!
Now that all the details are out of the way, we’d like to urge you to sign up as soon as possible. This giveaway will end at 11:59 PM (PDT) on July 22nd… so tonight! Go get your phone!
Editor’s Note: This deal is through StackCommerce, in partnership with AA Deals Store and other StackSocial partners — and not an exclusive Android Authority contest.
T-Mobile drops the price of the LG G4
For those who are in the market for a new phone, and have been looking at the LG G4, we have some good news for you. T-Mobile has lowered the full retail price of the G4 from $600 to $480. Combine this with the free accessory promotion, and you can save quite a bit of money by grabbing a G4 from Big Magenta.
Considering the fact that the G4 has only been out for about 2 months, it’s a little surprising to see such a price cut for a new device. Whether this is a sign that sales haven’t been that great or not, it’s still a great deal for anyone. If you are someone who’s taking advantage of the monthly payments, you won’t see too much of a difference in your bill, with the monthly cost going from $25 a month to $20.
Let us know in the comments below whether you will be picking up a G4 for yourself, now with the price cut in tow. Also, let us know what your thoughts on why this price cut could be happening so soon after the release of the G4.
Source: T-Mobile
The post T-Mobile drops the price of the LG G4 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
T-Mobile now selling the LG G4 for just $480
LG’s flagship for 2015, the G4, has many things going for it, including support for those features which Samsung opted to leave out of the Galaxy S6: a user-replacable battery and microSD support for expandable storage. Still, the device has also received its fair share of criticism having continued the use of plastic and for selecting the Snapdragon 808 while it’s sibling the LG Flex 2 has an 810. Reports have indicated the device hasn’t be selling as well as expected. While it is difficult to say just what the motivating factors are behind T-Mobile’s decision to slash the price tag, the customer is ultimately the winner.
Starting now the G4 can be had for just $480, a savings of $120. While this may only result in a $5 decrease per-month for those opting to purchase on installment, customers paying in-full will definitely see the savings in a big way.
LG G4
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As if this was not good enough, the deal is still valid in combination with LG’s bonus accessory campaign wherein purchasers will receive a free battery, charger, and leather back cover provided they buy before the end of July.
Unfortunately it is unclear just how long the G4 price cut will last: it may be a permanent price cut, or it could be a limited-time offer while supplies last.
For all those interested and making use of Magenta, now is the time to act. Those who are still on the fence may feel it prudent to watch our in-depth review of the G4 and related comparison videos to determine if it’s right for you.
T-Mobile now selling the LG G4 for just $480
LG’s flagship for 2015, the G4, has many things going for it, including support for those things which Samsung opted to leave out of its Galaxy S6: a user-replacable battery and microSD support for expandable storage. Still, the device has also received its fair share of criticism having continued the use of plastic and for selecting the Snapdragon 808 while it’s sibling the LG Flex 2 has an 810. Reports have indicated the device hasn’t be selling as well as expected. While it is difficult to say just what the motivating factors are behind T-Mobile’s decision to slash the price tag, the customer is ultimately the winner.
Starting now the G4 can be had for just $480, a savings of $120. While this may only result in a $5 decrease per-month for those opting to purchase on installment, customers paying in-full will definitely see the savings in a big way.
LG G4
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As if this was not good enough, the deal is still valid in combination with LG’s bonus accessory campaign wherein purchasers will receive a free battery, charger, and leather back cover provided they buy before the end of July.
Unfortunately it is unclear just how long the G4 price cut will last: it may be a permanent price cut, or it could be a limited-time offer while supplies last.
For all those interested and making use of Magenta, now is the time to act. Those who are still on the fence may feel it prudent to watch our in-depth review of the G4 and related comparison videos to determine if it’s right for you.
The best Android phones from the UK’s MVNOs
We have covered the four major networks in the UK, but the market is also bustling with smaller retailers running on the larger infrastructure provided by the main networks. These MVNOs offer a range of SIM deals, contract options and are even selling flagship handsets these days.
So, let’s take a look at the best Android phones available from some of the UK’s minor mobile players.
#1 – Samsung Galaxy S6
Flagship smartphones aren’t just reserved for the big carriers these days, Samsung’s cutting edge Galaxy S6 is also available on a number of minor networks in the UK.
The Galaxy S6 features some of the finest mobile hardware around, including a 5.1-inch QHD AMOLED display, an octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM and a 16 megapixel camera. There’s also 4G LTE connectivity to make the most of the UK’s expansive 4G network.
Starting prices are roughly similar across all of the networks that we’re looking at, but Tesco Mobile is probably the best deal, as it offers the most minutes without an upfront cost. GiffGaff’s month-by-month contract is also a compelling option, if you can stump up the lump sum. A comparison of the cheapest offers from each carrier can be seen below, although they all offer more expensive options with additional data and some also allow for tweaking the contract length.
| Carrier | Up front cost | Monthly cost | Contract Months | Mins/Texts/Data | Total Cost | PAYG Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BT | – | – | – | – | – | £609 |
| iD | £99.99 | £35.50 | 24 | 600/5000/1GB | £951.99 | – |
| Tesco | £0 | £36 | 24 | 1000/5000/1GB | £864 | – |
| GiffGaff | £37 | £33.25 | 24 | 500/ ∞/1GB | £835 | £489 |
| Virgin | £0 | £42 | 24 | 250/∞/250MB | £1008 | £888 |
Specs
- 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with 1440×2560 resolution
- 2.1GHz Samsung Exynos 7420 SoC
- 3GB of RAM
- 32/64/128GB internal storage
- 16MP rear camera, 5MP front camera
- Non-removable 2,550mAh battery
- 143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8 mm, 138g
- Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum or White Pearl colours
- Android 5.1 Lollipop
Read more
Buy now from £0 from Tesco Mobile
#2 – Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
Sony’s Xperia range can be spotted in numerous advertisements up and down the UK and the Z3 Compact is still one of the most unique smartphones on the market.
Despite its compact form factor, the Z3 Compact still features processing power that rivals larger flagships. The handset also comes with a 20.7 megapixel camera for crisp photos, 2GB of RAM for smooth multitasking and IP68 water and dust resistance for extra protection.
The Z3 Compact is also less expensive than many larger flagship smartphones. Virgin Mobile is by far the cheapest deal, although the call and data limits are quite restrictive. Fortunately this can be bumped up to a more competitive 2500 mins, 1GB of data and unlimited texts for £24 per month.
| Carrier | Up front cost | Monthly cost | Contract Months | Mins/Texts/Data | Total Cost | PAYG Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BT | – | – | – | – | – | £361.24 |
| iD | £0 | £29.50 | 24 | 600/5000/1GB | £708 | – |
| Tesco | – | – | – | – | – | £429 |
| GiffGaff | £37 | £24 | 24 | 500/ ∞/1GB | £613 | £299 |
| Virgin | £0 | £19 | 24 | 250/ ∞/250MB | £456 | £336 |
Specs
- 4.6-inch IPS LCD display with 720×1280 resolution
- 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC
- 2GB of RAM
- 16GB internal storage with 128GB microSD card support
- 20.7MP rear camera, 2.2MP front camera
- Non-removable 2,600mAh battery
- 127.3 x 64.9 x 8.6 mm, 129g
- Black, White or Green
- Android 4.4 KitKat (Android 5.1 Lollipop update)
Read More
Buy now from £0 from Virgin Mobile
#3 – LG G4
If you are in the market for a larger high-end smartphone, then the 5.5-inch LG G4 is the most recently major flagship in its class.
As well as featuring LG’s latest curved QHD LCD display, a high-end Snapdragon 808 processing package and 3GB of RAM, a lot of fuss has been made about the handset’s camera. With a 16 megapixel resolution and f/1.8 aperture, the G4 boasts impressive camera capability in bright and low light conditions.
The G4’s specifications are compelling enough, but the phone is also a fair bit cheaper than its competitors. Over the course of a 24 month contract you can save hundreds of pounds over the Galaxy S6, and its PAYG price tag is also notable cheaper from some networks.
The best deal this time comes from GiffGaff, which offers a decent monthly package, the lowest overall contract cost and also has the smartphone reasonably priced if you can stump up the cash up front.
| Carrier | Up front cost | Monthly cost | Contract Months | Mins/Texts/Data | Total Cost | PAYG Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BT | – | – | – | – | – | £482.41 |
| iD | £9.99 | £37.50 | 24 | 600/5000/2GB | £909.99 | – |
| GiffGaff | £37 | £30 | 24 | 500/ ∞/1GB | £757 | £439 |
| Virgin | £0 | £25 | 24 | 250/ ∞/250MB | £600 | £480 |
Specs
- 5.5-inch LCD display with 1440×2560 resolution
- 1.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 SoC
- 3GB of RAM
- 32GB internal storage with support for 128GB microSD card
- 16MP rear camera, 8MP front camera
- Removable 3,000mAh battery
- 149.1 x 75.3 x 8.9 mm, 154g
- Metallic Grey, Red Leather
- Android 5.1 Lollipop
Read more
Buy now from £37 from GiffGaff
#4 – Motorola Moto E
Next in our list of best Android phones is the Moto E, an excellent low cost phone with everything you need for day to day tasks.
The phone comes with a compact 4.5-inch display, 1GB of RAM and a quad-core Snapdragon 410 SoC. There’s also a 5 megapixel camera for some basic photography, 8GB of storage with a microSD card slot and the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop OS on-board. The inclusion of 4G in the latest model also ensures that you can make the most of the faster data speeds now available in the UK.
While the specifications aren’t top of the line, the price point is very hard to beat. Contract costs start at just £10 per month with no up front costs, or you can pick your own SIM-only deal by buying the handset up front for just £100 from Tesco Mobile.
| Carrier | Up front cost | Monthly cost | Contract Months | Mins/Texts/Data | Total Cost | PAYG Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BT | – | – | – | – | – | £149 |
| iD | £0 | £10.50 | 24 | 300/5000/500MB | £252 | – |
| Tesco | £0 | £10 | 24 | 250/5000/500MB | £240 | £99 |
| Virgin | £0 | £10 | 24 | 250/ ∞/250MB | £240 | – |
Specs
- 4.5-inch qHD IPS LCD with 540 x 960 resolution
- 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 CPU
- 1GB of RAM
- 8GB of on-board storage, MicroSD expansion up to 32GB
- 5MP rear cam, VGA front cam
- Non-removable 2390mAh battery
- 129.9 x 66.8 x 12.3 mm, 145g
- Removable colored backs
- Black, White
- Android 5.0 Lollipop
Read more
Buy now for £0 from Tesco Mobile
#5 – Samsung Galaxy A3
There’s a fine balance to be struck between affordable hardware and building a device that still feels and look great. This is where Samsung’s Galaxy A3 comes in, which comes with a well-designed metal-rimmed case but a price tag that won’t break the bank.
The internal hardware is quite similar to the Moto E, but Samsung has thrown in a better rear camera, an additional 512MB of RAM and double the internal memory, which makes up for the increased price.
All of our MVNOs stock the Galaxy A3, which has helped keep the price very competitive. The best deal is awarded to the Carphone Warehouse’s ID network this time, which probably offers the best balance of data, calls and price.
| Carrier | Up front cost | Monthly cost | Contract Months | Mins/Texts/Data | Total Cost | PAYG Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BT | – | – | – | – | – | £269 |
| iD | £0 | £17.50 | 24 | 300/5000/500MB | £420 | – |
| Tesco | £0 | £20 | 24 | 250/5000/500MB | £480 | – |
| GiffGaff | £37 | £19 | 24 | 500/ ∞/1GB | £493 | £199.99 |
| Virgin | £0 | £15 | 24 | 250/ ∞/250MB | £360 | £239.99 |
Specs
- 4.5-inch Super AMLOED display with 540×960 resolution
- 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 SoC
- 1.5GB of RAM
- 16GB of internal storage with up to 64GB via microSD
- 8MP rear camera, 5MP front camera
- Non-removable 1,900mAh battery
- 130.1 x 65.5 x 6.9 mm, 110g
- Black, White or Silver
- Android 4.4.4 KitKat, upgradable to Android 5.0.2
AIVAnet 