Finest low cost telephone: 5 smartphones for below $500

A few of us take a form of “I eat to stay” relatively than an “I stay to eat” method to devices. They’re instruments that enable you to get issues performed, not one thing you wish to make investments loads of time or cash in. If that’s you — and there’s no judgment right here from a certifiable gadget nerd — then you possibly can most likely consider extra worthwhile methods to spend $1,000 than on a telephone.

Finances telephones to the rescue. These gadgets are roughly $500 or below, they usually’re extra succesful than ever earlier than. You gained’t get all of the bells and whistles, however you’ll save a little bit cash to spend on, I don’t know, precise bells and whistles. It’s your world.

Lots of our picks run about $400 or $500, however there are nice choices for $300 and below, too. Yow will discover a shiny, high-definition OLED display screen or a battery that lasts for days. For those who can hone in on the one or two options which are most necessary to you and also you’re keen to compromise elsewhere, you will get a telephone that fits your wants for half the worth of a flagship.

What compromises are you able to anticipate from a funds telephone? Some mixture of the next: slower processors, much less storage, and lousier cameras than flagship telephones, virtually throughout the board. Many have lower-resolution screens, and most lack official water-resistance scores, wi-fi charging, and NFC chips for contactless fee.

Display screen: 4.7-inch, 1334p LCD / Processor: A15 Bionic Cameras: 12-megapixel f/1.8 with OIS, 7-megapixel selfie / Charging: 20W wired, 7.5W wi-fi / Climate-resistance ranking: IP67

In case your funds has a strict $500 cap and also you’re on the lookout for a brand new iPhone, the selection is simple. The 2022 iPhone SE is the solely new iPhone below $500. It’s the least costly solution to get into the iOS ecosystem and it’ll do the job, however I might strongly encourage anybody trying on the SE to think about whether or not it’s doable to spend a bit extra on an iPhone 13, now priced at $599.

The necessary factor to know concerning the SE is that it comes with a really small, very dated 4.7-inch display screen. It’s the identical dimension because the one on the iPhone 6, and it’s beginning to really feel cramped in an age when apps and internet pages are designed for greater screens. The SE’s large bezels make the machine look dated, too, however the usability of a small display screen will likely be a much bigger issue through the years to return.

That’s the largest knock towards the SE — and it’s an necessary one. However in the event you’re not anxious a few cramped display screen, then the SE has loads of upsides. Its A15 processor is similar because the one within the iPhone 13 Professional Max, so efficiency is superb.

There’s IP67 waterproofing and wi-fi charging — each unusual on this worth vary — and regardless that it makes use of an older 12-megapixel digital camera, it takes very good pictures and high-quality video clips. The digital camera has no night time mode, which is a curious omission — mainly each different midrange telephone gives some type of low-light photograph mode, and the telephone’s processor is actually as much as the duty. Apple gonna Apple.

Learn my full overview of the Apple iPhone SE (2022).

Display screen: 6.1-inch, 1080p OLED, 120Hz / Processor: Tensor G3 Cameras: 64-megapixel f/1.89 with OIS, 13-megapixel ultrawide, 13-megapixel selfie / Battery: 4,492mAh / Charging: 18W wired, 7.5W wi-fi / Climate-resistance ranking: IP67

Google gives some superb high-end telephones within the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional, but it surely’s the corporate’s funds telephone that makes essentially the most sense. For $500, the Pixel 8A gives an entire lot of what makes its pricier siblings good, however at roughly half the associated fee.

It’s a modest replace over the Pixel 7A, which you’ll nonetheless purchase, however the 8A comes with one large improve over the earlier era: seven years of OS and safety updates. For those who’re the form of one who likes to hold onto their machine for a very long time, that’s enormous — particularly within the funds class the place different telephones may solely include one or two platform upgrades.

The 8A can also be Google’s first funds telephone to return with a 120Hz show, so scrolling and animations look tremendous {smooth}. You additionally get wi-fi charging and an IP67 ranking for cover towards water immersion. The digital camera system is dependable, but it surely’s the obvious place the place Google needed to make some compromises to maintain the worth low. It’s a nice all-around digital camera, however stepping as much as the Pixel 8 or 8 Professional will get you higher low mild and zoom efficiency.

Learn my full overview of the Google Pixel 8A.

Display screen: 6.78-inch, 1264 x 2780 120Hz OLED / Processor: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Cameras: 50-megapixel f/1.8 with OIS, 8-megapixel ultrawide, 2-megapixel macro, 16-megapixel selfie / Battery: 5,500mAh / Charging: 80W wired / Climate-resistance ranking: IP64

The OnePlus 12R is $500, but it surely may simply trick you into pondering it prices twice as a lot. It comes with a really large, very good display screen, with refresh charges that go as much as 120Hz and all the best way all the way down to 1Hz, making for a {smooth} scrolling expertise if you want it and financial savings on battery life if you don’t. It’s a function not often seen on a telephone below $800.

The 12R is provided with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, which is a era behind 2024’s processor du jour, the 8 Gen 3. However the 8 Gen 2 nonetheless whips — it’s exhausting to throw something at this telephone that it may possibly’t deal with. Much less good: the 12R’s IP64 ranking, which implies it’s splash resistant however not totally water immersible, just like the Pixel 8A.

Quick charging is form of OnePlus’ trademark, and the 12R stays true to the model with as much as 80W quick wired charging within the US (it’s as much as 100W in different areas). It’s good if you wish to cost your telephone on a extra compressed schedule, like throughout your morning routine relatively than at night time.

Personally, I’d relatively have slower wired charging if it meant I may have a function that’s not current on the 12R: wi-fi charging. That’s, as soon as once more, one thing the Pixel 8A gives. However that’s the fantastic thing about the 12R — it is aware of what it’s and what it isn’t. And if a low-cost telephone with a giant, high-quality display screen and wonderful efficiency is what you’re after, then the 12R is it.

Learn my full overview of the OnePlus 12R.

Display screen: 6.1-inch, 1080p OLED / Processor: Tensor Cameras: 12-megapixel f/1.7 with OIS, 8-megapixel selfie / Battery: 4,410mAh / Charging: 18W wired / Climate-resistance ranking: IP67

The Pixel 6A most likely isn’t lengthy for this world. It was introduced in 2022, Google not sells it new, and with the arrival of the Pixel 8A it’s now two generations behind. However the 6A is hanging round at third-party retailers like Amazon, and in the event you can rating one for $300, it’s a heck of a deal. It’s scheduled to get yet one more OS improve and three extra years of safety updates, which is a good return on that funding.

The telephone’s largest asset is Tensor, the custom-built chipset Google used within the firm’s 2021 flagships, the 6 and 6 Professional. Not solely does it allow good general efficiency now, but it surely additionally signifies that the 6A will sustain for a few years to return — it’ll obtain safety patches till not less than July 2027. The 6A additionally comes with an IP67 water-resistance ranking, so it’s nonetheless a great all-around wager if you’d like a funds telephone that can final.

The 6A’s 6.1-inch 1080p OLED gives an ordinary 60Hz refresh fee. It wasn’t too spectacular for the telephone’s unique $449 retail worth, however for below $400, it’s one of many higher screens on the market. Sadly, the fingerprint sensor below the show can also be on the gradual facet. It’s not unusable, but it surely’s noticeably a beat slower than one of the best fingerprint sensors on the market.

The 6A makes use of the identical 12-megapixel commonplace large digital camera as many Pixel telephones earlier than it, which continues to be an excellent digital camera — particularly for the midrange class. The telephone’s 4,410mAh battery is on the small facet, however general battery efficiency is best than its dimension would counsel. 

Learn my full overview of the Google Pixel 6A.

Display screen: 6.6-inch, 1080p decision, 120Hz OLED / Processor: Exynos 1380 Cameras: 50-megapixel f/1.8 with OIS, 8-megapixel ultrawide, 5-megapixel macro, 13-megapixel selfie / Battery: 5,000mAh / Charging: 25W wired / Climate-resistance ranking: IP67

The Samsung Galaxy A35 5G comes with surprisingly sturdy specs for its $399 worth. They’re the form of options you gained’t actually spot from the skin, however they’re necessary, significantly its IP67 ranking for mud and water resistance. In contrast to just about each different telephone at this worth, the A35 5G is constructed to face up to water immersion, so that you don’t have to sweat it in case your telephone lands in a rest room bowl or puddle.

Right here’s one other unexciting spec: 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of safety updates. That’s not the perfect within the funds class — the Pixel 8A takes that honor with seven years of updates — but it surely’s significantly better than the 2 or three years we sometimes see in telephones properly below $500.

The digital camera is lackluster; it’s nice in shiny mild however struggles in dim and blended indoor lighting. It doesn’t have the strongest processing efficiency you could find below $500, both, and the Samsung-made Exynos processor sometimes stutters when rapidly bouncing between duties. I used to be horrified — horrified! — after I by chance texted my husband one of many robotically generated replies as a result of it popped up on the final second as I used to be making an attempt to faucet on one thing else. These items don’t occur when every part masses rapidly.

However general, it’s a compelling package deal — particularly with a giant, crowd-pleasing OLED show and powerful battery efficiency. For those who’re a light-weight person and never fussy about digital camera high quality, the A35 5G gives some upgrades that make an actual distinction in the long run.

The 2024 Motorola Moto G Energy has all of the makings of a great funds telephone, together with a beautiful vegan leather-based exterior and wi-fi charging. However it’s loaded with bloatware of the worst sort, and that alone disqualifies it from our suggestions.

We additionally examined the OnePlus Nord N300, which doesn’t make an look amongst our suggestions. The N300 may be very reasonably priced at $228 however cuts too many corners to incorporate quick charging. The pricier 12R that snags our suggestion above gives significantly better general efficiency.

In case your funds has some wiggle room, there are a few $600 telephones price contemplating which are simply outdoors the scope of this information. The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is a late addition to the S23 lineup that gives a telephoto lens and an ideal display screen. And for one thing fairly completely different, the Nothing Telephone 2 is an choice with its glossy look and flashy interface (actually, it flashes) — simply know that it’s not totally appropriate with Verizon’s community.

Replace June 14th: Eliminated the Google Pixel 7A and added the Pixel 8A as our general Android decide.