It’s so easy to fall in love with the shiniest and fanciest premium phones on the market. That makes sense, as they have the best features and most robust specs. However, we don’t always have the $1,000+ to buy those devices, and we sometimes need to set our sites just a little lower. This is where budget Android smartphones come in handy.
The Android platform is home to a myriad of budget-friendly phones that pack more power than their puny prices project. If you’re looking for a new phone that breaks expectations (and NOT the bank), then continue reading. Here’s a list of 10 great budget Android phones.
Top 10 Best Budget Android Smartphones – May 2023 Summary
Finding the best budget Android smartphones can be a bit of a tedious affair; there are quite a few of them out there. So, here is a quick summary of the phones that are on this list. It’s recommended that you read below to see a full description of the phones. The descriptions will tell you which aspects make these phones great and why you should buy them.
However, if you don’t want to bother with the descriptions, here’s a chart of the phones. It tells you the full names of the devices, their price, and a link to buy them. Just know that prices can change as time goes on, so the prices that are written might not reflect the final price when you visit the page.
Pixel 5
This wasn’t a budget phone when it came out, but it sure is now. While the Pixel 5 is an older phone, it’s still more than capable of being a good smartphone today. It has one of the best cameras of any phone in its price range, and you still have Android support. Android 14 will be released soon, and this phone is eligible for it.
It has a beautiful 1080p display that still holds up today, so it’s great if you’re looking for a cheap device to watch content on. It’s a reliable phone to carry around with you, and the price is nothing to sneeze at.
OnePlus 10T 5G
- Price: From $499.99
- Where to buy: Best Buy
This phone is on the pricier side of the spectrum, but it’s still a bargain. The OnePlus 10T was released last year as the mid-cycle release for the OnePlus 10. This phone is a true-to-form premium med-ranger with some monster specs.
You’re looking at a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2412. So, it’s an FHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It uses the flagship-grade Snapdragon 8+ Gen SoC. It’s more powerful than the processor in the Galaxy S22, and it’s backed up by up to 16GB RAM and 256GB of RAM.
If you’re looking for a flagship-grade experience for the price of a mid-range phone, then you’ll want to check this phone out.
Galaxy A54 5G
- Price: From $374.99
- Where to buy: Best Buy
This the newest budget handset from Samsung, and it’s been making the rounds with reviewers. With the Galaxy A54 5G, you will have the latest One UI software from Samsung along with great features. This phone has a beautiful 6. 4-inch AMOLED display which is great for watching content on.
The phone comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and that’s pretty standard for a premium mid-range phone. Along with that, Samsung decked this phone out with a 50MP camera that’s accompanied by a 32MP selfie camera on the front. The company usually gives its budget phones pretty good cameras, so you won’t have any issues with this camera package.
T-Mobile Revvl 6 Pro 5G
- Price: $139.99
- Where to buy: eBay
T-Mobile wanted to get into the smartphone game, and the company has done a decent job at it. The Revvl phones are good competition in the budget phone space. These phones are rather affordable, and they have decent specs.
The Revvl 6 Pro 5G cones with an impressive 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. That’s not bad for the price. Also, it has a large 5,000mAh battery which should give you really good battery life. Topping off the specs, this phone has a 50MP main camera which most likely bins to 12MP.
T-Mobile Revvl 6 Pro 5G – eBay
TCL 30 V 5G
- Price: From $255
- Where to buy: Walmart
TCL has a collection of compelling budget-friendly phones that give you decent performance for the price. The company’s TCL 30 V 5G is one of those offerings that give you some nice bang per buck. It’s a 6.67-inch phone that has one of TCL’s high-quality displays. It’s powered by NXTVISION which means that it will upscale SDR content to HDR.
This phone is pretty mundane when it comes to the rest of its specs, but it’s powerful enough to get the job done. It comes with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Keeping the lights on is a reasonably large 45000mAh battery. That will be enough to get you through the day with light to moderate usage. It’s a great phone to have if you want to cover the basics.
Nokia G400
- Price: From $199.99
- Where to buy: Walmart
The Nokia G400 is definitely a middle-of-the-road phone that deserves your attention. It’s meant to be an affordable phone to get the job done. What’s probably most notable about this phone is the display.
The display has a 1080p+ display with an impressive 120Hz refresh rate. That means that you’ll have some nice visuals. If you’re going to be using this phone for the camera, there’s a decently powerful 48MP main camera. On the front of the phone, there’s a 16MP selfie camera. It should be good enough to take some nice pictures.
Motorola One 5G Ace
- Price: From $188
- Where to buy: Amazon
If you’re looking for a cheap phone from Motorola with some decent specs, then you should look no further than the One 5G Ace. This phone has a design different from most other Motorola devices, but it will still bring the great Moto experience.
This phone, along with having a large FHD+ display, a large 5000mAh battery, and 128GB of onboard storage, has the fast 5G connectivity. You get Sub-6 5G, which isn’t the fastest out there, but it’s still really fast compared to 4GLTE. This is a great phone to get if you’re looking for an affordable 5G phone.
OnePlus 9
The OnePlus 9 was a great phone when it launched, and it will more than suit you now. The OnePlus 11 is out, but you’ll be able to get a similar software experience using the OnePlus 9 because OnePlus is good about keeping their older phones updated with the latest software.
This phone has a gorgeous AMOLED display, the powerful Snapdragon 888, a decent 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a large 4500mAh battery, and a powerful 48MP camera. You’ll have a great experience using this phone, and you won’t feel like you’re using an older phone.
LG Velvet
- Price: $284.99
- Where to buy: Amazon
It might be weird that this list includes an LG phone, but the company has been updating this phone since it shut down its smartphone division. The LG Velvet is now on Android 13, so its software is up to date. Also, the processor is good enough to run most games that come out today.
What’s notable about this phone is its amazing display. LG gave this phone a gorgeous AMOLED display that rivals many other phones in its price range. It’s a steal if you miss the LG phones from the old days.
Redmi Note 10
- Price: $299.99
- Where to buy: Amazon
The Redmi is a mid-range phone with some neat specs. You have a sturdy build to give you a premium feel. This phone has a 6.57-inch 1080+ display.
The phone is powered by the mid-range Snapdragon 765G SoC, and that will give you some good performance. This is backed up by 4GB of RM and 128GB of storage. Also, this phone has a pretty big 4520mAh battery. You can expect good battery life from this phone.
2023-05-02 15:09:21