You can get a great phone worth $ 300, provided you answer one question

If you need A new phone with less than $ 300There are a number of great options that can meet your most important needs. But there is a great barter when it comes to phones in this reasonable range. The phone with modern specifications such as attractive design, improved multiple tasks and wireless charging may only receive one or two main software updates and three years of safety corrections. Some phones that are less than $ 300 have a four -year tallest schedule for program updates and five years of security updates. But these devices are stingy with some features, which may make you want to upgrade sooner anyway.

This is the dilemma that I was weighed after testing a variety of phones that cost less than $ 300. We take the timelines for programs and safety seriously in our reviews because these updates can determine whether the devices will get new program features and important repairs. Now that it has become distinguished phones like Samsung Galaxy S 24 and Pixel 8 We promised seven years of program and safety updates, we would like to see more affordable phones reaching at least four to five years.

But we haven’t got there yet. Most of the $ 300 or less phones are shipped with an additional promise to the program and three years of security updates. Although Samsung takes the opposite approach with Galaxy A15 5G at $ 200 and Galaxy A25 5G at $ 300And both of them get four years of program updates and five years of security updates, both of which have an old design and they lack the features in similar phones. The new Samsung Galaxy A16 at $ 200 It increases its commitment to software and security to six years, but I haven’t had the opportunity to test this phone yet.

This means that shoppers should deal with the same decision that I was thinking about in the past few months: Do you choose a phone full of features more, such as One Plus Nord N30 5G at $ 300Which features a very fast wire charging and a main camera with a resolution of 108 megapixels? Or is it better to choose a more simple phone like those in the Samsung Galaxy A series, which will get important software updates for the coming years. To make things more confused, what about the old devices now available at a reduced price, such as Google Pixel 6A?

More features, but short updates

Motorola and OnePlus offers $ 300 phones worth your time and attention.

This is 2024 Moto G Power 5G It is an attractive appearance, starting with Pale Lilac. complete Moto G line This material is now used, which leads to the ease of holding it if you choose not to use the phone with the portfolio. Motorola also added a 15W wireless charging to this mix, making it one of the cheapest phones that include this option. You will get 30 watts speeds when connecting and charging the phone in the old way, but the flexibility in charging it without a cable is very useful – which is rare at this price. Motorola also announced the issues of 2025 from $ 200 Moto G and $ 300 Moto G Power This trend continues from the design of colored vegetable skin, durability and fast charging speeds.

The OnePlus N30 5G phone has an attractive reflector design that emphasizes its 108 -megapixel camera. I took good pictures when I reviewed it last year, but the real value feature was a 50 -watt Supervooo charger. Although it is special (meaning that only the guarantee charger is the one that achieves these speeds), it renews the battery by up to 75% in 30 minutes – a speed that most other phones do not achieve.

The cheap Motorola and OnePlus phones include a high -smooth update rate of 120 Hz, NFC technology for non -contact payments, and quick processors enough to do multiple tasks as well as play games. Unfortunately, both phones also have a shorter timeline for update. Although the N30 is still offered for sale, nearly two years have now passed since its commitment to security support for three years. Meanwhile, Motorola Motorola phones get two years of program updates and three years of security updates, which is a slight increase in updating the only program that the Moto G line received in previous years along with the same security commitment.

Long life life, but it is a less fun phone

Samsung is worthy of estimate to prolong the age of the cheap Galaxy A series phones. It is very cool for Galaxy A15 for $ 200 and Galaxy A25 to receive 300 dollars of four years of program updates and five years of security updates. It is better for the Galaxy A16 to get six years each. There is no competitor even approaching this promise.

Samsung has succeeded in mastering the basics of both phones, through highly updated screens, non -contact NFC, and sufficiently strong treatments.

But compared to other phones with similar prices, Samsung Galaxy A devices look boring. My A15 and A25 phone are made of plastic and have a full bump instead of the most elegant opening for the selfie camera in most other competing phones. While the cheap Samsung phones can handle the basics without a problem, they suffer from multi -tasks. A15 is particularly loaded slowly. Although the A25 performance was better in most of the tasks, it sometimes stutters when downloading games or playing music while using a web browser and password manager simultaneously. I am looking forward to A16 to see if Samsung is able to improve the phone’s performance for its less -price option.

This makes my Galaxy A15 and Galaxy A25 fully suitable if all you want is a phone to call you will not need to be replaced anytime soon. But I am concerned that you will face a dead end with the development of applications and services in the coming years, especially if these phones are already burdened.

Can the Google Pixel 6A be the low budget hero?

You may have noticed that I did not discuss the cameras on any of the previously mentioned phones. This is because although all of them feature at least 50 -megapixel cameras, none of them takes special impressive pictures in particular. yet Google’s Pixel 6A phone is still available for sale Its price is often less than $ 300.

Thanks to The last extension granted to the Pixel 6 phone and the latest versionsPixel 6A will now get software updates until July 2027, along with security updates for the same time period. This is a great reinforcement for the ease of using this cheaper phone, especially given that Google originally planned to stop the Pixel 6A software updates in 2025.

The main camera of the Pixel 6A is still impressive for the price. It works on the first generation of the Google Tensor processor and comes equipped with many major Pixel features such as Magic Eraser Photo Edit, Live Translation and other Long -term exclusive Pixel features such as Call Screening and Hold for Me. Pixel 6A also includes the artificial intelligence system Search circle. Although Pixel 6A will miss the latest and most advanced Google version Gemini features of artificial intelligenceIt is still a promising option even after two years of its release.

However, you will not get a wireless charging or headphone socket in the Pixel 6A phone, and its screen is smaller and darker than other phones mentioned in this story.

How to determine the best option?

Your priorities are the most important when choosing a limited budget phone. If you want to get most of the features at a reasonable price with an attractive design, think about Motorola, Google and OnePlus phones.

However, if the most important reason for buying a cheaper phone is to avoid upgrade for as long as possible, you should think about Samsung Galaxy A phones.

The paradox is that you cannot get both. The phone that is updated for four years may not necessarily be the phone you want to keep for four years.