In the summer of 2022, the Chinese vendor UMIDIGI announced a couple of curious twin smartphones UMIDIGI C1 and UMIDIGI G1, which marked the beginning of a new line of ultra-low-cost devices. Finding a good "hundred-dollar" smartphone with a capacious battery, an adequate camera and a decent amount of memory is not so easy these days, so the fate of the G&C series can turn out in a very interesting way.


A typical G&C smartphone is a medium-sized device with a 6.5-inch HD screen, a simple dual camera, 2 GB of RAM, USB-C charging and a nice matte back cover. In order to increase the cost of devices, UMIDIGI decided to abandon Qualcomm chips in favor of more affordable processors from MediaTek and Unisoc. Due to the modest amount of RAM, UMIDIGI G&C smartphones run a fat-free version of Android 12 Go, which is adapted to the hardware of entry-level smartphones. This option is best suited as an option for elderly relatives, schoolchildren or people who need an inexpensive second smartphone.

In October 2022, UMIDIGI decided to go for an expansion and presented the Max versions of both smartphones to the public: G1 Max and C1 Maximum Despite the Max prefix and improved features, both devices belong to the ultra-low-cost class and, according to UMIDIGI representatives, are among the most advanced smartphones in the sub-$100 category. Both smartphones are equipped with 6.52-inch HD displays, Unisoc T610 processors, dual cameras, side-mounted fingerprint scanners and 5150 mAh batteries with support for 10-watt charging. Both run Android 12 and come with USB-C ports.