The smartphone market is skyrocketing and numerous brands like Apple, Xiaomi, Samsung, Realme, OnePlus, and many more are releasing new models every year. In this race, some smartphones win as people’s choice while some fail to attract users. People today tend to look for higher processors, better displays & design, higher RAM & storage, and a bigger battery in a smartphone. iPhone and Samsung hold the current largest smartphone market share with nearly 20% each and other brands like Realme and Redmi are competing for their place in the top 3.
Smartphones under $800 are the mid/top range feature-packed phones with AMOLED displays, 48MP Cameras, 8GB RAM as a minimum, and up to 5000mAh battery. Loved by the millions, these phones offer tremendous value for the money and are capable of providing expected functionalities. In this review, we list and rank the best smartphones under $800 based on the user ratings and positive feedback. Without further ado, let’s get started and explain their features in detail!
The Best Smartphones under $800 in 2022
iPhone 13
iPhone 13 is our top pick for the best smartphones under $800 feature-wise, design-wise, and price-wise in 2022. Feature-wise, the iPhone 13 offers impressive features including a 6.1-inches super retina display, an Apple A15 Bionic Hexa-core processor, scratch-resistant ceramic glass, and a 12MP dual-camera setup capable of capturing 4K videos at 30/60fps and advanced sensors powered by Apple. The iPhone 13, although not built for gaming purposes, can play games with decent fps with its 4-core Apple graphics. As for the sensors, the iPhone 13 offers Face ID, gyroscope, accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, barometer, Siri, Ultra-wideband, and many more.
The iPhone 13 is equipped with a 3240mAh battery that supports fast charging of 23W, MagSafe wireless charging of 13W, and Qi magnetic fast wireless charging of 7.5W. Price-wise, the iPhone 13 costs $699 in the US market and is available to purchase in different RAM, ROM, and Color variants including 128/4GB, 256/4GB, and 512/4GB. The phone doesn’t provide a 3.5mm jack which could have been a better addition for communication. The phone weighs just 174gm in weight and measures 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.7 mm in dimension. Design-wise the phone features the same design as its predecessors with a dual-camera setup in the back with a little change in camera position. However, if you are an iPhone fan, the iPhone 13 is suitable for most people looking to buy a smartphone under $800.
OnePlus 10 Pro
For the OnePlus lovers, the OnePlus 10 Pro is like a gift. Priced at just under $605, the OnePlus 10 Pro comes with a 6.70-inch LTPO2 Fluid AMOLED display that supports a 120 Hz refresh rate. A display that comes with Gorilla glass protection and offers 1440×3216 pixels of resolution, it’s one of the best in the market. The OnePlus 10 Pro is equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen octa-core processor and Adreno 730 GPU which is suitable for gaming as well as normal use. The smartphone is available in various RAM and ROM variants including 128/8GB, 256/8GB, 256/12GB, and 512/12GB. The OnePlus 10 Pro features a triple-camera setup in the rear with a 48MP primary wide camera, 8MP telephoto camera, 50MP ultra-wide camera, and 32MP selfie camera.
In addition, the OnePlus 10 Pro is powered by a 5000mAh battery that supports 80W fast charging and 50W fast wireless charging, and reverse charging. As for sensors, the smartphone features: – an under-display fingerprint scanner, gyroscope, accelerometer, proximity, compass, a spectrum of colors, barometer, and many more. The OnePlus Pro measures 200.5gm in weight and 163.00 x 73.90 x 8.55mm in dimensions. If you are a fan of the OnePlus, there is no other smartphone than the OnePlus 10 Pro that you should consider buying in 2022.
Realme GT 2 Pro
The new Realme GT 2 Pro introduces the world’s first 2K flat display featuring a paper tech master design. The display size of the smartphone is 6.7-inches it uses Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection and offers a 120Hz refresh rate which in today’s date is normal considering the high-end specs. With a Qualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon 8 Gen octa-core processor and Adreno 730 GPU, the smartphone is suitable for intense mobile gaming hours. It doesn’t heat up much due to the cooling system max integrated into the phone. As for RAM and ROM variants, the smartphone is available in 128/8GB, 256/8GB, 256/12GB, and 512/12GB variants and you can choose from any of them with a few extra bucks.
As for sensors, the Realme GT 2 Pro is equipped with an ultra-fast in-display fingerprint sensor that supports Heart Rate Test. Additionally, other sensors include an accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, proximity, and color spectrum. The phone offers a triple-camera setup with a 50 MP primary camera, 50MP ultra-wide, 3MP microscope, and 32MP selfie camera. The crystal-clear camera is able to capture videos at 8K at 24fps and 4K at 30/60fps. The phone features a 5000mAh battery that supports 65W super-dart fast charging and can charge your battery from 0 to 100% in just 33 minutes. The Realme GT 2 Pro is one of the most value for money for features priced at just $615 for the base variant.
Samsung S22
The latest flagship smartphone from Samsung, the Samsung S22 features a telephoto lens that can zoom up to 10x. For people who want to capture photos with the most impressive camera, the Samsung S22 is the best option right now. The phone is equipped with Exynos 2200 octa-core processor for the Europe version and Qualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon 8 Gen for the rest of the world version. With Xclipse 920 (Europe) and Adreno 730 (Outside Europe) GPU, the smartphone is excellent for long gaming hours and its cooling system doesn’t let the phone heat up quickly. As for the display, the Samsung S22 is equipped with a 6.1-inches Dynamic AMOLED 2X display that offers a 120Hz refresh rate. Additionally, the triple-camera setup provides immersive photos and videos. With the 50 MP primary camera, you can capture videos at 8K at 24 fps and 5k at 30/60fps. The selfie camera is also able to capture videos at 4K at 30/60fps. Display and camera-wise, the Samsung S22 is an absolute steal for the price.
Furthermore, the Samsung S22 offers a 3700 mAh battery with 25W fast charging support which we think is below average. A smartphone in this price range should at least offer a higher battery capacity and 60W fast charging. As for sensors, the Samsung S22 offers impressive features that most of the other smartphones in this range lack, including the iPhone 13. The Samsung S22 is equipped with an under-display ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, gyroscope, accelerometer, proximity, barometer Samsung DeX, compass, Samsung Wireless DeX with desktop experience support, Bixby NLP commands and dictation, and Samsung Pay for visa and Mastercard. With all these features priced at just $799, the Samsung S22 is a must-have deal in 2022.
Realme GT Neo 3
Promoted as the smartphone with the world’s fastest 150W ultra dart charge capable of charging the phone from 0 to 50% in just 5 minutes, the Realme GT Neo 3 offers an irresistible eye-catching design. The phone is equipped with a 6.7-inches AMOLED display that provides a refresh rate of 120Hz. The Realme GT Neo 3 uses Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection which can take fall damages up to 6 feet quite easily. As for the chipset, the Realme GT Neo 3 is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 8100 octa-core processor which is one of the world’s strongest processors besides Dimensity 9000 and Snapdragon 8+ Gen.
The smartphone offers a triple camera setup with a 50 MP primary camera, 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro, and 16MP selfie camera. The primary camera is capable of capturing 4K videos at 30/60fps and the selfie camera is capable of capturing 1080p videos at 30fps. Although the smartphone lacks a 3.4mm jack, you can buy yourself a pair of Realme buds to go with it. Furthermore, the Realme GT NEO 3 offers a range of sensors including an under-display fingerprint scanner, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, compass, and many more. With a battery size of 4500mAh that fast charges at 150W, you’ll never feel like running out of charge. You can purchase the smartphone in various RAM and Storage variants as well as color combinations. The Realme GT NEO 3 is priced at $568 for the base 256/8GB variant and you can purchase it from the Realme official store.
Buyer’s Guide – 5 Things to Look at While Buying a Smartphone under $800
Processor
The first thing to look at while buying a smartphone under $800 is the processor. An ideal pick for the mid-range smartphone would be the Snapdragon 730 series processor which provides decent performance for all the apps as well as gaming. If you would like to get a better processor for long work hours that don’t heat up quickly, we would suggest you look for a Snapdragon 8 Gen processor. The Snapdragon’s 8 Gen, Dimensity 9000, and Apple A15 Bionic are the fastest mobile processors in the world right now. The iPhones use Apple Bionic chips which are the fastest of all so you don’t have to worry about processors while buying an iPhone.
RAM & Storage
The next thing to look into in a smartphone is the RAM and Storage capacity. With 8K videos and HD images, the phone’s storage capacity fills up quickly. We suggest looking for a storage capacity of at least 128GB and a minimum of 8GB RAM. Although all the smartphones listed above offer a good amount of RAM and ROM for your photos and videos, you can buy up to 512GB of storage variants if you can add a few extra bucks.
Camera
Everyone loves to click good photos and capture high-resolution videos. It’s important to look for a smartphone that can capture quality photos and videos when you are spending $800. We would suggest looking for a 48MP camera at minimum that can capture videos up to 4K at 30fps. The higher, the better. The Smartphones listed above provide amazing cameras and you can capture crystal-clear images and videos with them.
GPU
If you are a mobile gamer, the most important feature to look for is the RAM, Processor, and GPU capacity. Playing games like PUBG, Call of Duty and Free Fire on mobile devices requires higher GPU capacity. We would suggest looking for at least an Adreno 730 GPU that provides a smooth gaming and doesn’t heat up quickly during long gaming hours.
Battery & Fast Charging
Smartphones today offer a huge amount of battery so we suspect you wouldn’t have to worry about their capacity. However, if you are wondering how much battery capacity you should look for, we would suggest a typical 4000mAh with fast charging support of 25W. For mid-range to top-range phones mentioned in this list, the fast charging support of 60W can be a huge plus point. We know it’s frustrating to wait for your phone to charge and getting yourself a smartphone with a bigger battery capacity and better fast charging support can be a huge convenience.
