What Is The Cheapest Smartphone To Buy
What Is The Cheapest Smartphone To Buy – You don’t get everything for this price, but you do get a great smartphone. Whether you want an iPhone, a 120Hz display, or water resistance, you have options.
Author: Allison Johnson, a reviewer with 10 years of experience writing about consumer technology. He has a special interest in mobile photography and communications. He previously worked at DPReview.
What Is The Cheapest Smartphone To Buy
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Buying A New Iphone Or Android Phone? Consider These Things First
You can get a great device for less than $500 these days if you know how to choose your priorities.
Some of us take an “eat to eat” rather than “live to eat” approach to our devices. This is not a tool you want to invest a lot of time or money into, but rather a tool that will help you get the job done. If that’s you and you don’t have the judgment of a certified gadget expert, you can probably think of more useful ways to spend $1,000 than on a phone.
Budget calls to the rescue. These devices cost roughly $500 or less and perform better than ever before. You won’t get all the bells and whistles, but you’ll save some money to spend on the actual bells and whistles. This is your world.
You will need at least two years of operating system updates, and ideally three years of security updates. There’s no point in buying a cheap phone if you have to replace it after a few years because the security patches stop working.
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We look at our screens nearly 2,000 times a day, so our phone screens are non-negotiable. OLED has better contrast and color than LCD, and the large screens on today’s phones require at least 1080p resolution. Faster refresh rates like 90Hz and even 120Hz are becoming increasingly common on budget phone screens, but for my money, a smooth-scrolling LCD doesn’t look as good as an OLED with a standard soda refresh rate.
If you plan on keeping your phone for a while, you’ll need enough storage space to store all the system files, photos, and videos you’ll accumulate over the years. Ideally, you’ll have at least 128GB built-in, but you’re looking for at least 64GB with the option to expand the space via MicroSD card.
Upgrades like telephoto cameras and optical image stabilization are rare in the sub-$500 class, but you can expect good basic performance with good lighting in modern smartphones. Low light is more difficult. Phones in this class should offer a night mode to help with stationary subjects in very low lighting. And adding additional macro and depth cameras to remove the rear camera row doesn’t award any extra points. 2-megapixel and 5-megapixel sensors are useless.
Many of the products we recommend cost around $400 or $500, but there are plenty of options for under $300. You’ll find bright, high-definition OLED screens or batteries that last for days. If you’re willing to improve on the one or two features that matter most to you and compromise on others, you can get a phone that suits your needs for half the price of a flagship.
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What compromises can you expect from a budget phone? Some combination of the following: a slower processor, less storage, and a worse camera than a flagship phone in almost every way. Many have low-resolution screens, and most lack official ratings for water resistance, wireless charging, and NFC chips for contactless payments.
The 2022 iPhone SE could last more than five years if properly maintained, thanks to Apple’s excellent track record of delivering iOS updates to older devices. But the tiny 4.7-inch screen feels cramped now and will likely be difficult to use five years from now as apps and web pages continue to be designed for larger screens. Read our reviews.
Display: 4.7-inch LCD, 1334p / Processor: A15 Bionic Camera: 12-megapixel f/1.8 (with OIS), 7-megapixel selfie / Charging: wired 20W, wireless 7.5W / Weatherability rating: IP67
The 128GB iPhone SE is the best value smartphone on the market right now. Considering that it will continue to receive iOS updates for over 5 years, or even 6-7 years, $479 is a hefty price.
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But before you buy an SE that you’re expecting to cruise around for the next decade without buying a new phone, make sure you can afford the tiny, tiny 4.7-inch screen. It’s the same size as the iPhone 6, but I’m starting to feel frustrated in an age where apps and web pages are designed to fit larger screens. The SE’s large bezels also make the device look dated, but the usability of the smaller screen will likely be a bigger factor in the coming years.
This is the biggest knock against the SE. Otherwise, this is a great mid-range device. The A15 processor is the same as the iPhone 13 Pro Max and has good performance. It has IP67 water resistance and wireless charging, which are rare in this price range, and can take great photos and high-definition videos despite using an older 12-megapixel camera. The camera does not have a night mode. This is a glaring omission. Many other mid-range phones offer some sort of low-light photo mode, and the phone’s processor is certainly up to the task. Apple is Apple.
This SE generation offers low- and mid-band 5G connectivity. This is great. You won’t have the fast millimeter wave 5G you’ll find at NFL stadiums, but it won’t lose you any sleep. Battery life has also improved over the previous generation and will typically last all day unless you’re doing heavy tasks like gaming or video streaming.
If you can live with a smaller screen and don’t mind the lack of night mode, I recommend getting the 128GB version. The base model’s 64GB of storage isn’t enough, and if you use this phone for years to come, you’ll be glad you spent the extra $50.
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The Pixel 7A comes with a lot of features that are hard to find for around $500, including wireless charging and an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance. It’s not the cheapest phone in its class, but it’s best suited for long distance travel. Read our reviews.
Display: 6.1-inch OLED, 1080p, 90Hz / Processor: Tensor G2 Camera: 64 megapixel f/1.89 OIS applied, 13 megapixel ultra-wide angle, 13 megapixel selfie / Battery: 4,385 mAh / Charging: 18 W cable included /, weather resistance Rating: IP67
Google Pixel 7A raises the bar on what you can expect from a mid-range phone. At $499, it’s on the high end of what we might consider “budget” and slightly more expensive than its closest competitor in the US, the Samsung Galaxy A54, which costs $449. But with class-leading cameras and flagship extras like wireless charging, it’s a step ahead of its mid-range counterparts.
One of the 7A’s biggest updates is its new 6.1-inch 90Hz screen, which makes animations and scrolling look smoother than last year’s 60Hz panel. The 7A uses the same Tensor G2 chipset found in the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro and a healthy 8GB of RAM. This results in excellent performance for everyday tasks as well as heavy tasks such as gaming. The 7A also features an aluminum frame and IP67-rated dust and water resistance, making it more rugged than your average midrange.
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Battery life is enough to last a full day with moderate use, but if you add in extended gaming sessions, you may need to replace the battery before going to bed. Wireless charging is rarely possible in this class of low-priced phones. If you already have a wireless charging habit, the 7A will fit perfectly into your routine.
The camera is where the Pixel 7A really shines. It is based on a new 64-megapixel main camera with ultra-wide-angle capacity and optical stabilization. That’s not all you get from a flagship camera. There’s no video portrait mode or telephoto, but it’s reliable in low-light situations, where competitors like the A54 struggle.
Google’s current flagships are the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, so the 7A seems like a step back. In some ways, yes. The 8 series phones use the latest Tensor G3 chipset and bring some useful upgrades such as face unlock for mobile payments and seven years of software support. The Pixel 7A is technically six months behind the 8 series, but a few small updates make the 8 and 8 Pro feel like a leap forward. The 7A is still the best in its class right now, but if you can tolerate it, it might be worth waiting to see what the Pixel 8A has to offer. It will probably be the summer of 2024.
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G adopts the rear panel design and other key features of the S23 series, starting at 6.4 inches.
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