Greatest low-cost telephone: 5 smartphones for underneath $500

A few of us take a sort of “I eat to stay” moderately than an “I stay to eat” method to devices. They’re instruments that allow you to get issues completed, not one thing you wish to make investments quite a lot 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 units are roughly $500 or underneath, they usually’re extra succesful than ever earlier than. You gained’t get all of the bells and whistles, however you’ll save a bit 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 underneath, too. Yow will discover a vivid, high-definition OLED display or a battery that lasts for days. Should 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 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 cost.

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 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 underneath $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 14, 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. 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 massive bezels make the system look dated, too, however the usability of a small display can be an even bigger issue through the years to come back.

That’s the most important knock in opposition to the SE — and it’s an vital one. However should you’re not apprehensive a couple of cramped display, then the SE has quite a lot of upsides. Its A15 processor is identical because the one within the iPhone 13 Professional Max, so efficiency is excellent.

There’s IP67 waterproofing and wi-fi charging — each unusual on this worth vary — and though 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 evening mode, which is a curious omission — mainly each different midrange telephone gives some form of low-light photograph mode, and the telephone’s processor is actually as much as the duty. Apple gonna Apple.

Learn my full evaluation 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 score: IP67

Google gives some superb high-end telephones within the Pixel 9, 9 Professional and 9 Professional XL, nevertheless it’s the corporate’s funds telephone that makes essentially the most sense. For $500, the Pixel 8A gives a complete lot of what makes its pricier siblings good, however at roughly half the price.

It’s a modest replace over the Pixel 7A, which you’ll be able to nonetheless purchase, however the 8A comes with one massive improve over the earlier technology: seven years of OS and safety updates. Should you’re the sort of one that likes to hold onto their system for a very long time, that’s big — particularly within the funds class the place different telephones may solely include one or two platform upgrades.

The 8A can be Google’s first funds telephone 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 in opposition to water immersion. The digital camera system is dependable, nevertheless it’s the obvious place the place Google needed to make some compromises to maintain the worth low. It’s a tremendous all-around digital camera, however stepping as much as one of many newest Pixel fashions will get you improved low gentle efficiency, an up to date ultrawide digital camera, and a complete lot of AI-powered options.

Learn my full evaluation 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 score: IP64

The OnePlus 12R is $500, nevertheless it may simply trick you into pondering it prices twice as a lot. It comes with a really massive, very good display, 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 once you want it and financial savings on battery life once you don’t. It’s a characteristic not often seen on a telephone underneath $800.

The 12R is supplied with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, which is a technology behind 2024’s processor du jour, the 8 Gen 3. However the 8 Gen 2 nonetheless whips — it’s onerous to throw something at this telephone that it could possibly’t deal with. Much less good: the 12R’s IP64 score, which implies it’s splash resistant however not totally 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 telephone on a extra compressed schedule, like throughout your morning routine moderately than at evening.

Personally, I’d moderately have slower wired charging if it meant I may 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 gives. However that’s the great 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 and glorious efficiency is what you’re after, then the 12R is it.

Learn my full evaluation 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 score: 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 should 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 an honest 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 total efficiency now, nevertheless it additionally signifies that the 6A will sustain for a few years to come back — it’ll obtain safety patches till no less than July 2027. The 6A additionally comes with an IP67 water-resistance score, so it’s nonetheless a very good all-around wager if you need a funds telephone that may final.

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

The 6A makes use of the identical 12-megapixel customary vast 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 aspect, however total battery efficiency is best than its dimension would counsel. 

Learn my full evaluation 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 score: IP67

The Samsung Galaxy A35 5G comes with surprisingly sturdy specs for its $399 worth. They’re the sort of options you gained’t actually spot from the surface, however they’re vital, significantly its IP67 score for mud and water resistance. Not like nearly each different telephone at this worth, the A35 5G is constructed to face up to water immersion, so that you don’t must 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 easiest within the funds class — the Pixel 8A takes that honor with seven years of updates — nevertheless it’s a lot better than the 2 or three years we usually see in telephones effectively underneath $500.

The digital camera is lackluster; it’s tremendous in vivid gentle however struggles in dim and combined indoor lighting. It doesn’t have the strongest processing efficiency you could find underneath $500, both, and the Samsung-made Exynos processor sometimes stutters when shortly bouncing between duties. I used to be horrified — horrified! — once 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 little thing masses shortly.

However total, it’s a compelling package deal — particularly with a giant, crowd-pleasing OLED show and powerful battery efficiency. Should you’re a lightweight consumer 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 very good funds telephone, together with a beautiful vegan leather-based exterior and wi-fi charging. Nevertheless it’s loaded with bloatware of the worst type, and that alone disqualifies it from our suggestions. Learn our impressions.

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 a lot better total efficiency. Learn our evaluation.

In case your funds has some wiggle room, there are a few $600 telephones value contemplating which can be simply exterior the scope of this information. The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is a late addition to the S23 lineup, one that provides a telephoto lens and a fantastic display however lacks the AI options discovered on the lately introduced S24 FE. And for one thing fairly completely different, the Nothing Telephone 2 is an possibility with its modern look and flashy interface (actually, it flashes) — simply know that it’s not totally appropriate with Verizon’s community.

Replace, September twenty sixth: Adjusted pricing and added a point out of the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, which is now obtainable beginning at $649.99.