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Best Mid-Range Phone 2024: Top 10 Mid-Range Phones Today

Published

3 weeks ago

November 29, 2024

OnePlus Nord 4, Samsung Galaxy A35 and Xiaomi 14T

How much are you willing to spend on a phone?

After deciding between Android and iOS, it’s the next big decision you need to make. For some people, only the very best phones will do, and they’re willing to pay for it. At the other end of the scale, the best budget phones deliver a solid core experience at a fraction of the cost.

But what about if you’re somewhere in between? You still want some of those premium features, but your budget can’t quite stretch to flagship prices.

That’s where a mid-range phone comes in. To be eligible here, a phone must cost between around £300/$300 and £700/$700 when bought outright at launch. That’s a fairly wide price range, with dozens of possible devices, but only the very best have made it into the top 10 below.

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The only mid-range iPhone that Apple sells is the iPhone SE (2022), but that’s not good enough for inclusion here. It means the list below is exclusively Android phones, though there’s still plenty of choice. Below, you’ll find devices from OnePlus, Google, Samsung, Xiaomi, Nothing, Motorola and Poco.

Honourable mentions go to the Nubia Flip 5G, the only mid-range folding phone, and the Fairphone 5, which has impressive sustainability and repairability credentials.

All 10 phones are available in the UK, but not all of them are sold in the US – we’ll indicate where that’s the case. And at the bottom of the page, you’ll find detailed buying advice for mid-range phones.

Black Friday is here, and there are loads of brilliant deals available on mid-range phones. We’re rounding up all the best tech deals, while our dedicated Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel round-ups include several other alternatives.

Why you should trust us: Phone reviews and buying advice have been a staple of Tech Advisor’s coverage since the original iPhone was released in 2007 and Android made its first headlines in 2008.

We’ve guided you through 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G; we’ve reported on the rise and fall of Windows Phone, BlackBerry phones and LG phones. We’ve seen companies push the boundaries of what is possible on such a small device, continuing to make leaps forward in terms of both hardware and software.

But at the same time, we’ve seen those premium features steadily trickle down to more affordable handsets, meaning mid-range phones are now better than they’ve ever been.

We perform in-depth, real-world testing on every new mid-range phone that’s worth buying (dozens every single year), adopting it as our primary phone for the most authentic experience possible and making sure we are in a position to give you the best possible phone buying advice.

Best mid-range phone 2024

1. OnePlus Nord 4 – Best overall

Pros

Premium build

Great display

Strong main camera

Solid battery life

Six years of software support

Cons

Polarising design

Disappointing ultrawide camera

No telephoto camera

The OnePlus Nord 4 is a superb phone which offers everything most people are looking for in a mid-range phone.

That includes superb build quality, with the metal unibody design ensuring top-class durability, even if the reflective plastic window around the cameras will divide opinion.

The Snapdragon chip under the hood isn’t quite Qualcomm’s flagship, but performance is still very strong, while the excellent display could pass for a device twice the price.

Solid battery life is supported by 100W fast charging (albeit without the charger in the box), while the six-year update commitment is the best on a non-Samsung or Google phone.

The downsides are concentrated around the cameras, with OnePlus opting for a disappointing ultrawide lens instead of any telephoto. But the main and selfie sensors are good enough that you can mostly ignore that.

And considering everything else you’re getting, the Nord 4 is superb value for money.

Read our full
OnePlus Nord 4 review