I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the best budget phones have gotten really good over the past few years. These days, phones that cost a few hundred bucks aren’t that far removed from ones that cost a grand. It’s great that there are more solid low-cost options than ever, but all that choice can be overwhelming. To help you make sense of it all, here are AP’s top budget phone picks.
Samsung makes a truly staggering variety of budget phones, but brand-new Android devices don’t come much cheaper than the Galaxy A02s. At just $130, it manages to be a functional smartphone, which is an accomplishment in itself. Rocking a low-end chipset and just two gigs of RAM, it’s not particularly quick, and its cameras are about what you’d expect for the price. It also doesn’t have a fingerprint sensor. But it charges with USB-C, it’s running Android 11, and Samsung’s promised security patches into 2025. If you need an Android phone for as little money as possible, this one’s hard to beat.
- Storage: 32GB
- CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 450
- Memory: 2GB
- Operating System: Android 11 with One UI 3.1
- Battery: 5,000 mAh
- Camera (Front): 5MP f/2.2
- Cameras (Rear): 13MP f/2.2 Primary, 2MP Macro, 2MP depth
- Price: $130
- Connectivity: LTE, no 5G
- Dimensions: 64.2 x 75.9 x 9.1 mm, 196g
- Display: 6.5″ PLS TFT (720×1600)
- Weight: 196g
- About as cheap as smartphones get
- Great battery life
- Security patches promised into 2025
- Not particularly fast
- 2GB RAM is limiting
- No fingerprint sensor — PIN or pattern unlock only
Folks have a lot of opinions about OnePlus lately, but the Nord N200 emobodies a lot of what people traditionally loved about the company’s phones: at $240, it’s got surprisingly decent performance (and 5G!), solid build quality, and battery life that can easily make it past 24 hours between charges. Camera performance isn’t great, even considering the phone’s price. Still, if you want a cheap phone that doesn’t feel so cheap, the N200’s a good option.
- Storage: 64GB
- CPU: Snapdragon 480
- Memory: 4GB
- Operating System: Android 11 with Oxygen OS 11
- Battery: 5,000 mAh
- Camera (Front): 16MP
- Cameras (Rear): 13MP primary, 2MP macro, 2MP depth/monochrome
- Price: $240
- Dimensions: 163.1 x 74.9 x 8.3mm
- Display: 6.49-inch 1080 x 2400 LCD, 90Hz
- Weight: 189g
- 1080p, 90Hz display
- Looks and feels more premium than it is
- Marathon battery life
- OnePlus’s trademark alert slider isn’t here
- Only 5G-compatible on T-Mobile
- Cameras aren’t great, even for the price
Samsung’s new Galaxy A13 5G has a lot to offer for $250. Running on a MediaTek Dimensity 700 chipset, its performance is great for the price, and its primary camera is totally fine (in decent light, anyway). Like with many of its phones, Samsung is also guaranteeing security updates for four years. It feels every bit as inexpensive as it is, though, and its 90Hz display is otherwise not very nice to look at. But given how affordable it is, those are easy flaws to overlook.
- Storage: 64GB
- CPU: MediaTek Dimensity 700
- Memory: 4GB
- Operating System: Android 11 with OneUI 3.1
- Battery: 5,000 mAh
- Camera (Front): 5MP f/2.0
- Cameras (Rear): 50MP f/1.8 primary, 2MP f/2.4 macro, 2MP f/2.4 depth
- Price: $250
- Dimensions: 164.5 x 76.5 x 8.8mm
- Display: 6.5″ 720p PLS TFT LCD, 90Hz
- Weight: 195g
- Surprisingly robust performance
- Strong battery life
- Four years of security updates
- Feels as cheap as it is
- Screen is a fingerprint magnet
- Two of its three cameras are useless
The Galaxy A32 5G shares a lot of its DNA with the Galaxy A13 5G, but your additional $30 will get you a better selfie camera plus an ultra-wide around back. The two phones each have similar MediaTek chipsets, four gigs of RAM, 90Hz LCD screens — they even look the same. But hey, if you’re after a slightly nicer A13, the $280 A32 5G is just that.
- CPU: MediaTek Dimensity 720
- Memory: 4GB
- Operating System: Android 11 with OneUI 3.1
- Battery: 5,000 mAh
- Camera (Front): 13MP f/2.2
- Cameras (Rear): 48MP f/1.8 primary, 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, 2MP f/2.4 macro, 2MP f/2.4 depth
- Price: $280
- Dimensions: 164.2 x 76.1 x 9.1mm
- Display: 6.5″ LCD 1600×720 90Hz
- Weight: 205g
- 90Hz display is smooth (usually)
- Above average build quality
- Good battery life
- Performance is inconsistent
- Low-res display at 720p
- Charging feels slow at 15W
The Pixel 5a is Google’s newest mid-range phone (until the Pixel 6a comes around, anyway). It’s got the same chipset and great cameras as the Pixel 5, but it costs a much more reasonable $450. It’s also the first Pixel a phone with an official IP rating, and its battery goes and goes. Google only promised three years of security updates for the phone, though, which isn’t great by today’s standards.
If you’ve got a little more to spend on a phone, consider the $600 Pixel 6 for its significant camera and peformance improvements. Otherwise, the Pixel 5a is an excellent and affordable way to try Google’s increasingly colorful flavor of Android.
- Storage: 128GB
- CPU: Snapdragon 765G
- Memory: 6GB
- Operating System: Android 12
- Battery: 4,680 mAh
- Display (Size, Resolution): 6.34″ 1080p OLED, 60Hz
- Camera (Front): 8MP f/2 fixed-focus (83° FoV)
- Cameras (Rear): 12.2MP f/1.7 wide-angle (77° FoV) 16MP F/2.2 ultra-wide (177° FoV)
- Price: $449
- Dimensions: 156.2 x 73.2 x 8.8mm
- The best camera you can get this side of a Pixel 6
- Excellent battery life
- First a-series Pixel with rated water resistance (IP67)
- Three years of security patches is weak for Google
- Considerably larger than previous Pixel a-series phones, though you may prefer that
- Display is only 60Hz
Samsung’s Galaxy A52 5G is an unequivocally great mid-range phone. At $500, it’s starting to strain our definition of a budget device — but it’s got a 120Hz OLED screen with an under-display fingerprint sensor, good performance, fine cameras, and guaranteed updates until spring 2025. Its haptics are loud and mushy and that fingerprint sensor is a little on the slow side, but these are nitpicks. If you’re looking for a new phone for about 500 bucks, the A52 5G is a great option.
- Storage: 128GB
- CPU: Snapdragon 750G
- Memory: 6GB
- Operating System: Android 11 with OneUI 3.1
- Battery: 4,500 mAh
- Camera (Front): 32 MP f/2.2
- Cameras (Rear): 64 MP f/1.8 primary, 12 MP f/2.2 ultrawide, 5 MP f/2.4 macro, 5 MP f/2.4 depth
- Price: $500
- Dimensions: 159.9 x 75.1 x 8.4mm
- Display: 6.5″ 1080p OLED, 120Hz
- Weight: 189g
- Great 120Hz display
- Security updates until spring of 2025
- Handsome design compared to the Galaxy A51
- Photos aren’t as good as the Pixel 5a
- Under-display optical fingerprint sensor is slow
- Haptics are cheap and mushy
If you’re looking for something a bit more premium, give our list of the best Android phones overall a read.
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