The major focus on smartphones appears to be AI powered ones from the global giants. Whether it’s Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, Honor, Oppo, Vivo, etc. most launch events are punting new or updated AI features.
In South Africa, it’s very noticeable that AI powered phones are expensive. If you look at certain models prior to having AI to next-gen versions, there is a big price jump. This is due to the hardware on the device that needs to be capable of running intensive AI tasks.
But we also know these devices are not aimed at the mass market, which brings me to the topic of smartphones that you can buy for R2000 or less.
Important to note, phones in this bracket do not offer NFC for tap to pay functionality.
Spectra Mobile J1 Pro – R1 999
I recently got my hands on the Spectra Mobile J1 Pro at the TikTok Digital Well-being Summit. It is a smartphone that retails for R1 999, which is an attractive price point to many South Africans, available on Spectra’s website.
The Spectra J1 Pro is powered by an entry-level Unisoc T606 chipset with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, expandable to 128GB with an SD card. It has a 6.56-inch HD+ IPS display with a 1612x720p resolution and punch hole front camera cutout.
The rear camera offers a 50MP+2MP shooter with autofocus and flash, while the selfie-cam is also 50MP. The rear shoots in 1080p HD while the front shoots in 720p. Its 5000mAh battery offers 20W charging, and according to Spectra, promises 8 hours of online video playback and 11 hours on social media.
It is a dual-SIM phone with two physical slots (4G), and has an additional SD card slot. It comes with the device, charging cable, USB-C plug, and earphones with a 3.5mm audio jack. You can run your business off this phone by having two numbers and two WhatsApps.
Samsung Galaxy A05 – R1 699
The Samsung Galaxy A05 has a 6.7-inch HD+ display (1600×720 pixels) and is powered by a MediaTek Helio G85 chipset with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, with 44GB available for usage. It supports external storage of up to 1TB through a Micro SD card slot.
Its main camera is 50MP+2MP and its selfie-cam is 8MP through a punch hole cutout. It records in 1920x1080p HD, and supports slow-motion capture at 120fps.
The battery offers 5000mAh with 25W of fast charging, plus it also supports dual SIM slots for running two numbers/Whatsapps, and has USB-C port with a 3.5mm audio jack for earphones.
Game currently has the Samsung Galaxy A05 for R1 699, valid until 21 July 2025.
Xiaomi Redmi A3 – R1 399
Xiaomi is known for its good value for money on their devices. The Redmi A3 offers a 6.71-inch drop dot display with HD+ resolution (1650×720) and 90Hz screen resolution. It is powered by a MediaTek Helio G36 chipset with 3GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, expandable up to 1TB.
It has an 8MP main rear camera and a 5MP selfie-cam but both shoot in 1080p HD. Battery is 5000mAh with 10W of charging through USB-C. It supports a side fingerprint sensor and AI face unlock.
Connectivity includes a dual-SIM with 4G support, plus it has a 3.5mm audio jack.
HiFi Corp is currently offering the Redmi A3 for R1 399 until 3 August 2025.
Hisense U71 Pro – R899
The Hisense U71 Pro comes in at under R1000, which is currently on sale on Bash.com for R899. It is locked to the Telkom Mobile network.
It has a 6.52-inch HD+ display, powered by a Spreadtrum 9832 chipset, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. It has a 4000mAh battery, 8MP dual rear camera, 5MP selfie-cam, and offers 4G connectivity. The handset runs on Android 14.
Vodacom Mobicel S4 Cloud – R249
Last year, Vodacom announced its low-cost Mobicel S4 Cloud device for customers at a cost of R249. The reason was to help accelerate the migration of customers from its 2G and 3G network onto 4G.
Recharged managed to get hold of a device, which has 2x SIM slots and 1x microSD card slot. It does not support WiFi, which means customers are locked into using a Vodacom SIM only for data connectivity.
The phone also came with a 3.5mm audio jack and supplied earphones. It’s not quite a smartphone but rather a device that does not support a touch screen and needs buttons to navigate, like the old school Nokia devices.
As the name suggests, it uses Cloud apps for things like Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and various news apps, social media networks and games. Also important to note, it does not support Whatsapp.
MTN Smartphone for All – R99
MTN announced in May that it will be selling a 4G smartphone to qualifying customers for R99, so they don’t get left behind when its 2G and 3G towers are switched off. The target for its Smartphone for All initiative is 1.2 million customers.
It will be sold in three phases with phase 1 having kicked off in May 2025 where MTN said it “carefully selected” 5 000 customers for the deal, based on usage profiles, spending patterns and tenure, from Gauteng. In phase 2, 130 000 customers will be selected nationally, and in phase 3, around 1.1 million customers around the country will be offered the device.
While the initial media release did not specify hardware specifications, according to MyBroadband, MTN is selling an Itel AC51 device to phase 1 customers, a device worth R749, at no additional cost other than the R99 once-off fee. The condition being that it can only be used with an MTN SIM card.
The handset is an Android 14 Go device with a 5-inch display, 5MP rear camera with a 2MP selfie-cam, a small 2050mAh battery and dual SIM slots.