Adaobi Silva

Best Phones Under $500. There are lots of affordable devices which are fast, take superb pictures and offer cutting-edge software features that won’t necessarily cause one to break the bank. This article is a list of devices under $500 but are however on par with any other costly device. Apple iPhone 8 This is currently one of the lest expensive iPhone from Apple that you could still purchase for new at $449. This iPhone has a lot of incredible capabilities like the water resistance feature, the wireless charging due to the inclusion of the glass rear, as well as a pretty great camera. Its storage size starts from 64GB which is double that of the iPhone 7. The iPhone 8 has a True Tone technology added to its display which monitors ambient light and calibrates the screen perfecting it to your current lighting conditions. The stereo speakers have been improved and are now louder than the previous iPhones. In addition the best component of the iPhone 8 is its processor, a new and fast six-core (hexa-core) A11 Bionic chip like the processor in the iPhone X and 8 Plus. With the new image sensor, the quality of its photos in low light has greatly improved, so has its video quality. A side note is that the addition of the glass rear which Apple claims is custom-made should hopefully protect the iPhone 8 from shattering from certain falls. Motorola Moto G7 The Moto G7 at around $299 has a Gorilla Glass 3 at the front and the back which gives it a slick design. It has a 6.2-inch edge HD display. This phone runs on an Android 9 Pie operating system. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 processor which makes it faster and it comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage space. It has both a headphone jack and a USB-C port and a MicroSD card slot. The G7 is built with a teardrop notch display at the top for the front-facing camera. It has a dual 12 and 5 megapixel camera at the back. The 3,000-mAh battery is powered enough to get you at least through a day. It has some fun shortcuts included like twisting your wrist twice to use the camera, the Do Not Disturb mode which activates once the G7 is laid face down. The features on this phone makes it worth the cost and it’s one of the best budget phones that performs like an expensive phone. It is also water resistant, so a little spritz of water would do no damage. Razer Phone 2 When it comes to the Razer Phone 2 budget and performance work together at the cost of about $400. It runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 processor and a 8GB RAM. It has a 64GB storage space, a microSD card which is expandable to 1TB. It has a higher display which is bright and super-fast with 120Hz refresh rate that makes for a smoother visual. It has IP67 water resistance. Razer Phone 2 comes in a block-like design which makes it convenient to stand it on its sides to capture a video. It has superb built-in speakers which are really loud. It comes with a USB-C port and charger. It also has wireless charging due to its Gorilla Glass 5 back. The wireless charging dock lights up whenever you charge the phone. Not just that, it has a chroma logo that lights up as well whenever you get a notification. You also have an option to customize the color, the brightness and choose whether the light is static or not. The cameras produce a pretty good image quality. This phone has a great gaming performance. So if you are involved in mobile gaming this is definitely the perfect budget phone for you. Samsung Galaxy S8 The Samsung Galaxy S8 has a curved OLED display screen. This gives it a beautiful and modern look. Its narrow colorful 5.8 inch display with minimal bezel stretches from edge to edge. It is super-fast. It runs on an upgraded Android 9.0 (pie) operating system and a Snapdragon 835/Exynos 8895 system on chip with 4GB RAM. There is also a 64GB storage space. It has a headphone jack and a microSD card slot. The Galaxy S8 has a 12 megapixel back camera and 8 megapixel, autofocus front-facing camera which lets you take quality images even in low light. It comes with wireless charging and there is provision for USB-C charging. It is water resistant and has a tough texture and frame which should protect it from shock and shattering. You can get this for as low as $500. Google Pixel 3 When it comes to getting a smartphone with the best camera, the the Google Pixel 3 is your best bet at $499. The back camera is 12.2 megapixels with a single lens. It has impressive new software which works to improve image quality like the Night Sight feature that enhances the camera’s low light functions. It also brightens images, focuses on targeted objects and records excellent videos. It is built with an optical image stabilization in its front-facing camera. The Pixel 3 is capable of taking group selfies that captures everyone perfectly. The Google Pixel 3 comes with a 5.5 inch OLED screen and built with dual front-facing speakers. It runs on Android 9.0 Pie, has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset and 4GB RAM which makes it run smoothly and keeps it very responsive. It also is water resistant, has wireless charging and also uses a USB-C connection for charging and for other phone accessories. It has software features which are tailored to improve your quality of life. For instance, the Call Screen helps you block out ad calls as well as telemarketers ensuring you go about your day without distractions. Digital Wellbeing is another app on the Pixel 3 that improves your focus by limiting the amount of time spent on the screen. With this device, you do not just get exceptional cameras, you also get unlimited cloud storage and incredible software updates. Samsung Galaxy A50 The A50 by Samsung is under the line of the A-series which is a less expensive than the flagship S-series. Starting at $350, this is one budget smartphone that packs a lot of punch for such a price. Its features include a top-of-the-range fingerprint reader and a 6.4 inch screen. The cameras are more intuitive and less obtrusive with its flat and sleek design. Although not water repellant, it is built with a nano-coating that protects against liquid splashes. The three cameras gives it the ability to capture wide-angle images with ease and the pictures are crispy and bright. The A50 doesn't pack a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip but the Octa-core Samsung Exynos 9610 will allow you play any game you'd like without major hiccups. With a battery capacity of 4000 mAh, and expandable storage of 512GB, there's little not to love about this highly advanced mid-range device. Motorola Moto Z4 The Moto Z4 has solid performance, a good camera, large battery and gives a nice software experience. It can connect to 5G with a Moto Mod. It has a glass back and has adopted a thin bezel edge to edge screen. Its OLED display is a 6.39-inch with a bright screen. It features an in-screen finger reader, runs on Android 9 Pie, a Snapdragon 675 processor with 4GB RAM and 128GB of storage. The back camera of 48 megapixels is one of a high resolution. The phones nano-coating can protect it from little spills of liquid. There is a built in headphone jack at the bottom of the phone. If you want a $500 budget friendly phone with an impressive battery, then go for the Motorola Moto Z4. Google Pixel 3A XL Starting at $379, the Google Pixel 3A XL has a large screen of 6-inch. It features a different type of OLED display with glass as its base. It has a long lasting battery of 3,700-mAh. It runs on Android 9 Pie with an upgrade of Android Q, it has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 processor and 4GB RAM. Although it has just 64GB storage and makes no provision for a microSD card, the unlimited cloud photo storage in the photo app ensures your photos do not take up space on the phone. It woks smoothly and its features are easily navigated. When it comes to image quality, the Pixel 3A XL is excellent. Its images are bright and clear and it has the Night Sight for low-light images as well as the Top Shot software. The sound quality is equally good. Just like its predecessors it comes with a Call Screen to screen calls, the Digital Wellbeing which limits phone usage. You also get three months free YouTube Music subscription. And considering it is a Google built phone, you should expect to receive software updates first as soon as they roll out of the company. LG G8 ThinQ With its slim and sleek design and its water resistant feature you can get this phone for as low as $500 and under. The cameras of the LG G8 ThinQ produces sharp and solid images. It has dual 12 megapixel and 12 megapixel back cameras and an 8 megapixel front-facing camera. It comes with a Night View low light setting feature, with an added bokeh video recording feature. Its inside is an Android 9 Pie, Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor which offers great performance. It is built with a 6GB RAM and 128GB expandable storage. The display is a sharp OLED 6-inch built in with a screen loudspeaker and a headphone jack supported by a Quad DAC which makes excellent sound paired with wireless headphones. It has a Hand ID, face unlock and a fingerprint scanner. The Hand ID is not as effective as the others, it however has an Air Motion feature lets you navigate your phone without touching it. It features wireless charging with 3,500-mAh battery, and makes provision for microSD storage. Motorola Moto G7 Play This phones software is an Android 9.0 and is built with a 1.8GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 processor. It has a 2GB RAM and 32GB expandable to 512GB storage. The 5.7-inch LCD display screen has an 8 megapixel front-facing camera built with a flash, with a 13 megapixel rear camera. It features a USB-C port and a headphone jack. The slim and comfortable build of this phone with its plastic textured back makes it resilient to scratches. For such a low budget phone it has a bright screen and performs well. The Motorola Moto G7 Play is water resistant with P2i nano-coating and it goes for as low as $200. Google Pixel 3A Its excellent image quality and solid performance for $399 makes this a great budget friendly phone. The Google Pixel 3A and Google Pixel 3 look almost the same. Despite its almost identical look, the Pixel 3A is made out of polycarbonate rather than glass like that of the Pixel 3. Not just that, it features a glass base layer OLED display. The camera is a 12.2 megapixel rear-facing camera and a 8 megapixel front-facing camera. It has a headphone jack and features two stereo speakers. You still have the option of Google Assistant and the provision of the Active Edge which lets you silence incoming calls by squeezing the sides of the phone. It has a new time-lapse video feature which lets you setup your frames and make recordings at different time intervals. It also includes an indicator for denoting how long a video will be. The Pixel 3A runs on Android 9.0 Pie with an Android 10 upgrade, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 processor. It has a 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. Just like the other Pixel phones, it comes with the Call Screen feature, the Digitl Wellbeing and the free three months YouTube Music Subscription. It also includes in its Google Maps an AR walking navigation tool. Motorola Moto G7 Power This phone has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 processor, 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. Its performance is good. Just like its name ‘Power’ it comes with an impressive 5,000-mAh battery. It comes with headphone jack and a microSD card slot. It uses the same nano-coating as the rest of the G7 line. Looking for a phone around $249 with long-lasting battery life? Then this phone is definitely for you.