4 Best Cheap IPhones And Android Smartphones Under $500

Smartphones are ridiculously expensive, and U.S. T-Mobile and Verizon go out of their way to make them seem affordable. 30 a month for it, Let me list the reasons why: you’re still wasting hundreds of dollars you could use to buy or save for something else that may add value to your life. It also gives your wireless carrier a lot of control over you, since you can't leave a carrier until you pay off the balance on your phone. A phone you buy from your carrier likely won’t work on other networks either. Having a locked phone makes it harder to sell or use elsewhere should you decide to switch your LTE provider. 1,000 when you can get a seriously great, cheap phone for half that price, The affordable smartphones below are WIRED Recommends award-winners. Our top pick is as good as almost any device you can buy, and our other picks strike a great balance between price and luxury.

The OnePlus 5T (9/10 WIRED Recommends) is one of our favorite Android phones at any price. 500 less than its rivals. 60, you can future proof it for another year or two, giving it 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Our only real complaints were that the camera has a few quirks (still very good), it’s only “splash” proof instead of waterproof, and OnePlus doesn’t have the best history with software updates. You'll probably want to buy a case (this one should protect it from drops) with the money you save. It also only works on GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile. I could go on, but I’ll just say this: It’s a comfortable, pleasant, fast phone to use. I used to go back to using an iPhone in between other phone reviews. Lately, I keep charging up the OnePlus 5T instead. The Moto X4 (8/10 WIRED Recommends) is the perfect example of an Android phone that has it where it counts, with some mild compromises to keep costs down. It has a beautiful, waterproof metal and glass design that’s comfortable to hold and well sized.

The HD screen is so nice I initially thought it might use fancy OLED technology. Its dual rear cameras and 16-megapixel front camera also get the job done better than many Motorola cameras of old. It’s also unlocked and works on all four major U.S. Oh, and it runs the latest version of Google’s Android OS (8.0 Oreo). Because it runs on a mid-range Snapdragon 630 processor and 3GB of RAM, you will get an occasional dash of lag, but I found its slowdowns predictable and far less annoying than most phones at this price. You also may want to buy a MicroSD card (they’re cheap) to amp up the 32GB of onboard storage. 400 price. I recommend the Amazon version, though you’ll need Amazon Prime to get it. It comes with some Amazon apps, but it’s usually a lot cheaper. The Moto G5 Plus is about a year old, but it’s still a fine phone, and you can absolutely pick it up.

It will likely be replaced by the Moto G6 sometime before summer 2018. The G5 Plus performs every essential phone function well enough that you won’t go nuts taking a photo or waiting for an app to load. This phone is almost competitive with the Moto X4, but lags behind in processor speed, waterproofing, and a few other areas. But if you’re on a budget, it will do the trick just fine, and is more than adequate for a teenager or casual phone user. It’s unlocked and works on most U.S. If you want a small upgrade, the Moto 5GS Plus is a great alternative. It’s an upgraded Moto G5 that came out in late 2017. The two phones are mostly identical, but the G5S has a slightly larger 5.5-inch screen, upgraded 8-megapixel selfie camera, and dual rear cameras for depth effects. Opt for the version with 64GB Storage and 4GB RAM. It’s faster and will last longer.