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If you’re wondering which budget smartphones are worth your money, stick around! After we run through each product, I’ll give you my personal take—Would I buy it, or would I skip it? No fluff, just my honest opinion. Let’s get into it!
Watch the video version: I Tried 20 Best Budget Smartphones - And This One Surprised Me The Most!
Samsung Galaxy A15
The build quality feels cheap in hand and the performance is sluggish when running multiple apps. The screen brightness is inadequate for outdoor use and the camera system produces washed-out photos in anything but perfect lighting. Gaming on this device is frustrating with frequent frame drops and heating issues. The battery life is decent but charging speeds are disappointingly slow, making it hard to recommend at this price point.
Would I buy it?
No – There are much better options in this price range that offer superior performance and build quality.
SAMSUNG Galaxy A35 5G
The A35 delivers exceptional value with its stunning AMOLED display and impressive battery life that easily lasts through a full day. The camera system produces vibrant photos with good detail, and the 5G connectivity ensures you’re future-proofed for years to come. Performance is smooth for daily tasks and light gaming, while the build quality feels premium despite the price point. The One UI software experience is polished and intuitive, making this phone a joy to use.
Would I buy it?
Yes – It offers flagship-like features at a mid-range price, making it an excellent choice for budget-conscious users.
Motorola Edge+
The Edge+ packs serious power with its flagship processor that handles everything from intensive gaming to multitasking with ease. The camera system captures stunning photos in both daylight and low-light conditions, rivaling phones that cost much more. The large display with its high refresh rate makes everything look smooth and responsive, while the battery life is impressive despite the powerful hardware. The clean Android experience with minimal bloatware is refreshing and adds to the overall premium feel.
Would I buy it?
Yes – It delivers flagship performance and features at a more reasonable price point than competitors.
Motorola razr+
The razr+ impresses with its virtually creaseless folding display and innovative external screen that lets you do almost everything without opening the phone. The camera system takes beautiful night shots and impressive action photos, while the battery easily lasts all day. The dual high-refresh-rate displays (165Hz main and 144Hz cover) make everything look incredibly smooth, though the lack of dust resistance is concerning. The performance is solid with its Snapdragon processor and 12GB RAM, handling everything from gaming to multitasking without a stutter.
Would I buy it?
Maybe – While it’s an impressive piece of technology with unique features, the higher price point and durability concerns make it a harder sell for budget-conscious buyers.
RedMagic 9S Pro
The gaming performance on this beast is absolutely insane, with Geekbench 6 multi-core scores of 6267 beating both the OnePlus 12 and even the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The 6.8-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and 1600-nit peak brightness looks stunning, making games and movies pop with vibrant colors. While the cooling system is impressive, keeping the phone comfortable during most gaming sessions, it still struggles with heavy tasks like Genshin Impact’s installation, reaching temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The camera system is a major letdown, with the selfie camera being particularly disappointing despite its 16MP resolution, producing soft images even in good lighting.
Would I buy it?
Maybe – The incredible gaming performance and display quality make it tempting, but the camera quality and heating issues hold it back from being a clear winner.
Samsung Galaxy A05
The 6.7-inch PLS LCD display is disappointingly low-res with just 720 x 1600 pixels, which is pretty rough for a modern smartphone. The MediaTek Helio G85 processor paired with 6GB RAM is mediocre at best, offering nothing exciting in terms of performance. The dual camera setup with a 50MP main sensor looks good on paper, but the 2MP depth sensor feels like it’s just there to bump up the camera count. The 5000mAh battery with 25W charging is decent, but nothing spectacular compared to other phones in this range.
Would I buy it?
No – The low-resolution display and mediocre processor make this phone hard to recommend when there are better options available at similar price points.
OnePlus Nord N30 5G
The 50-watt SuperVooc charging is absolutely incredible for a $300 phone, getting you from zero to 75% in just 30 minutes. The 6.72-inch display with 120Hz refresh rate and 1080p resolution makes everything look smooth and crisp. I’m impressed by the 108-megapixel main camera, though it doesn’t perform any miracles at this price point. The Snapdragon 695 processor with 8GB of RAM handles most apps and games pretty well, though it’s not going to compete with flagship devices.
Would I buy it?
Maybe – The fast charging and great display make it a solid choice, but there are better camera options like the Pixel 6A in this price range.
Moto G Play
The Snapdragon 680 4G processor with 4GB RAM is a decent upgrade from its predecessor, handling basic tasks like email and browsing without issues. The display is pretty disappointing with only 500 nits of brightness, making it really hard to use outdoors. The 5000mAh battery life is solid, but the 15W charging is painfully slow compared to other options. The camera got an upgrade to 8MP for the front-facing shooter, but it’s still nothing to write home about.
Would I buy it?
No – Despite the improved processor, the dim display and slow charging speed make this hard to recommend when phones like the OnePlus Nord N30 5G offer so much more.
Nokia C2 2E
The display is quite disappointing with its old-fashioned 5.7-inch screen and HD+ resolution that struggles with visibility under direct sunlight. The performance is severely limited with just 1GB of RAM, making multitasking nearly impossible and forcing you to use lite versions of apps. The 2400mAh battery takes almost 3 hours to charge with the included 5W charger, which is painfully slow even for a budget device. The camera setup is basic with a 5MP main sensor that produces grainy photos and a 2MP selfie camera that suffers from lens flare issues.
Would I buy it?
No – This phone feels outdated even for its budget price point, with specs that make daily usage frustrating.
Samsung Galaxy S21+
The phone features a gorgeous 6.7-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, though it’s limited to FHD+ resolution unlike its Ultra sibling. The camera system delivers stunning photos with wide dynamic range and properly exposed highlights and shadows. Battery life is solid with the 4800mAh cell, though the 25W charging feels lackluster by today’s standards. The Exynos 2100 chipset delivers significant performance improvements over its predecessor.
Would I buy it?
Maybe – While it offers flagship features and great performance, the price point puts it outside the true budget category.
Google Pixel 8a
The phone packs Google’s powerful Tensor G3 processor and impressive AI features while maintaining a competitive $499 price point. The camera system produces stunning photos that rival its more expensive sibling, the Pixel 8. You get an impressive seven years of software updates, which is unheard of in this price range. The 6.1-inch OLED display is brilliant with great brightness and adaptive capabilities.
Would I buy it?
Yes – It offers flagship features at a mid-range price with industry-leading software support and camera capabilities.
Samsung Galaxy A14 5G
The phone struggles with a display that’s not particularly bright compared to competitors in its class. The charging is frustratingly slow, even for its price range, and the lack of an ultrawide camera is a significant drawback. The macro camera is practically useless, adding no real value to the photography experience. While battery life is excellent, the basic feature set and performance limitations make it hard to recommend.
Would I buy it?
No – Despite decent battery life, the compromises in display quality and camera versatility make it difficult to justify even at its budget price point.
Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G
The stylus feels like a gimmick that I barely used, with very few apps actually supporting it and constantly popping out of its silo in my bag. While the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 processor delivers decent performance, it still shows noticeable stutters and hangups that made using apps like Twitter feel choppy. The phone is absolutely loaded with bloatware that seriously impacts the user experience, though it does have good battery life that easily lasted me through busy days. The camera app is frustratingly slow, with laggy previews in low light and blurry night photos that left me disappointed.
Would I buy it?
No – The combination of bloatware, mediocre performance, and gimmicky stylus make this hard to recommend when there are better options in this price range.
OnePlus 12R
I was blown away by this phone’s stunning 6.78-inch display with its insane 4,500 nits peak brightness and smooth 120Hz refresh rate that made everything look incredible. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip delivers flagship-level performance that handled everything I threw at it with ease, from multitasking to demanding games. The massive 5,500mAh battery is the biggest OnePlus has ever put in a phone, easily lasting two full days of medium use and charging incredibly fast with 80W charging. The build quality feels premium with its aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus 2, though I wish it had wireless charging.
Would I buy it?
Yes – At $499, this phone delivers flagship features and performance at half the price of premium phones.
Samsung Galaxy A55 5G
The new Exynos 1480 chip delivers smooth performance with no lag even during heavy multitasking, making this feel like a much more expensive device. The premium design with its metal frame looks stunning, while the large vibrant display makes watching content a joy. Battery life is fantastic, with the 5,000mAh cell easily lasting over seven hours of continuous use in my testing. The camera system takes beautiful photos with the 50MP main sensor, though I found the charging speed disappointingly slow at 90 minutes for a full charge.
Would I buy it?
Yes – This phone nails the basics with great performance, premium design, and solid cameras at a mid-range price point.
Nothing Phone 2
The unique transparent design with Glyph interface definitely turns heads, though I rarely found practical uses for the LED lights beyond their cool factor. Performance is excellent thanks to the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, handling any task I threw at it without breaking a sweat. The monochrome interface looks striking on the LTPO OLED display, which can drop to 1Hz to save battery while still delivering smooth 120Hz when needed. The rounded glass back kept sliding off every surface I put it on, and the cameras struggle with dynamic lighting compared to rivals.
Would I buy it?
Yes – Despite some quirks, the combination of unique design, strong performance, and clean software makes this a refreshing choice in the mid-range segment.
Google Pixel 7a
The Tensor G2 chip delivers flagship-level performance that handles everything smoothly, from everyday tasks to cloud gaming, making it feel much more premium than its price suggests. The camera system is outstanding for this price range, featuring a 64MP main sensor that captures excellent photos with great detail and dynamic range, though it struggles a bit in low light. While the 6.1-inch OLED display with 90Hz refresh rate looks great and makes everything feel smooth, the chunky bezels around it feel a bit dated. The battery life is a major letdown, often struggling to last through a full day of use, and the charging speeds are frustratingly slow.
Would I buy it?
Maybe – While it offers incredible value with its flagship-grade performance and cameras, the poor battery life makes it hard to fully recommend as a daily driver.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE
The S23 FE brings flagship features to a more affordable price point, offering a gorgeous 6.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and impressive 1450 nits brightness. The performance from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip is excellent, handling everything from gaming to DeX mode with ease, while the 4500mAh battery easily lasts through a full day. The camera system is versatile with its 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, and 8MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, producing great photos especially in good lighting. The build quality feels premium with its aluminum frame and glass back, though it’s a bit heavier at 209g, and comes in some unique color options that help it stand out.
Would I buy it?
Yes – It strikes the perfect balance between premium features and price, offering nearly everything you’d want from a flagship phone while costing significantly less.
Thanks for watching, I hope this video helped you pick the budget smartphones for you. If you have any questions, drop a comment below. Links to all of these products mentioned in this video will be in the description.
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