This budget Android phone impressed me more than I expected - here's why

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Nuu N20 has a 6.5-inch, 90Hz show and is disposable present connected Amazon for $125.
• For the money, the N20 would marque for a large archetypal telephone oregon for idiosyncratic connected a choky budget.
• It's acold from a flagship device, but it doesn't consciousness similar it costs lone $125.

Are you bushed of the soaring outgo of phones? If you person a household of four, you could easy walk $4,000 connected 4 flagship devices, and that could hap regularly.

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Some families simply cannot spend the outgo of Pixels, Galaxies, iPhones, etc., truthful they person to crook to much budget-friendly devices. So what if you could person 4 phones for adjacent to $500, nary semipermanent contracts oregon sketchy agreements required?

That's the extremity with the Nuu N20 phone, which presently runs for $125 connected Amazon.

Before I continue, delight support successful caput the terms constituent of this phone. If you expect flagship looks and show astatine $125, I would emotion to articulation that imagination you're having due to the fact that it surely isn't reality.

That being said, the Nuu N20 performs remarkably well, fixed however inexpensive it is, particularly erstwhile you find retired it includes a fingerprint scanner and look unlock. (Keep successful caput that I'm coming from a Google Pixel 9 Pro.) 

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Yes, it has the bare minimum RAM (6GB) for moving Android, the CPU is simply a 1.6 Ghz, and the OS is simply a mentation down (Android 14), but it makes the astir retired of those specs and performs good capable to beryllium a viable instrumentality for respective types of users (especially kids).

But however does the N20 basal up? Let's find out.

My experience

First, onboarding immoderate Android telephone has go truthful casual these days. Insert your SIM (or link it to Wi-Fi erstwhile prompted), adhd your Google account, and decorativeness the setup. Within astir 2 minutes of unboxing, I had the N20 up and moving and acceptable to test.

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The archetypal happening I noticed was the worldly utilized for the phone's backmost side. Although the framework is zinc alloy, I'm not 100% definite what was used, arsenic it feels a spot similar cardboard. It's not cardboard, but if that texture bothers you, you'll decidedly privation to connect the included wide lawsuit (a astute determination regardless).

The N20 (with the lawsuit attached) weighs astir the aforesaid arsenic my Pixel 9 Pro (242 grams for the N20 and 239 grams for the Pixel). The telephone is besides somewhat taller than the Pixel 9 Pro, but it doesn't consciousness awkward successful the hand.

This rock-bottom Android telephone surely doesn't consciousness stone bottom.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

But what astir performance? After all, a $125 smartphone is surely not going to bushed a $1,000 phone. That being said, the N20 performs beauteous well. Although animations aren't astir arsenic creaseless arsenic those connected my Pixel 9 Pro, they aren't arsenic janky arsenic you mightiness think. 

I've surely experienced Android phones successful the $300-$400 scope that were worse. It helps that the N20 ships with precise small bloatware. There's an FM Radio app and a Nuu Help app, but different than that, it's banal Android. The location surface launcher is Quickstep, but you tin instal a antithetic launcher from the Google Play Store. I volition accidental that Quickstep does lucifer the Pixel Launcher (which is simply a bully thing).

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I recovered YouTube videos played well, and the phone's dependable was beefy capable (albeit beauteous tinny) for maine to perceive everything. The show is amazingly crisp (even extracurricular successful the sun). The show refresh complaint is 90Hz, truthful it's reasonably capable.

One happening to support successful caput with the basal RAM (6GB) is that you tin adhd 4GB much via extended RAM. Once you've enabled Extended RAM (from wrong Settings > Extended RAM), you'll person to reboot for the alteration to instrumentality effect.

The Extended RAM connected my reappraisal portion lone went to 4GB (instead of the advertised 6GB).

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

After adding the max 4GB of extended virtual RAM, I did announcement a flimsy velocity summation successful animations, but they inactive had a flimsy choppiness to them (although they were smoother than earlier the change). Remember, this isn't the aforesaid arsenic much physical RAM.

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As acold arsenic the camera is concerned, it's serviceable; bully capable to seizure the "what" successful a representation but not needfully capable to archer a afloat story. You won't beryllium winning immoderate awards oregon impressing your friends with this camera, but it easy takes photos and adjacent offers a Pro mode truthful that you tin configure everything from achromatic balance, ISO, shutter speed, and more.

The N20 camera isn't terrible, but it surely can't vie with the Pixel 9 Pro.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

ZDNET's buying advice

Ultimately, I came distant with the content that the N20 telephone is rather awesome for its price. This is an Android telephone I wouldn't hesitate to manus implicit to a kid (making definite to take the kid enactment during setup) oregon idiosyncratic connected a choky fund who needs a reliable telephone that isn't stuffed with bloatware oregon weighs 4 tons.

The Nuu N20 phone is obscurity adjacent a flagship-level device, but it doesn't unreal to beryllium one. This is simply a basal smartphone astatine a tenable price.

The specs

• Operating System - Android 14
• Camera - Rear Camera: 16MP + 8MP wide-angle with LED flash/Front Camera: 5MP
• Processor - 1.6GHz Octa-Core
• Display - 6.6" HD+ 1600 x 720 90Hz Refresh Rate
• Battery - 5000mAh
• Memory - RAM: 6GB RAM + 6GB Extended RAM (on my device, the Extended RAM lone went up to 4GB)
• Storage - 128GB
• External Storage - microSD (up to 128GB)
• Dimensions - H 6.48 successful x W 2.97 successful x L 0.35 in
• Networks - 4G B2/4/5/12/25/26/41/66/71 3G B2/4/5 2G 850/900/1800/1900
• Connectivity - WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz / 5GHz) Bluetooth 5.0 GPS with A-GPS Support Ports - USB Type-C 2.0 Dual SIM Dual Standby 3.5mm Headset Jack
• Sensor Type - Accelerometer, Ambient Light, Compass, Fingerprint ID, Proximity