Few Kenyans fancy high end smartphones. Kenyans prefer a device that has a fair processor, good camera and an excellent battery life. “A phone is not a phone without a good battery.”My neighbor told me.
This quarter I decided to get inputs from Kenyans who know little about smartphones. Apparently, people don’t know Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus exists. I find it ironical because Samsung advertises the phone everywhere. As promised in Quarter 2, here are the top ten smartphones in Kenya ranked based on sales, performance and affordability in Kenya.
10 – Huawei P8 Lite
In Kenya, competition from other brands is fierce but Huawei has a relatively good foundation in the country. Technically, Huawei P8 Lite is an ideal phone for every middle class Kenyan. The phone has a classy look, well equipped android and the price is fair. The phone has an outstanding look and design. The design is the phone’s selling point. It comes with an amazing camera (primary camera 13MP and Secondary camera 5MP), incredible performance since it’s powered by an octa-core 64-bit Kirin 620 processor. In addition, it has an amazing battery of 2200mAh.
The phone goes for 24,199 on Jumia.
9 – LG G4
This phone has an incredible camera. Three months ago we wrote an article specifically about LG G4 camera. Most Kenyans don’t know about the phone since LG doesn’t go knocking on every door. On our last list, the LG G3 scooped the 8th position. The phone houses great features but LG G4 out competes the G3. The phone’s 16MP camera is powerful and delivers a visual experience that can not be compared with any other premium phone. Under technical specifications, the phone houses an Android OS, v5.1 (Lollipop), 32 GB internal memory, 3GB RAM and a Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery.
The phone goes for Kshs59,000 on Jumia
8 – Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus
This is a high end phone. The phone is fantastic but the price keeps everybody away that’s why most Kenyans would prefer the mid range smartphones. However, the phone offers the best lifestyle experience. Truth be told, Galaxy S6 Edge Plus is currently the best smartphone in the market. The phone has the most powerful processor running on Quad core (2.1GHz Quad+ 1.5 GHz Quad), 64bit, 14nm process. In multitasking, the phone is the best. It has a 32 or 64GB storage options and a 4GB RAM. In addition, it has an excellent 16MP camera.
Galaxy S6 Edge Plus 32 GB costs Ksh 77,999, Galaxy S6 Edge Plus 64 GB goes for Ksh 89,999.
7 – Microsoft Lumia 640
This phone was number nine in our last count down. Microsoft Lumia 640 has impressive features and offers the best lifestyle and office experience. The phone was launched five months ago and people love the fact that the phone is diverse in terms of productivity. The phone is powered by a Qualcomm MSM8926 Snapdragon 400 processor that boasts of a quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 CPU and an Adreno 305 GPU. If you are a lumia fun, then 640 is the best for you.
The phone goes for Kshs14,948 on Jumia.
6 – Samsung Galaxy J5
Samsung makes top tier smartphones and Galaxy J5 is one of them. J5 has a super-amoled spec that gives the user the same experience as that of watching a Samsung super-amoled television. The screen is amazing hence you watch a movie or update photos on the go. Most Kenyans prefer the phone because of its performance. People living in the rural areas have an upper hand since the Phone has an Ultra Saving power mode which minimizes battery consumption. In addition, J5 uses the latest android 5.1 and has an internal  storage of 8GB and a processor of 1.2GHz.
The phone goes for Kshs21,000 in Safaricom shops and 20,499 on Jumia.
5 – Samsung Galaxy J7
J7 and J5 were launched on the same day and Kenyans love the devices. J7 is currently the best mid range smartphone in Kenya. Ideally, most Kenyans prefer buying Samsung Galaxy J7 to Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus. J7 has impressive features and can serve both high end and low end users. Users are able to play games and watch videos in crystal-clear clarity and without missing out any details on the sharp 13.97 cm (5.5) HD Super AMOLED display. In addition, you are able to switch between applications in seconds and complete tasks smoothly because the phone comes with a 64-bit 1.5 GHz Exynos 7580 Octa-Core processor and 1.5 GB RAM.
Price 27,000 in Safaricom shops
4 – Infinix Hot Note X551
The phone is about 9k and offers the best performance. Infinix Hot Note X551 is an improvement of the Infinix Hot X507. The phone has an improved battery capacity, incredible processing power and amazing display. It features a 5.5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD display, powered by a 1.4Ghz mediatek octacore processor . It’s also supported by 1GB RAM and 16GB ROM.
3 – Infinix Zero 2
Apparently, everybody loves this phone. Infinix Zero 2 is upholding the fact that budget phones are here to stay. The phone is powered by MTK6592 turbo octa-core chipset clocking at 2GHz combined with a Mali 450-MP4 graphic chipset (700MHz core speed), Zero 2 guarantees ultra-fast running system and high graphic resolution treatment for multimedia contents: video and gaming, allowing you to always push to the limits. In short, the phone is amazing.
The phone goes for 18,699 on Jumia
2 – Tecno Boom J7
This is the toughest phone in Kenya, well, one of the toughest. The phone offers the best experience in music and video. In addition to that, it comes with 1.3 GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 processor, internal storage of 16 GB which can be expanded to 32 GB through MicroSD slot and front-facing camera of 2.0 MP and Rear-facing camera of 8.0 M. This phone is ideal for teenagers and the youth.
The phone goes for 11,999 on Jumia.
1 – Samsung Galaxy J1
The phone is amazing. It can stay charged for one week or more if you have activated the Ultra Power Saving Mode. Basically, that’s what everybody is looking for in a phone. On our last count down the phone was number 2 on the list. The phone goes for 10K but it has high profile features like the 4G. It has a modern design that attracts every trendy guy in the country. It comes with a 1.2 GHz Dual Core processor, Li-Ion:1850 mAh battery, internal memory of 4 GB, a 1.2 Ghz dual-core processor Cortex A-7. The features are amazing for a low end smartphone. The phones are already sold out on Jumia.
Watch out for our next list of the top ten smartphones in Kenya at the beginning of January 2016.
