Best cheap phone: five smartphones for under $500

A few of us take a sort of “I eat to stay” moderately than an “I stay to eat” strategy to devices. They’re instruments that aid you get issues completed, not one thing you need to make investments a variety 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 cellphone.

Finances telephones to the rescue. These units are roughly $500 or beneath, they usually’re extra succesful than ever earlier than. You gained’t get all of the bells and whistles, however you’ll save slightly 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. Yow will discover a vibrant, high-definition OLED display or a battery that lasts for days. When you can hone in on the one or two options which can be most essential to you and also you’re keen 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, 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: 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 searching for a brand new iPhone, the selection is simple. The 2022 iPhone SE is the solely new iPhone beneath $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 wanting 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 essential 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 large bezels make the system look dated, too, however the usability of a small display will probably be a much bigger issue through the years to come back.

That’s the largest knock towards the SE — and it’s an essential one. However for those who’re not anxious a couple of cramped display, then the SE has a variety 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 value vary — and regardless that it makes use of an older 12-megapixel digicam, it takes very good pictures and high-quality video clips. The digicam has no night time mode, which is a curious omission — principally each different midrange cellphone gives some type of low-light photograph mode, and the cellphone’s processor is actually as much as the duty. Apple gonna Apple.

Read my full review 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 ranking: IP67

Google gives some excellent high-end telephones within the Pixel 9, 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL, but it surely’s the corporate’s funds cellphone 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 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. When 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 cellphone 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 towards water immersion. The digicam 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 effective all-around digicam, however stepping as much as one of many newest Pixel fashions will get you improved low mild efficiency, an up to date ultrawide digicam, and an entire lot of AI-powered options.

Read my full review 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 ranking: 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 large, 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 while you want it and financial savings on battery life while you don’t. It’s a characteristic not often seen on a cellphone beneath $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 (the forthcoming 13R is rumored to characteristic the latter). However the 8 Gen 2 nonetheless whips — it’s arduous to throw something at this cellphone that it might probably’t deal with. Much less good: the 12R’s IP64 ranking, 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 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 cellphone with an enormous, high-quality display and glorious efficiency is what you’re after, then the 12R is it.

Read my full review of the OnePlus 12R.

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 ranking: IP67

The Samsung Galaxy A35 5G comes with surprisingly sturdy specs for its $399 value. They’re the sort of options you gained’t actually spot from the surface, however they’re essential, significantly its IP67 ranking for mud and water resistance. Not like nearly each different cellphone 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 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 a lot better than the 2 or three years we usually see in telephones nicely beneath $500.

The digicam is lackluster; it’s effective in vibrant mild 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 sometimes stutters when shortly 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 attempting to faucet on one thing else. These items don’t occur when all the pieces hundreds shortly.

However total, it’s a compelling package deal — particularly with an enormous, crowd-pleasing OLED show and robust battery efficiency. When you’re a light-weight person and never fussy about digicam high quality, the A35 5G gives some upgrades that make an actual distinction in the long run.

The 2024 Motorola Moto G Power has all of the makings of a great funds cellphone, 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. Read our 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 gives a lot better total efficiency. Read our review.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is one other completely succesful cellphone that doesn’t fairly earn a suggestion right here. It’s slightly outdoors the scope of this information at $649 anyway, however you do get a telephoto lens and a pleasant, large display for that value. Nonetheless, you’re higher off saving a bunch and selecting up the Pixel 8A or ready for the Galaxy S25 — it’s possible arriving in early 2025 with Samsung’s usually beneficiant trade-in promotions. Read our review.

Lastly, for those who’re searching for one thing fairly totally different, the Nothing Phone 2 is an choice with its modern look and flashy interface (actually, it flashes) — simply know that it’s not absolutely suitable with Verizon’s community.

Replace, January third: Adjusted pricing and availability for 2025.