Nowadays we can’t imagine our life without smartphones, but have you ever thought about what are the best unlocked smartphones under 200$? Buying a new phone can be an exciting activity, but more often than not you pretty much add weight to your ankle by signing on for another couple of years of overpriced phone plans.
Most mobile phones can be unlocked to work with any GSM network provider, but the phone may still display the original branding and may not support features of the new carrier. Besides the locking, phones may also have the firmware installed on them which is specific to the network provider. These are the best modern unlocked smartphones under 200$. One of the most popular unlocked smartphones that are under 200$ is ASUS ZenFone 3 Laser. The price is 180$. The phone is dual SIM so you might find it especially helpful if you’re using more than one number, so you don’t carry around a lot of devices. Another one is Sony Xperia M2. The price is 150$. The device weighs a mere 5.22 oz and comes with a 4.8-inch screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The phone features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset and a quad-core 1.2 GHz CPU. The phone comes with an internal memory of 8 GB, but it can be expanded with a microSD of up to 32 GB via a dedicated slot. Another one with the same price as the previous one is Sony Xperia M4 Aqua. The Xperia M4 Aqua features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 chipset and an octa-core CPU. There are 8GB of internal space open for your needs, although there’s also a 16GB version available for purchase. The reason many network providers SIM lock their phones is that they offer phones at a discount to customers in exchange for a contract to pay for the use of the system for a specified period, usually between one and three years. This business model allows the company to recoup the cost of the phone over the life of the contract. Such discounts are worth up to several hundred US dollars. If the phones were not locked, users might sign a contract with one company, get the discounted phone, then stop paying the monthly bill.
If you want to see what are the best unlocked smartphones under 200$, check Insider Monkey’s list of 10 Best Unlocked Smartphones Under $200 and expand your knowledge about these smartphones.
