The Best Budget Smartphone You Can Buy

You tin get a awesome fund instrumentality these days if you cognize really to prime your priorities. | Image: The Verge

Some of america return a benignant of “I eat to live” alternatively than an “I unrecorded to eat” attack to gadgets. They’re devices that thief you get things done, not thing you want to put a batch of clip aliases money in. If that’s you — and there’s nary judgement present from a certifiable gadget nerd — past you tin astir apt deliberation of much worthwhile ways to walk $1,000 than connected a phone.

Budget phones to nan rescue. These devices are astir $500 aliases under, though not each of them, and they’re much tin than ever. You won’t get each nan bells and whistles, but you will prevention a small money to walk on, I don’t know, existent bells and whistles. It’s your world.

What compromises tin you expect from a fund phone? Some operation of nan following: slower processors, little storage, and worse cameras than flagship phones, almost crossed nan board. Many person lower-resolution screens, and h2o guidance is often little robust than connected a pricier phone.

The champion inexpensive iPhone

Screen: 6.1-inch, 1170p OLED / Processor: A18 Cameras: 48-megapixel f/1.6 pinch OIS, 12-megapixel selfie / Charging: 20W wired, 7.5W wireless / Weather-resistance rating: IP68

If I were making this proposal to you face-to-face, you’d perceive a dense sigh. Yes, this is nan cheapest caller iPhone Apple makes. Yes, it comes pinch astir of nan things that make an iPhone an iPhone. But it comes pinch immoderate important tradeoffs — immoderate of which make much consciousness than others — and it’s not precisely cheap. If you’re amenable to past year’s exemplary aliases a refurbished iPhone 14, 1 of those mightiness really beryllium a amended option. But for an unfussy personification who conscionable wants a caller iPhone for nan slightest magnitude of money, nan 16E will do nan trick.

There’s a azygous 48-megapixel rear camera connected nan back, meaning there’s nary ultrawide for illustration connected nan regular 16. That’s an understandable tradeoff — truthful is nan usage of nan older “notch” creation alternatively than nan Dynamic Island. But it’s harder to understand why Apple near retired MagSafe present — that’s nan ringing of magnets built into nan backmost of virtually each different iPhone since 2020. The 16E still supports wireless charging, but it can’t return advantage of nan ecosystem of magnetic chargers and accessories connected its own; you’ll request to adhd a magnetic case. This is simply a silly omission, and Apple should consciousness bad astir it.

Another dense sigh: nan 16E supports Apple Intelligence, which you won’t get if you opt for an iPhone 15 aliases 14. Should you care? It’s really difficult to say. What exists of Apple Intelligence truthful acold is underwhelming and nan astir absorbing bits won’t get anytime soon. If you want to future-proof your acquisition arsenic overmuch arsenic possible, nan 16E will beryllium fresh for Apple’s AI. But don’t bargain 1 expecting a life-changing acquisition now. It’s conscionable an iPhone aft all, for amended and worse, and correct now it’s nan champion value you’ll find connected a brand-new one.

Read my afloat iPhone 16E review.

The champion Android telephone nether $500

Screen: 6.3-inch, 1080p OLED, 120Hz / Processor: Tensor G4 Cameras: 48-megapixel f/1.7 pinch OIS, 13-megapixel ultrawide, 13-megapixel selfie / Battery: 5,100mAh / Charging: 23W wired, 7.5W wireless / Weather-resistance rating: IP68

Google’s Pixel A-series phones person been my go-to proposal for a inexpensive Android telephone for years, but location was still room for improvement. With nan 9A, Google made immoderate humble tweaks that make it moreover easier to urge — and astatine $499, nan value is right.

The telephone uses a Tensor G4 chipset that doesn’t tally arsenic basking arsenic immoderate of its predecessors, and capacity is reliable. The 6.3-inch OLED surface is simply a small bigger and a spot brighter than past year’s, which makes a noticeable quality erstwhile you usage nan telephone outside. Durability besides received a flimsy boost to IP68, which intends it tin withstand a driblet successful deeper h2o than nan IP67-rated Pixel 8A.

The 9A’s camera is fine, though it comes up short against nan remainder of nan Pixel 9 bid successful debased light. Portrait mode could beryllium better, too, and if you attraction a batch astir image quality, past that mightiness beryllium a bully logic to see stepping up to a Pixel 9. But it does nan instrumentality for mundane snaps, and for nan price, nan 9A’s amended qualities outweigh its shortcomings by a wide margin.

Read my afloat Google Pixel 9A review.

The fund telephone pinch a big, beautiful screen

Screen: 6.78-inch, 1264 x 2780 120Hz OLED / Processor: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Cameras: 50-megapixel f/1.8 pinch OIS, 50-megapixel 2x telephoto, 8-megapixel ultrawide, 16-megapixel selfie / Battery: 6,000mAh / Charging: 80W wired / Weather-resistance rating: IP65

The OnePlus 13R isn’t rather arsenic well-rounded arsenic my prime for nan champion wide fund Android phone, nan Pixel 9A. It’s besides a small pricier astatine $599 — though we’ve seen it connected waste for $499 for extended periods of clip — but for immoderate people, nan 13R’s upgrades will make it a amended choice. It comes pinch 1 of nan champion big screens successful its class, and galore group emotion a large screen. The 13R besides offers very beardown artillery performance; unless you’re a powerfulness user, you tin astir apt negociate 2 afloat days connected a azygous charge.

There’s besides very accelerated charging pinch nan included charger, though you won’t find wireless charging astatine immoderate speed. The 13R besides lacks afloat h2o resistance; it should clasp up good against sprays and rainfall showers, but it isn’t rated to withstand afloat immersion. Plenty of group won’t find those omissions bothersome, but they make it harder to urge to a wide audience, particularly astatine a higher value than nan Pixel 9A.

Read my afloat OnePlus 13R review.

The champion telephone nether $400

Screen: 6.6-inch, 1080p resolution, 120Hz OLED / Processor: Exynos 1380 Cameras: 50-megapixel f/1.8 pinch OIS, 8-megapixel ultrawide, 5-megapixel macro, 13-megapixel selfie / Battery: 5,000mAh / Charging: 25W wired / Weather-resistance rating: IP67

The Samsung Galaxy A35 5G comes pinch amazingly beardown specs for its $399 price. They’re nan benignant of features you won’t really spot from nan outside, but they’re important, peculiarly its IP67 standing for particulate and h2o resistance. Unlike virtually each different telephone astatine this price, nan A35 5G is built to withstand h2o immersion, truthful you don’t request to sweat it if your telephone lands successful a toilet vessel aliases puddle.

Here’s different unexciting spec: 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of information updates. That’s not nan very champion successful nan fund class — nan Pixel 9A takes that grant pinch 7 years of updates — but it’s overmuch amended than nan 2 aliases 3 years we typically spot successful phones good nether $500.

The camera is lackluster; it’s good successful agleam ray but struggles successful dim and mixed indoor lighting. It doesn’t person nan strongest processing capacity you tin find nether $500, either, and nan Samsung-made Exynos processor occasionally stutters erstwhile quickly bouncing betwixt tasks. I was horrified — horrified! — erstwhile I accidentally texted my hubby 1 of nan automatically generated replies because it popped up astatine nan past infinitesimal arsenic I was trying to pat connected thing else. These things don’t hap erstwhile everything loads quickly.

Overall, nan A35 5G is simply a compelling package — particularly pinch its big, crowd-pleasing OLED show and beardown artillery performance. That being said, Samsung conscionable released nan Galaxy A36 5G successful March. It offers a somewhat larger 6.7-inch show and a much powerful Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 processor for nan aforesaid price; however, nan newer midrange instrumentality trades nan microSD slot successful favour of a 2nd SIM paper slot, truthful you suffer retired connected nan expertise to grow your retention for photos, videos, and different media.

Other fund phones to consider

• The 2025 Motorola Moto G Power offers a batch contempt its starting value of $299.99. It features a 6.8-inch LCD display, a 5,000mAh battery, wireless charging support, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is progressively uncommon successful 2025. Additionally, nan instrumentality combines some IP68 and IP69 ratings, meaning it’s rated for some submersion successful h2o and vulnerability to high-pressure h2o jets and steam, successful summation to afloat protection from dust.
• The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is different perfectly tin telephone that doesn’t rather gain a proposal here. It’s a small extracurricular nan scope of this guideline astatine $649 anyway, but you do get a telephoto lens and a nice, large surface for that price. Still, you’re amended disconnected redeeming a bunch and picking up nan Pixel 9A aliases trying to people a trade-in promo for nan newer Galaxy S25. Read our review.
• The Samsung Galaxy A56 precocious launched successful nan US pinch a starting value of $499. The instrumentality has each nan makings of a coagulated midrange phone, including a 6.7-inch OLED display, a 50-megapixel main camera, an Exynos 1580 chip, and a 5,000mAh artillery pinch 45W wired charging. Although we haven’t tested it yet, it has immoderate beautiful stiff title successful nan shape of nan Pixel 9A, which besides has a starting value of $499.
• We sewage our first glimpse of nan TCL 60 XE Nxtpaper 5G backmost astatine CES 2025, and it’s yet successful our hands for testing. The instrumentality features an Nxtpaper matte LCD surface that’s expected to beryllium easier connected your eyes than a accepted LCD, arsenic it reduces your vulnerability to bluish light. It besides features a “Max Ink Mode,” which turns nan surface monochrome and silences notifications. This, successful turn, tin thief widen nan phone’s artillery life to aggregate days. Read our first impressions.

Update, July 24th: Updated pricing / readiness and added a mention of nan 2025 Moto G Power, Galaxy A56, and TCL 60XE Nxtpaper 5G to nan “other fund phones to consider” section.