A few of us take a sort of “I eat to dwell” quite than an “I dwell to eat” strategy to devices. They’re instruments that aid you get issues carried out, 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 most likely consider extra worthwhile methods to spend $1,000 than on a telephone.
Finances telephones to the rescue. These units are roughly $500 or beneath, although not all of them, and so they’re extra succesful than ever. You received’t get all of the bells and whistles, however you’ll save a bit cash to spend on, I don’t know, precise bells and whistles. It’s your world.
What I’m on the lookout for
How we take a look at
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There’s no shortcut to correctly testing a telephone; I put my private SIM card (bodily or in any other case) in every telephone I assessment and dwell with it for at least one full week. I arrange every telephone from scratch, load it up with my apps, and go about dwelling my life — stress testing the battery, utilizing GPS navigation on my bike whereas streaming radio, taking rapid-fire portrait mode photographs of my child — all the pieces I can throw at it. Beginning over with a brand new telephone each week both feels like a dream or your private hell, relying on how Into Telephones you’re. For me, switching has grow to be so routine that it’s largely painless.
Sturdy software program help
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A minimum of a few years of OS upgrades and, ideally, three years of safety updates. There’s no level in shopping for even an affordable telephone if it’s important to substitute it after simply a few years as a result of it stopped getting safety patches.
An excellent display screen
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Because you have a look at it roughly two thousand occasions a day, your telephone’s display screen is one place you shouldn’t compromise. An OLED has richer distinction and shade than an LCD, and the large screens on as we speak’s telephones really want not less than a 1080p decision. Sooner refresh charges like 90Hz and even 120Hz have gotten extra widespread on finances telephone screens; nevertheless, for my cash, a smooth-scrolling LCD doesn’t look as good as an OLED with an ordinary refresh charge.
Serviceable space for storing
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Should you plan to hold onto your telephone for some time, you’ll need sufficient space for storing to accommodate all of the system information, photographs, and movies you’ll accumulate through the years. Ideally, you’ll get not less than 128GB in-built.
One good rear digital camera, not 4 mediocre ones
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Upgrades like telephoto cameras and optical picture stabilization are uncommon within the under-$500 class, however you may nonetheless anticipate good, fundamental efficiency in good lighting from any fashionable smartphone. Low gentle is trickier. Telephones on this class ought to provide an evening mode to assist with non-moving topics in very dim gentle. And there aren’t any bonus factors awarded for including further macro and depth cameras to pad out the rear digital camera array — these 2- and 5-megapixel sensors are just about ineffective.
What compromises are you able to anticipate from a finances telephone? Some mixture of the next: slower processors, much less storage, and worse cameras than flagship telephones, virtually throughout the board. Many have lower-resolution screens, and water resistance is commonly much less strong than on a pricier telephone.
$599
The Good
- Dependable efficiency
- Good, if restricted, digital camera system
- It’s the most cost effective new iPhone you should purchase
The Dangerous
- No MagSafe
- $599 looks like $100 an excessive amount of
- No ultrawide
Display: 6.1-inch, 1170p OLED / Processor: A18 Cameras: 48-megapixel f/1.6 with OIS, 12-megapixel selfie / Charging: 20W wired, 7.5W wi-fi / Climate-resistance score: IP68
If I had been making this suggestion to you face-to-face, you’d hear a heavy sigh. Sure, that is the most cost effective new iPhone Apple makes. Sure, it comes with many of the issues that make an iPhone an iPhone. But it surely comes with some important tradeoffs — a few of which make extra sense than others — and it’s not precisely low-cost. Should you’re amenable to final yr’s mannequin or a refurbished iPhone 14, a kind of may truly be a greater choice. However for an unfussy one that simply needs a brand new iPhone for the least amount of cash, the 16E will do the trick.
There’s a single 48-megapixel rear digital camera on the again, that means there’s no ultrawide like on the common 16. That’s an comprehensible tradeoff — so is the usage of the older “notch” design quite than the Dynamic Island. But it surely’s tougher to grasp why Apple not noted MagSafe right here — that’s the ring of magnets constructed into the again of just about each different iPhone since 2020. The 16E nonetheless helps wi-fi charging, however it could’t benefit from the ecosystem of magnetic chargers and equipment by itself; you’ll want so as to add a magnetic case. It is a foolish omission, and Apple ought to really feel dangerous about it.
The iPhone 16E includes a single 48-megapixel digital camera. Picture by Chris Welch / The Verge
One other heavy sigh: the 16E helps Apple Intelligence, which you received’t get for those who go for an iPhone 15 or 14. Do you have to care? It’s actually arduous to say. What exists of Apple Intelligence to this point is underwhelming and essentially the most attention-grabbing bits received’t arrive anytime quickly. If you wish to future-proof your buy as a lot as doable, the 16E will likely be prepared for Apple’s AI. However don’t purchase one anticipating a life-changing expertise now. It’s simply an iPhone in any case, for higher and worse, and proper now it’s the most effective worth you’ll discover on a brand-new one.
Learn my full iPhone 16E assessment.
The perfect Android telephone beneath $500
$399
The Good
- Sturdy IP68 score
- Seven years of software program updates
- Brighter, larger display screen
The Dangerous
- Lacking a few AI options
- AI is sometimes helpful, normally bizarre
Display: 6.3-inch, 1080p OLED, 120Hz / Processor: Tensor G4 Cameras: 48-megapixel f/1.7 with OIS, 13-megapixel ultrawide, 13-megapixel selfie / Battery: 5,100mAh / Charging: 23W wired, 7.5W wi-fi / Climate-resistance score: IP68
Google’s Pixel A-series telephones have been my go-to suggestion for an inexpensive Android telephone for years, however there was nonetheless room for enchancment. With the 9A, Google made some modest tweaks that make it even simpler to suggest — and at $499, the worth is true.
The telephone makes use of a Tensor G4 chipset that doesn’t run as sizzling as a few of its predecessors, and efficiency is dependable. The 6.3-inch OLED display screen is a bit larger and a bit brighter than final yr’s, which makes a noticeable distinction whenever you use the telephone outdoors. Sturdiness additionally obtained a slight enhance to IP68, which suggests it could face up to a drop in deeper water than the IP67-rated Pixel 8A.
The 9A’s digital camera is ok, although it comes up quick in opposition to the remainder of the Pixel 9 collection in low gentle. Portrait mode may very well be higher, too, and for those who care so much about picture high quality, then that could be a superb cause to think about stepping as much as a Pixel 9. But it surely does the trick for on a regular basis snaps, and for the worth, the 9A’s higher qualities outweigh its shortcomings by a large margin.
Learn my full Google Pixel 9A assessment.
The finances telephone with an enormous, lovely display screen
$500
The Good
- Glorious battery life
- Nice display screen for the worth
- Six years of safety updates
The Dangerous
- No wi-fi charging
- Solely splash-resistant
- Fewer OS updates than Google and Samsung
Display: 6.78-inch, 1264 x 2780 120Hz OLED / Processor: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Cameras: 50-megapixel f/1.8 with OIS, 50-megapixel 2x telephoto, 8-megapixel ultrawide, 16-megapixel selfie / Battery: 6,000mAh / Charging: 80W wired / Climate-resistance score: IP65
The OnePlus 13R isn’t fairly as well-rounded as my choose for the most effective total finances Android telephone, the Pixel 9A. It’s additionally a bit pricier at $599 — though we’ve seen it on sale for $499 for prolonged intervals of time — however for some folks, the 13R’s upgrades will make it a more sensible choice. It comes with probably the greatest massive screens in its class, and many individuals love an enormous display screen. The 13R additionally presents very robust battery efficiency; until you’re an influence person, you may most likely handle two full days on a single cost.
There’s additionally very quick charging with the included charger, although you received’t discover wi-fi charging at any velocity. The 13R additionally lacks full water resistance; it ought to maintain up fantastic in opposition to sprays and rain showers, but it surely isn’t rated to resist full immersion. Loads of folks received’t discover these omissions bothersome, however they make it tougher to suggest to a basic viewers, particularly at the next worth than the Pixel 9A.
Learn my full OnePlus 13R assessment.
Different finances telephones to think about
- The 2025 Motorola Moto G Energy presents so much regardless of its beginning worth of $299.99. It includes a 6.8-inch LCD show, a 5,000mAh battery, wi-fi charging help, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is more and more uncommon in 2025. Moreover, the machine combines each IP68 and IP69 scores, that means it’s rated for each submersion in water and publicity to high-pressure water jets and steam, along with full safety from mud.
- The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is one other completely succesful telephone that doesn’t fairly earn a suggestion right here. It’s a bit outdoors the scope of this information at $649 anyway, however you do get a telephoto lens and a pleasant, massive display screen for that worth. Nonetheless, you’re higher off saving a bunch and choosing up the Pixel 9A or making an attempt to attain a trade-in promo for the newer Galaxy S25. Learn our assessment.
- The Samsung Galaxy A56 not too long ago launched within the US with a beginning worth of $499. The machine has all of the makings of a strong midrange telephone, together with a 6.7-inch OLED show, a 50-megapixel essential digital camera, an Exynos 1580 chip, and a 5,000mAh battery with 45W wired charging. Though we haven’t examined it but, it has some fairly stiff competitors within the type of the Pixel 9A, which additionally has a beginning worth of $499.
- We bought our first glimpse of the TCL 60 XE Nxtpaper 5G again at CES 2025, and it’s lastly in our fingers for testing. The machine options an Nxtpaper matte LCD display screen that’s presupposed to be simpler in your eyes than a conventional LCD, because it reduces your publicity to blue gentle. It additionally includes a “Max Ink Mode,” which turns the display screen monochrome and silences notifications. This, in flip, may help prolong the telephone’s battery life to a number of days. Learn our preliminary impressions.
- The Samsung Galaxy A36 5G is one other nice alternative that not too long ago launched within the US for $399.99. The machine sports activities an enormous OLED show, an honest midrange Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 processor, and an IP67 score for water and mud resistance. Samsung is promising six years of OS and safety updates, which is so much on this worth vary. In comparison with the Galaxy A35 5G, which we beforehand included on this information however is now not obtainable, the A36 5G drops the microSD slot for a second SIM card slot. Whereas we haven’t examined the A36 5G, its predecessor supplied a superb stability of {hardware} and worth, and the newest launch sounds simply as compelling.
Replace, August fifteenth: Up to date pricing / availability and added a bullet for the Galaxy A36 5G. Brandon Russell additionally contributed to this publish.
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