# Cheapest smartphone for Pokémon Go?



## bjaxx87 (Jul 14, 2016)

Hi there,

I'd like to play Pokémon Go but it seems the system requirements (Android 4.4+ and 2 GB RAM) are rather high. Is there any dirt cheap smartphone that is able to run it? I wouldn't mind rooting it and flashing a custom ROM if it saves me a few bucks. I wouldn't use it for anything else besides Pokémon Go, so I have no need for other fancy features.


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## Dorimori (Jul 14, 2016)

I have a Moto E 2nd Gen LTE. It does have some framerate issues from time to time, but it's LTE and gets the job done well enough. I see them online from around $49 to $79.


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## Youkai (Jul 14, 2016)

The game is actually not worth buying a new smart phone for oO
But well if yours is that old that it cannot run PKM Go any more maybe you really need something new XD

I recommend you to look for some of the cheap ones on GearBest as they have rather good quality products for cheap Chinese items.


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## haxan (Jul 14, 2016)

you'd probably want a cheap phone with a "big battery" life, since this game drains the battery like hell.
 i'd say Honor x5, it's cheap and has good specs for its price (199$ but can be found lower on sales). It has 3GB ram and 3000mAh battery (would last 4 hours if ur playing pokemon go constantly...I think)
idk about you but this is cheap for me 

if 199$ is still too much then try Honor 3c. you can find it for 100$ (maybe even lower) and it fits the description perfectly. but, it's battery life is 2300mAh, so you might want to take a portable charger with you. I recommend anker 20000mAh charger that can be found for 40$ which can charge your phone up to 6 or 7 times (18$ for the 10000mAh if you want to save up) it's kind of a great investment.



hope this helps


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## bjaxx87 (Jul 14, 2016)

Snowdori said:


> I have a Moto E 2nd Gen LTE. It does have some framerate issues from time to time, but it's LTE and gets the job done well enough. I see them online from around $49 to $79.


Sounds good enough, I'll check it out! Thank you!



Youkai said:


> The game is actually not worth buying a new smart phone for oO
> But well if yours is that old that it cannot run PKM Go any more maybe you really need something new XD


I don't really use smartphones. I dislike touch controls and annoying apps like WhatsApp or Facebook. I'm using a tablet for cool stuff like emulators or comic readers, but my cell phone is an oldschool one (Sony Ericsson C905). 



Youkai said:


> I recommend you to look for some of the cheap ones on GearBest as they have rather good quality products for cheap Chinese items.


Thanks!



haxan said:


> you'd probably want a cheap phone with a "big battery" life, since this game drains the battery like hell.
> i'd say Honor x5, it's cheap and has good specs for its price (199$ but can be found lower on sales). It has 3GB ram and 3000mAh battery (would last 4 hours if ur playing pokemon go constantly...I think)
> idk about you but this is cheap for me
> 
> ...


To be honest, I think 100 bucks are still too much for just one game...  Thanks anyway! And that charger sounds pretty cool.


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## haxan (Jul 14, 2016)

bjaxx87 said:


> Sounds good enough, I'll check it out! Thank you!
> 
> 
> I don't really use smartphones. I dislike touch controls and annoying apps like WhatsApp or Facebook. I'm using a tablet for cool stuff like emulators or comic readers, but my cell phone is an oldschool one (Sony Ericsson C905).
> ...



well since you don't like touch controls for games, why not pick up a gamepad for your phone?
I got an IPEGA controller that you can attach your phone to and it works wonderfully with all the emulators (specially ppsspp)

I think you should spare some cash for a new smartphone, even if you hate using all those apps, there are a lot of good games to play.

I'll look for a cheap one just in case you still don't want a hefty priced one 
I remember seeing one that is perfect for you but I don't know where exactly.

btw what's your budget if your looking to buy one?


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## bjaxx87 (Jul 14, 2016)

haxan said:


> well since you don't like touch controls for games, why not pick up a gamepad for your phone?
> I got an IPEGA controller that you can attach your phone to and it works wonderfully with all the emulators (specially ppsspp)
> 
> I think you should spare some cash for a new smartphone, even if you hate using all those apps, there are a lot of good games to play.


It's a thought that has crossed my mind, but you know... My 3DS lets me play NES, SNES, GB, GBC, GBA, DS and 3DS games wherever I want, so I think I'm covered. Most of the time I'm playing my videogames at home anyway.



haxan said:


> I'll look for a cheap one just in case you still don't want a hefty priced one
> I remember seeing one that is perfect for you but I don't know where exactly.
> 
> btw what's your budget if your looking to buy one?


I don't really have any budget restrictions, it's just that I don't care enough to spend 100 bucks for a device I'll rarely use.  When I started to think about this, I was naively looking for a 20 € phone, but I guess I will have to spend at least 50-80 € and that's fine.


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## Dr.Hacknik (Jul 14, 2016)

I use my Galaxy S3 for Pokemon Go (Since i have a 7000mAh battery), it says my Device isn't supported on the PlayStore, but i downloaded it from APKMirror, and installed then ran it, and it worked perfectly. No lagg, no problems.


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## rasputin (Jul 14, 2016)

xiaomi redmi note 3 can be had for a little over £100. 5.5 inch screen, sd 650 chipset and 4000mah battery.. the combination of chipset and large battery give this phone phenomenal battery life and it's fast too.


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## haxan (Jul 14, 2016)

bjaxx87 said:


> It's a thought that has crossed my mind, but you know... My 3DS lets me play NES, SNES, GB, GBC, GBA, DS and 3DS games wherever I want, so I think I'm covered. Most of the time I'm playing my videogames at home anyway.
> 
> 
> I don't really have any budget restrictions, it's just that I don't care enough to spend 100 bucks for a device I'll rarely use.  When I started to think about this, I was naively looking for a 20 € phone, but I guess I will have to spend at least 50-80 € and that's fine.



most of the phones(even the cheaply made ones) that has 2GB RAM will cost u 70+$ at the cost of having a terrible battery/ camera..etc

so far the cheapest smartphone with 2GB RAM i've ran into is the doogee x5 pro for 80$.


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## DjoeN (Jul 17, 2016)

Having the same question:

Need a relative cheap android phone to play Popkemon GO (for kids and myself)

What the kids have now
- Medion X5004 -> No go, it works but no location info (so no pokemon to catch and can't use camera) GPS works in any other app, but not in Pokemon GO
- ACER Liquid Jade -> Constant GPS errors, but you can catch pokémon, can't use camera!
- Other Medion phones, can't use camera, bad gps reception in game

Wife:
- iPhone 5S, Works perfect
- iPad 4 GSM, works perfect

Myself
- iPhone 4 (Not supported)
- iPad 2 GSM, crashes constant

What i consider to buy
- Motorola Moto G G 3th gen (2GB ROM and 16GB RAM) for €179


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## nyder (Jul 21, 2016)

I bought a Blu R1 HD for $59 unlocked from Amazon thru a Prime member deal (i get ads on the lockscreen).   It's normally $109.   2gigs of ram, 16 gb flash (there is an 1gig/8gb version for $9 cheaper, but screw that).    Plays Pokemon Go like a champ if you don't mind AR mode being off.   No gyroscope for it to work.   I haven't had the program crash on me yet.   It crashes on my tablet all the time.   Really decent phone for it's price.   Apps are snappy, can play games decent (NFS Most Wanted, HIT, Ghostbusters, Pokemon Go are some of the games I've played on it and they all run great.


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## Amapola62 (Jul 23, 2016)

I have a Konrow Link5...it's my first smartphone...I don't know where to go to activate the location infos and the GPS...

Yes...I am a noob...


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## RevPokemon (Jul 23, 2016)

I have a Droid Mini and it works very well but I am not sure how good overall it works as I broke my screen but before that it worked very good plus it's fairly cheap and a great phone overall.


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## otenko (Aug 14, 2016)

rasputin said:


> xiaomi redmi note 3 can be had for a little over £100. 5.5 inch screen, sd 650 chipset and 4000mah battery.. the combination of chipset and large battery give this phone phenomenal battery life and it's fast too.



I was thinking about getting a Xiaomi too, maybe the Mi4s. My Asus Zenfone 5 is already 2 years old and has a crappy GPS, making it a bad choice for Pokémon Go.


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## Pacheko17 (Aug 28, 2016)

I use a Galaxy Grand Prime which is cheap and big. 
Just don't forget to update to Lollipop, Pokémon Go is almost unplayable on KitKat but runs smooth as butter on Lollipop.


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## Posghetti (Aug 28, 2016)

Samsung Galaxy Core Prime is hands down a cheap phone that does more than needed for Pokemon Go.


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## Aether Lion (Sep 4, 2016)

The LG G2 is labeled the best budget phone of 2016 and there is a reason for it. I used mine for about 2 years...it's amazing. 2GB ram, 3000mah, cpu overclockable to 2.8ghz quad core....just a beautiful device to use. 
About $75 on eBay or $30 if you do not mind a slightly damaged screen.


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## hacksn5s4 (Sep 7, 2016)

a 1gb ram phone can run the game but some 1gb will say their not compatible but just download the apk the iPhone 5 has 1gb ram and runs it fine so im sure it would run it fine to


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## Aether Lion (Sep 7, 2016)

hacksn5s4 said:


> a 1gb ram phone can run the game but some 1gb will say their not compatible but just download the apk the iPhone 5 has 1gb ram and runs it fine so im sure it would run it fine to


That simply is not true.  The minimum is a 2GB RAM, quad core like the LG G2 I mentioned prior. The only reason Apple can handle it on lower specs is because they are like a game console with one type of hardware that developers can optimize their apps for. Just wanted to clarify. 
PS: I hate Apple lmfao


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## gnmmarechal (Sep 7, 2016)

Aether Lion said:


> That simply is not true.  The minimum is a 2GB RAM, quad core like the LG G2 I mentioned prior. The only reason Apple can handle it on lower specs is because they are like a game console with one type of hardware that developers can optimize their apps for. Just wanted to clarify.
> PS: I hate Apple lmfao


My Nexus 4 runs it decently. It has 1GB of RAM iirc.


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## Tenshi_Okami (Sep 7, 2016)

I have a Blu Energy X Plus (1.3ghz Quad-Core, 4000mah of Battery and 1gb of ram) it isn't fluent but its very playable 

The phone costs around 100-120$


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## Deleted User (Sep 7, 2016)

Iirc galaxy s2 should work with it, and is dirt cheap...


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## gnmmarechal (Sep 7, 2016)

natanelho said:


> Iirc galaxy s2 should work with it, and is dirt cheap...


nope. I own one, and, though it is barely playable - it's not enjoyable.


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## Deleted User (Sep 7, 2016)

gnmmarechal said:


> nope. I own one, and, though it is barely playable - it's not enjoyable.


I dont find pokemon go ennoyable at all, but, well, thats me...

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## gnmmarechal (Sep 7, 2016)

natanelho said:


> I dont find pokemon go ennoyable at all, but, well, thats me...
> 
> --------------------- MERGED ---------------------------


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## Haider Raza (Sep 7, 2016)

bjaxx87 said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I'd like to play Pokémon Go but it seems the system requirements (Android 4.4+ and 2 GB RAM) are rather high. Is there any dirt cheap smartphone that is able to run it? I wouldn't mind rooting it and flashing a custom ROM if it saves me a few bucks. I wouldn't use it for anything else besides Pokémon Go, so I have no need for other fancy features.


I recommend you xiaomi redmi note 2 it will cost you just 110$s. Go check the specs of it.

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## gnmmarechal (Sep 7, 2016)

natanelho said:


> I dont find pokemon go ennoyable at all, but, well, thats me...
> 
> --------------------- MERGED ---------------------------


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## hacksn5s4 (Sep 7, 2016)

Aether Lion said:


> That simply is not true.  The minimum is a 2GB RAM, quad core like the LG G2 I mentioned prior. The only reason Apple can handle it on lower specs is because they are like a game console with one type of hardware that developers can optimize their apps for. Just wanted to clarify.
> PS: I hate Apple lmfao


Well people said it works on grand prime

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hacksn5s4 said:


> Well people said it works on grand prime





hacksn5s4 said:


> Well people said it works on grand prime with no issues its just 1gb ram. Phones are cheaper


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## ananas_scaduto (Mar 25, 2017)

Now I'm wandering the same thing.
I stop playing pokemon go for some months and then my phone became "not compatible". Can't hide the root as I did.

So...with the new asked requirements, what could be a nice and cheap phone to play pokemon go?

*Thanks*


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