We test a lot of Android phones. We like the ones below, but you’re better off with one of the options above. If you haven’t already, check out our Best Cheap Phones guide to learn more.
Motorola Edge 2022 for $500: A Motorola smartphone under $500 with support for contactless payments, 5G, wireless charging, plus a promise of three OS upgrades and four years of security updates. Say it is not so! The Motorola Edge (7/10, WIRED Review) ultimately matches and surpasses its competitors in several respects. It has a bright 144Hz OLED display, is lightweight and the 5,000mAh battery lasts for nearly two days. It is also the first Moto to come in 100 percent recycled packaging. The cons? The cameras are matte and have a rating of only IP52 for water resistance.
OnePlus 10T for $649: Always in a hurry? You might like that this phone charges from 0 to 100 percent in a shocking 20 minutes. The OnePlus 10T is fast, has all day battery life and has a pretty good software update policy. The camera is just OK though, there’s no wireless charging and it has an IP54 rating for water resistance, which isn’t good enough for the price.
Google Pixel 6 for $599 and Pixel 6 Pro for $899: You can still buy last year’s Pixel 6 series (9/10, recommended by WIRED) from several retailers, but you really have to wait for them to go on sale to be. They have fallen to $499 and $699 in the past, respectively, but I expect them to fall even further as the stock starts to shrink.
OnePlus Nord N20 5G for $300: The Nord N20 5G (7/10, recommended by WIRED) offers a lot of features despite its low price. The first caveats I have to make is that 5G doesn’t work on AT&T and this phone isn’t compatible with Verizon at all. It will also only get one Android OS update (although it will receive three years of security patches). If none of that is important to you, you get an AMOLED screen, great performance, NFC, a MicroSD card, a headphone jack and a battery that lasts all day. Not bad at all.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE for $600: The S21 FE (7/10, recommended by WIRED) often costs $600 or less, so you shouldn’t have to pay a dollar more. It takes many of the same features from last year’s Galaxy S21, but cuts a few corners to bring the price down. It runs smoothly and has a bright 6.4-inch AMOLED display, plus a 120Hz screen refresh rate. The battery is larger than the standard S21 and will comfortably last more than an entire day. The cameras are a little different, but you still get an ultra-wide-angle and telephoto zoom alongside the main camera for a reliable imaging system. This is a no-nonsense phone that ticks all the boxes. Software support is also excellent, with a warranty of four Android OS upgrades and five years of security updates.