Who says you need to spend big to get a great smartphone? Models with excellent cameras, crisp displays, dual SIM capabilities, long battery life and even 5G can all be bought on a budget.
Here is our list of the top five under $500.
OPPO A53 and A53s
Rating: 10. Price: $299/$349
If you were to say the A53 / A53s were ordinary, everyday, damned good budget phones you’d be right. But they exceed all you could expect from $299/349 devices. Both models provide a great CPU, excellent battery, above-average camera, and a terrific screen.
| Positives | Negatives |
|---|---|
| Battery life – good for two days | None really |
| Camera – basic but above social media quality | |
| Display – 90Hz is smooth and responsive | |
| Dedicated slots for dual sim and microSD |
OPPO A54 and A74
Rating: 9.8. Price: $399/$449
The OPPO A54 and A74 5G redefine 5G entry-level price and features. There is no catch – just fantastic value, exceptional OPPO build and two-years warranty. We used the A74 for nearly two weeks (it could just have easily been the A54) and were never left wanting. That is quite an admission from someone who uses a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G at nearly five times the price.
| Positives | Negatives |
|---|---|
| Too many to list – punches well over its price bracket | None really – truly! |
Motorola e7
Rating: 9. Price: $199
The Motorola 2021 Moto e7 meets or exceeds all you can expect of a $199 budget phone. Good build quality, camera and extended battery life, and Motorola’s My UX adds value to the Android experience. It gets our unreserved ‘buy’ recommendation if you’re on a strict budget. If you are skint, then the e7 power at $149 gets a similar recommendation.
| Positives | Negatives |
|---|---|
| Motorola quality and support | No NFC |
| Everything you need in a $199 phone |
realme 7 5G
Rating: 9.7. Price: $499
After running the realme 7 through more than 70 tests, we found only a few minor issues. Battery life suffers under 5G use, but does very well on 4G. We reckon it’s the new class-leader for sub-$500 5G phones. But if you like stereo speakers, a higher spec’d camera and only need 4G, the realme 7 Pro is a step-up option.
| Positives | Negatives |
|---|---|
| MediaTek and 120Hz screen adaptive give super smooth performance | None – it gets the unreserved recommendation for a $499 5G device |
| Excellent camera for the price | |
| Incredible 5G value (dual 5G SIMs) | |
| Everything you could need or want |
TCL 20R 5G
Rating: 8.5. Price: $349
TCL is a latecomer to the Australian smartphone scene. It is hard to get shelf space, let alone visibility at the major retailers, and this is a shame as the TCL 20R 5G at $349 exceeds all reasonable expectations.
Our only two concerns are battery life and 4/5G signal strength. On the battery life issue, it is about half that of phones that use the same chipset, but a firmware update can address that. On the signal strength, it requires good transmission tower density, so it is strictly a city and suburbs phone.
| Positives | Negatives |
|---|---|
| Great value | Battery life is shorter than expected |
| Better than social media standard camera | 4/5G signal strength is for city/suburbs only |
| All Australian 4G and 5G bands | |
| Acceptable quality and features for the price |
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