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With the launch of the new Nokia 2.2 there is a new contender in town for the best sub-£100 phone on the market. This is a segment that has been traditionally dominated by the superb (for the price) Xiaomi Redmi 6A and now its successor the Redmi 7A.

The stand out feature for the Nokia is the use of Android One with the guaranteed update to Android Q shortly after release as well as the three years of security updates under the company’s commitment to keeping devices up to date. This would include an update to Android R too.

So can the Nokia take the budget crown?

Price

The Nokia pricing is €99, or roughly £88 if we assume the UK don’t pay extra. Nokia hasn’t given the Nokia 2.2 a firm UK release date yet.

You can get the Redmi 6A for just £89.95 from Amazon, but its official UK price is £99.

The Redmi 7A has launched in China but not the UK, it should get here at some point though, probably when they announce the Mi 9T. The 3GB/32GB option has a price of 799 yuan, which is £91 but the price always shoots up for UK buyers, and it possible that this will be over £100 to start off with. The base spec is 2GB/16GB for 549 yuan which is about £62

Specification

The Nokia powered by a MediaTek Helio A22 CPU and be available with either 2GB or 3GB of RAM. The specs will be fine for basic tasks but don’t expect it to handle demanding tasks, like 3D gaming.

The Xiaomi Redmi 6A has an identical spec with the Helio A22 and 2GB/16GB based. I have reviewed the phone and it was good, not something I would use daily, but a good backup phone, or a phone for someone that isn’t bothered about smartphones.

The Helio A22 has a quad-core 2.0 GHz CPU using Cortex-A53 so very much on the low end of chipsets.

The Redmi 7A ups things a little with the Snapdragon 439 which has an octa-core (2×2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 & 6×1.45 GHz Cortex A53). Base RAM and memory is the same as the other two at 2GB/16GB.

Display

The Nokia is the largest at 5.71 inches running at 720 x 1520 pixels it has a small notch and bezels which is not a feature normally seen on this end of the market.

Both the Redmi phones have thick bezels tops and bottom and use a 5.45 inch screen running at 720 x 1440 pixels.

Camera

All three phones have an almost identical camera specifciation. With 13 MP, f/2.2, 1/3″, 1.12µm, AF on the rear then 5MP up front.

Battery

The Nokia and Redmi 6A both have 3000mAh batteries, which is small for normal phones but with the chipset and low resolution screen you should have no issues.

The 7A ups things considerably with a 4000 mAh battery

Overall

It is hard to judge which will be the best buy as it depends on the final UK pricing for both the Nokia and Redmi 7A.

The Redmi is better specced, the chipset is more powerful and you get the better battery.

The Nokia has Android One which should guarantee that this phone works perfectly well for the next few years. Due to this, if I was buying a phone for an older relative, I would probably go with Nokia as it should be less hassle.

Nokia 2.2Xiaomi Redmi 7AXiaomi Redmi 6A
Announced2019, June2019, May2018, June
StatusComing soon. Exp. release 2019, JuneComing soon. Exp. release 2019, June 6Available. Released 2018, June
Dimensions146 x 70.6 x 9.3 mm (5.75 x 2.78 x 0.37 in)146.3 x 70.4 x 9.6 mm (5.76 x 2.77 x 0.38 in)147.5 x 71.5 x 8.3 mm (5.81 x 2.81 x 0.33 in)
Weight153 g (5.40 oz)165 g (5.82 oz)145 g (5.11 oz)
SIMSingle SIM (Nano-SIM) or Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
- Splash resistant
TypeIPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colorsIPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colorsIPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size5.71 inches, 81.4 cm2 (~79.0% screen-to-body ratio)5.45 inches, 76.7 cm2 (~74.4% screen-to-body ratio)5.45 inches, 76.7 cm2 (~72.7% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution720 x 1520 pixels, 19:9 ratio (~295 ppi density)720 x 1440 pixels, 18:9 ratio (~295 ppi density)720 x 1440 pixels, 18:9 ratio (~295 ppi density)
Always-on display
OSAndroid 9.0 (Pie); Android OneAndroid 9.0 (Pie); MIUI 9Android 8.1 (Oreo), planned upgrade to Android 9.0 (Pie); MIUI 9.0
ChipsetMediatek MT6761 Helio A22 (12 nm)Qualcomm SDM439 Snapdragon 439 (12 nm)Mediatek MT6761 Helio A22 (12 nm)
CPUQuad-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53Octa-core (2x2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 & 6x1.45 GHz Cortex A53)Quad-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53
GPUPowerVR GE8320Adreno 505PowerVR GE8320
Card slotmicroSD, up to 400 GBmicroSD, up to 256 GB (dedicated slot)microSD, up to 256 GB (dedicated slot)
Internal32 GB, 3 RAM or 16 GB, 2 GB RAM32 GB, 2/3 RAM or 16 GB, 2 GB RAM32 GB, 3 RAM or 16 GB, 2 GB RAM
Front Camera13 MP, f/2.2, 1/3", 1.12µm, AF13 MP, f/2.2, 1.12µm, PDAF13 MP, f/2.2, PDAF
FeaturesLED flash, HDR, panoramaLED flash, HDRLED flash, HDR, panorama
Video1080p@30fps1080p@30fps1080p@30fps
Selfie5 MP5 MP5 MP, f/2.2
FeaturesHDR
Video1080p@30fps
LoudspeakerYesYesYes
3.5mm jackYesYesYes
Active noise cancellation with dedicated micActive noise cancellation with dedicated mic
WLANWi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, hotspotWi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspotWi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetooth4.2, A2DP, LE4.2, A2DP, LE4.2, A2DP, LE
GPSYes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDSYes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDSYes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
Infrared portNoNoNo
RadioFM radioFM Radio, built-in antennaFM radio
USBmicroUSB 2.0, USB On-The-GomicroUSB 2.0microUSB 2.0
SensorsAccelerometer, proximityAccelerometer, proximity, compassAccelerometer, proximity, compass
Non-removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh batteryNon-removable Li-Po 4000 mAh batteryNon-removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery
ChargingFast battery charging 10W
ColorsSteel, Tungsten BlackMatte Black, Morning blueGrey, Blue, Gold, Rose Gold
Price99-EURProbably arround 99-EUR£89

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