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Long gone are the days when you can fob off a child with your second-hand phone. These days they know more about tech than most adults, and they want the best of the best just as you do. But if they don’t drop it and smash it they’ll likely leave it at school and lose it, or swap it for something ridiculous like a football, and you don’t want to end up out of pocket. Here we round up what we think are some of the best phones for kids, those that blend value with ease of use, strong build and, importantly, enough power to play the latest games and watch YouTube.
Also see: Best Phone Deals
How much you spend on a phone for your child is really up to you. While we wouldn’t advise paying flagship prices on the very best phones , we do recognise that some parents will be prepared to dig deep. We’ve focused primarily on sub-\u00a3200 budget phones in this chart, but also included some slightly more expensive mid-range phones. You can also go cheaper (check out our round-up of the best basic phones under \u00a350 ) or more expensive (check out the very best phones ).
Sometimes buying a Chinese phone can be a very good way to get an attractively priced phone with much higher specifications than you would otherwise get in the UK. However, if you do decide to buy a Chinese phone, unless your child is especially techy we’d advise steering clear of Xiaomi and Meizu models, which don’t always preinstall Google Play and can sometimes pop up Chinese-language notifications that may be confusing to a child. If you buy from China, first read our advice on buying grey-market tech.
One thing to keep in mind is that your child will be using the phone on a PAYG basis unless you’re prepared to take out a contract in their name. If you want to go down this route you’ll save money by buying the phone upfront and choosing a decent SIM-only deal. A good compromise for a PAYG deal that you can keep an eye on is offered by GiffGaff , which lets you purchase low-cost one-month goodybags that offer a certain number of minutes, text and data, and no more. Your child won’t need to keep tabs on what they’re using and neither will you.
You should also consider own-brand PAYG handsets offered by mobile operators, which are often subsidised by the operator in order to get you on their network, which means you get more phone for your money. The Vodafone examples in our chart below are very good examples, but remember that they are locked to the Vodafone network so ensure you are happy with the operator’s PAYG terms before you buy. Such phones will usually be sold with a non-negotiable \u00a310 top-up, which will add to the initial cost. Also see: Best new phones coming in 2017
Whether you choose to go down the iPhone- or Android route will largely depend on your budget, what your child is used to, and how loudly they scream. If they have been using an iPad or all their friends have iPhones then they will be familiar with the iOS operating system that runs on both platforms and will likely want to go on using it. However, iPhones are expensive.
Most iPhones will be well over budget for a child, but it is still possible to buy older models such as the iPhone 5s secondhand. The colourful iPhone 5c is perhaps the cheapest and best fit for a child, but if they demand a current-generation iPhone look to the slightly cheaper iPhone SE rather the iPhone 7. Even this, though, might be more expensive than what you had in mind.
If they have been using an Android tablet then you have many more options, and much cheaper ones to boot. Indeed, 19 of the phones we recommend in this article run Android, and if your child hasn’t already made up their mind that they want an iPhone then Android is every bit as good (and typically has many more free apps). It’s also very simple to use and they’ll pick it up in no time. Read our Android vs iPhone comparison to get a better idea of the key differences.
Both platforms are equally suited to children in the respect that they can be locked down so that your child accesses only what you want it to. Read our advice on the best parental control software.
And, despite what you may have read, neither platform — although it is possible — is likely to get a virus. We’ve rounded up some mobile antivirus options here. Also see: How to remove a virus on Android.
You know your kid better than anyone, and when it comes to the time that they are ready to own their first phone you will likely have a good idea in your mind of what’s suitable for them. Most likely they’ll be used to playing games on a tablet before getting their own phone, and will be used to the larger screen that offers. But a large-screen phone is much easier to drop and smash on the floor than a more compact model that will fit in their pocket. The type of mid-range phones we are looking at here will typically have HD or full-HD screens under 5in in size. Also see: Best kids’ tablets 2017
Because we all know kids can be clumsy, a waterproof phone or rugged phone would be ideal. In this chart are three options: the Moto G 2015 , the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact , and the Sony Xperia M4 Aqua. (Note that in Apple’s offerings only the latest iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are waterproof.) A metal-framed phone is likely to be tougher than a plastic phone, but these do tend to be more expensive unless you opt for a Chinese phone or a UK mobile operator-subsidised model. Whichever phone you choose, we highly recommend you also purchase a case to go with it.
Adults can often overlook front-facing cameras, but for kids who love to take selfies, mess around with Snapchat and video chat, they are highly important. Don’t even consider buying a child a phone that doesn’t have a selfie camera. Most are specified at around 5Mp, though it is possible to get much higher-rated front cameras.
You needn’t worry too much about the core specifications, since most phones these days have or are capable of everything a child requires: casual gaming, YouTube and a camera. The one thing you should look out for, though, is storage: we’d advise avoiding anything with under 16GB of internal storage (thankfully such phones are becoming much less common these days, and many — at least of the Chinese offerings — have 32GB).
Look for a model with microSD support that allows you to add on more storage, and be sure to take advantage of cloud services such as Google Photos to back up multimedia online so more storage can be made available for apps and games. Backing up photos and videos through the cloud will also mean they aren’t lost when the phone ultimately is lost or broken. Also see: How to back up Android.<\/p>\n