Buying a $300 phone offers a lot of choice: fun features or more support

If sticking to a budget is important, there are many that are worth it Phones under $300. And these phones will likely get a new spotlight as they’re discounted even further through holiday sales, but there’s a big trade-off with phones in this price range. A phone with modern specs like an eye-catching design, improved multitasking, and wireless charging might still only get a major software update and three years of security patches. Some phones under $300 have a longer period of four years for software updates and five years for security updates. However, these devices lack certain features, so you may want to upgrade sooner anyway.

This is the dilemma I’ve been weighing after testing a number of phones that cost less than $300 throughout 2024. We take software and security deadlines seriously in our testing, as these updates can determine whether devices receive new software features and important fixes. Now that premium phones like that Samsung Galaxy S24 and the Pixel 8 While software and security updates are promised for seven years, we’d like to see more affordable phones bumped up to at least four to five years.

However, we are not there yet. Most phones that cost $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 its $200 Galaxy A15 5G And $300 Galaxy A25 5GBoth of which receive four years of software updates and five years of security updates, both have an outdated design and lack features found on comparable phones.

That means buyers are struggling with the same decision I’ve been pondering for the past few months: opt for a phone with more features like this $300 OnePlus Nord N30 5Gthat has extremely fast wired charging and a 108-megapixel main camera? Or is it better to choose a simpler phone like the Samsung Galaxy A series, which will receive major software updates in the coming years? And to make things even more confusing, how about an older device that is now available at a discount, such as: Google Pixel 6A?

More features, but shorter updates

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

This year Moto G Power 5G is an eye-catcher, starting with its light purple design made of vegan leather. The whole Moto G line now uses this material, resulting in an easier grip if you don’t want to use the phone with a case. Motorola has also added 15-watt wireless charging into the mix, making it one of the cheapest phones with this option. You’ll get faster 30W speeds if you plug in the phone and charge it the old-fashioned way, but the flexibility to charge it without a cable is very helpful – and rare at this price.

Last year’s OnePlus Nord N30 5G features an attractive reflective design that highlights the 108-megapixel main camera. When I tested it last year it took decent photos, but the real added value was the 50-watt SuperVooc charger. Although it’s proprietary (meaning only the included charger reaches these speeds), it charges the battery up to 75% in 30 minutes – a speed most other phones can’t reach.

Both phones have a super-smooth 120Hz refresh rate, NFC for contactless payments, and processors fast enough for multitasking and gaming. But unfortunately, both phones also have shorter update timelines, as the OnePlus phone has already received Android 14 a year into its update timeline. While the N30 is still on sale, it will only receive two more years of security updates. Meanwhile, Motorola’s new Moto G Power 5G will receive at least Android 15 and security updates until 2027 at some point in the future.

Long life, but a phone that’s less fun

Samsung deserves credit for extending the lifespan of its cheaper Galaxy A series phones. It’s absolutely wonderful that both the $200 Galaxy A15 and $300 Galaxy A25 receive four years of software updates and five years of security updates. No competitor can even come close to keeping this promise.

Still, I wish both phones were more fun. Samsung has nailed the basics of both phones: high-resolution displays, contactless NFC numbers and sufficiently powerful processors.

But compared to other phones in a similar price range, Samsung’s Galaxy A devices seem boring. Both are made of plastic and feature a block-shaped notch instead of the slimmer selfie camera cutout found on most other competing phones. While the cheaper Samsung phones can easily handle the bare essentials, they struggle with basic multitasking. The A15 in particular charges slowly throughout. While the A25 performed better at most tasks, it occasionally stuttered when loading games or playing music while simultaneously using a web browser and a password manager.

This means that the Galaxy A15 and Galaxy A25 are completely sufficient if you just want a phone for communication that doesn’t need to be replaced so quickly. But I worry that you’ll hit dead ends as you develop apps and services in the coming years, especially when these phones are already slightly overwhelmed.

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

You may have noticed that I haven’t touched on the cameras on any of the previously mentioned phones. Because although they all have at least 50 megapixel main cameras, none of them take particularly impressive photos. Still Google’s Pixel 6A remains available for sale The price is often under $300.

Thanks to a current extension for Pixel 6 and higherThe Pixel 6A will now receive software updates until July 2027 as well as security updates for the same period. This is a significant plus for the usability of this cheaper phone, especially considering that Google originally planned to stop software updates for the Pixel 6A in 2025.

The Pixel 6A’s 12.2-megapixel main camera is still impressive for the price. It runs on Google’s first-generation Tensor processor and has many of the Pixel’s flagship features like Magic Eraser for editing photos, Live Translate, and other long-time Pixel-exclusive features like Call Screening and Hold for Me. The Pixel 6A also features the AI ​​support Circle to search. Although the Pixel 6A will miss out on Google’s newer and more advanced features Gemini AI featuresit’s still a promising option two years after its release.

However, the Pixel 6A doesn’t have wireless charging or a headphone jack, and its screen is smaller and dimmer than other phones mentioned in this story.

How do you decide on the best option?

When choosing a budget phone, your priorities matter most. If you want the most features at an affordable price in an eye-catching design, consider phones from Motorola, Google, and OnePlus.

However, if the 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 it both ways. The phone that takes four years to upgrade might not necessarily be the one you want to hold on to for four years.