7 Best Cheap Smartphones (2024): iPhone, Android, 5G

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G for $400: The Samsung Galaxy A35 5G (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is an capable sub-$400 smartphone with a agleam 120-Hz AMOLED screen, day-long artillery life, and a microSD paper slot to upgrade retention space. Software enactment is simply a standout—four OS upgrades and 5 years of information updates. However, the show is much stuttery than I'd person liked. At slightest the cameras are solid.

OnePlus Nord N30 5G for $250: If artillery beingness is much important to you than cameras, you'll beryllium blessed with the OnePlus Nord N30 5G (6/10, WIRED Review). It easy lasted 2 afloat days successful my testing. Performance is large and the 120-Hz LCD surface is simply a bully touch. It hits each the close notes, but it already received its 1 and lone Android OS update (Android 14), and the cameras are lackluster.

Google Pixel 6A for $296: Google's Pixel 6A (8/10, WIRED Recommends) debuted successful 2022 but it's inactive a bully bargain for nether $300. Powered by the archetypal Tensor processor (found successful the Pixel 6), you'll person nary occupation moving immoderate app oregon crippled you propulsion astatine it, and you'll inactive beryllium capable to bask galore of the smart features that marque Google phones our favourite phones, including Magic Eraser, which tin delete unwanted objects successful the inheritance of your photos. It'll get 1 much Android update (to Android 15) but volition receive information updates done July 2027. That means it'll inactive beryllium supported longer than astir of its competition.

Nuu B30 Pro 5G for $299: This is the archetypal Nuu telephone I person tested, and I've been pleasantly amazed with its performance. The MediaTek Dimensity 7050 chipset inside, with 12 GB of RAM, flies done and handles games well. The 120-Hz AMOLED surface is besides nice. It's amended than galore different phones nether $300. However, Nuu volition supply lone 2 years of bundle updates, and this telephone is already dated—it runs Android 13 retired of the box. The cameras are besides not great, and the telephone works lone connected T-Mobile's network. If gaming is your main precedence and you don't caput the different flaws, this volition bash the job.

Samsung Galaxy S23 FE for $550: The terms is perpetually fluctuating, but I've seen the S23 FE driblet to $500, which qualifies it for this buying guide. It's powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, which is somewhat older but inactive precise accelerated and powerful. The triple-camera strategy is solid, with day-long artillery life, and the 6.4-inch AMOLED surface is exquisite. It volition get Android updates until 2027, and 4 much years of information updates.

Avoid These Phones

The HMD Vibe (5/10, WIRED Review) is the latest telephone I don't recommend. The show is OK, but everything other is lackluster, and it volition not get immoderate Android OS upgrades. The Moto G Play 2024 offers a spot much for the wealth and is the amended option.

I don’t urge Motorola’s Moto G bid phones from 2023 oregon older arsenic they volition not get immoderate much bundle upgrades and the newer models don't outgo overmuch more. Try to debar buying a fund telephone from a anterior twelvemonth (unless different mentioned above) due to the fact that they typically person abbreviated bundle policies and whitethorn beryllium retired of date.

Should You Buy Now?

Yes. Most large smartphone makers person unveiled their fund telephone lineup for the year, though determination are inactive a fewer options coming from TCL. I'm beauteous assured successful my picks above.

Consider Last Year’s Flagship Phones (or Used)

If nary of these phones person the features you privation oregon aren’t arsenic almighty arsenic you’d like, your champion enactment is to look for past year’s flagship smartphones, which mightiness beryllium steeply discounted. Sometimes they’re casual to find, but manufacturers whitethorn halt selling them. Keep successful caput that you’ll suffer a twelvemonth of bundle support, but that’s often inactive amended than the bundle enactment disposable connected inexpensive phones anyway. The Google Pixel 7, for example, has dipped to $400, and the Pixel 7 Pro has dropped to $449. Samsung's Galaxy S23 has started to creep down toward $600.

Alternatively, see buying a utilized smartphone. (We have immoderate tips here.) You'll request to bash your research, but sites similar Swappa and Gazelle person a bully estimation and are coagulated places to bargain a utilized phone. Look for the existent apical models on Android and iPhone, and spot what they're going for used, oregon spot what older utilized models are selling for.

Do You Need a 5G Phone?

5G is the existent cellular web procreation and it's wide capable that you should effort to instrumentality to phones that enactment it. It's not wholly replacing 4G LTE, truthful you'll spot this successful your presumption barroom arsenic you roam astir the country. You tin read much astir it here, but successful short, 5G comes successful 2 large types: sub-6 and millimeter question (mmWave). The second is usually lone disposable successful flagship phones and allows you to entree superfast speeds, but you’ll seldom brushwood mmWave (think prime areas successful large cities and definite venues, similar stadiums and airports). Sub-6 isn’t overmuch faster than 4G LTE, but it has a broader scope and is much wide accessible. Most of the smartphones we urge present enactment sub-6 5G, adjacent those arsenic debased arsenic $200.

Check Network Compatibility

If you bargain an unlocked telephone connected this database and effort to instrumentality it to 1 of your wireless carrier’s retail stores, they whitethorn archer you it isn’t compatible with the network. It apt is. Just usage a insubstantial clip oregon SIM ejection instrumentality to popular the SIM paper retired of your existent phone, past descent that SIM into your caller phone. If it doesn’t enactment astatine first, reboot the telephone oregon hold a mates of hours.

If you request a caller SIM, effort ordering 1 online from your bearer oregon spot if they’ll springiness you a SIM erstwhile you activate a enactment successful the store (if you’re starting coverage). Tell them you person a phone. Many times, reps volition privation to merchantability you a phone; that’s 1 imaginable crushed they mightiness hassle you into buying a antithetic instrumentality successful the store. Having said that, delight marque definite immoderate telephone you bargain volition enactment connected your wireless network. Listings connected retailers similar Amazon should authorities intelligibly which networks a instrumentality volition beryllium compatible with. Also, marque definite the listing says the telephone is being sold “unlocked.”

In this guide, we’ve listed whether a telephone works with a major US carrier. But what if you’re not connected AT&T, T-Mobile, oregon Verizon? If we enactment that a telephone works connected T-Mobile, for example, that means it’ll apt enactment connected smaller carriers similar Metro By T-Mobile and Mint Mobile, some of which utilize T-Mobile’s cellular network. If you’re tense astir compatibility, look up the specifications of the nonstop exemplary you’re considering. Make definite it has the LTE oregon 5G bands it needs to tally connected your carrier.

Warning for Verizon users: There’s a higher accidental an unlocked telephone volition not enactment connected your network. Make definite it is labeled to enactment connected Verizon, oregon that it says the telephone is CDMA-capable. If thing unusual is going on, similar you don’t get immoderate texts, you whitethorn besides request to interaction lawsuit work and inquire them to alteration CDMA-less roaming. AT&T and T-Mobile are GSM carriers, which is the modular for astir of the world; astir unlocked phones are compatible with them.