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Choosing a smartphone is already quite a laborious task, add a tight budget to that and you've got yourself in quite a pickle. You might think that at a lower price point the choice gets easier, believe us, it doesn't.
While brands do make sacrifices at this price point, usually they focus on one major feature on the phone. For example, if you the most flagship-style experience, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 with its Super AMOLED screen and 108MP camera might be the way to go for you, but if a clean OS is what you need, you might want to look at the Nokia G20.
To help you decide, we’ve put this guide together that highlights the very best smartphones under AED 1,000. These won’t all fit everyone equally, but we’ve included an overview of each, so you can see their strengths and weaknesses and make an informed decision.
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Smartphones in this article will serve a basic purpose mostly, and are great for light requirements such as watching YouTube videos, communication on chat apps and occasional photography.
Best smartphones under AED 1,000 in the UAE
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Huawei's latest nova Y90 definitely does not look like a phone that costs under AED 1,000. In fact, the premium looking device will feel at home with phones twice its price and that's why it sits on the top of our best phones under AED 1,000 slot.
The HUAWEI nova Y90 comes with a large 6.7-inch screen with minimum bezels and a 90Hz refresh rate for smooth scrolling. It also has a massive 5,000 mAh battery and supports 40W Huawei SuperCharge for quickly filling it up. Coming to the cameras, you have an AI triple camera setup on the back with the primary camera at 50MP.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro sits near the top of this list of smartphones under AED 1000 becasue of the extreme value for money it provides.
With the Redmi Note 11 Pro , you get the 6nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G chipset with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and a Full HD+ Super AMOLED which hits a peak brightness of 1200nits. The phone is quite slim but still comes with IP53 dust and splash resistance. Most importantly, the phone comes with a 5000mAh battery and a 108MP quad camera system.
The Honor X8 is a budget smartphone that is not meant for everyone. But if you are a fan of Honor’s software and the fact that the smartphone supports Google Play Services, you may be swayed by it.
Add to that, a decent display, a sleek body and good battery backup and the Honor X8 at AED 899 becomes a reasonable choice for those on a tight budget.
The Xiaomi Poco X4 Pro really brings a bang for your buck. WHile the phone doesn't come with a flagship processor anymore, it comes with a capable mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G, up to 8GB of RAM, up to 256GB of storage, a huge 5000mAh battery with 67W fast charging and a Full HD+ 6.67" AMOLED.
The Poco X4 Pro also comes with the now rare 3.5mm headphone jack and IP53 water and dust resistance. There's almost no reason the Poco X4 Pro won't give you a flagship experience at an affordable price point. Look for the right deal and you can get it as cheap as AED 849.
'Awesome is for everyone'. That's the marketing tag-line for the Samsung A series, and the A32 5G is a good example of that. With the Samsung A32 5G you get the modern MediaTek 720 chipset, 5G and the One UI 3.1 user experience. Photography enthusiasts should definitely be able to enjoy the phone's 48MP (wide) + 8MP (Ultra-wide) + 5MP (macro) + 2MP (depth sensor) setup.
The only place the phone loses out is because the display is just HD and it has just one loud speaker. If media consumption is going to be a large part of your use, this might not provide the best experience compared to some of the other devices on the list.
There's one reason to suggest a Nokia smartphone to people looking to buy an affordable device - they last for a long time. Nokia devices get 3 years of security updates and 2 years of OS updates.
The Nokia G20 is a chunky phone with a clean OS and get you a massive battery. With light-medium usage, two day battery-life shouldn't be difficult at all. At just AED 649, its good phone for someone who needs a phone with longevity, both on the daily and in the long run.
Unlike it's predecessor, the Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G doesn't have a 6000mAh battery but it does come with a 50MP dual camera setup, a slimmer body and 5G. With a Full HD display, dual speakers and a dedicated micro SD card slot, the phone has the potential to be a great media consumption device.
At an extremely affordable price segment of AED 999, the Poco M4 Pro 5G is also a great option for mobile gamers who need a battery that will last, a good display, and a really unique phone design.
Like the A series, Samsung's M series also comes in to provide value features at an affordable price. The Samsung M32 comes with an AMOLED Full HD 90Hz display and a massive 5000mAh battery.
The M32 also brings with it 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage and 25W fast charging. The phone is also well sized. With a 6.4" screen and max thickness at 8.4mm, the phone is also quite pocketable.
