{"id":384853,"date":"2026-04-17T22:20:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T22:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/384853\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T22:20:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T22:20:14","slug":"the-best-cheap-phones-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/384853\/","title":{"rendered":"The best cheap phones for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some of us take a kind of \u201ceat to live\u201d rather than a \u201clive to eat\u201d approach to gadgets. They\u2019re tools that help you get things done, not something you want to invest a lot of time or money in. If that\u2019s you \u2014 and there\u2019s no judgment here from a certifiable gadget nerd \u2014 then you can probably think of more worthwhile ways to spend $1,000 than on a phone.<\/p>\n

Budget phones to the rescue. These devices are roughly $600 or under, and they\u2019re more capable than ever. You won\u2019t get all the bells and whistles, but you will save a little money to spend on, I don\u2019t know, actual bells and whistles. It\u2019s your world.<\/p>\n

What compromises can you expect from a budget phone? Some combination of the following: slower processors, less storage, and worse cameras than flagship phones, almost across the board. Many have lower-resolution screens, most skip wireless charging, and water resistance is often less robust than on a pricier phone.<\/p>\n

\"iPhone<\/a>\"iPhone<\/a><\/p>\n

$599<\/p>\n

The GoodNow with magnets!Healthy 256GB of storage in the base modelCapable, if basic, camera systemBasically the same processor as iPhone 17The BadNo always-on displayScreen limited to 60HzNo ultrawide camera or upgraded selfie cam<\/p>\n

Screen: 6.1-inch, 1170p, 60Hz OLED \/ Processor: A19 \/ Cameras: 48-megapixel f\/1.6 with OIS, 12-megapixel selfie \/ Battery: 4,005mAh \/ Charging: 20W wired, 15W MagSafe wireless \/ Weather-resistance rating: IP68<\/p>\n

The iPhone 17E is the minimum viable iPhone \u2014 and I mean that in a good way. It has the same speedy A19 chipset as the standard iPhone 17, starts with a decent 256GB of storage, and offers a full day of battery life. It also comes with MagSafe, unlike last year\u2019s 16E<\/a>, opening up faster magnetic wireless charging and a world of grips and accessories.<\/p>\n

Still, there are a few big omissions in Apple\u2019s cheapest iPhone. The most obvious is that it\u2019s limited to a single 48-megapixel rear camera, lacking even an ultrawide. That\u2019s something plenty of buyers are likely to find limiting. Fewer people are likely to be bothered by the phone\u2019s lack of an always-on display, its 60Hz refresh rate, or the fact that it doesn\u2019t support Apple\u2019s Dynamic Island, which is a handy way to keep track of Live Activities.<\/p>\n

\"iPhone<\/a><\/p>\n

The iPhone 17E lacks the Dynamic Island found on other modern iPhones. Photo: Allison Johnson \/ The Verge<\/p>\n

For some, those will be good reasons to spend $200 more on the iPhone 17. For others, they won\u2019t \u2014 my mom had never even noticed her old iPhone 12 had a second rear camera, so I don\u2019t think she\u2019ll miss it on her new 17E. Android alternatives at this price will also get you extra lenses, smoother displays, and faster charging. But if you want an iPhone, and $600 is where your budget stops, the 17E is the best you\u2019ve got without shopping pre-owned.<\/p>\n

Read our full iPhone 17E review<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The best cheap Android phone<\/p>\n

\"Illuminated<\/a>\"Illuminated<\/a><\/p>\n

$449<\/p>\n

The GoodThe flush camera looks and feels greatSeven years of software updatesSatellite SOS supportThe BadIt\u2019s the Pixel 9A againThe Pixel 9A is cheaperYou should just buy the Pixel 9A<\/p>\n

Screen: 6.3-inch, 1080p, 120Hz OLED \/ Processor: Tensor G4 \/ Cameras: 48-megapixel f\/1.7 with OIS, 13-megapixel ultrawide, 13-megapixel selfie \/ Battery: 5,100mAh \/ Charging: 30W wired, 10W wireless \/ Weather-resistance rating: IP68<\/p>\n

You couldn\u2019t call the Pixel 10A an ambitious phone; it\u2019s essentially a carbon copy of last year\u2019s Pixel 9A<\/a> with a slightly flatter camera bump. Still, Google\u2019s competition hasn\u2019t advanced much either, which means the 10A remains the best cheap Android phone you can buy, short of picking up a discounted 9A while it\u2019s still on sale (well, at least in the US \u2014 buyers elsewhere should look to Poco and Realme for some stiff competition).<\/p>\n

The 10A is powered by the same Tensor G4 chip as last year, though its 6.3-inch OLED screen is slightly brighter. The battery is the same size, but Google says it should last a little longer thanks to optimization, and the 30W wired and 10W wireless charging is a fraction faster, too. The biggest addition over the 9A is satellite connectivity, which is useful if you regularly find yourself off the grid.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

The Pixel 10A doesn\u2019t differ drastically from the prior model, but satellite connectivity is welcome. Photo: Dominic Preston \/ The Verge<\/p>\n

The 10A\u2019s cameras remain one of its biggest strengths, with the 48-megapixel main camera (the same as in the regular Pixel 10) joined by an ultrawide. You won\u2019t find many phones with better cameras at this price, though you will find some with more lenses.<\/p>\n

Read our full Google Pixel 10A review<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The budget phone with a big, beautiful screen<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

$499<\/p>\n

The GoodSlim, metal bodyUnique (and fun!) designBig and brilliant displayThe BadCamera quality is mixedOnly three years of OS updatesNo wireless charging<\/p>\n

Screen: 6.83-inch, 1260p, 144Hz OLED \/ Processor: Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 \/ Cameras: 50-megapixel f\/1.9 with OIS, 50-megapixel 3.5x telephoto, 8-megapixel ultrawide, 32-megapixel selfie \/ Battery: 5,080mAh \/ Charging: 50W wired \/ Weather-resistance rating: IP65<\/p>\n

The Phone 4A Pro is one of the few Nothing phones to get a true US release. In a way, it\u2019s also one of the brand\u2019s most conservative designs, with its transparent plastic mostly giving way to opaque metal, outside of the chunky camera module (which has the boon of a 3.5x telephoto lens but mixed performance otherwise). The metal design also means there\u2019s no wireless charging, though fast 50W wired charging helps make up for that.<\/p>\n

The 4A Pro will mostly appeal for its large 6.83-inch display, which is brighter than rivals and features a faster 144Hz refresh rate. That pairs nicely with Nothing\u2019s eye-catching software design, which makes the 4A Pro a looker in just about every respect. That said, while the software may look good, Nothing only promises three OS updates, meaning the company\u2019s latest handset won\u2019t suit anyone looking for a phone for the long run.<\/p>\n

Read our full Nothing Phone 4A Pro review<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other budget phones to consider<\/p>\n

The 2026 Motorola Moto G Power<\/a> offers a lot despite its starting price of $299.99. It features a 6.8-inch LCD display, a 5,200mAh battery, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is increasingly rare in 2026. Additionally, the device combines both IP68 and IP69 ratings, meaning it\u2019s rated for both submersion in water and exposure to high-pressure water jets and steam, in addition to full protection from dust. Our biggest concern with Motorola\u2019s budget phones is how much bloatware they come with \u2014 be prepared to opt out and uninstall a bunch of stuff you never asked for. The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE<\/a> is another perfectly capable phone that doesn\u2019t quite earn a recommendation here. It\u2019s a little outside the scope of this guide at $649 anyway (although you can sometimes pick it up at a discount), but you do get a telephoto lens and a nice, big screen for that price. Still, you\u2019re better off saving a bunch and picking up the Pixel 10A or trying to score a trade-in promo for the newer Galaxy S26<\/a>.The Samsung Galaxy A57<\/a> recently launched in the US with a starting price of $549, up $50 from the year before. The device has all the makings of a solid midrange phone, including a 6.7-inch OLED display, a 50-megapixel main camera, an Exynos 1680 chip, and a 5,000mAh battery with 45W wired charging. It\u2019s thinner than its A56 predecessor and has been upgraded to IP68 protection, too. Although we haven\u2019t tested it yet, it faces stiff competition from the Pixel 10A, which starts at $499.The Samsung Galaxy A37 5G<\/a> is another great choice that\u2019s available in the US for $449. The device sports a big OLED display, an Exynos 1480 processor, and an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. Samsung is promising six years of OS and security updates, which is a lot for a phone in this price range. While we haven\u2019t tested the A37 5G, its predecessor offered a good balance of hardware and price, and the latest release sounds just as compelling.TCL\u2019s Nxtpaper 70 Pro<\/a> recently went on sale in the US, though it\u2019s exclusive to T-Mobile and Metro. Its main selling point is its 6.9-inch Nxtpaper 4.0 matte LCD screen, which is supposed to be easier on your eyes than a traditional LCD. It also features a \u201cMax Ink Mode,\u201d which turns the screen monochrome and silences notifications, plus somewhat higher specs than its predecessor.<\/p>\n

Senior reviewer Allison Johnson also contributed to this post.<\/p>\n

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See All Verge Shopping<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some of us take a kind of \u201ceat to live\u201d rather than a \u201clive to eat\u201d approach to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":384854,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[771,351,18404,356,367,772,353,342,111,139,69,2063,370,145,87017],"class_list":{"0":"post-384853","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-android","9":"tag-apple","10":"tag-buying-guides","11":"tag-gadgets","12":"tag-google","13":"tag-ios","14":"tag-iphone","15":"tag-mobile","16":"tag-new-zealand","17":"tag-newzealand","18":"tag-nz","19":"tag-phones","20":"tag-tech","21":"tag-technology","22":"tag-verge-shopping"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}