Inflation has made many of us pay closer attention to price tags recently. Even if your grocery bill may be full of bad news, we do have some good news: these days, you can purchase a very competent phone for less than $500.
Most of the features on your wish list may be included in the best phones under $500. Seeking a sizable 6.5-inch screen? Many of these phones have that, however, if you want, there are also models with smaller displays.
Want a fantastic camera? That can be found in the majority of these options. The majority of these smartphones also receive regular software upgrades, with their manufacturers guaranteeing at least three years of security updates.
Each business employs a different strategy to hide these cost-cutting measures, but some compromises must be made to keep expenses low. Here are the top smartphones that will cost less than $500 in 2023.
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Apple iPhone SE (2022)
The A15 Bionic CPU from Apple and the capability for 5G are among the newest smartphone features combined with an older design in the iPhone SE. It’s also one of the few smartphones available that have a 4.7-inch screen with a price of $429.
You may either love or hate this phone’s retro design, which maintains the basic form that Apple has employed since 2014. Consider the iPhone 11 if you want a bigger iPhone in this price range to get a bigger screen and Face ID. However, that phone lacks 5G connectivity.
Additionally, the phone just has a single 12-megapixel main camera with no night mode. The exclusion stands out because the majority of the other phones in this comparison offer multiple cameras and features like night mode.
iPhone 11
The iPhone 11 is an older model. Although it was first released in 2019, it has aged well and developed into a fantastic mid-range phone. The iPhone 11 is included on this list because, in our opinion, it remains the iPhone that offers the greatest value for the money.
For less than $500, you get a device with a strong enough processor, enough RAM to run iOS without lag, a sizable battery, and a solid frame. Due to its similarity to the most recent Apple phones, its design has also lasted the test of time.
The area on the screen is where its age is most apparent. Its 6.1-inch screen is an LCD with large bezels and only HD+ resolution. The OLED panels on the 2020 iPhones are all high-resolution. With a 12MP primary camera and a 12MP ultrawide camera, the Apple iPhone 11 has an excellent camera system. What else do you require?
Google Pixel 6A
The Pixel 6A takes the place of the Pixel 5A as the company’s more affordable flagship phone. The greatest Android phone under $500, by far.
The smartphone is marginally smaller than the Pixel 6, with a 6.1-inch OLED screen that has a 60Hz refresh rate. Additionally, it sports a 12.2-megapixel primary camera and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera, both of which are similar to the Pixel 5A’s cameras.
However, by integrating the Tensor chip, photographs can benefit from its Real Tone function, Face Unblur, Night Sight for darker shooting, and Magic Eraser for erasing undesirable elements.
Samsung Galaxy A54
The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G incorporates a few additional flagship-like features, such as its 6.4-inch display, as well as the S23-series’ rear panel design.
Currently, it’s simple to pick the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G as another top Android phone in the category. Starting with a superb 6.4-inch, 1080p OLED with a fluid 120Hz refresh rate, it delivers a feature set that is unrivaled in this class.
The Pixel 6A still outperforms the A54 in terms of camera quality, but if a nice screen is your first priority, you won’t be able to find a better one at this price.
The A54 offers an IP67 rating for safeguarding against dust and immersion in shallow water and is constructed with tough glass panels on the back and front.
Motorola Edge (2021)
This attractive Motorola phone was once listed for $699, but it is currently only $349. The Edge (2021) has excellent specifications and lovely quality.
The Snapdragon 778 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of expandable storage power this phone. The large 6.8-inch 144Hz screen on this phone boasts an FHD+ resolution.
The disadvantage of this panel is that it is LCD rather than AMOLED, but if that isn’t a deal-breaker for you, know that it is still an excellent display. A superb 108MP main camera and an 8MP ultra-wide camera make up the triple camera system on the Motorola Edge (2021).
Motorola’s large 5,000mAh battery is one of its good points. Motorola claims that this smartphone can go up to two days without charging.
All in All
Companies like Samsung have started to include premium features in their mid-range phones as well, which may be yet another factor contributing to the drop in Android flagship sales.
Since Motorola also has a strong presence in this market, buyers should give their phones serious consideration. The Pixel 6a from Google is a well-designed phone that, if not for its 60Hz screen, would have been ideal.
There is a rationale for everything, but we customers should be satisfied because this is our time and we ought to use it wisely.