Which budget 5G smartphone should you buy? Moto G 5G Plus, Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G, and Huawei P40 Lite 5G compared
- You don’t need to pay US$1,000 for a 5G smartphone, with handsets available for under US$500. All are fairly high-spec, with big HD screens
- The Xiaomi has the best image quality; all take superb daylight photos, and the Motorola the best selfies. None are great for night shots or playing games
The new, superfast 5G networks promise a slew of benefits, from high-resolution video streams running smoothly even outside your own Wi-fi zone to transmitting big files in just a few seconds.
The trouble is that until now, 5G phones have been pretty unaffordable – back in spring, buyers had to shell out US$1,100 or more for a 5G capable phone, and the coverage isn’t even available nationwide.
The Motorola has the biggest screen at 6.7 inches. Both of the other phones also have full HD resolution (1,080 by 2,400 pixels) on 6.5-inch displays. The Mi 10 Lite offers better image quality, as its OLED technology allows a greater contrast ratio so you can see better in bright surroundings than with the LED technology in the Motorola or the Huawei. What’s nice about the Moto G is its slim upright format (21:9) which is great if you’re watching a video.
All three phones have screens with barely any border, and fingerprint technology is embedded, either on the side, as in the Motorola and Huawei, or below the main screen, as in Xiaomi’s model. The Huawei also unlocks using face recognition.
