As one in every of Engadget’s resident cell geeks, I’ve reviewed dozens of midrange telephones and have discovered that an awesome smartphone doesn’t need to break the bank. Years of commoditization have introduced options as soon as unique to high-end gadgets – together with large batteries, multi-camera arrays and excessive refresh price shows – all the way down to their extra reasonably priced siblings. Whereas there are nonetheless some belongings you’ll solely discover on flagship smartphones, you do not have to compromise as a lot anymore in the event you’re seeking to discover the very best purchase at a lower cost level. When you’ve got lower than $600 to spend, I will help you determine what options to prioritize when looking for the very best midrange smartphone.
Editor’s word (5/9/24): Google has introduced the Pixel 8a, its newest midrange smartphone. The 6.1-inch handset begins at $499 and, as anticipated, takes lots of its cues from final 12 months’s flagship Pixel 8 collection. We’ll have a full evaluation within the coming days and can replace this information accordingly. For now, you’ll be able to try our hands-on preview for extra particulars on what to anticipate. Google says it’ll proceed to promote the Pixel 7a, our present high decide, at a diminished worth, so it could proceed to be worthwhile. Most ought to maintain off till we put the brand new Pixel by its paces, although.
What’s a midrange telephone, anyway?
Whereas the time period reveals up ceaselessly in articles and movies, there isn’t an agreed-upon definition for “midrange” past a telephone that isn’t a flagship or an entry-level choice. Our suggestions for the very best midrange smartphones value between $400 and $600 — any much less and it is best to anticipate vital compromises. In case your price range is larger, although, it is best to think about flagships just like the Apple iPhone 13 and Samsung Galaxy S22.
What components do you have to think about when shopping for a midrange smartphone?
Shopping for a brand new system could be intimidating, however a couple of questions will help information you thru the method. First: what platform do you need to use? If the reply is iOS, that narrows your choices down to precisely one telephone. (Fortunately, it’s nice.) And in the event you’re an Android fan, there’s no scarcity of compelling choices. Each platforms have their strengths, so that you shouldn’t rule both out.
Clearly, additionally think about how a lot you’re snug spending. Even growing your price range by $100 extra can get you a dramatically higher product. And producers are inclined to assist their dearer gadgets for longer. It’s positively price shopping for one thing towards the highest restrict of what you’ll be able to afford.
Having an thought of your priorities will assist inform your price range. Would you like a protracted battery life or quick charging velocity? Do you worth speedy efficiency above all else? Or would you want the absolute best cameras? Whereas they proceed to enhance yearly, even the very best midrange smartphones nonetheless demand some compromises, and figuring out what’s vital to you’ll make selecting one simpler.
Lastly, take note of wi-fi bands and community compatibility. When you don’t need to fear about that, your greatest guess is to purchase immediately out of your service. To make issues simpler, all of the telephones we suggest are suitable with each main US wi-fi supplier and could be bought unlocked.
What received’t you get from a midrange smartphone?
Yearly, the road between midrange and flagship telephones will get blurrier as extra upmarket options and specs trickle all the way down to extra reasonably priced fashions. Once we first printed this information in 2020, it was tough to search out $500 gadgets with waterproofing or 5G. Now, the largest factor you may miss out on is wi-fi charging. Simply bear in mind to price range for an influence adapter too – many firms have stopped together with chargers with their smartphones. Efficiency has improved lately, however can nonetheless be hit and miss as most midrange telephones use slower processors that may wrestle with multitasking. Fortunately, their cameras have improved dramatically, and you may sometimes anticipate not less than a dual-lens system on most midrange smartphones beneath $600.
One of the best midrange telephones for 2024
Google Pixel 7a: One of the best midrange Android telephone
Photograph by Sam Rutherford / Engadget
The $500 Pixel 7a delivers all the pieces we search for in an awesome reasonably priced telephone. New options embody a quicker Tensor G2 chip, a smoother 90Hz show and for the primary time on one in every of Google’s A-series telephones: assist for wi-fi charging. And with a refreshed design with IP67 water resistance, it appears to be like and seems like the usual Pixel 7 however for $100 much less. You additionally get nice assist thanks to 5 years of safety updates and not less than three OS upgrades. The telephone’s solely shortcomings are quite small and embody a scarcity of a devoted zoom lens and no assist for mmWave 5G (except you buy a barely dearer $550 mannequin from Verizon).
$499 at Google
iPhone SE (third era): One of the best iPhone below $600
Apple
If you may get previous its dated design and small 5.4-inch show, the Apple iPhone SE is the quickest telephone you should buy for lower than $600. No different system on this listing has a processor that comes near the SE’s A15 Bionic. What’s extra, you’ll be able to anticipate Apple to assist the 2022 mannequin for years to return. The corporate is just simply ending assist for the first-generation SE after six years. The corporate hasn’t mentioned how lengthy it intends to furnish the newest SE with new software program, however it’s prone to assist the system for the same size of time.
For all its strengths, the iPhone SE is held again by a dated show. Not solely is the SE’s display screen small and sluggish, however it additionally makes use of an IPS panel as a substitute of an OLED show, which means it could’t ship deep blacks. Moreover, that display screen is surrounded by a number of the largest bezels you’ll discover on a contemporary telephone. That’s not shocking. The SE makes use of the design of the iPhone 6, which will likely be a decade previous in two years. And if the SE appears to be like dated now, it would solely really feel extra drained in a couple of years.
$400 at Walmart
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G: The midrange telephone with the very best show for streaming
Photograph by Mat Smith / Engaget
For the absolute best show at this worth, look no additional than Samsung’s $450 Galaxy A53 5G. It contains a 6.5-inch Tremendous AMOLED show that’s perfect for watching TV reveals and flicks. Plus the 120Hz panel is the quickest on this listing. Different standout options of this Samsung telephone embody a 5,000mAh battery and versatile digital camera system. The A53’s three shooters could not ship images with the identical element and pure colours because the Pixel 7a, however it could seize greater scenes with its two wide-angle rear cameras.
Like the opposite Android smartphones on this listing, the Samsung Galaxy A53 isn’t the quickest performer. At greatest, Samsung’s Exynos 1280 is a lateral transfer from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G discovered within the Galaxy A52 5G. And although the A53 is $50 cheaper than its predecessor, this Samsung telephone not comes with an influence adapter and headphone jack, so the distinction could not find yourself being a lot.
$199 at Amazon
OnePlus Nord N200 5G: One of the best low-cost smartphone when on a price range
Photograph by Brian Oh / Engadget
When you solely have round $200 to spend in your subsequent telephone, you may do rather a lot worse than the OnePlus Nord N200. To begin, this price range telephone contains a large 5,000mAh battery that may simply final you a full day. The N200 additionally has a 90Hz show and 5G connectivity, that are difficult to search out at this worth. Better of all, it doesn’t seem like an inexpensive telephone.
However the N200 can also be an excellent illustration of why it is best to spend extra on a price range telephone in the event you can. It is the slowest system on this listing, on account of its Snapdragon 480 chipset and paltry 4GB of RAM. Its triple most important digital camera setup is serviceable throughout the day however struggles in low gentle and doesn’t provide a lot versatility past a disappointing macro lens. OnePlus additionally doesn’t plan to replace the telephone past the soon-to-be-outdated Android 12. Briefly, the N200 is unlikely to final you so long as any of the opposite reasonably priced telephones on this listing.
$147 at Amazon
Chris Velazco contributed to this report.
