Finest low cost cellphone: 5 smartphones for beneath $500

A few of us take a sort of “I eat to live” moderately than an “I live to eat” strategy to devices. They’re instruments that make it easier to get issues performed, not one thing you need to make investments a whole lot of time or cash in. If that’s you — and there’s no judgment right here from a certifiable gadget nerd — then you’ll be able to most likely consider extra worthwhile methods to spend $1,000 than on a cellphone.

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

A lot of our picks run about $400 or $500, however there are nice choices for $300 and beneath, too. You’ll find a brilliant, high-definition OLED display screen or a battery that lasts for days. In case you can hone in on the one or two options which can be most vital to you and also you’re prepared to compromise elsewhere, you may get a cellphone that fits your wants for half the worth of a flagship.

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

Display: 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 score: IP67

In case your funds has a strict $500 cap and also you’re searching for a brand new iPhone, the selection is straightforward. The 2022 iPhone SE is the solely new iPhone beneath $500. It’s the least costly strategy to get into the iOS ecosystem and it’ll do the job, however I’d 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 vital 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 measurement because the one on the iPhone 6, and it’s beginning to really feel cramped in an age when apps and net pages are designed for larger screens. The SE’s huge bezels make the system look dated, too, however the usability of a small display screen will likely be an even bigger issue over time to come back.

That’s the largest knock towards the SE — and it’s an vital one. However in case you’re not anxious a couple of cramped display screen, then the SE has a whole lot of upsides. Its A15 processor is identical 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 value vary — and despite the fact that it makes use of an older 12-megapixel digital camera, it takes very good images and high-quality video clips. The digital camera has no night time mode, which is a curious omission — mainly each different midrange cellphone presents some form of low-light photograph mode, and the cellphone’s processor is actually as much as the duty. Apple gonna Apple.

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

Display: 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 score: IP67

Google presents some superb high-end telephones within the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional, but it surely’s the corporate’s funds cellphone that makes essentially the most sense. For $500, the Pixel 8A presents 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 huge improve over the earlier era: seven years of OS and safety updates. In case you’re the sort of one who likes to hold onto their system for a very long time, that’s enormous — particularly within the funds class the place different telephones would possibly solely include one or two platform upgrades.

The 8A can be Google’s first funds cellphone to come back with a 120Hz show, so scrolling and animations look tremendous {smooth}. You additionally get wi-fi charging and an IP67 score 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 fantastic all-around digital camera, however stepping as much as the Pixel 8 or 8 Professional will get you higher low gentle and zoom efficiency.

Learn my full assessment of the Google Pixel 8A.

Display: 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 score: IP64

The OnePlus 12R is $500, but it surely might simply trick you into pondering it prices twice as a lot. It comes with a really huge, very good display screen, with refresh charges that go as much as 120Hz and all the way in which all the way down to 1Hz, making for a {smooth} scrolling expertise while you want it and financial savings on battery life while you don’t. It’s a characteristic hardly ever seen on a cellphone beneath $800.

The 12R is supplied 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 arduous to throw something at this cellphone that it could’t deal with. Much less good: the 12R’s IP64 score, which implies it’s splash resistant however not absolutely water immersible, just like the Pixel 8A.

Quick charging is sort 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 cellphone on a extra compressed schedule, like throughout your morning routine moderately than at night time.

Personally, I’d moderately have slower wired charging if it meant I might have a characteristic that’s not current on the 12R: wi-fi charging. That’s, as soon as once more, one thing the Pixel 8A presents. 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 cellphone with an enormous, high-quality display screen and wonderful efficiency is what you’re after, then the 12R is it.

Learn my full assessment of the OnePlus 12R.

Display: 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 score: IP67

The Pixel 6A most likely isn’t lengthy for this world. It was introduced in 2022, Google now 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 case you can rating one for $300, it’s a heck of a deal. It’s scheduled to get another OS improve and three extra years of safety updates, which is an honest return on that funding.

The cellphone’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 total efficiency now, but it surely additionally signifies that the 6A will sustain for a few years to come back — it’ll obtain safety patches till not less than July 2027. The 6A additionally comes with an IP67 water-resistance score, so it’s nonetheless all-around wager if you need a funds cellphone that can final.

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

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

Learn my full assessment of the Google Pixel 6A.

Display: 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 score: IP67

The Samsung Galaxy A35 5G comes with surprisingly robust specs for its $399 value. They’re the sort of options you gained’t actually spot from the surface, however they’re vital, notably its IP67 score for mud and water resistance. In contrast to just about each different cellphone at this value, the A35 5G is constructed to resist water immersion, so that you don’t have to sweat it in case your cellphone 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 effectively beneath $500.

The digital camera is lackluster; it’s fantastic in brilliant gentle however struggles in dim and blended indoor lighting. It doesn’t have the strongest processing efficiency you could find beneath $500, both, and the Samsung-made Exynos processor often stutters when shortly bouncing between duties. I used to be horrified — horrified! — after I by chance texted my husband one of many mechanically generated replies as a result of it popped up on the final second as I used to be attempting to faucet on one thing else. This stuff don’t occur when every part hundreds shortly.

However total, it’s a compelling package deal — particularly with an enormous, crowd-pleasing OLED show and powerful battery efficiency. In case you’re a lightweight person and never fussy about digital camera high quality, the A35 5G presents some upgrades that make an actual distinction in the long run.

The 2024 Motorola Moto G Energy has all of the makings of funds cellphone, together with a beautiful vegan leather-based exterior and wi-fi charging. But it surely’s loaded with bloatware of the worst type, 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 could be very inexpensive at $228 however cuts too many corners to incorporate quick charging. The pricier 12R that snags our advice above presents significantly better total efficiency.

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

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