Now before you get offended, I want you to take a deep breath and relax. I know this topic is going to hit some nerves, but the aim isn’t to insult anyone. It’s to enlighten. The keyword here is understanding. So if you’ve found yourself struggling with your phone in 2025 and wondering why it no longer feels as powerful as when you bought it, this article is for you. Today, we’re justifying why your budget phone is now entry-level, even if you paid good money for it.
Personal Experience
Let me start with a bit of a confession. Between 2011 and 2017, I used a lot of phones such as the Nokia C2, HTC keypad Windows phone, Nokia E5, Tecno M5, and even an Innjoo F3. But my Tecno L9+ in 2017 was the crown jewel. I bought it during NYSC for ₦44,700 and it was more than double the minimum wage of ₦19,800. In those days, that was a lot of money.
The L9+ had 2GB RAM, 5000mAh battery, and a 720p display. It felt premium, and it turned heads. I felt good. Until PUBG came along. That game humbled me and my phone.
Even the Pouvoir 2 which I bought in 2018 after I was robbed of the L9+ also struggled with the game. My Belizean friend called my phone a potato. Nairaland marketers accused me of trying to demarket their device and the Xiaomi boys cooked me like Sunday rice.
However, that brutal honesty pushed me to learn more about smartphones. When I moved on to the Redmi Note 7 in 2019 and began to study performance tiers, it didn’t take long for me to understand why my beloved Tecno was actually an entry level device at the time.
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- Understanding the New Upper Midrange SoCs and Upgrading Wisely
Why People Get Mad
When we say “entry-level”, some people take it personally. And that’s understandable. Let’s explore why.
1. Weaponized Ignorance
Many OEMs in Nigeria and other developing countries throw around the word flagship like confetti at a wedding. Helio P22? Flagship. Snapdragon 636? Super flagship! But no one tells you that the SoC is what determines where a phone really ranks. Not the price. Not the RAM and not even the brand.
2. Emotional Attachment
Speaking of brands, I’m sure that you must have seen people using iPhone 7 or Galaxy A06 and walking around like they’re Tim Cook. That’s brand loyalty and sometimes, brand delusion. They believe that just because it’s Apple or Samsung, it must be premium. But tech doesn’t care about feelings. A Samsung Galaxy A06 is objectively an entry-level phone.
3. Poverty and Inflated Prices
In Nigeria today, money is tight and prices are inflated. So when someone spends ₦150K on a phone with a Unisoc T606, they want some respect. Emotionally, that phone is their flagship. And to be fair, it feels expensive. But that doesn’t change what it really is.
Let’s Talk Rankings
Let’s break this down mathematically.
Imagine a scale from 1 (best) to 100 (worst). Midpoint is 50. Anything from 60 upwards is below average, and anything from 80-100 is scraping the bottom of the barrel. We can also say the same for 1 to 200.
Now consider this:
- Your phone uses a processor ranked 160th out of 200?
- You’re rocking Cortex A75 cores in 2025?
- Your GPU is the aging Mali-G52 MP2?
You’re not in mid-range territory. You’re at the bottom. And that’s not an insult — it’s a fact. Let’s go even more technical.
Entry-Level CPU and GPU: The Clearest Evidence
CPU cores
CPU cores are the main drivers of performance on your smartphone. They are also the clearest indicator of your phone’s level. The weakest are entry level whilst the best are flagship level.
- Cortex A53: Retired
- Cortex A55: Retired
- Cortex A73: Retired
- Cortex A75: This is now the lowest acceptable CPU core in current phones
Yet, guess what your favorite brands (looking at you, MediaTek and Unisoc) are still pushing? Cortex A75. So yes, your phone is entry-level. And no, it doesn’t matter that it has 6GB RAM. The brain of the phone is weak.
GPU
- PowerVR GE8320? Retired.
- Mali-G52 MP2? Barely hanging on.
- Mali-G57 MP1? Slightly better, but still not good enough in 2025.
If your phone uses any of the above GPUs then you’re no longer in mid-range territory anymore. You’re in the entry-level category.
Sliding Standards: We’ve Fallen Off
Do you remember the Redmi Note 7 and 8? They had processors ranked around 50-60 globally. The Note 9 Pro was in the 40s. Today, phones in the same price bracket are running chips ranked around 150-170. And we’re still calling them budget or mid-range?
We should be getting:
- Helio G200 and Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 in budget phones
- Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 in the lower mid-range
But no — instead, we’re still rocking 2019-era chipsets in 2025 devices.
So Why is Your Phone Entry-Level?
Let me summarize why your budget phone is now entry-level:
| Factor | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Outdated CPU | Using Cortex A75 in 2025 is entry-level |
| Weak GPU | Mali-G52 MP2 or older GPUs can’t keep up with modern graphics |
| Processor Rank | If your phone’s SoC is ranked under 162, it’s entry-level |
| Tech Standards | Modern budget = Helio G200, Dimensity 6020, not Helio G85 or Unisoc T606 |
| Performance Gap | Your phone struggles with heavy apps/games due to its specs |
Final Words: Understand, Don’t React
I know things are hard. Inflation is biting and phones are expensive. I saved for months on a ₦70K salary to buy my Poco F5. So trust me, I understand.
But the point of this article isn’t to make you feel bad. It’s to help you make better choices. If you don’t know where your phone stands, you’ll keep getting cooked online or worse — get frustrated that it can’t do basic tasks.
So let’s stop being emotional and start being informed. That’s how you get value for your money.
TL;DR: Justifying why your budget phone is now entry-level
- It’s not personal, it’s technical.
- Cortex A75 + Mali-G52 = entry-level in 2025.
- RAM and price don’t define tier — SoC does.
- Mid-range used to mean SD 720G or Helio G90T. Now? We’re settling for less.
- It’s okay to love your phone, but know where it stands.
If you’d like to see where your processor ranks, check out this Top 100 Smartphone SoC list. It might surprise you.
So this is me justifying why your budget phone is now entry-level, even if you paid good money for it. Now tell me, do you still think your phone is mid-range?
Let’s discuss.
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