smartphones under $500
**Top 5 Smartphones Under $500: A Humble Recommendation**
As a seasoned tech enthusiast, I've compiled a list of the top 5 smartphones under $500 that are perfect for those on a budget or looking for a reliable device without breaking the bank. Let's dive in and explore each option.
1. **Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra**: This flagship phone is a powerhouse with a large screen, impressive camera, and long battery life. Its flat glass design is a significant improvement over its predecessor, making it a joy to hold and use. With a price tag under $500, it's an absolute steal. I've reviewed this phone extensively on my channel, highlighting its pros and cons.
**Honorable Mentions**
Before we get to the top 5, I'd like to give a shoutout to some other excellent options that didn't quite make the cut:
* **Google Pixel 6A**: This budget-friendly phone is a steal at under $300, offering a great camera experience and timely software updates.
* **Nothing Phone (1)**: Although I haven't had the chance to test one myself, this phone has garnered significant attention for its unique design and impressive specs.
**5. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3**
Now, let's talk about the flip phones! Most people assume foldables are expensive and out of reach, but if you're willing to wait a generation or two, you can snag a great deal on a used or refurbished model like the Galaxy Z Flip 3. This phone may not have the most durable build, but its unique form factor makes it easy to carry around and use.
**Price Alert!**
You can currently find the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 for an astonishing $368.45 on Back Market! With a Snapdragon 8 SOC from 2021 and 8GB of RAM, this phone is capable of some serious multitasking and gaming. The cover screen also makes it easy to take selfies or read articles.
**The Verdict**
While the Galaxy Z Flip 3 may not have the biggest battery or be the most durable build, its unique form factor and impressive specs make it a solid choice for those looking for something different. If you're curious about any of these phones, I'll have links to them in the description below.
What do you think? Would you recommend one of these smartphones under $500? Let me know!
WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: ensmartphones that cost 800 900 over a thousand dollars are always out here grabbing the spotlight but there are tons of options in the market that get you most of what those top dogs offer but at a fraction of the price so in no particular order here are my top five picks for smartphones that you can buy for under 500 bucks kicking off our list is the Google pixel 7. hands down one of my favorite smartphones you can buy today now I've tried every single phone on this list and in my review of the pixel 7 I found it to be very well-rounded and it checked a lot of boxes in the hands it certainly feels premium with a matte aluminum frame that doesn't smudge or fingerprint so it always looks its best on that note I think the white colorway is very sharp with the contrasting silver add on the flat glass on the front and I'm really digging the profile here just mine the 90 Hertz display other phones offer faster refresh rates at this price point but personally I'm okay with this and it looks great otherwise where the pixel 7 really pays off is with the user experience and especially the cameras Google's second iteration of its tensor processor the G2 paired with the company's interpretation of Android 13 AKA material U strikes a good balance between function and form not only does it look Simple and Clean but it's been quick fluid and consistent in my day-to-day use considering that tensor G2 doesn't perform as well as the latest Flagship chips from Apple and Qualcomm the pixel 7 shows that tight optimization between software and Hardware can go a long way even better that Google's committed to supporting the pixel 7 with 5 years of software updates and the pictures from its 50 megapixel camera are amazing this is all thanks to the processing chops Google ads and software however the real kicker is the price remember the pixel 7 is Google's Flagship offering retailing at an impressive 599 bucks of course that's over our 500 budget but why it's even on this list is that it's usually on sale for less than that on the regular I've been seeing it for 499 bucks and it can even slip down to 450. mind you this is pricing in the US market and for the record is how I'm basing this entire video sorry International Bros Saudi International Brew but regardless when it comes to Android phones the pixel 7 hits hard now if you're a blue Bubble Boy The Selection from the Apple Camp doesn't offer you many Options under 500 bucks however they do exist and are honestly worth considering so long as you keep your expectations in check if you're looking for a brand new phone unopened at retail the third generation iPhone SC is your main choice starting at 429 bucks going on pure looks alone it certainly looks like an older iPhone sharing its design with the eight I like that it feels great in the hands shout out small phones Austin that that's just a shadow dude iPhone 13 Mini bone it is it's a very nice size size Matters friends it even has a home button but it also shares that same 4.7 inch 720p class LCD display from the iPhone 6 which feels very cramped to use also given the small form factor it doesn't have a big battery either it's a shame because under the hood this baby purrs no stop it the 2022 iPhone SE runs an apple a15 bionic with four gigs of RAM the same chip that powers that iPhone 13 in Austin's pocket and the base model iPhone 14. this means you get excellent performance for most tasks including gaming the long-term software support Apple's known for and you even have a decent camera to boot the 12 megapixel sensor and lens combo does leave more to be desired in sharpness and misses features like night mode for better low light performance however the process processing still produces high quality photos and videos for this class of device and it's also worth considering that most social media apps integrate the best with iOS so if you're okay for going the compromises of the third gen iPhone SE it's a solid mid-range choice however if you're willing to go on the used or refurbished routes the iPhone 12 is in many ways more appealing brand new from Apple the iPhone 12 retails for 600 and only with 64 gigs of storage however with a bit of searching through eBay or back Market you'll find plenty of iPhone 12s under our 500 price point what exactly are you getting compared to the SE you'll be trading off some performance with a slightly older SOC as well as some HDR performance on the camera going down from smart hdr4 to Smart hdr3 however I'd argue in the real world most people probably won't notice the difference and will even appreciate the extra Creature Comforts more in tune with Apple's current iPhone designs the 12 has that beautiful and Sleek flat Edge design but also with the added benefit of a newer and bigger OLED screen compared to that iPhone SE not only is there plenty of usable space to type and navigate but content looks brilliant with its accurate colors and HDR capabilities best of all because the iPhone 12 is slightly larger than the SE this means it has a larger battery as far as quality of life goes minimizing your time on the charger is always a good thing for my money this is absolutely the move if you're looking for an iPhone under 500 bucks we offer good consumer advice oh look at the time it's s22 o'clock just like the iPhone 12 if you don't mind dabbling in the used Market the Samsung Galaxy s22 is a fantastic option on the Android side of things as Samsung's entry level Flagship from last year it still offers plenty of performance with its Snapdragon 8 gen 1 chip at least if you buy it here in the US and it's also guaranteed four more years of security updates from Samsung so you can be rest assured that it'll be supported for quite some time you can be rest assured no you can rest assured you're you're right you're you're resting you're resting assured you rest that shirt arrest it runs Samsung's one UI which in my opinion is one of the better Android iterations out the box it also has very good cameras and probably the best screen you can buy at this price point it's 1080p class which is fine for a 6.1 inch display but I especially love the 120 hertz refresh rate and then it gets pretty bright peaking at 1300 nits I never took the time to talk about this phone on the channel but it physically feels amazing in the hands as well just like the pixel 7 it's one of the smaller flagships on the market but this makes it especially easier to manage with one hand I'd argue it's the perfect size Austin it's not mini size it's the right size plus against its bigger brother the s22 ultra the flat glass on the screen looks and feels better than the rounded glass in fact Samsung clearly thought so as well because they flattened the screen's Edge on the s23 ultra you want to know more about that phone I made an entire review highlighting its pros and cons back on the vanilla s22 it was an okay phone when it retailed for 800 but I'm seeing many listings under 500 bucks which is way more reasonable for these base flagships to maximize your value you'll want to take the time to search and find the best ones especially for battery life and general condition but otherwise it's absolutely worth it before I get to the last of my top five smartphones under 500 bucks I think some honorable mentions are in order right at the top of my short list is the pixel 6A frequently on sale for 300 bucks it's a steal that will leave you with extra money with our 500 budget but if you have the extra cash to spend I think the pixel 7 will fare better in the long term next on my short list is the nothing phone one which I want to try purely to see if it lives up to all of the hype I really can't weigh on it since I don't have one in the office here to test out and the same goes for the new newly announced Galaxy a54 I'd love to get my hands on with them so let me know if you want to see a video we'll try to get them in I can't believe I caught that this is the Samsung Galaxy Z flip 3. now most people expect foldables to be expensive and Out Of Reach however if you're okay waiting a generation or two and letting other people soak up the depreciation phones like the Z flip 3 are attainable on the used and refurbished market for less than 500 bucks I can already imagine the comments I'm gonna be getting especially regarding long-term durability screen creases and whatever might have you however if you're looking for a unique option that breaks away from the generic rectangles out there the z-flip 3 is a very solid play do you know that the z-flip 3 right now is 368.45 yeah I wrote the script you know what's funny is that I haven't actually shopped from back Market before but you can buy one of the z-flip 3s used from their top shelf for 34 dollars with a Snapdragon Triple Eight SOC from 2021 as well as eight gigs of RAM it has the chops for some multitasking and gaming and you can buy with confidence knowing that Samsung's gonna support the phone for a little over three years at this point I've talked about foldables a lot on this channel and personally I like them with the flip form factor it's considerably easier to carry around with it basically being half the size of a normal smartphone and you can take advantage of genuinely useful party tricks the cover screen allows for easy selfies and it can also stand on its own making it easy to read articles watch videos take photos and more yeah like the way I'm using it right now oh yeah exactly like that literally how I use it for your script also why are you on the floor flicking and that's how you know we're a humble company the president's on the floor and everyone's on chairs he's a man of the people who are a man of the ground I do wish the z-flip 3 had a bigger battery and I also think this phone gets a little toasty thanks to that Snapdragon chip not to mention that dreaded screen crease has improved a lot in the past year if you're comparing it to the Z flip 4. so inevitably when the flip 5 comes out in a few months that might be worth picking up with a sort of discount if you're curious about any of the phones I talked about in this video I'll have links in the description and let me know what would you recommend for 500 buckssmartphones that cost 800 900 over a thousand dollars are always out here grabbing the spotlight but there are tons of options in the market that get you most of what those top dogs offer but at a fraction of the price so in no particular order here are my top five picks for smartphones that you can buy for under 500 bucks kicking off our list is the Google pixel 7. hands down one of my favorite smartphones you can buy today now I've tried every single phone on this list and in my review of the pixel 7 I found it to be very well-rounded and it checked a lot of boxes in the hands it certainly feels premium with a matte aluminum frame that doesn't smudge or fingerprint so it always looks its best on that note I think the white colorway is very sharp with the contrasting silver add on the flat glass on the front and I'm really digging the profile here just mine the 90 Hertz display other phones offer faster refresh rates at this price point but personally I'm okay with this and it looks great otherwise where the pixel 7 really pays off is with the user experience and especially the cameras Google's second iteration of its tensor processor the G2 paired with the company's interpretation of Android 13 AKA material U strikes a good balance between function and form not only does it look Simple and Clean but it's been quick fluid and consistent in my day-to-day use considering that tensor G2 doesn't perform as well as the latest Flagship chips from Apple and Qualcomm the pixel 7 shows that tight optimization between software and Hardware can go a long way even better that Google's committed to supporting the pixel 7 with 5 years of software updates and the pictures from its 50 megapixel camera are amazing this is all thanks to the processing chops Google ads and software however the real kicker is the price remember the pixel 7 is Google's Flagship offering retailing at an impressive 599 bucks of course that's over our 500 budget but why it's even on this list is that it's usually on sale for less than that on the regular I've been seeing it for 499 bucks and it can even slip down to 450. mind you this is pricing in the US market and for the record is how I'm basing this entire video sorry International Bros Saudi International Brew but regardless when it comes to Android phones the pixel 7 hits hard now if you're a blue Bubble Boy The Selection from the Apple Camp doesn't offer you many Options under 500 bucks however they do exist and are honestly worth considering so long as you keep your expectations in check if you're looking for a brand new phone unopened at retail the third generation iPhone SC is your main choice starting at 429 bucks going on pure looks alone it certainly looks like an older iPhone sharing its design with the eight I like that it feels great in the hands shout out small phones Austin that that's just a shadow dude iPhone 13 Mini bone it is it's a very nice size size Matters friends it even has a home button but it also shares that same 4.7 inch 720p class LCD display from the iPhone 6 which feels very cramped to use also given the small form factor it doesn't have a big battery either it's a shame because under the hood this baby purrs no stop it the 2022 iPhone SE runs an apple a15 bionic with four gigs of RAM the same chip that powers that iPhone 13 in Austin's pocket and the base model iPhone 14. this means you get excellent performance for most tasks including gaming the long-term software support Apple's known for and you even have a decent camera to boot the 12 megapixel sensor and lens combo does leave more to be desired in sharpness and misses features like night mode for better low light performance however the process processing still produces high quality photos and videos for this class of device and it's also worth considering that most social media apps integrate the best with iOS so if you're okay for going the compromises of the third gen iPhone SE it's a solid mid-range choice however if you're willing to go on the used or refurbished routes the iPhone 12 is in many ways more appealing brand new from Apple the iPhone 12 retails for 600 and only with 64 gigs of storage however with a bit of searching through eBay or back Market you'll find plenty of iPhone 12s under our 500 price point what exactly are you getting compared to the SE you'll be trading off some performance with a slightly older SOC as well as some HDR performance on the camera going down from smart hdr4 to Smart hdr3 however I'd argue in the real world most people probably won't notice the difference and will even appreciate the extra Creature Comforts more in tune with Apple's current iPhone designs the 12 has that beautiful and Sleek flat Edge design but also with the added benefit of a newer and bigger OLED screen compared to that iPhone SE not only is there plenty of usable space to type and navigate but content looks brilliant with its accurate colors and HDR capabilities best of all because the iPhone 12 is slightly larger than the SE this means it has a larger battery as far as quality of life goes minimizing your time on the charger is always a good thing for my money this is absolutely the move if you're looking for an iPhone under 500 bucks we offer good consumer advice oh look at the time it's s22 o'clock just like the iPhone 12 if you don't mind dabbling in the used Market the Samsung Galaxy s22 is a fantastic option on the Android side of things as Samsung's entry level Flagship from last year it still offers plenty of performance with its Snapdragon 8 gen 1 chip at least if you buy it here in the US and it's also guaranteed four more years of security updates from Samsung so you can be rest assured that it'll be supported for quite some time you can be rest assured no you can rest assured you're you're right you're you're resting you're resting assured you rest that shirt arrest it runs Samsung's one UI which in my opinion is one of the better Android iterations out the box it also has very good cameras and probably the best screen you can buy at this price point it's 1080p class which is fine for a 6.1 inch display but I especially love the 120 hertz refresh rate and then it gets pretty bright peaking at 1300 nits I never took the time to talk about this phone on the channel but it physically feels amazing in the hands as well just like the pixel 7 it's one of the smaller flagships on the market but this makes it especially easier to manage with one hand I'd argue it's the perfect size Austin it's not mini size it's the right size plus against its bigger brother the s22 ultra the flat glass on the screen looks and feels better than the rounded glass in fact Samsung clearly thought so as well because they flattened the screen's Edge on the s23 ultra you want to know more about that phone I made an entire review highlighting its pros and cons back on the vanilla s22 it was an okay phone when it retailed for 800 but I'm seeing many listings under 500 bucks which is way more reasonable for these base flagships to maximize your value you'll want to take the time to search and find the best ones especially for battery life and general condition but otherwise it's absolutely worth it before I get to the last of my top five smartphones under 500 bucks I think some honorable mentions are in order right at the top of my short list is the pixel 6A frequently on sale for 300 bucks it's a steal that will leave you with extra money with our 500 budget but if you have the extra cash to spend I think the pixel 7 will fare better in the long term next on my short list is the nothing phone one which I want to try purely to see if it lives up to all of the hype I really can't weigh on it since I don't have one in the office here to test out and the same goes for the new newly announced Galaxy a54 I'd love to get my hands on with them so let me know if you want to see a video we'll try to get them in I can't believe I caught that this is the Samsung Galaxy Z flip 3. now most people expect foldables to be expensive and Out Of Reach however if you're okay waiting a generation or two and letting other people soak up the depreciation phones like the Z flip 3 are attainable on the used and refurbished market for less than 500 bucks I can already imagine the comments I'm gonna be getting especially regarding long-term durability screen creases and whatever might have you however if you're looking for a unique option that breaks away from the generic rectangles out there the z-flip 3 is a very solid play do you know that the z-flip 3 right now is 368.45 yeah I wrote the script you know what's funny is that I haven't actually shopped from back Market before but you can buy one of the z-flip 3s used from their top shelf for 34 dollars with a Snapdragon Triple Eight SOC from 2021 as well as eight gigs of RAM it has the chops for some multitasking and gaming and you can buy with confidence knowing that Samsung's gonna support the phone for a little over three years at this point I've talked about foldables a lot on this channel and personally I like them with the flip form factor it's considerably easier to carry around with it basically being half the size of a normal smartphone and you can take advantage of genuinely useful party tricks the cover screen allows for easy selfies and it can also stand on its own making it easy to read articles watch videos take photos and more yeah like the way I'm using it right now oh yeah exactly like that literally how I use it for your script also why are you on the floor flicking and that's how you know we're a humble company the president's on the floor and everyone's on chairs he's a man of the people who are a man of the ground I do wish the z-flip 3 had a bigger battery and I also think this phone gets a little toasty thanks to that Snapdragon chip not to mention that dreaded screen crease has improved a lot in the past year if you're comparing it to the Z flip 4. so inevitably when the flip 5 comes out in a few months that might be worth picking up with a sort of discount if you're curious about any of the phones I talked about in this video I'll have links in the description and let me know what would you recommend for 500 bucks