For those of you following smartphone technology, you know it wasn’t much more than a year ago that you needed to pay $170 for a phone with 1GB of RAM, and that was considered cheap at the time. Warp speed to May 2015 and we now have phones with 2GB of RAM for significantly less than $170, with far more powerful SoCs, better displays and sharper cameras than the previous generation.
a wave of 3GB and even 4GB RAM phones
Technology moves fast, but the rate at which budget mobiles have transformed is astounding. Ever pushing the edge further, now comes a wave of 3GB and even 4GB RAM phones. Here are five phones already on the market, or to be released shortly, for budget power users to keep a keen eye on.
Jiayu S3 2015
Jiayu is one of a handful of brands that started the game and are still in it. While many have died off, Jiayu has clung on and remained very popular both in China and with outside nations.
The Jiayu S3 ($200 no code needed) style has been around for awhile and unlike brands that continually make new model names and new designs, Jiayu seems to mostly stick with tried and true. Not getting too fancy, just putting out good phones with solid builds, both in terms of software and hardware.
Jiayu S3 details:
- MT6752 SoC
- [email protected] CPU
- Mali-T760@700MHz GPU
- 5.5″@1080P IPS/OGS
- 3GB RAM/16GB ROM storage
- Android 4.4 (will likely update to 5.0 Lollipop)
- Dual-SIM standby
- 3000mAh battery (removable)
- 5.0MP Samsung front camera
- 13.0MP f/2.0 Sony IMX214 rear camera
- OTG/NFC
- 900/1900/2100 WCDMA
- 3,7,20 4G-LTE
It’s extremely curious that Jiayu is using 900/1900/2100 WCDMA for 3G/WCDMA, as not including 850 cuts a lot of Asia and the Americas out. 900/2100 wouldn’t have been so strange, as this would have been obviously a phone targeted at Europe and UK, but including 1900 and not 850 is a very odd decision, though this wouldn’t be the first time Jiayu has made a mistake with their marketing specifications.
Ulefone Be Touch (AKA Dare N1)
About a month back we released a story regarding the upcoming Ulefone model – Ulefone Dare N1. According to official Ulefone sources this model has been renamed to Ulefone Be Touch.
The Ulefone Be Touch looks curiously very much like the iPhone 6 and no doubt will be a popular model if the software and hardware builds live up to high standards.
The Ulefone Be Touch (Dare N1) details:
- 64-bit MT6752 SoC
- MT6752 SoC
- [email protected] CPU
- Mali-T760@700MHz GPU
- Android 5.0 Lollipop
- 3GB RAM
- 5.5″ display
- Front fingerprint scanner
- All metal frame
- Front 5MP OV5648 camera
- Rear 13MP Sony Exmor IMX214 camera
If you remember our review of the Ulefone Be Pro, it turned out that their marketing information regarding the rear camera being Sony was incorrect. Admirably, they came forward and corrected this error publicly. It will be very interesting to see if Ulefone has learned from their mishap.
Regardless of whether or not you call this phone a clone, it looks very good. Generally speaking I shy away from them, but if specs, software and hardware are good, the Ulefone Be Touch could be a winner.
Elephone P7000
The powerful Elephone P7000 ($197 w/code EP7000) has been rumored and speculated about for a couple of months now. We haven’t had the best of luck with Elephone, but they are a relatively new company, so hopefully they’ve had some time to mature and the P7000 will be up to solid standards.
The Elephone P7000 details:
- 1080P (FHD) 5.5″ OGS/IPS display with Gorilla Glass 3
- 3GB of RAM
- 64-Bit MT6752 SoC
- Fingerprint scanner
- 3450mAh battery
- 850/900/1900/2100
Unlike some manufacturers, it appears that Elephone is correctly representing their battery sizes
I want to note here that originally the information I had regarding P7000 was that it would be coming with 900/1900/2100, but according to the more recently released official information, the P7000 appears to be coming with 850/900/1900/2100 WCDMA, which gives it worldwide 3G and makes a lot more sense, as not including 850 would cut a lot of Asia and the Americas out of the mix.
The Elephone P7000 has a huge amount of RAM, a super powerful SoC, 1080P display and large battery. Unlike some manufacturers, it appears that Elephone is correctly representing their battery sizes. The official Elephone shop is currently pre-selling P7000 for $230.
I’ve liked much of what Elephone has done in terms of style and they’ve been very smart regarding marketing, but it remains to be seen if they’ll be able to pick up the pace a bit in terms of releasing phones without critical issues.
Asus Zenfone 2
Always innovating, Asus came on the scene with the Zenfone about a year back. It wasn’t overly popular with the China phone crowd, but they have something that many China brands do not — a global retail presence.
Not content with 3GB, Asus has upped the ante and will be releasing a 4GB RAM version of the Asus Zenfone 2. This is an astounding amount of RAM and is equal to what most decent consumer notebooks come equipped with. A 2GB version will also be available.
I expect the Asus Zenfone 2 to have excellent components in outstanding working order
Not only the RAM is premium specced, the phone is premium all around.
The Asus Zenfone 2 details:
- Intel® Atom™ Quad Core [email protected]
- PowerVR G6430 GPU
- 2GB or 4GB of RAM
- 1080P HD IPS/OGS display
- 16/32/64 GB eMMC ROM/storage
- External TF-card SD expandable (up to 64GB)
- Color choices of Black/White/Red/Gray/Gold and Transfusion / Illusion special editions
- Android 5.0 Lollipop
- Worldwide GSM and 3G (850/900/1900/2100)
- GPS/GLONASS/QZSS/SBAS/BDS
- 5MP front camera
- f/2.0 13MP rear camera w/dual-LED flash
- G-Sensor/E-Compass/Gyroscope/Proximity/Ambient Light Sensor
- 3000mAh non-removable battery
These premium specs come with a price tag we wouldn’t necessarily consider budget, but for the specs the price isn’t so outlandish, with the 2GB/1.8GHz/32GB version at $288 ($245 w/code ASUSZ2GB) and the 4GB/1.8GHz/32GB version at $367 ($313 w/code ASUSZ4GB).
Along with the price comes the knowledge that build and QC should be top notch. I expect the Asus Zenfone 2 to have excellent components in outstanding working order all around. In addition, there should be regular software updates available from a company who’s been in the game for a long while.
Elephone P3000S
The MT6582 Elephone P3000 is one of the better phones I’ve reviewed. It has a great screen and camera, a big battery, and very strong GPS. The P3000 is a thick phone due to it’s big 3000mAh battery, but this doesn’t keep it from being good looking. One of the things I like about the P3000 is that it has a 5.0″ display which keeps it narrower and shorter than many of the flagship offerings coming with 5.5″ displays.
Now Elephone is putting out a revision to the MT6592 Elephone P3000S with a MT6752 SoC ($187 w/code EP3GB)
Elephone P3000S MT6752 details:
- 64-bit MT6752 SoC
- 8-core [email protected]
- Mali-T760 GPU@700MHz
- 3GB RAM/16GB ROM storage
- 5.0″@1080P OGS/IPS display
- External TF-card SD expandable
- OTG
- Android 4.4.4 (likely will update to Android 5.0 Lollipop)
I’ve been disappointed with several Elephones I’ve reviewed, but if the P3000S manages as well as the last generation P3000, it will be a big winner.
NOTE: Some of the content of this article has been copied with permission from Be Pro Touch, P7000
For those of you who’ve been following China phones, you know things have progressed extremely rapidly over the last year, with a plethora of new brands coming out making things very competitive spec and price wise. While the MT6582 and MT6592 are still very capable SoCs, the new generation MT6732 and MT6752 have really brought things to the next level.
Regardless of whether you’re new to China brands, or you’ve been hanging out for a bit, this is indeed a very exciting time to be shopping for a new phone.
We welcome you to drop by the forum and post a thread in the “Which China phone should I buy” forum, or comment below if you have a question or would like to shout out another phone you think should be on this list.
Elephone P7000 
