While the newest and shiniest flagship smartphones will set you back a serious amount of money – the sort of money that could actually get you a spectacular TV, for example – there’s a lot to be said for setting your budget a little lower for your next phone purchase. And here, we’re setting that budget at exactly £500.
To continue the comparison, you’d struggle to get a TV with a high-end panel or decent audio for that money, but on the other hand you can get a very good smartphone. As the years have gone on, budget and mid-range phones have continued to raise the bar in terms of design, performance, features and materials – it’s no longer the case that spending less means making a lot of trade-offs and compromises with the device you end up getting.
The six phones we’ve highlighted here all excel at giving you a lot of bang for your buck, and we’ve included pricier alternatives for each one, just in case you do have a bit more to spend. Considering the quality that you get for your money, these handsets will make you seriously wonder why you would ever need to spend top dollar on a flagship.