How to Choose a Phone in Kenya: A Simple Buying Guide

With hundreds of phones on sale, it is easy to get lost in numbers. The trick is to ignore most of them and focus on the few things that shape your daily experience. Work through these steps in order.

Step 1: Set a realistic total budget

Your budget should include the phone and the extras that you will need straight away: a case, a screen protector and perhaps a charger. Many phones no longer include a charger. Leaving room for accessories prevents you from spending everything on a phone you cannot protect.

Step 2: Decide how you will really use it

Be honest. If you mainly use WhatsApp, Facebook and M-Pesa, you do not need a flagship processor. If you edit video, run a business from your phone or play demanding games, cheap hardware will frustrate you.

• Messaging, social media, mobile money: an affordable phone with enough storage will do.
• Lots of photos and videos: prioritise the camera, storage and battery.
• Gaming: look at the chip, screen refresh rate, RAM and cooling.
• Business use: look at battery life, software support and dual SIM.

Step 3: Decide on memory and storage

This is more important than most specifications. Read how much storage and RAM you need. In general, 128GB is a sensible minimum for a main phone, unless you only use it lightly.

Step 4: Look at the screen

AMOLED screens offer deeper contrast and are better for video. A 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rate makes scrolling smoother. Brightness matters when you are using your phone outdoors in strong Kenyan sunlight.

Step 5: Think about battery and charging

A capacity of 5,000mAh is common on Android phones and usually lasts a day. Fast charging helps if you are often in a rush. If you experience frequent power outages, a larger battery matters, and you might also want a power bank.

Step 6: Do not be fooled by megapixels

A 108MP sensor is not automatically better than a 12MP one. Optical stabilisation, sensor size and software processing affect results more. Look at photos taken indoors at night, which is where cheap cameras struggle.

Step 7: Check software and updates

Security updates help protect you, and they matter on a phone used for mobile banking. Samsung and Google have made strong long-term promises on recent phones, whereas cheaper phones from many brands get far fewer updates.

Step 8: Decide on new or Ex-UK

An Ex-UK phone can get you far more hardware for your money, but condition and battery wear vary. See Ex-UK versus brand new.

Step 9: Check the after-sales terms

Find out how long the warranty is, what it covers, and how returns work. This is often where a good deal and a bad one differ. Read returns and warranty explained.

Where to start by brand

• Long software support and resale value: Samsung or iPhone.
• Most hardware for the money: Redmi, Poco or Infinix.
• Clean software: Motorola, Nothing or Pixel.
• Portrait and selfie photos: Oppo, Vivo or Honor.
• Low-cost basics: Tecno or iTel.