From £80 to £800: The best phones for every budget revealed
We’ve done the research so you don’t have to
From £80 to £800: The best phones for every budget revealed
Sure, an iPhone X will set you back at least £1000, but you don’t need to shell out that much for a smart new phone.
Stuff has trawled through its reviews from the past 12 months to bring you top-notch blowers for every budget, from a pound less than £80 right up to a pound less than £800.
If you can’t find something to suit you among this lot, you’re probably better off living in cave.
Under £100: Vodafone Smart N8
For less than £100 you can’t do better than a Vodafone Smart N8. As the name suggests, it only works on Vodafone, and you shouldn’t expect any design flourishes or fancy features (although it does have a fingerprint scanner). But it’s not an ugly phone and the screen is good for the money, so as long as you’re aware of its limitations, the Smart N8 won’t disappoint.
Stuff says: 4 stars
Under £200: Sony Xperia XA1
Let’s be clear here: you can get better phones than the XA1 for under £200 but if you’re going to be spending a lot of time taking photos, the 23MP camera you get on the back of it is one of the best you can get on a phone of this price. The screen could be better but its slim chassis gives it an unusually elegant profile.
Stuff says: 4 stars
Under £200: Honor 6X
The first of many Honors on this list, the 6X is one of those phones that looks more expensive than it is, largely thanks to a brushed aluminium back, dual cameras and fingerprint sensor. Performance is good unless you’re gaming and the EmotionUI software is a bit Marmite but for the cash, the 6X is seriously tempting.
Stuff says: 4 stars
Under £200: Nokia 6
The rebooted 3310 might’ve stolen all the headlines on Nokia’s return but the real star of the comeback has been the 6. A classy looking chassis, nice big screen and fingerprint sensor feel like real treats on a phone at this price and while it’s a little underpowered, the Nokia 6 still gets a lot right.
Stuff says: 4 stars
Under £200: Doogee BL7000
Don’t worry that you’ve never heard of Doogee, nobody else has either. What you do need to know, though, is that the BL7000 has an absolute whopper of a battery inside. On the whole it’s better on paper than it is in practice but there’s no denying it’ll keep on going after all around it have died.
Stuff says: 4 stars
Under £200: Moto G5
Motorola’s G range was one of the first to offer a decent, affordable alternative to high-end phones and the G5 doesn’t disappoint. A 5in Full HD screen, impressive performance and while it’s a plastic body with metal panels rather than an all-metal chassis, the removable battery is a welcome inclusion.
Stuff says: 5 stars
Under £300: HTC U11 Life
Yeah, the name’s a bit weird but the U11 Life comes with Android One onboard, which isn’t always easy to find in an affordable phone, and has a great 1080p screen for a mid-ranger. The camera’s capable rather than impressive, battery life could be better and we’re not used to having no headphone jack on a phone at this price but there’s no denying its good looks.
Stuff says: 4 stars
Under £300: Samsung Galaxy A5
As nice as Samsung’s Galaxy S8 is, it’s not cheap. In the company of short-sighted friends, pull an A5 out of your pocket and, thanks to the AMOLED screen and familiar design, you’ll probably be able to pass it off as its pricier brother. It’s even waterproof too, so you can dunk it in a pint to ‘prove’ it.
Stuff says: 4 stars
Under £300: Moto X4
If Moto’s G5 is a little low budget for your tastes, an extra ton will snag you an X4. Its punchy 5.2in screen goes nicely with the smart metal and glass build. It’s also waterproof, which is unusual for a phone so cheap, and while the dual camera is a little on the slow side, there’s still a lot to love here.
Stuff says: 4 stars
Under £400: Honor 9
From the front the Honor 9 looks a lot like an iPhone with a custom paint job but that’s no bad thing. This well-performing 5.15-incher could easily pass for a far more expensive phone, although its ordinary battery life and slightly underwhelming camera might give it away on closer inspection.
Stuff says: 5 stars
Under £400: Moto Z2 Play
LG’s attempt to make a modular phone didn’t go as well as hoped but Motorola deploys it with much more success on the Z2 Play. Even without the Hasselblad camera add-on or a boosted battery, Moto’s mid-ranger offers silky performance and an impressive screen, but you’ll want to invest in some mods to get the most out of it.
Stuff says: 5 stars
Under £400: Sony Xperia XZ1
Sony’s XZ1 was the first to bring HDR to a Full HD phone screen for the first time and its 3D scanning tech is a neat party trick that lets you turn selfies into animated characters (hello Animojis) but the design is tired and it doesn’t match up to other flagships. For £200 less than the launch price, though, you might be sold.
Stuff says: 4 stars
Under £500: Honor 8 Pro
Looking for a big screen but don’t want to splash too much cash? Honor’s 8 Pro has a 5.7in IPS LCD display, dual cameras and impressive battery life for less than £450. It’s made of metal rather than glass but when what’s inside is this good, you really can’t complain.
Stuff says: 5 stars
Under £500: OnePlus 5T
The flagship phone that won’t cost you a flagship price, the 5T’s 6in 18:9 screen, dual camera setup and top-notch performance put it among the most expensive phones on this list – and while it can’t quite match them for desirability, it’s one of the best value phones ever made.
Stuff says: 5 stars
Under £500: Honor View 10
It’s about time some of Huawei’s flagship features filtered down to its Honor range of phones and that’s exactly what you get with the View 10. The AI assistance that made the Mate 10 Pro such a joy to use makes an appearance in the more affordable View 10, speeding up camera performance and guessing which apps you’re about to use next. Neat.
Stuff says: 5 stars
Under £600: HTC U11
Recently succeeded by the U11+, HTC’s squeezable U11 is probably now an endangered species but that means you can pick up one of our favourite Android phones of 2017 for significantly less than before. You won’t get the bigger battery or 16:9 screen but the design is still a real eye-catcher and it’s still got Alexa onboard.
Stuff says: 5 stars
Under £600: Samsung Galaxy S8
With the Galaxy S9 on the horizon the S8 is available for a knockdown price – but that means there’s also a chance it’ll be reduced even further. However much you pay for one, it’s still the finest mobile phone on the planet right now, with a brilliant screen, wonderful camera and gorgeous design that’s only rivalled by the considerably pricier iPhone X.
Stuff says: 5 stars
Under £700: Huawei Mate 10 Pro
Considering its size you might expect the Mate 10 Pro’s battery to struggle through a day but you’ll get twice that out of it, which is just as well, because the rich OLED screen, excellent camera and AI-enhanced performance might it mighty hard to put down.
Stuff says: 5 stars
Under £700: HTC U11+
HTC’s newly released U11+ gets a larger screen and bigger battery – and it’s a fine improvement on an already excellent phone, it’s just a little late in the day with Samsung et al readying phones with a genuine 2018 spec. Those squeezable edges are still cool, mind.
Stuff says: 4 stars
Under £800: Apple iPhone 8 Plus
There’s no way you’ll get an iPhone X for under £1000 but the 8 Plus is a fine alternative, even if it does still have a home button. That means you miss out on all the Face ID trickery but a superb camera and great screen make it a pretty acceptable second best.
Stuff says: 5 stars
Under £800: Galaxy Note 8
A whopper of a phone comes with a whopper of a price, although it’s dropped a fair bit since the Note 8 launched last year. If you’re after a phone so big it comes with its own stylus, look no further than this high-powered phablet.
Stuff says: 5 stars
Under £800: Google Pixel 2 XL
The larger of Google’s Pixel successors might be a handful but its phenomenal camera is almost worth the money alone. The 6in screen is gorgeous too, and if pure, unfiltered Android is what you’re after, there’s nobody better to provide it than Google.
Stuff says: 5 stars
