The life of a student is not an easy one –forced to get up almost every weekday at the absolute crack of afternoon, before working their fingers to the bone watching Bargain Hunt, and then having to psychologically and physically build themselves up to maybe leaving the room and going to a lecture, or not.
Yes, it’s an existence out on the very fringes of society, and one that also sees them having to juggle the need for a decent enough smartphone to do work, enjoy some digital downtime and be able to contact their parents to request more money several times a week with being able to afford a decent enough smartphone in the first place.
Best smartphones for students at a glance
Naturally, then, in a bid to assist these poor, beleaguered students and their equally financially frazzled parents, we’ve done all the legwork and waded our way through the current array of affordable smartphones so that you don’t have to.
Now, the first question is: what qualifies as ‘affordable’? Since that varies from person to person, we’ve set the upper limit at £500.
But don’t panic if finding a spare monkey to spend on a smartphone is utterly beyond the bounds of your budget. The bulk of the phones featured here come in at considerably under that - and there’s even one that costs a quid under £150.
So, if the new term will mean a new phone, set your sights on our bargain blowers below and make that student loan go further.
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OPPO A5 Pro 5G
Best for: Pro performance, low price
A spanking new model from OPPO that costs ever so slightly less than £200? Surely some mistake? You’d be forgiven for thinking so, and even I had to double-check, but there it is: the A5 Pro 5G, a sleek and slender smartphone that comes with a vibrant 6.67-inch display, complete with a 120Hz refresh rate, and a nippy and highly power-efficient MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chip running the show.
Running on OPPO’s latest operating system, ColorOS 15 (based on Android 15), which is hugely intuitive and comes packing nice lock screen customisations, it boasts a slick selection of AI tools. These include AI Photo Remaster which enhances your snaps, AI Reply which automatically composes text messages, and AI Writer. There’s also AI Speak which will read text out loud to you, AI Summary which, well, summarises, AI Assistant for Notes, AI Recording Summary for recordings, and AI Docs to one-tap translations.
To sum up, there’s an AI tool for pretty much anything you can’t be bothered to do yourself, moving mankind one step closer to Douglas Adams’s literary Electric Monk, which will believe the things we can’t be bothered to do.
And to help make use of that AI Photo Remaster, the A5 Pro 5G comes armed with a sizeable wide-angle 50MP camera round the back, alongside a 2MP monochrome, and an 8MP option on the front. Storage, meanwhile, comes at a comfortable 256GB (upgradable via microSD, and 8GB RAM.
With suitably sturdy and speedy Bluetooth 5.3 at hand to deal with music (no headphone connection) because, remember kids, nobody else wants to hear your noise, while Wi-Fi 5 will keep the internet connection strong, and NFC is supported for scholarly types who can’t be bothered with bank cards.
Finally, a fingerprint sensor and IP69 rating keep the OPPO safe from prying eyes and dust and water in equal measure.
The A5 Pro 5G is a fast, efficient, AI-enhanced powerhouse at a ludicrously low price that will do any student proud, whether GCSE diploma or doctorate.
Key specs
Buy now £199.00, OPPO
Moto g56 5G
Best for: £200 of tough as heck top-tech
The g56 is ever so slightly smaller than its predecessor, the g75, measuring 6.72 inches and featuring a crisp FHD+ (1080 x 2400-pixel) display with a 120Hz refresh rate, so you can be assured of scrolling smoother than a velvet otter with bright and vibrant images.
Powered by an octo-core MediaTek Dimensity 7060 CPU clocking 2.6GHz, the g56 5G is a speedy little number, the Android 15 OS holding it all nice and neatly together and ensuring everything runs like rapid clockwork for a seamless experience.
With a 50MP wide main camera and 8MP ultrawide around the back, plus a generous 32MP camera up front, selfies and more sophisticated snaps are but a click away, with all the usual modes and night vision present and correct, including Slow Motion and Auto Smile Capture, so a strong option for the more camera creative.
And when it comes to storage, the g56 comes with a capacious 256GB tank, expandable up to 2TB via microSD card, so a shortage of space is unlikely to be an issue any time soon, while a battery life good for up to around 23 hours from a full charge. NFC support and Bluetooth 5.3 make for convenience and a solid connection for essential study aids, like headphones (even though it does actually come with a 3.5mm jack input too, something of a rarity amongst modern smartphones).
Finally, with a fingerprint sensor and Face Unlock for security, and IP68/IP69 ratings and drop testing for up to 1.2 metres, this Moto is as tough as a titanium Tom Hardy; and, unlike an unequipped Tom Hardy, able to survive being submerged in 1.5 metres of fresh water for up to 30 minutes.
It comes in an array of colours including Pantone ‘Black Oyster’, Pantone ‘Dazzling Blue’, Pantone ‘Dill’ or Pantone ‘Grey Mist’.
Key specs
Buy now £199.99, Moto
Honor 400 5G
Best for: Light build, heavy use
This ludicrously light offering from Honor weighs in at just 184g, making it the most dainty of our line-up, something enhanced by how slender it is too, at just 7.3mm. And as long as we’re starting with aesthetics, the 400 5G comes in a choice of two decidedly classy ‘Desert Gold’ and ‘Meteor Silver’ metallic finishes, or a far more no-nonsense ‘Midnight Black’, with just two physical buttons barely bothering the phone’s sleek lines, one for On/Off and Fingerprint scanner and one for volume, making it the most minimalist too.
A 6.55-inch AMOLED display with a pixel count of 2736 x 1264, (which is not a standard resolution, so not 2K and not 4K but more like 2.7K), it looks the part – sharp, colourful, and responsive, as you’d expect with 1.07 billion colours and a 120Hz refresh rate on offer.
Running on a powerful and power-efficient octo-core Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset, premium performance is the order of the day, while on the operating system front, the 400 5G comes blessed with Honor’s own MagicOS 9.0, which not only increases fluidity but also adds in a whole host of AI tools, including AI Super Zoom to auto-enhance images, AI Deepfake Detection to keep users safe in video calls, AI Translator which should be self-explanatory, AI Summary to breakdown the highlights of meetings, presentations, or lectures, and lots of AI camera options. All this, and improved battery performance (up to 28 hours) to boot.
Camera-wise, the 400 5G features a mighty 50MP front shooter and, on the back, a frankly ridiculous 200MP ultra-clear AI camera, alongside a 12MP ultra-wide option, making this an ideal tool for anyone involved in the visual arts and also ruddy handy for documenting those wilder nights out down the Student Union bar.
With a fingerprint sensor for security, an IP65 rating to keep random splashes at bay, NFC support, and the very latest, strongest Bluetooth 5.4 (no audio in), the Honor 400 5G is the perfect pick for the phone fashionista who wants powerful performance along with decidedly pleasing looks.
Key specs
Buy now £400.00, Honor
HMD Fusion X1
Best for: High school students
HMD, the company formerly known as Nokia before Microsoft snapped up its broken remains up in 2014 and let it rot, has been around since 2016, knocking out classic Nokia featurephones and smartphones, but it wasn’t until 2023 that it started creating HMD-branded devices. I’ve reviewed the near-indestructible XR21, the photo-led feature-tastic Pulse Pro, and the industry-disrupting, repair-it-yourself Skyline, all of which have delighted and dazzled in equal measure. Which brings me to its latest model, the HMD Fusion X1 – and, as we’ve learned to expect from HMD, it offers something rather different from the rest of the smartphone set.
First up, let’s check the spec. Featuring an octo-core Qualcomm SM4450 (Snapdragon 4 Gen 2) at its heart, the Fusion X1 is geared towards performance, multitasking and, of course, gaming. The HD+ display boasts 6.56 inches and carries a pixel count of 720 x 1612 pixels, plus a 90Hz refresh rate.
When it comes to cameras, a 50MP front-facing lens allows for selfies of truly monumental proportions, while the rear presents a whopping 108MP beast, complete with 2MP depth sensor. Both make for some sizeable snaps, but fear not, for the Fusion X1 comes with a generous 128GB of built-in storage, expandable up to a colossal 1TB with the addition of a microSD card.
Now, like the Skyline, the Fusion X1 is also home repairable, so all you need is a tiny toolkit like the iFixit and should the screen have an unfortunate encounter, or the battery ceases to work, or the SIM tray somehow snaps, you can order a new part and DIY it (with the help of step-by-step online instructions), saving oodles on expensive shop repairs or sending the phone away for weeks, possibly months, on end.
What’s that? Why do I keep saying ‘teen’? Well spotted. It’s because the Fusion X1 also comes with the ability to set up the Xplora Guardian app, which limits the online world to keep younger teens safe from the darker parts of the internet. Via parental control, the phone can be set – out of the box – to limit social media, limit the browser, limit access at times when they should really be focused on work, limit the contacts they can talk to and message, plus you can manage app and screentime too, so you can be constantly assured of their online safety, regardless of where they are.
Now, while your school-age teen may take umbrage at what they may perceive as a gross limit to their online freedom, the Fusion X1 comes up trumps again. It comes boxed with a back case (‘Fusion Casual Outfit’) and a very cool ring light imbued case (‘Flashy Outfit) that snaps on, the pop-up light activating automatically with the camera. And not just that, either, also available are other ‘Smart Outfits’, including an extra battery case, and the ‘Fusion Gaming Outfit’, which transforms the X1 into a gaming console.
There’s a battery life of up to 56 hours, a fingerprint sensor, Bluetooth 5.1, and NFC support, all running on Android 14, making the Fusion X1 the smartest smartphone ever for teens who love advanced tech, but might be haphazardly vulnerable to scammers and other assorted online atrocities.
Key specs
Buy now £229.00, HMD
Google Pixel 9a
Best for: AI excellence, photo perfection
First there was the Starship Enterprise NCC-1701, the pride of Starfleet, then came the Starship Enterprise NCC-1701-A, bigger, more advanced and better armed. And in a manner vaguely mirroring that, in April 2025, Google launched its new flagship Pixel 9 replacement, the Pixel 9a, slightly bigger, almost identically specced but, most importantly, cheaper.
The 9a is not really a replacement or upgrade, but a move by Google to cut costs and shift more units. That’s not a negative thing, as the relatively new 9a still comes packing.
For a start, there’s the 6.3-inch pOLED FHD display, with its 1080 x 2424 pixel count and 60 - 120Hz refresh rate making it bright, crisp, colourful and smooth as a well-oiled otter on a waterslide. Storage-wise, the base model comes with 128GB built in, which is not expandable, but for an extra £100, you can upgrade to the 256GB version, while RAM remains the same for both at 8GB.
As with most smartphones these days, the camera array tends to lead the desirability charge. Here, we find a perfectly adequate 13MP selfie camera and a 48MP wide-angle camera plus a 13MP ultrawide option on the back.
These come backed by an entire onslaught of AI-enabled photo features, including – deep breath – Super Res Zoom up to 8x12, Add Me13, Macro Focus, Night Sight, Astrophotography, Portrait Mode, Face Unblur, Long Exposure, Real Tone, Panorama, Top Shot, and Frequent Faces, this latter affair both optimising and prioritising the mugs of people it had learnt to recognise. Then, once the snaps are taken, the wannabe David Bailey can then play with Magic Editor, Auto Frame, Reimagine14, Magic Eraser, Best Take, Photo Unblur, and Portrait Light to create photographic masterpieces of such soul-stirring quality that they belong in Paris’s Maison Européenne de la Photographie.
Powered by Google’s octo-core Tensor G4 processor, all AI features perform exceptionally well, which is a major selling point for Google, particularly when it comes to utilising the Big G’s Gemini AI assistant which, as designed, really does help with everyday tasks, getting smarter the more it’s used, possibly working towards sentience and world domination – who knows what wacky ideas tech billionaires have!
Wireless connectivity comes courtesy of Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, Google Cast and, of course, Wi-Fi 6E, battery life sits at around 30 hours, while an IP68 rating means the 9a can take the plunge into 1.5 metres of water for up to 30 minutes.
Available in Iris, Peony, Porcelain or Black finishes, the Google Pixel 9a is a powerful performer with a photographic prowess that really propels it ahead, AI that excels, and all the benefits of Magic Editor, Google Lens and so on and so on. The only fault? The On/Off button is where the volume button should be and vice versa, which can be a tad annoying. But other than this slight niggle, the Pixel 9a boldly goes.
Key specs
Buy now £429.00, Google
Honor 200 Smart 5G
Best for: Ludicrously low price smarts for studies and socials
Right, eyes down now for a look at an absolute, undeniable, indisputable bargain of epic proportions, the little brother of the Honor 400 5G we toyed with earlier, the bank account appeasing, £129 Honor 200 Smart 5G.
Yes, it really is that cheap. And, no, that doesn’t mean it’s not very good. Powered by an octo-core Snapdragon 4 Gen 2, the 200 Smart 5G delivers a Florence Griffith-Joyner-fast performance that also runs incredibly smoothly, bringing the 6.8-inch TFTLCD FHD+ display to vivid life.
Running on Honor’s MagicOS 8.0 (based on Android 14), the 200 Smart 5G comes with a capacious 256GB of on-board storage and 8GB of RAM, the former being important for those who want to make full use of the 50MP camera and 2MP depth camera round the back or, of course, want to snap endless selfies with the 5MP camera at the front.
Other elements that make this a shoo-in for students is the fact that it comes with a huge battery with Super Charge, because students tend to be both hapless and hopeless when it comes to keeping their phones powered up, certainly if my GCSE-age son is anything to go by. Plus, with a tempered glass screen and clever cushioned architecture, the 200 Smart 5G is almost indestructible to the point that it has been awarded the Swiss SGS Premium Performance Certification of Drop & Crush Resistance, and you can add IP64 to that too, so even the most ham-fisted of phone users will be safe.
When it comes to downtime, this Honor features dual stereo speakers with 300 per cent ultra-high volume Hi-Res high-quality audio for making the most of music, but also Bluetooth 5.3 for seamless connection to headphones for when in public.
A cracking phone for students of any age.
Key specs
Buy now £129.00, AO
OnePlus Nord 5
Best for: AI-enhanced productivity all areas
The eagerly anticipated OnePlus Nord 5 was released in early July 2025, and has already earned itself rave reviews. Why? Well, firstly, it’s enormously good-looking, offered in a ‘Phantom Grey’, ‘Marble Sands’ or ‘Dry Ice’ finish. The device boasts a 6.83-inch AMOLED FHD+ display, featuring 2800 x 1272 pixels and a rapid 144Hz refresh rate, making it immediately eye-catching and ultra-smooth.
Powered by a flagship-level Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 CPU, this is a mid-range phone with ideas and abilities well above its station and asking price. Storage options span RAM at 256GB and 8Gb on the £399 model, and 12GB and 516GB on the £449 version.
Running on OnePlus’s Android15-based OxygenOS 15, operation is slick and speedy, while the whole system is set-up for AI supremacy, seamlessly working with Google Gemini and presenting a range of AI tools to aid productivity, such as AI Search, AI VoiceScribe, AI Translation, AI Call Assistant, AI Notes, and for image editing, there’s AI Unblur, AI Reflection Eraser, AI Eraser, AI Detail Boost, AI Clear Face, and AI Reframe. So yep, it goes all in on AI.
But it’s also all in on cameras too, with a 50MP snapper on both the front and rear, which is a selfie game-changer. There’s also an 8MP ultrawide lens around the rear too, but when you’ve got 50MP front and back, it’s all about those, the epic images they can capture, alongside the 4K 60FFS video both can shoot.
With a battery life of up to 48 hours depending on use, the Nord 5 comes with NFC, the latest Bluetooth 5.4 and, of course, Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, so students will never be out of the loop.
A truly stunning smartphone, both inside and out, at a very reasonable price, the Nord 5 is a triumph of performance, power and AI ingenuity. Equally importantly for users in education, that epic Qualcomm processor, aligned with the 144Hz refresh rate, makes the new OnePlus also utterly adept at gaming - because after a hard day grafting over daytime TV, it’s important to be able to relax.
Key specs
Buy now £399.00, OnePlus
