These days, it isn’t terribly tough to discover a low-cost Android smartphone that does not skimp on high quality specs. As a matter of truth, we have compiled a complete listing of stable smartphones that’ll price you lower than $300.
It is price noting that many wi-fi carriers will hook you up with a severe low cost when you’re keen so as to add an eligible line or ship in an outdated or damaged machine. Typically these worth drops could make even premium gadgets $300 or much less. To see what I am speaking about, try our listing of the finest Samsung Galaxy A54 offers to see simply how low-cost a brand-new cellphone can get if you pair it with the proper deal.
At a look
Finest total
Finest total
Full with a smooth design, 5,000mAh battery, and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 695 processor, the OnePlus Nord N20 feels prefer it ought to price twice as a lot.
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Runner-up
Runner-up
Backed by a legendary model, the Galaxy A23 incorporates a vibrant 120Hz LCD show and nice battery life, plus you will get two OS upgrades and 4 years of safety updates.
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Finest underneath $200
Finest underneath $200
The TCL 20 SE might not be probably the most highly effective machine, however it makes up for its faults with a big 6.8-inch show, nice battery life, and good old school bang for the buck.
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Most rugged
Most rugged
The BV4900 from Blackview is so sturdy that you do not even want to fret about getting a case, plus you will get a big battery with first rate specs throughout.
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Finest show
Finest show
Not solely does the Nokia G400 include a 120Hz refresh charge (a rarity on this worth vary), however you additionally get a big battery with 20W charging and Android 12 out of the field.
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Finest with a stylus
Finest with a stylus
The Moto G Stylus (2022) comes with an enormous 6.8-inch show, good for jotting down notes with the built-in stylus, plus 2-day battery life and a few first rate digital camera tech.
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Finest total
(Picture credit score: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)
The perfect total Android cellphone underneath $300
Causes to purchase
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Nice design and construct
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Spectacular battery life
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Headphone jack & expandable storage
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OxygenOS’s many sensible options
Causes to keep away from
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Solely 60Hz show
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Not suitable with CDMA networks
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Delivery on Android 11
OnePlus’ aggressive enlargement into the finances section in North America has given us a number of nice Nord handsets in recent times, the most recent of which is the Nord N20 5G. The Nord N20 5G slides in underneath the $300 mark and might even be discovered on sale a lot of the time. What’s extra, it seems the half, with a pointy two-tone design on its again panel. And also you get the added peace of thoughts of IP52 splash resistance, too.
The Nord N20 5G has a fairly sized 6.43-inch AMOLED show with Full HD+ decision. Though it solely sports activities a 60Hz refresh charge — not the smoothest show even on this class — it is a good panel for the value. The shortage of a 90Hz panel additionally permits the cellphone to avoid wasting juice, offering for straightforward all-day battery life from its 5,000mAh battery. In our Oneplus Nord N20 evaluation , we managed a day and a half from a single cost. For fast refills, the bundled 33W SuperVOOC brick will get you previous the 50% mark in just some minutes.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 695 processor runs the present, backed up by 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, plus microSD enlargement — a reasonably balanced spec sheet for a sub-$300 handset. In the meantime, on the digital camera aspect, the N20 options largely forgettable 2MP monochrome and macro lenses, however its 64MP primary sensor punches nicely above its weight. In our evaluation, we have been impressed with its capabilities in comparison with related handsets at this worth. So there’s rather a lot to like right here with out placing an excessive amount of of a dent in your pockets.
Runner up
(Picture credit score: Samsung)
Samsung Galaxy A23 5G
Wonderful Samsung software program updates
Causes to purchase
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5G enabled with mid-band assist
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Giant 5,000mAh battery with 25W quick charging
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Responsive 120Hz LCD show
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Launched with Android 12
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Samsung will present 2 OS updates and 4 years of safety updates.
Causes to keep away from
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Some UI lag
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Weak cameras in low mild
Regardless of your worth vary, Samsung is making one or two telephones to suit it and it is no totally different with the $300 class. The Samsung Galaxy A23 5G is available in at a penny shy of that worth however brings with it loads of options to make it well worth the worth. The show is a pretty big 6.6-inch LCD panel that runs as much as 120Hz and has a excessive decision of 1080×2408 pixels. Whereas it will not match the inky blacks of an OLED, this panel needs to be a lot vivid for out of doors utilization and sharp sufficient to simply learn textual content.
The battery is giant at 5,000mAh and in contrast to some low-cost telephones, it will possibly cost at as much as 25W wired. That is fairly fast. You additionally get 64GB of storage to carry your downloaded music and movies with a microSD card slot for storage enlargement. In case you’ve ever carried out laborious work outdoors, you already know that you do not all the time have the sign to stream and even when you do, enjoying downloaded music can assist save battery if the sign is exceptionally low.
The cellphone is powered by a Snapdragon 695 which is nothing particular however has sufficient energy for many apps and might even do some mild gaming when you preserve your expectations in test. In case you’re a photographer although, it is best to most likely go along with one thing else as many customers report underwhelming low-light efficiency.
Lastly, in contrast to many finances telephones, Samsung has years of assist deliberate to maintain this cellphone up-to-date and safe. Samsung launched this machine with Android 12 and plans to supply two OS updates. Past that, the cellphone will likely be saved updated with safety patches for 4 years. Alongside the software program, stable mid-band 5G assist on most carriers means you will additionally get loads of knowledge velocity for years to return.
Finest underneath $200
(Picture credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)
The perfect unlocked cellphone underneath $200
Causes to purchase
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Giant 6.82-inch show
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Large 5,000mAh battery
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Headphone jack & expandable storage
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Simple-to-use software program
Causes to keep away from
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Show is just HD+
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Common cameras
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Not suitable with CDMA networks
The TCL 20 SE might not be the world’s most premium machine, but when your finances is lower than $200, bang for the buck is essential. Suffice to say, in relation to simplicity and worth, the TCL 20 SE undoubtedly delivers.
You get a variety of display screen actual property with the 6.82-inch show powered by NXTVISION, however the decision is dropped from Full HD+ to simply HD+. This implies the TCL 20 SE’s display screen is not as sharp or fairly to take a look at, however it’ll get the job carried out. You even have the identical 5,000mAh battery and quick charging assist. Pop the hood and you will find a Snapdragon 460 processor paired with 4GB RAM and 128GB inner storage. There’s even a microSD slot for straightforward enlargement when you nonetheless want extra room.
You get a 3.5mm headphone jack and Android 11 out of the field, together with a side-mounted fingerprint sensor constructed into the facility button. What’s cool is that you simply get reverse cost capabilities by way of an OTG cable. Someway, TCL threw a 48MP main sensor into the triple digital camera setup and nonetheless saved the value under $200.
Most rugged
(Picture credit score: Blackview)
Blackview BV4900
The perfect rugged finances cellphone
Causes to purchase
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Rugged design is tremendous sturdy
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IP68 mud and water-resistance
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Giant 5,580mAh battery
Causes to keep away from
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Comparatively weak service and band assist
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The Micro-USB port could be very 2006
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Older software program
For probably the most half, trendy smartphones are generic slabs of glass or plastic. There’s nothing unsuitable with that, however it implies that shopping for a case is a should for extremely clumsy individuals. However what if there was a cellphone that was designed to not want a case within the first place? Enter the Blackview BV4900.
The BV4900 comes with pretty modest specs with a Mediatek A22 Helio MT6761 CPU, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. This storage might be upgraded with a microSD card, nonetheless. A reasonably large 5580mAh can preserve you working all day or longer with ease. This cellphone is designed to be robust with IP68 water resistance and Gorilla Glass 3 on the 5.7-inch IPS show with 720×1440 decision.
Connectivity is kind of restricted in comparison with many others on this listing, with solely LTE assist on GSM carriers — which means no Verizon. It is also price noting that this cellphone does not assist all of both service’s bands both, so it’s possible you’ll end up with decrease or no sign than others on the identical service. Nonetheless, it is laborious to discover a rugged cellphone that competes with this one for underneath $300.
Finest show
(Picture credit score: Nokia)
Nokia G400 5G
A quick 120Hz show with 5G connectivity
Causes to purchase
+
Quick 6.58-inch IPS 120Hz LCD
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Giant 5,000mAh battery with 20W charging
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Fast Snapdragon 480+ CPU
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Android 12 out of the field
Causes to keep away from
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Underwhelming default storage (64GB)
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Does not work with Verizon-based carriers
Nokia has been working laborious to cement its place in Android historical past by specializing in low-cost telephones with balanced specs and good designs. The Nokia G400 5G comes with a Snapdragon 480+ CPU and 4GB of RAM. This CPU is a quicker model of the Snapdragon 480 that we noticed in telephones just like the OnePlus Nord N200 5G , which already had snappy efficiency for the value. It even runs Android 12 out of the field.
Including to the snappy efficiency is the 120Hz IPS LCD panel underneath the G400’s 6.58-inch Gorilla Glass 3 display screen. This show is without doubt one of the finest you may get in a cellphone underneath $300, making it an excellent choose for people who wish to stream. A big 5,000mAh battery can preserve your cellphone working all day with ease and even fees shortly with assist for PD 3.0 and a 20W charger included.
Lastly, service compatibility is first rate, with assist for AT&T and T-Cell carriers although these on Verizon ought to choose one thing else. In case you’re on T-Cell, you will additionally get the perfect 5G expertise due to this cellphone’s assist for T-Cell mid-band Extremely Capability 5G community.
Finest with a stylus
(Picture credit score: Motorola)
Moto G Stylus (2022)
The perfect unlocked cellphone with a stylus
Causes to purchase
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Comes with a stylus
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Huge show for drawing and note-taking
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50MP digital camera system
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Giant 5,000mAh battery
Causes to keep away from
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No IP water or mud resistance
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No wi-fi charging or NFC
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Solely 4G connectivity
The Galaxy Observe collection was, at one level, tremendous fashionable for profiting from a stylus-touting cellphone earlier than Samsung discontinued it. If you do not have the money for a flagship Samsung, the Moto G Stylus (2022) is price a glance. It has an included stylus you could disguise contained in the cellphone if you aren’t utilizing it. Nevertheless, in contrast to Samsung’s high-end telephones, the Moto G Stylus (2022) could be very reasonably priced.
With the Moto G Stylus (2022), you may draw, take notes, and navigate the UI — one thing that is fairly helpful when making an attempt to faucet small buttons on the display screen. You additionally get a 6.8-inch Full HD+ 90Hz show, Android 10, and 128GB of storage that may be expanded by one other 512GB. There’s additionally a 5,000 mAh battery, which ought to simply final all day and past with the MediaTek Helio G88 processor.
There may be additionally now a quadruple-camera system with a 50MP commonplace shooter, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle digital camera, and a 2MP macro lens. Sadly, you aren’t getting NFC or wi-fi charging on the draw back, nor official IP water or mud resistance.
Loads of choices to select from
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Amazingly, loads of the opposite finest Android telephones can be found at reasonably priced costs, however if you’re trying to economize, there will likely be compromises. When looking for these telephones, take an in depth have a look at the specs to make sure you’re not lacking a characteristic you’d wish to have. Many cheap telephones will cut back show measurement, decision, further cameras, or bonuses like stereo audio system. Nevertheless, if you store round, you’ll get a superb cellphone for just some hundred bucks.
Prospects utilizing the T-Cell community have the perfect decisions of telephones underneath $300, and that is an excellent purpose to modify to the service. The OnePlus Nord N20 5G is an exceptional choose for just below $300 and comes with a strong processor, a superb digital camera, and a very nice construct. It will not get as many updates as Samsung’s A32 5G, however it’s a greater cellphone as long as you do not want the most recent and biggest Android options past Android 12.
The Samsung Galaxy A23 5G is not far behind and for some individuals, will come out forward of the OnePlus thanks largely to Samsung’s software program. Samsung launched this cellphone with Android 12 and has two OS updates deliberate for the machine. With so many low-cost Androids receiving just one or generally no updates, it is nice to see Samsung supporting this machine. It is also good that it helps 5G on most networks so you will get robust community speeds for years to return.
The Nokia G400 5G is without doubt one of the latest telephones on the listing and that additionally means it has a number of the latest {hardware}. The quick Snapdragon 480+ paired with a 120Hz 1080p show means you will get snappy efficiency and 5G connectivity on T-Cell. This cellphone additionally launches with Android 12 so that you’re on a current construct of Android from the minute you flip the cellphone on.
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