Cheapest 5G smartphones in South Africa — starting from R3,500

South Africans have a wide range of 5G smartphones to choose from for less than R7,000.

While there would have been little incentive to buy into the cutting-edge network technology in the past, the country’s two biggest mobile network operators — Vodacom and MTN — have rapidly expanded their 5G networks since launching in mid-2020.

That means there is now 5G coverage across significant sections of big metros, small cities, and towns across South Africa’s nine provinces.

When looking at the networks’ coverage maps, MTN’s growth appears to be particularly impressive.

The operator recently reached 1,000 active 5G sites, offering coverage in 38 towns and metros.

It plans to cover at least 25% of the population with 5G connectivity by the end of the year.

The maps below show where Vodacom and MTN’s 5G networks are available around Gauteng and surrounding towns and cities.

The increased availability of 5G makes buying a smartphone for its ability to support faster network speeds more sensible than before.

In addition, the prices of 5G smartphones have come down significantly since the first models were introduced in South Africa.

The first 5G smartphone in the country — the Huawei P40 series — started at a price of R16,999 at launch in May 2020.

When MyBroadband looked at the prices of the most affordable 5G-capable smartphones in South Africa around a year later, the cheapest was Samsung’s Galaxy A32 5G at R5,494.

Another year and four months later, we have found several models available in the country for cheaper than R5,000.

Samsung once again held the crown for cheapest 5G smartphone in the country, but this time its most affordable model was the Galaxy A22 5G at R3,499.

This budget-oriented smartphone boasts modest specifications compared to flagship devices, including a 6.6-inch LCD with FHD+ resolution, 64GB storage, and a 5,000mAh battery supporting 15W fast charging.

Other manufacturers offering affordable models with 5G included Honor, Huawei, Nokia, Poco, and Xiaomi.

Below are the ten cheapest 5G smartphones you can buy in South Africa at the start of August 2022.

Samsung Galaxy A22 5G Single SIM — R3,499

Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G — R4,199

Nokia G50 5G — R4,899

Poco M4 Pro 5G — R4,499

OnePlus Nord CE 5G — R5,659

Honor Magic4 Lite 5G Single SIM — R5,949

Samsung Galaxy A33 5G — R5,979

Huawei P40 Lite 5G Single SIM — R5,999

Nokia X10 5G — R6,299

Samsung Galaxy A53 5G — R6,999

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