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5 cheaper smartphones with Android 4.4

MotoE
© Motorola

Android 4.4 is loaded on less than 10% of all Android devises currently on the market and right now it seems like it’s only the latest flagship smartphones that are jumping aboard the KitKat bandwagon. Generally speaking, if you’re looking for a smartphone that comes in under $200 dollars, you’re most looking at something with sub-par specs and an older version of Android. However, we’ve taken a look at some of the newer “budget” smartphones that are coming loaded with KitKat and we’ve compiled our top five here.

telefonos android kitkat baratos
© NextPit

Motorola Moto E

Motorola is taking the lead on how things should be done across manufacturers: providing different price ranges for their devices and making sure that they’re affordable and still functional. Coming in at $129 without a contract, the Moto E comes loaded with the latest version of Android 4.4.2. In comparison, there are much more expensive smartphones on the market that haven’t even jumped on the Android 4.4.2 bandwagon quite yet.

MotoE
 © Motorola

Obviously, it is a budget smartphone and lack some of the snazzier features (such as  a front camera or LED flash for example) but the fact remains: this is a spectacular price for a smartphone with the latest version of Android.

Samsung Galaxy Ace Style

Most of the news surrounding Samsung has to do with its flagship devices: the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note series. However, it often does some things right in the mid and budget range of smartphones. The Galaxy Ace Style is Samsung’s latest addition to its portfolio and although it’s still not available for sale yet, it’s estimated to run no more than $200 dollars when released later this month. Of course, it comes equipped with Android 4.4 but will also be sporting Samsung’s own Touchwiz user interface.

samsung galaxy ace style foto
 © Samsung

LG L40 & L35

Just this week, LG announced its L35 smartphone, a 3.2-inch device that will run about $100 without a contract. Alongside it, LG also has the L40 smartphone which runs about $150 and comes in at 3.5 inches.

TONI9743
© AndroidPit

Both devices vary very little when compared: a small bump in price for about 0.3-inches and compared to newer devices, the screens do seem to be quite a bit on the small side. Both devices sport Android 4.4.2 as the factory default and sport 3-megapixel cameras, 4 GB of internal memory that can be expanded via microSD. Despite the latest version of Android, both of these smartphones come equipped with the very basic of hardware specs.

BQ Aquaris E4

If you’ve never heard of the BQ brand, you might not be alone. This Spanish manufacturer is relatively new to the game and has just released the Aquaris E4 to the market. If you can get your hand on this device, it will be available for just over $175 and will be sporting Android 4.4 when released in June.

bq aquaris e4
 © BQ

For the price, you get a device with 8 GB of internal storage, a front 2-megapixel camera and rear 8-megapixel camera with a flash, a 1700 mAh battery, and an IPS 4-inch screen with a display that sports a 800x480 resolution.

Wiko Bloom

On the same front as the BQ Aquaris E4, you may not have heard of the Wiko Bloom before today. This dual-sim smartphone was just presented this week and despite a cost of around $175, this smartphone will be sporting Android 4.4 straight from the factory. On top of that, it will have 4.7-inch screen, a quad-core processor and have 1 GB of RAM.

Wiko BLOOM blanco
 © Wiko

Although relatively unknown on North American soil, Wiko is slowly gaining traction in the European market and is coming out with better and better options. If you’re impressed by the specs in the Wiko Bloom, keep an eye out for more stuff coming from this company shortly.

The best smartphones under $1,000 

  Editor's recommendation The best iPhone The best camera phone Value for money The best foldable The most affordable
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Price
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  • $999
  • $599
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Margarita Arroyo

Margarita Arroyo
Editor and Forum Manager

Margarita Arroyo is Content Editor and Forum Manager for the Spanish website. She studied Journalism and lived for a while in Madrid. Two years ago, she moved to Berlin. Before working in AndroidPIT, she already wrote about technology, a field of which she learns more and more everyday. Though she loves her work, her trully passion is the music. She always dreamt about being a Rock star!

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6 comments
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  • My1 37
    My1 May 26, 2014 Link to comment

    The Ace Style is a joke and the wy worse than S3, yet still runs KK.
    In other words they killed off the S3 on purpose...


    • Loie Favre 33
      Loie Favre May 26, 2014 Link to comment

      Yep! just a marketing ploy to get people to buy new devices, it's as simple as that :-(


      • My1 37
        My1 May 26, 2014 Link to comment

        but not only, as a matter of fact the starter and mid-range phones from Samsung.
        even the Dual Core of the original GNote could probably run KK if done right...


  • 7
    wkm001 May 25, 2014 Link to comment

    Thanks for focusing on something other than a flagship device. My brother-in-law will need a phone soon and the lack of a flash on the Moto E is a deal breaker.

    Loie Favre


    • Loie Favre 33
      Loie Favre May 26, 2014 Link to comment

      I'm glad you enjoyed the article. We will do our best to write more on low and mid range devices :-)


  • Loie Favre 33
    Loie Favre May 25, 2014 Link to comment

    I've been hearing great things about Wiko. Our French friends at AndroidPIT love it!

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