Information technology's always tough to recommend upkeep smartphones to prospective buyers. For less than $200 (and no contract) there are a few standout offerings – we nonetheless recommend the Moto Chiliad and Moto E series around the $150 marking – but the situation is more complicated in the $200 to $300 price bracket.

It'due south almost e'er better to purchase a last-generation high end phone over a current mid-range device in the $200 to $300 market.

Hither nosotros come across a mix of new mid-range devices competing confronting terminal generation flagships that are all the same sold new only at new reduced prices, and these normally win.

Flagship phones from a yr or ii ago routinely pack better hardware, superior cameras, better performance, and more than software features. Y'all won't be getting the freshest hardware; nonetheless you'll be surprised at the value some of these products can provide.

Beneath are my recommendations for the five smartphones from previous generations that you should consider instead of today'south budget handsets. Forget everything in the mid-range; this is what you should exist ownership.

LG V20: $320

LG again takes the first ii spots on this list, as they are one of the few major telephone manufacturers to aggressively slash prices while continuing to offer their previous-gen high-end phones. With the freshly launched LG V30 now occupying the company'southward flagship big-screen phone slot, the V20 is available for an absolute steal through Amazon, at a little over $300.

The LG V20 is barely a year onetime, then the phone is packed with quality and should exist considered by anyone looking for a big-screen handset. Yous get a 5.7-inch 2560 10 1440 LCD plus a smaller secondary brandish above it, useful for notifications and always-on functionality. Information technology's not as neat as the small-bezel displays of 2022, but the screen on the V20 is still beautiful.

The hardware stacks up well. In that location's a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 nether the hood, which is easily twice as fast as most Snapdragon 600-series chips establish in mid-range devices. Plus it obliterates whatsoever MediaTek SoC I've used, not but in terms of performance, just also in wireless connectivity and ability efficiency. LG has paired it with features constitute in loftier-end phones today: 64GB of storage, 4GB of RAM, NFC, Wi-Fi ac, and Category 12 LTE (600 Mbps downstream). There's even support for 32-bit/192kHz audio.

The camera array is very like to that of the LG G5, G6 and even the V30, consisting of a standard 16MP camera plus a wide-bending 8MP shooter. You become OIS, laser autofocus, 4K capture, and a decent 5MP front camera with an f/1.9 lens. This photographic camera is pretty good past today's standards.

The feature list doesn't end there: the V20 includes a microSD menu slot, fingerprint scanner, and it's ane of the concluding major phones on the market to sport a removable bombardment. Nosotros tin't stress enough how great value and powerhouse the V20 is at $320.

LG V20 photograph credit: Phandroid

LG G5: $200

For those that don't want a phone as large equally the LG V20, or would rather save $100, the LG G5 is some other steal at ~$200. Seriously, LG'southward flagship from a year and a half ago is selling at entry-level phone levels. That'due south utterly ridiculous.

This pricing anomaly certainly comes down to the G5'south poor reception at launch and its unimpressive modular system. Plus, the LG G5 attempted to retail at the same price equally the far superior Galaxy S7, which was never a competition, nor a successful strategy.

Just when the cost falls all the way down to the $200-250 price bracket, it'south hard to wait past the G5. It offers a Snapdragon 820 SoC, faster than any mid-range scrap, plus a v.3-inch 1440p display, 32GB of storage, 4GB of RAM, microSD expansion, and a removable battery. The camera system includes a useful secondary broad-angle photographic camera, capable of some seriously expert photos, fifty-fifty by today'due south standards.

Compared to other $200 phones, the LG G5 offers far more features, far better functioning, and a superior camera. It'south a no brainer. And while you're busy purchasing 1, you tin easily pick up spare batteries for $10, allowing yous to hot-swap on the go.

Xiaomi Mi Notation 2: $300

This wouldn't exist a list of cheap phones without Xiaomi getting a mention. In fact in this year's list we're recommending two Xiaomi devices, depending on what size handset you're later on. The best selection for most people, and our principal recommendation, is the 5.7-inch Xiaomi Mi Notation 2, which nosotros've seen available for as low as $300 (though often ~$350).

If you want something smaller, and then go for the Xiaomi Mi5s, which hovers around $280 to $300.

Both handsets utilize the same base hardware: Snapdragon 820 or 821, both come up with 1080p displays, 3-4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage (32GB in some Mi5 models) with no microSD expansion, NFC and True cat.12 LTE. The specification sheet stands upwardly favourably, and the Mi Notation 2 even comes with a beautiful AMOLED screen.

The Mi Annotation two does accept the better camera: a 22-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 lens on the back, capable of 4K video capture, plus an 8-megapixel f/2.0 shooter on the front. The Mi5s is perhaps amend geared for depression-light photography, with a 12-megapixel rear photographic camera and 4-megpaixel on the front, both with large pixel sizes. Either mode yous should be satisfied with the photograph experience, though it won't be quite as impressive equally the LG V20 or G5.

It'southward also worth mentioning the Mi Annotation 2's enormous 4,070 mAh battery, which provides excellent battery life, although the Mi5s punches above average in this regard, too. You will have to put up with Xiaomi's average software implementation, merely either phone is a decent purchase around that $300 mark.

Sony Xperia XZ: $320

This is the first fourth dimension a Sony handset has fabricated information technology to our list great value last-gen flagships. Sony has a habit of overpricing, which usually trickles down to overpriced terminal-gen models. But non this time, equally the solid Xperia XZ is available for around $320 on Amazon.

Normally I'd recommend y'all only go with the LG G5 for a lower price, but the Xperia XZ does offer some unique features if y'all're willing to spend a chip more. First, the phone is IP68 h2o resistant, and it'due south the simply telephone in this list with that characteristic. 2d, it has a huge 23-megapixel rear camera capable of highly detailed photos. Y'all'll besides become meliorate bombardment life than the LG G5.

But maybe nearly importantly, Sony has pledged to continue supporting this handset. The phone launched with Android six.0, information technology'south currently bachelor with Android 7.i.1, and Sony has announced that Oreo is coming. At that place is no word whether whatsoever of the other smartphones in this article volition be officially updated to the latest version of Android which works in Sony's favor.

Bated from these advantages, the Xperia XZ packs a Snapdragon 820 SoC, a 5.two-inch 1080p display, 32GB of storage with 3GB of RAM and microSD expansion, plus standard features like USB-C, Cat.ix LTE, 24-flake/192kHz audio, Quick Charge three.0 back up, and NFC.

This is some other phone that'southward simply slightly more than a year former, and information technology'due south worth a look.

LeEco Le Pro 3: $200

Nosotros'd only recommend yous consider the LeEco Le Pro iii if, for any reason, y'all don't want to buy the LG G5. This phone does pack a great assortment of hardware at a $200 toll betoken, and so information technology'south still worth mentioning every bit the final telephone in this roundup.

LeEco isn't a well known brand in the United States, but surprisingly you tin can purchase the Le Pro 3 through Amazon, complete with a United states warranty. Information technology sports a Snapdragon 820 SoC, a 5.5-inch 1080p display, a huge four,070 mAh battery, and a sixteen-megapixel photographic camera with an f/ii.0 lens.

Compared to some of the other phones nosotros've talked near in this article, there's nothing too surprising here, but not many compromises either. It'due south notwithstanding awesome to see such a great range of hardware hitting a $200 cost point.

The phone has USB-C, Cat.12 LTE support, 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM. Fifty-fifty Dolby Atmos audio "enhancement." At that place is no microSD carte slot and no headphone jack. Yous'll also have to put up with rather poor software and lack of vendor back up; the phone is even so officially running Android 6.0. All the same if you are later a decent range of hardware at a dirt cheap price, the Le Pro 3 is an selection to consider. As well look out for the Le Pro three Elite, which is basically the same phone and can sometimes be found for as low as $180, though it's non on Amazon.

Budget Devices Withal Take a Purpose

While we ever recommend older flagships in the $200 to $350 price bracket, it's hard to discover anything decent below $200. At this point, yous're looking at phones more than 2 years onetime, often entirely unsupported, and with express stock.

Instead, information technology'south often a better thought to buy a upkeep handset running newer Android, with improve back up, and sometimes hardware comparable to high-cease phones from 3 years agone. Currently, we recommend the Moto E4, Moto E4 Plus and Moto G5 Plus at the $100, $150 and $185 toll points respectively, all with Amazon's easily-avoidable lockscreen ads.

Information technology's worth mentioning some older phones you shouldn't purchase if you're looking for the best possible value, in particular Samsung or Apple handsets. These older devices tend to hold their value meliorate over fourth dimension -- which can be a big plus for current owners, merely not to purchase them new compared to what you can get equally illustrated in a higher place.

For instance, y'all tin get a ii.v-year-old Milky way S6 for virtually $300, which doesn't seem worth information technology next to the LG G5. Information technology gets worse in the Apple tree camp, where an iPhone 6 from 2022 all the same costs more than $300 new.

If you hunt around information technology's definitely possible to find cracking value in the older phone marketplace, and that's without resorting to refurbished or used handsets. Just exist wary of current phone pricing: modernistic flagships are available for as low as $400 (Xiaomi Mi vi), and there are good budget buys around the $150 mark. It's the gap between those prices where the best deals tin can be found.