Everything is more expensive these days, but that doesn’t mean you need to spend $1,200 to get a decent smartphone.
Even in the age of RAMageddon, there are solid deals to be found on phones for $700 or less.
Companies like Apple, Samsung, Google, and OnePlus have all released such budget or midrange handsets in the past few months. So if you’re in the market for a quality smartphone that won’t break the bank, here’s our pick of the best options available right now.
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Apple iPhone 17e
It’s not the best iPhone, but it’s still an iPhone.
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
Price: $599
Apple’s Apple 17e is one of the most expensive phones on this list – but paying an extra $100 to get the benefits of the Apple ecosystem has long been worth it to begin with.
For that price, you get a good dang smartphone. It’s powered by the A19, one of the newest chips in Apple’s portfolio, which means it can access all the current and upcoming Apple Intelligence features while maintaining solid performance. Battery life is similarly good enough for the price.
You’ll be compromising camera and display quality if you go with the 17e instead of a more expensive model. But if that’s not important to you, even a compromise iPhone can stand out among this budget-level competition.
Google Pixel 10a
Probably the best color of the group.
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
Price: $499
Google’s Pixel A-series line has been a staple of “best budget smartphones” lists for years. That’s thanks to Google’s ability to make each release shockingly close to the quality of the flagship phone it’s based on.
The Pixel 10a doesn’t reach that level, but it’s still a great device. Google’s famous camera quality has not changed on the Pixel 10a, to go along with the newly flat back that can always shine on your desk – something that even Samsung’s flagship phone, with its many cameras, can’t handle.
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Fast wired and wireless charging are also nice additions to the Pixel 10a, as is the brighter display. You won’t get the latest and greatest Google Tensor processor or all of Google’s AI features — but for $499, it’s still a lot of money.
Samsung Galaxy A57 5G
It’s not the best phone on this list, but it’s still good.
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
Price: $549
Samsung’s Galaxy A57 5G is probably the best phone on this list. But if you want to stay in the Samsung ecosystem, you could do a lot worse.
The A57 has some issues. There may be weak WiFi connections in unusual network locations. Unlocking Face ID is very slow. And if you’re looking for Galaxy AI features, you won’t find many here.
But it’s still only $549 and comes with a great display, solid performance, and great battery life. If you don’t need all the fancy, new bells and whistles in a phone, you’ll do just fine with the A57 5G.
Nothing Phone 4(a) Pro
Probably the best looking phone here.
Credit: Adam Doud/Mashable
Price: $499
Nothing has been one of the most interesting phone manufacturers in the last few years. The British design-focused firm ignores the high-end features of its affordable phones, focusing on style and coolness.
Nothing 4(a) Pro fits in this category. For just $499, you get a large 6.8-inch AMOLED display with a fast 144Hz refresh rate and a 5,000mAh battery — not to mention the fun “Glyph Matrix” LCD on the back.
Sure, you get a mid-range Snapdragon chipset and a whopping 256GB of storage, but that’s a welcome trade-off for such a cheap phone. If you’d like to have a great display and excellent battery life with all the latest AI features, Nothing might be what you’re looking for.
OnePlus 15R
OnePlus is always reliable.
Credit: OnePlus
Price: $699
The most expensive phone on our list, the OnePlus 15R almost got lost when it was launched in mid-December last year. Mashable didn’t get a chance to review this one – but our colleagues at PCMag did, and they had a lot of good things to say about it.
$699 is almost out of the mid-range price range, but you get a lot of good stuff for that price. Gaming is great on this phone, as the OnePlus 15R’s 6.8-inch display can go up to a 165Hz refresh rate. It has enough impressive resolution and high brightness. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset is also one of the most powerful you’ll find in any phone in this price range.
OnePlus has cut some corners in terms of cameras and mmWave 5G support – but otherwise, this might be the closest you can get to a flagship phone at a mid-range price.
