Best Lists

5 Best Phones under 10k – May 2016

Phones are getting cheap. Cheap phones are getting better. The phones in this list have crazy amazing specs at the prices they go for. They are all less than Ksh. 10,000 ($100).

At the beginning of the year I said this year we should expect exciting specs at cheap prices. It is a trend. And very soon high end expensive phones will have to do much much more to convince people to get devices for more than $400 for example.

And they are already doing this with extra accessories like VR Kits, Wireless charging etc. But will that be enough to counter the ever exciting low end phones? We are yet to see.

Anyway, it is May and there are a couple of new cheap phones that are really exciting. And so it is time for a new Best Under 10k. This time a little different: 5 best phones under 10k.


TECNO W4

I got to see and use the phone for a few minutes and I have to say this is a bit shocking. It runs Android 6 Marshmallow with TECNO’s HiOS on top. There’s no different customisation on HiOS meaning everything looks just like my TECNO Boom J8 in software. Want a cheaper alternative to the Boom J8?

There’s some effort in design though the material back cover isn’t metallic as I previously thought. It is light and feels somewhat small on my hands as it is a 5.0 inch phone. I am used to 5.5 inch devices. The screen display is good. Plus there’s an LED notification light just next to the earpiece speaker.

The battery is 2500mAh which is not bad if we are to gauge it based on TECNO Boom J8’s 3000mAh battery.

TECNO W4There’s a 1.3GHz Quad Core Processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, 2MP front camera and 8MP back camera. The cameras are agreeably good and the performance feels much better than a 1GB RAM device I’m about to mention.

I have it as the best under 10k in this list because of the fact that at only about Ksh. 8500 you can get to enjoy the latest version of Android with fairly good specs. All the next devices below run Android 5.1 Lollipop. This is the only one running Android 6.

Grab it from Jumia right now.


Infinix Hot 3

This is second on my list because of a couple of reasons:

First: It is very nicely built and well designed for a Ksh. 7899 phone. This is the best designed phone according to me on this list. It is a phone you will comfortably carry and even show off to people without them realising it is cheap. Many price it at Ksh. 14k first time I show it to them. And the screen is big at 5.5 inches.

Infinix Hot 3Second: It has the second best cameras on this list; 2MP front and 8MP back. Check out camera samples here.

You can read my full review of the Hot 3. You can also check out my post where I called it the best priced Android smartphone.

The battery is 3000mAh and is really good. I have recently clocked 7hrs screen on time on a single charge!

The only reason it is not first on this list is because of certain performance issues. It hangs. And that is a big bother.

1GB RAM, 1.3GHz Quad Core processor, 16GB internal storage and supports OTG cables.

Check out Infinix on Jumia


Cubot Note S

This should have been the very best under 10k.

It has 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage with a 1.3GHz Quad Core processor. It has a 4150mAh battery, 8MP back camera, 5MP front camera and a brilliant 5.5 inch HD screen.

It performs better when compared to the two above but there are a couple of reasons it is third on my list.

Cubot Note S with Plastic CaseFirst: the cameras are so off you’ll be annoyed with them. Everyone wants a phone with good cameras. The Cubot Note S has bad cameras. Read my full review here.

Second: The battery doesn’t perform as you would expect a 4150mAh battery to. Somewhere someone either lied about the battery’s rating or somehow the very nice crisp clear and well saturated display takes up so much battery juice.

It goes for only Ksh. 8,888.


Wiko Slide 2

I wouldn’t want anyone to buy a phone that costs Ksh. 9,999 yet when you break the screen you will need over Ksh. 5000 to repair it.

Anyway the Wiko Slide 2 has 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, 1.4GHz Octo Core processor, 13MP back camera, 5MP front camera and 2800mAh battery.

Wiko Slide 2It is the best phone in terms of performance on this list. But it has the worst cameras of all phones on this list. The cameras are outright bad especially being that they are tagged 13MP and 5MP. Maybe the front one may not be that bad for others but the back camera is terrible.

Read my full review here.

Get it from Jumia.


Infinix Hot Note X551

And for almost the second year running the Infinix Hot Note is on my list of best under 10k. This phone deserves an award.

It has brilliant 8MP and 2MP cameras. Brilliant! No cameras compare in this list. It has a huge 4000mAh battery and very good battery life. It even supports 5GHz Wi-Fi.

Infinix Hot NoteThe display is good, the performance is good though RAM is 1GB. Internal storage is 16GB. Here’s my full review.

Whoever designed this phone should get an award for I-don’t-know-what, but an award nevertheless.

The only reason it is last on my list is:  it is an old phone and feels a little bulky.

Buy it from Jumia.


There you go!

Tell me which one you love most! Or which one you are going for. Share this with friends who’re looking for good affordable phones.

19 Comments

  1. Nice list, always helpful when picking up a new device. Hi, i think there’s one more phone that deserves to be on your list of phones under 10K. the phone is innjoo fire 2. it is probably one of the best designed under 10k with a metallic body(not frame only) and a nice display of 5″. the phone is also cheap at 7569 on jumia. I was considering the hot 3 but then saw the fire 2 on jumia and so far it is amazing.

  2. Dick i have been following ur reviews for the last one year but its actually smart n how is the injoo fire 2 its camera and comparison with infinix and wikos

  3. Woow, am loving all your reviews. Nafungua kila link ikikaribia coz I feel someone is in the ground with real information. You can be sure am doing all it takes to keep in touch with your web including subscribing and bookmarking your homepage. We love to be enlightened on what to expect, good/bad. Good work!

  4. I went to the shop with 8888 and the moment I laid my hands on the cubot note s, I had to change my mind. It is too big,too heavy and the camera, well, lets just say someone lied. I’d rather infinix hot 3. And I hope that pro version is coming soon Dickson.

    1. I love it’s display and performance. Only issue is with cameras and battery. What are your issues?

  5. hey, I read your reviews a lot….I was hoping you would do a full review of the techno w4….I think its a pretty interesting device. I used to own the techno h6 and I really liked it especially it’s camera. it would be great if you would review the w4 fully, cameras and everything, since there isn’t much info about it out there. thanks.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button