Buying a $300 phone comes with a big choice: fun features or more support

If sticking to a budget is important, there’s plenty worth it Phones under $300. These phones will likely get a new spotlight as holiday deals discount them further, but there’s a big trade-off for phones in this price range. A phone with modern specifications like an attractive design, enhanced multitasking, and wireless charging may still receive only one major software update and three years of security patches. Some sub-$300 phones have a longer timeline of four years for software updates and five years for security updates. But these devices skimp on some features, which may make you want to upgrade sooner anyway.

That’s the dilemma I’ve been pondering after testing a variety of phones that cost under $300 over the course of 2024. We take software and security timelines seriously in our reviews because these updates can determine whether devices will get new software features. And important reforms. Now that premium phones like Samsung Galaxy S24 and Pixel 8 Promised seven years of software and security updates, we’d like to see more affordable phones reach at least four to five years.

However, we are not there yet. Most phones costing $300 or less ship with the promise of an additional software update and three years of security updates. While Samsung takes the opposite approach with Galaxy A15 5G, priced at $200 and Galaxy A25 5G, priced at $300Both get four years of software updates and five years of security updates, and both have outdated designs and lack features found in similar phones.

This means shoppers have to grapple with the same decision I’ve been pondering over the past few months: Do you go for a phone that’s more feature-packed, e.g. OnePlus Nord N30 5G, priced at $300which features super-fast wired charging and a 108-megapixel main camera? Or is it better to opt for a simpler phone like those in Samsung’s Galaxy A series, which will get important software updates for years to come. To make matters even more confusing, what about older devices that are now available at a discount, e.g Google Pixel 6A?

More features, but shorter updates

Both Motorola and OnePlus offer $300 phones that are worth your time and attention.

this year Moto G Power 5G It’s an eye-catching look, starting with the Pale Lilac vegan leather design. complete Moto G line It now uses this material, resulting in an easier grip if you choose not to use the phone with the case. Motorola has also added 15W wireless charging to the mix, making it one of the cheapest phones to include this option. You’ll get faster 30W speeds when you plug the phone in and charge it the old-fashioned way, but the flexibility to charge it without a cable is very useful — and rare at this price.

Last year’s OnePlus Nord N30 5G has an attractive mirrored design that emphasizes its 108-megapixel main camera. It took good photos when I reviewed it last year, but the real value feature was the 50W SuperVooc charger. Although it’s proprietary (meaning only the included charger achieves these speeds), it replenishes the battery by up to 75% in 30 minutes — a speed that most other phones don’t achieve.

Both of these phones include an ultra-smooth 120Hz refresh rate, NFC for contactless payments, and processors fast enough to multitask along with gaming. But unfortunately, both phones also have shorter update schedules, with the OnePlus phone already receiving a year behind schedule to update Android 14. And while the N30 is still on sale, it’s only getting two more years of security updates. Meanwhile, Motorola’s new Moto G Power 5G will at least get Android 15 at some point in the future and security updates until 2027.

Long lifespan, but less fun phone

Samsung deserves credit for extending the life of its cheap Galaxy A series phones. It’s pretty great that the $200 Galaxy A15 and $300 Galaxy A25 will each receive four years of software updates and five years of security updates. No competitor even comes close to this promise.

However, I wish both phones were more fun. Samsung has nailed the basics for both of these phones, with highly refreshed displays, contactless NFC payments, and powerful enough processors.

But compared to other similarly priced phones, Samsung’s Galaxy A devices look dull. Both are made of plastic and have a blocky cutout instead of the sleeker cutout for the selfie camera found on most other competing phones. While cheap Samsung phones can handle the basics without a problem, they suffer from simple multitasking. The A15 in particular loaded consistently slowly. Although the A25 performed better on most tasks, it occasionally stuttered when loading games or playing music while simultaneously using a web browser and password manager.

This makes the Galaxy A15 and Galaxy A25 a perfect fit if all you want is a communication phone that won’t need replacing anytime soon. But I worry that you’ll face a dead end as apps and services evolve over the coming years, especially if these phones are already easily overwhelmed.

Could Google’s Pixel 6A be the low-budget champion?

You may have noticed that I didn’t discuss the cameras on any of the phones mentioned above. That’s because although they all feature at least 50-megapixel main cameras, none of them take particularly impressive photos. yet Google’s Pixel 6A is still available for sale Its price is often less than $300.

Thanks to A The latest extension for Pixel 6 and laterThe Pixel 6A will now get software updates until July 2027 along with security updates for the same time period. This is a huge boost to the ease of use of this cheaper phone, especially considering that Google originally planned to stop software updates for the Pixel 6A in 2025.

The Pixel 6A’s 12.2MP main camera is still impressive for the price. It runs on Google’s first-generation Tensor processor and comes with many key Pixel features like Magic Eraser for photo editing, live translation, and other long-term Pixel exclusives like Call Screening and Hold for Me. The Pixel 6A also includes an artificial intelligence system Research circle. Although the Pixel 6A will miss out on Google’s latest and most advanced version Features Gemini Artificial Intelligenceit is still a promising option even two years after its release.

However, you won’t get wireless charging or a headphone jack on the Pixel 6A, and its screen is smaller and darker than the other phones mentioned in this story.

How to determine the best option?

Your priorities are most important when choosing a budget phone. If you want the most features at a reasonable price with an attractive design, consider phones from Motorola, Google, and OnePlus.

However, if your most important reason for buying a cheaper phone is to avoid upgrading for as long as possible, you should consider Samsung’s Galaxy A phones.

The irony is that you can’t have both. A phone that’s been updated for four years may not necessarily be the phone you want to keep for four years.