Best cheap phone: five smartphones for under $500

A few of us take a sort of “I eat to reside” somewhat than an “I reside to eat” strategy to devices. They’re instruments that aid you get issues performed, not one thing you wish to make investments lots of time or cash in. If that’s you — and there’s no judgment right here from a certifiable gadget nerd — then you may in all probability consider extra worthwhile methods to spend $1,000 than on a telephone.

Finances telephones to the rescue. These gadgets are roughly $500 or below, 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 below, too. You will discover a brilliant, high-definition OLED display or a battery that lasts for days. If you happen to can hone in on the one or two options which might be most necessary to you and also you’re keen to compromise elsewhere, you may get a telephone that fits your wants for half the worth of a flagship.

What compromises are you able to anticipate from a finances 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 rankings, 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 finances has a strict $500 cap and also you’re in search of a brand new iPhone, the selection is simple. The 2022 iPhone SE is the solely new iPhone below $500. It’s the least costly option to get into the iOS ecosystem and it’ll do the job, however I’d strongly encourage anybody trying on the SE to contemplate whether or not it’s doable to spend a bit extra on an iPhone 14, 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. 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 net pages are designed for greater screens. The SE’s massive bezels make the system look dated, too, however the usability of a small display shall be an even bigger issue through the years to come back.

That’s the largest knock in opposition to the SE — and it’s an necessary one. However when you’re not nervous a couple of cramped display, then the SE has lots 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 value vary — and despite the fact that it makes use of an older 12-megapixel digicam, it takes very good images and high-quality video clips. The digicam has no night time mode, which is a curious omission — mainly each different midrange telephone affords some kind of low-light picture mode, and the telephone’s processor is definitely 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 ranking: IP67

Google affords some excellent high-end telephones within the Pixel 9, 9 Professional and 9 Professional XL, nevertheless it’s the corporate’s finances telephone that makes essentially the most sense. For $500, the Pixel 8A affords an entire lot of what makes its pricier siblings good, however at roughly half the fee.

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 era: seven years of OS and safety updates. If you happen to’re the sort of one who likes to hold onto their system for a very long time, that’s big — particularly within the finances class the place different telephones would possibly solely include one or two platform upgrades.

The 8A can be Google’s first finances telephone to come back with a 120Hz show, so scrolling and animations look tremendous {smooth}. You additionally get wi-fi charging and an IP67 ranking for cover in opposition to water immersion. The digicam 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 effective all-around digicam, however stepping as much as one of many newest Pixel fashions will get you improved low gentle efficiency, an up to date ultrawide digicam, and an entire 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 ranking: IP64

The OnePlus 12R is $500, nevertheless it might 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 if you want it and financial savings on battery life if you don’t. It’s a characteristic not often seen on a telephone below $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 exhausting to throw something at this telephone that it could possibly’t deal with. Much less good: the 12R’s IP64 ranking, which suggests 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 somewhat than at night time.

Personally, I’d somewhat 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 affords. 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 ranking: IP67

The Pixel 6A in all probability 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 when 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 total efficiency now, nevertheless it additionally implies 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 ranking, so it’s nonetheless all-around guess if you need a finances telephone that can final.

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

The 6A makes use of the identical 12-megapixel normal extensive digicam as many Pixel telephones earlier than it, which remains to be an excellent digicam — particularly for the midrange class. The telephone’s 4,410mAh battery is on the small aspect, however total battery efficiency is healthier 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 ranking: 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 skin, however they’re necessary, notably its IP67 ranking for mud and water resistance. Not like just about each different telephone at this value, 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 perfect within the finances class — the Pixel 8A takes that honor with seven years of updates — nevertheless it’s significantly better than the 2 or three years we sometimes see in telephones effectively below $500.

The digicam is lackluster; it’s effective in brilliant gentle however struggles in dim and blended indoor lighting. It doesn’t have the strongest processing efficiency you will discover below $500, both, and the Samsung-made Exynos processor often stutters when shortly bouncing between duties. I used to be horrified — horrified! — once 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 a giant, crowd-pleasing OLED show and robust battery efficiency. If you happen to’re a lightweight person and never fussy about digicam high quality, the A35 5G affords some upgrades that make an actual distinction in the long run.

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

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 suggestion above affords significantly better total efficiency. Learn our evaluation.

In case your finances has some wiggle room, there are a few $600 telephones value contemplating which might be simply outdoors 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 excellent display. And for one thing fairly completely different, the Nothing Telephone 2 is an possibility with its smooth look and flashy interface (actually, it flashes) — simply know that it’s not totally suitable with Verizon’s community.

Replace, September nineteenth: Adjusted pricing and up to date the Pixel 8A part to replicate the arrival of Google’s Pixel 9 collection telephones.