Top 5 Best Android Smartphones Below PHP 20,000 in the Philippines 2018

Mid-range smartphones are getting popular right now. Many Filipinos rather choose mid-range smartphones instead of flagship smartphones mainly because of its price which is more affordable compared to flagship devices, not to mention the specs its offer. Although flagship smartphones are more powerful, mid-range can also do heavy task and can offer features that flagship can do.

The Philippines right now is maturing as a mobile market, which means that Filipinos who has an entry-level smartphones are now upgrading to more powerful mid-range smartphones that offers powerful specs, beautiful designs and can also deliver a smoother user experience for much affordable price.

If you're looking for the best mid-range smartphones available in the market today, and you have no idea what you're looking for. No worries, we got you covered. There are a lot of mid-range in the market today to choose from, but we will give you  the top 5 best mid-range smartphones below PHP 20,000 in the Philippines in 2018. We recommend this list of 2018 mid-level Android handsets because it is worth to have. All of which deliver great value for money by having key features that can help you level up in your daily mobile activities.

1. Vivo V9

If you love snapping selfies and watching movies on the go, this model should be at the top of your list. Vivo V9's 24 MegaPixel front cam is powered by the company's AI Beauty technology that brushes up your skin tone automatically without altering how you look. Also, its 6.3-inch FullHD+ IPS display, which is a joy to look at, has the highest screen to body ratio of this bunch.

Current Price: PHP 17,990

Vivo V9 Full Specs:

• 154.8 x 75.1 x 7.9 mm
• 150 grams
• 6.3 inches, 1080 x 2280 pixels, 19:9 Aspect Ratio, IPS LCD, 400 ppi
• 85.2% Screen to Body Ratio
• Scratch-Resistant Glass
• Notch
• Dual Camera Module:
• 16 MegaPixels, f/2.0 Aperture, PDAF +
• 5 MegaPixels, Dual LED flash
• Front Camera: 24 MegaPixels, f/2.0
• FullHD 1080p 30fps Front and Back Cameras
• FunTouch OS 4.0
• Android 8.1 Oreo
• Octa-Core 2.2 GHz Cortex-A53, Qualcomm MSM8953-Pro Snapdragon 626
• Adreno 506
• 4GB RAM
• 64GB ROM
• Dedicated microSD Slot, Up to 256GB
• microUSB 2.0 Port
• Non-Removable 3,260 mAh Li-Po
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
• Bluetooth 4.2
• 4G LTE Cat7
• FM Radio
• Dual nanoSIM, Dual Standby
• Fingerprint Scanner
• Facial Recognition
• 3.5mm Audio Jack
• Glass, Polycarbonate Shell
• Black, Gold, Red

2. Xiaomi Mi A2

If you want a powerful mid-range device, this smartphone is a beast in terms of powerful specs it offers. Although it lacks a 3.5mm audio jack and a microSD card memory expansion slot, the Xiaomi Mi A2 remains to be a very strong contender in this category by having the most powerful set of internal hardware given its price. This smartphone is truly the midrange gaming beast. On top of that, it even has an AI-powered Dual Rear Camera module that automatically adjusts settings to capture the best image possible and the smartphone is also under Google's Android One project so it offers vanilla Android experience and it is guaranteed to receive firmware upgrades for at least two years.

Current Price: PHP 17,490

Xiaomi Mi A2 Full Specs:

• 158.7 x 75.4 x 7.3 mm
• 166 grams
• 5.99 inches, 1080 x 2160 pixels, FullHD+, 403 ppi, 18:9 Aspect Ratio, LTPS Display
• 77.4 Screen to Body Ratio
• No Notch
• AI Dual Rear Camera =
• 12 MegaPixel, f/1.8 Aperture, 1/2.9" Sensor Size, 1.25µm +
• 20 MegaPixel, f/1.8 Aperture, 1/2.8", 1.0µm, PDAF, Dual Tone LED Flash
• Front Camera 20 MegaPixel, f/2.2, 1/2.8", 1.0µm, Soft LED Flash, Auto-HDR
• 4K 30fps Rear Video Recorder
• FullHD 30fps Front Video Recorder
• Vanilla Android 8.1 Oreo (Android One Project)
• Octa-Core (4 x 2.2 GHz Kryo 260 + 4 x 1.8 GHz Kryo 260) Qualcomm SDM660 Snapdragon 660
• Adreno 512 GPU
• 6GB RAM
• 128GB ROM
• No microSD Card Slot
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
• Bluetooth 5.0
• 4G LTE Cat12
• Fingerprint Scanner
• Facial Recognition
• FM Radio
• Dual nanoSIM, Dual Standby
• USB Type C
• Non-Removable Li-Ion 3,000 mAh Battery
• No 3.5mm Audio Jack
• Aluminum, 2.5 Curved Glass Face
• Black, Gold, Blue, Red, Rose Gold

3. Huawei Nova 3i

The popular Huawei Nova 3i was able to capture the fancy of many Filipinos by having a downright beautiful design, a four-camera imaging set-up, a solid set of internal hardware - headlined by its Kirin 710 processor and the sizable 128GB of internal storage, a brilliant and large display, and - of course - a very wallet-friendly price that's ideal for students and young professionals.

Current Price: PHP 15,990

Huawei Nova 3i Full Specs:

• 157.6 x 75.2 x 7.6 mm
• 169 grams
• 6.3 inches, 1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 Aspect Ratio, IPS, 409 ppi
• 82.2% Screen to Body Ratio
• Notch
• Dual Front Facing Camera 24 MegaPixels + 2 MegaPixels
• Dual Rear Camera 16 MegaPixels f/2.2 PDAF + 2 MegaPixels (Depth Sensor), LED Flash
• EMUI 8.2
• Android 8.1 Oreo
• 12nm Octa Core (4 x 2.2 GHz ARM Cortex-A73 + 4 x 1.7 GHz ARM Cortex-A53) Hisilicon Kirin 710
• Mali-G51 MP4
• 4GB RAM
• 128GB ROM
• microSD Card Slot via Secondary Hybrid nanoSIM Slot
• microUSB 2.0 Charging Port
• Non-Removable Li-Ion 3,340 mAh
• WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Bluetooth 4.2
• 4G LTE-A Cat6
• Fingerprint Scanner
• Facial Recognition
• Gyroscope
• FM Radio
• Dual nanoSIM
• 3.5mm Audio Jack
• Glass Front and Black
• Black, Pearl White, Iris Purple

4. OPPO F7

Now more affordable by PHP 3,000 coming from its PHP 17,990 SRP upon launch, the OPPO F7 is a gorgeous model with a glass-sandwich look and a large 6.23-inch FullHD+ display. Both the front and back cameras are very reliable even low light conditions -- but the real highlight of this release would have to be its powerful and energy-efficient flagship-level MediaTek Helio P60 processor that's great for gaming all while making the phone's long uptime possible.

Current Price: PHP 14,990

OPPO F7 Full Specs:

• 156 x 75.3 x 7.8 mm
• 158 grams
• 6.23 inches, FullHD+ 1080 x 2280 pixels, 19:9 Aspect Ratio, LTPS LCD, 405 ppi
• 82.5% Screen to Body Ratio
• Notch
• Scratch-Resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 5
• Rear Camera: 16 MegaPixels, f/1.8, PDAF, LED Flash, AI
• Front Camera: 25 MegaPixels, f/2.0, AI Beauty
• Color OS 5.0 Interface
• Android 8.1 Oreo Operating System
• Octa-Core (4 x 2.0 GHz ARM Cortex-A73 + 4 x 2.0 GHz ARM Cortex-A53), MediaTek Helio P60 Processor
• Mali-G72 MP3 GPU
• 4GB RAM
• 64GB ROM
• Dedicated microSD Slot
• microUSB 2.0, USB OTG
• Non-Removable 3,400 mAh Li-Po
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
• Bluetooth 4.2
• 4G LTE Cat7
• FM Radio
• Dual nanoSIM, Dual Standby
• Fingerprint Scanner
• Facial Recognition
• 3.5mm Audio Jack
• Glass, Metallic Accents
• Solar Red, Moonlight Silver, Diamond Black

5. Samsung Galaxy J8 2018

This model is often underestimated by fans of popular Chinese brands but I think Galaxy J8 2018 has several good things going for it. First, it has a very competitive price for a midrange smartphone by the Korean Giant; Historically, Samsung phones have always been quite pricey. This one has a fairly accessible SRP for its set of features. Second, the primary 16MP rear cam has a wide f/1.7 aperture, which means that it does well in low light conditions. It even has a companion 5MP secondary cam, allowing the handset to shoot more attractive portrait shots with bokeh effect. Third, the 16MP f/1.9 front cam has Soft LED Flash, which is definitely handy when snapping selfies indoors, in bars, or cafes with little ambient light. Personally, I would have loved for this model to have a slightly more powerful processor and a higher resolution display. Despite that, however, I still think consumers who are already comfortable with Samsung's UI for Android should still check this one out.

Current Price: PHP 15,990

Samsung Galaxy J8 2018 Full Specs:

• 159.2 x 75.7 x 8.2 mm
• 191 grams
• 6 inches HD+ 720 x 1520 pixels, 18.5:9 Aspect Ratio, SuperAMOLED Display
• 66.3% Screen to Body Ratio
• Dual Rear Camera: 16 MegaPixels f/1.7 + 5 MegaPixels f/1.9 with LED Flash
• 16 MegaPixels f/1.9 Front Selfie Camera with Soft LED Flash
• Samsung Experience
• Android 8.0 Oreo Operating System
• 1.8 GHz Octa Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 Processor
• Adreno 506 GPU
• 4GB RAM
• 64GB ROM or Internal Storage
• Dedicated microSD Card Slot
• Full HD 30fps Front and Back Video Recorder
• WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Bluetooth 4.2
• 4G LTE
• Facial Recognition
• Gyroscope
• Dual nanoSIM
• microUSB 2.0 Charging Port
• Non-Removable Li-Ion 3,500 mAh Battery
• 3.5mm Audio Jack
• Polycarbonate Shell, 2.5D Glass Face
• Black, Gold, Blue