The smartphone market is ever-growing and tons of brands are releasing new flagship phones every year with improved features, design and performance. Samsung, Google, OnePlus, & Xiaomi currently hold the most share in the mid-range smartphone market. While buying a new smartphone can be overwhelming, it’s important to know what you are getting before spending your money. Smartphones under $500 are ideal mobiles for most users with features that are most value for money. From better processors for gaming & multitasking to higher storage space for all your images and videos, the smartphones in this segment fulfills your every need.
From Samsung Galaxy A52s, to Google Pixel 6, there are tons of smartphones that offer amazing features in this segment. In this article, we’ve listed the best smartphones under $500 that you can consider buying in 2022. Let’s get started!
Best Smartphones under $500 in 2022
Samsung Galaxy A52s
The Samsung Galaxy A52s is one of the top-performing smartphones that we have tested so far in 2022. The Galaxy A52 and A52s are quite similar design-wise but the performance improvement in the A52s is way better while gaming and multitasking. The Galaxy A52s is equipped with a 6.5-inches 120Hz super AMOLED display with protection from Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The display alone makes the smartphone worth every penny, it’s that good. Furthermore, the Qualcomm SM7325 Snapdragon 778G 5G octa-core processor is fast enough for all your processor-heavy applications.
As for the camera, the smartphone offers a quad-camera setup in the rear with a 64MP primary camera, 12MP ultrawide, and 5MP of each Macro and Depth camera. The A52s’ primary camera & 32MP selfie camera is capable of capturing up to 4k videos at 30fps. In addition, the smartphone offers a range of sensors including Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, compass & Virtual proximity sensing. The Samsung Galaxy A52s offers a huge 4500mAh battery that supports 25W fast charging. All these top-of-the-shelf features for just $280 make Galaxy A52s a deal to steal.
Redmi Note 11 Pro
The Redmi Note 11 Pro is another great mid-range smartphone and a flagship release from Xiaomi. Redmi’s recent smartphones have been a great deal for the features and their initiation of providing users with high-performing smartphones for less has been appreciated by users worldwide. The Redmi Note 11 Pro, priced at just $249 offers amazing features for the buck.
The smartphone is equipped with a 6.67-inches Super AMOLED 120Hz display, Mediatek Helio G96 octa-core processor, Mali-G57 MC2 GPU, and a quad-camera setup in the rear with 108 MP primary camera, 16MP selfie camera, and a huge 5000mAh battery that supports 67W fast charging. As for the sensors, the Redmi Note 11 Pro offers a wide range of sensors including a Fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, compass, and virtual proximity sensing. All these features make Redmi Note 11 Pro a far superior choice to any other smartphone in this segment.
OnePlus Nord N10
The OnePlus Nord N10 is the budget OnePlus phone that packs an ultra-fast punch. With 5G support, and warp charge 30T, the smartphone is a great deal and one of the cheapest OnePlus phones. The Nord N10 is equipped with 6.49-inches IPS LCD 90Hz display, Qualcomm SM6350 Snapdragon 690 5G octa-core processor, and a quad-camera setup with a 64MP primary camera capable of capturing 4k videos at 30 fps, and a huge 4300mAh battery that supports 30W fast charging.
Additionally, the Nord N10 offers a range of sensors including a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, proximity, and more. The smartphone can provide a day’s power with just 30 minutes of charge. The 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage allow you to store more movies, more images, and more games than other smartphones in this range. The OnePlus Nord N10 is like a mini rocket in your pocket that is capable of running most trending games at a decent fps.
Google Pixel 6
Google made a few drastic changes when they released Google Pixel 6. While Google Pixel 4A felt on the lower side, the Google Pixel 6 offered improved features both design and performance-wise. With its 6.4-inches 90Hz AMOLED display, the Google Pixel 6 delivers true colors and a seamless experience when you scroll. The smartphone is faster, smarter, and more secure than its predecessors. The 50MP rear camera captures crystal-clear images and videos that are 150% richer in light and colors. The camera comes with tons of in-built tools like a Magic eraser, portrait mode, and motion mode that help you capture images at even better quality.
The Google Pixel offers a 4614mAh battery that supports 30W fast charging and 21W reverse charging. Pixel’s fast-charging capability will help you save power for all your apps and keep the phone alive for days. The Google Pixel 6 comes head-to-head with iPhone 12 when it comes to performance and in-built features like the use of AI technology. The Google Pixel 6 comes head-to-head with iPhone 12 when it comes to performance and in-built features like the use of AI technology. The Google Pixel 6, additionally, integrated many Google features including private chats, live video caption translation, and many more.
Google Pixel 4A 5G
The Pixel 4A 5G is a flagship smartphone from the tech giant Google. Released in 2020, the Google Pixel 4A 5G is still loved and appreciated by millions of fans. The Google Pixel 4A 5G is no comparison to any other smartphones in this range when it comes to features and performance. The far superior performance, design, and in-built Google apps that ensure security and privacy to the users make Google Pixel 4A an excellent choice for $499.
As for the features, the Google Pixel 4A 5G is equipped with a 6.2-inches OLED display, Qualcomm SM7250 Snapdragon 765G 5G octa-core processor, Adreno 620 GPU, Storage & RAM of 128/6GB, a dual-camera setup capable of recording 4k videos at 60 fps and a 3885mAh battery that supports 18W fast charging. Feature-wise, the smartphone might look to be on the low-end side but it’s Google and you can expect genuine performance from any Google phone. As for the sensors, the smartphone offers a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, and barometer. The Google Pixel 4A 5G, however, doesn’t support external cards and if you ever went low on your 128GB storage, there’s no option to extend it besides clearing up your memory.
Buyers Guide – Things to Consider While Buying a Smartphone under $500
Processor
The primary feature you look into while buying a mid-range phone is the processor. Performance is very crucial while multitasking or playing processor-heavy games. Although the processors offered by mid-range phones under $500 are optimized for all your needs, it’s important to double-check the specs before you buy.
RAM & Storage
You need enough RAM for multitasking & storage for all your images and videos. To avoid getting memory full errors on your smartphone, it’s crucial to check if the phone you are buying has enough storage or not. We recommend at least 128GB storage capacity and 8GB of RAM for a decent performance. Additionally, check out if the smartphone supports external storage or not. Google phones generally don’t offer external storage support so be careful when you make a decision.
Display
The display is where you will spend most of your time looking. If the display doesn’t provide you comfort, it can be a waste of money. The smartphones reviewed in this list offer AMOLED displays that are known to be the best in the market. IPS displays also provide true colors and an immersive experience. You can consider buying any smartphone that offers AMOLED or IPS displays.
Battery
Isn’t it frustrating when you have to frequently charge your phone due to its low battery capacity? Getting a smartphone with sufficient battery storage that gives you at least a day or two of backup is necessary when you are on a trip or far from a charging point.
