Recently, I often used delivery apps like Grab and Lalamove. I tried to talk to the delivery riders and asked how their smartphones were doing.
Most of them said the smartphone they bought was very slow despite being new. They said they are often unable to accept bookings because of the sluggishness of their smartphones.
In this article, I will provide 5 affordable smartphones that are good or fine to use by delivery riders. So if you are a delivery rider or know someone who is, read this article.
Before we start, the criteria I considered in choosing a good smartphone for this kind of task are good battery life, display, and connectivity. For me, the phone should have at least 5000mAh battery capacity.
Some delivery riders also need a bright display so they can see their screen properly even under sunlight. As for connectivity, as long as the phone is 4G-ready, it’s fine because 5G connectivity in other places is not very stable, so the data connection is slower.
These are the budget smartphones that I think are perfect for the delivery riders out there:
Infinix Note 30 5G
First up is Infinix NOTE 30 5G, which we have reviewed 5 months ago. This device features great hardware that delivers smooth performance. With your below PHP 10k budget, this is one of the best phones you can buy.
The Infinix NOTE 30 5G boasts a 6nm MediaTek Dimensity 6080 octa-core 5G chipset paired with 8GB RAM which is good when you are multitasking.
It also has a 5,000mAh battery capacity that supports 45W fast charging. Another good feature of this phone is its bypass charging technology, although I don’t know if it will work when you are using maps or a delivery app. But the 5,000mAh and 45W charging is a great combo.
Additionally, using it with direct sunlight is easy since its large 6.78-inch FHD+ display supports up to 580nits max brightness. Its great camera setup is also a bonus if you taking photos and videos.
Infinix NOTE 30 5G – Shopee link | Lazada link
The Infinix NOTE 30 5G is available in Infinix Mobile’s official store on Shopee and Lazada with a price of PHP 8,499 for the 8GB/128GB variant and PHP 9,899 for the 8GB/256GB variant.
TECNO POVA 5
If you want a very long battery life, I can say that TECNO POVA 5 is the best. We also have reviewed this phone and I mentioned there that you will get tired of using it before its battery drains. Actually, this phone is the one I’ve tested that has the longest battery life, thanks to its very large 6,000mAh battery capacity.
Since it supports a very large battery capacity, expect a longer charging time in this phone because it also only supports 45W fast charging.
TECNO POVA 5 only supports 4G connectivity which is not bad since as I have mentioned above, some areas 5G are not yet stable in some areas.
This phone is a performance-focused device, which highlights 6nm MediaTek Helio G99, 8GB RAM, and 256GB storage. Like the Infinix NOTE 30 5G, the POVA 5 also features a large 6.78-inch FHD+ display and up to 580nits max brightness so it is also good outdoors.
TECNO POVA 5 – Shopee link | Lazada link
You can buy the TECNO POVA 5 in TECNO Mobile’s official store on Shopee and Lazada for only PHP 7,599.
Redmi Note 12
Next is the Redmi Note 12, which is a bit more expensive compared to the previous two, but it is still good for delivery riders to use. The best feature of this phone is its display since it has a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen that supports up to 1,200nits max brightness. Having a very bright display is very beneficial for delivery riders who are always working outdoors like in Lalamove, Shopee, Lazada, and more.
Even though its chipset is not that powerful, it can still handle delivery apps and multitasking. The Redmi Note 12 only has 6nm Snapdragon 685 chipset and up to 8GB RAM. But since it features a very efficient chipset, you can expect long battery life in its 5,000mAh capacity. Besides, it features 33W fast charging technology that is decent for its price.
Redmi Note 12 – Shopee link | Lazada link
If you plan to buy this phone, it is available on Xiaomi’s official global store on Shopee with a price starting at PHP 7,999 for the 4GB/128GB variant and PHP 9,999 for the 8GB/128GB variant. There’s also available 8GB/256GB variant but its price is PHP 10,999.
OPPO A58
If you want to buy a smartphone from a known brand, OPPO also has one that I can recommend for you, the OPPO A58. Among the phones that I recommend, this one is the least when it comes to performance but can still provide sufficient power to run delivery apps smoothly.
This phone has a 12nm MediaTek Helio G85 chipset, 6GB RAM, and 128GB of storage. It also boasts a large 5,000mAh battery capacity and 33W SUPERVOOC fast charging technology. Other than those, the OPPO A58 also has a large 6.72-inch FHD+ display that supports up to 680nits max brightness which is also good for outdoors.
OPPO A58 – Shopee link | Lazada link
The OPPO A58 is available for only PHP 8,499 in the official store of vivo on Shopee and Lazada as well as in their physical stores nationwide.
realme 11
Last but not least budget smartphone that I can recommend is the newly released realme 11. It is more expensive compared to the previous ones but of course, its specifications are better.
Starting with its battery, this phone is also equipped with a large 5,000mAh battery capacity and supports very fast 67W SUPERVOOC charging technology. realme claimed that it can charge the device 1-50% in just 17 minutes. It means you will always be good to go even if you just charge your phone quickly.
For its display, it has a 6.4-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED screen that supports 90Hz refresh rate and up to 1000nits max brightness. Its display is also durable since it has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection.
The realme 11 also features the 6nm MediaTek Helio G99 octa-core chipset as well as 8GB RAM and 256GB storage so you can also expect smooth performance here when using it.
realme 11 – Shopee link | Lazada link
You can now buy the realme 11 in the realme official store on Shopee and Lazada for only PHP 11,999. However, its original price is PHP 13,999, so I suggest buying it when there is a sale.
Conclusion
Having a good-performing smartphone when you are in delivery services is very crucial since that is what you use to receive bookings. If you want to never miss bookings, your phone should have a powerful chipset, large RAM, large storage, huge battery capacity, and good connectivity. So for me, the smartphones I mentioned above are ones that meet the requirements to make your work seamless.
Although I only tried the three smartphones on our list, I’m sure the realme 11 and Redmi Note 12 are also good. Actually, there are a lot of good budget smartphones out there that are good for delivery riders, but this list is just a few of the ones I can confidently recommend.
If you have a smartphone to recommend, just leave a comment.
