Smartphones Under PHP 30K (1st-Half 2019)

We’re almost done with the first half of 2019 and the past months have been crazy due to the number of smartphones that were released. Because of that, we’re kicking off our list for this period for smartphones priced at under PHP 30K.

Note: The smartphones listed below are those that officially launched in the Philippines during the 1st half of the year, January to June 2019, with price tags ranging from PHP 20K to 30K.

Xiaomi Mi 9

The Xiaomi Mi 9 arrived in the Philippines in March and immediately became a hit for sporting flagship specs at a low price. It has a 6.39-inch AMOLED screen, Snapdragon 855 chipset, 6GB of RAM, up to 128GB of storage, triple rear cameras, in-display fingerprint scanner, and a 3,300mAh battery with support for wireless charging. It is priced at PHP 22,990USD 392INR 33,211EUR 373CNY 2,853 for the 6GB + 64GB model and PHP 24,990USD 426INR 36,101EUR 406CNY 3,101 for the 6GB + 128GB, making it one of the most affordable Snapdragon 855-powered smartphones in the market. You can read our review here.

Xiaomi Mi 9 specs:
6.39-inch AMOLED Display 19.5:9 FHD+
Corning Gorilla Glass 6
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
Adreno 640 GPU
6GB RAM
64GB/128GB storage
12MP + 48MP + 16MP triple rear cameras
20MP front camera
Dual 4G
Bluetooth 5.0
USB Type C
AI face unlock
In-screen fingerprint sensor
20W Wireless charging
3,300mAh battery capacity
157.5 x 74.67 x 7.61mm
173g
Piano Black, Ocean Blue, Lavander Violet

Vivo V15 Pro

The Vivo V15 Pro launched in the Philippines in March and is a premium mid-range smartphone that boasts a 6.39-inch AMOLED FullView display with 32MP pop-up front camera. It sports a Snapdragon 675 chipset, up to 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, triple rear cameras, in-display fingerprint scanner, and 3,700mAh battery. It is priced at PHP 23,999USD 409INR 34,669EUR 390CNY 2,978 for the 8GB + 128GB model. That’s a huge chunk of RAM for a mid-ranger. You can read our review here.

Vivo V15 Pro specs:
6.39-inch 19.5:9 FHD+ (2340 x 1080) Super AMOLED Ultra FullView display, 91.64% screen-to-body ratio
Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 2.0GHz octa-core
Adreno 612
6GB / 8GB RAM
128GB storage
48MP f/1.8 + 8MP f/2.2 + 5MP f/2.4 AI triple rear cameras w/ LED flash
32MP f/2.0 front camera
Dual SIM (nano + nano)
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
4G LTE
Bluetooth 5.0
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou
microUSB
In-Display fingerprint scanner
Jovi AI
3.5mm audio port
FunTouch OS 9 (Android 9 Pie)
3,700mAh battery w/ Dual-Engine fast charging
157.3 x 74.7 x 8.2 mm
185 g

Samsung Galaxy A70

The Samsung Galaxy A70 was released in the Philippines in May and is a mid-range device sporting a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display, Snapdragon 675 chipset, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, triple rear cameras, in-display fingerprint scanner, and 4,500mAh battery. It is priced at PHP 22,990USD 392INR 33,211EUR 373CNY 2,853 for the 6GB + 128GB model. You can read our hands-on here.

Samsung Galaxy A70 specs:
6.7-inch FHD+ (2400 x 1080) Super AMOLED Infinity-U Display, 393ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 octa-core (2.0GHz dual-core + 1.7GHz hexa-core) CPU
Adreno 612 GPU
6GB RAM
128GB storage
microSD up to 512GB (dedicated slot)
32MP F1.7 + 8MP F2.2 ultra wide angle + 5MP F2.2 depth rear cameras
32MP F2.0 selfie camera
Dual-SIM
4G LTE
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 5.0
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
Dolby Atmos
On-Screen Fingerprint scanner
USB Type-C
Android 9.0 Pie
4,500mAh battery w/ 25W Super Fast Charging
164.3 x 76.7 x 7.9 mm
Black, Blue, Coral, White

BlackBerry KEY 2 LE

The Blackberry Key 2 LE was announced in 2018 but we’ll make an exception as it only got introduced in the Philippines in May. It’s a niche device catering to those who like physical keyboards on their smartphones. It has a 4.5-inch screen, Snapdragon 636 chipset, 4GB of RAM, up to 64GB of storage, dual rear cameras, and 3,000mAh battery. It is priced at PHP 24,990USD 426INR 36,101EUR 406CNY 3,101 for the 4GB + 64GB model.

Blackberry KEY 2 LE specs:
4.5-inch 3:2 IPS LCD display @ 1080 x 1620 px
Corning Gorilla Glass protection
1.8GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 636
Adreno 509 GPU
4GB RAM
32GB, 64GB internal storage
expandable via microSD up to 256GB
13 MP, f/2.2, 1/3.1um, 1.12um, PDAF + 5 MP, f/2.4, 1.12um dual rear cameras with dual LED Flash
8MP front camera
Single SIM, Dual SIM
4G LTE
Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 5.0
GPS, GLONASS
NFC
FM Radio
Fingerprint Scanner
3,000mAh battery
Colors: Slate, Champagne, Atomic
150.3 x 71.8 x 8.4 mm

OPPO Reno

The OPPO Reno is one of the newest entries and was introduced in the Philippines just yesterday. It’s a stylish phone that sports a 6.4-inch AMOLED display, Snapdragon 710 chipset, up to 8GB of RAM, up to 256GB of storage, dual rear cameras, in-display scanner, a pop-up front camera, and a 3,765mAh battery with VOOC Flash Charge 3.0. The Reno is priced at PHP 26,990USD 460INR 38,990EUR 438CNY 3,349. OPPO Philippines is yet to announced the RAM and storage configuration though, but you can read our hands-on here.

OPPO Reno specs:
6.4-inch FHD+ (2340 x 1080) AMOLED display, 402ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 6
Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 2.2GHz octa-core CPU
Adreno 616 GPU
6GB LPDDR4x 1866mhz RAM + 128GB / 256GB UFS 2.1
8GB LPDDR4x 1866mhz RAM + 256GB UFS 2.1
48MP Sony IMX586 F1.7 main + 5MP F2.4 DoF camera
16MP F2.0 front camera
Dual-SIM
4G LTE
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 5.0
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Galileo
NFC
USB Type-C
3.5mm audio jack
In-display fingerprint scanner
Face Recognition
ColorOS 6 (Android 9.0 Pie)
3,765mAh battery w/ VOOC Flash Charge 3.0
156.6 x 74.3 x 9.0 mm
185 g

And that sums it up. We still have a couple of weeks for June, so if there are new entries, we’ll update this article.

So which phone at this price range do you like the most? Let us know in the comments below.