What's the best mid-range phone under $400/£400?
Choosing a new smartphone isn't as simple as it used to be. They may not come in more than one shape, but they do come in lots of different sizes, with plenty of different features and, critically, at plenty of different price points.
For some the camera is important, for others it will be battery life, or perhaps biometric login. These days it isn't just the very best flagship smartphones that offer these features though. There's another breed of smartphones - the mid-rangers - that offer great specs at a lower price.
Here we've rounded up the best devices that sit between the £/€/$200-400 mark - yes our European and American readers, we have you covered - as fully reviewed here on Pocket-lint. Want something even cheaper? Then check our best budget phones feature.
Our best mid-range smartphone
Here's our choice for the best all-round budget mid-range smartphone at the moment...
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
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The Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro is a fabulous phone for its price. It has huge amounts of performance, a solid battery life, and a lovely OLED display too, not to mention decent camera performance for the most part.
The MIUI software might put some off, low-light camera performance isn't brilliant, and it has a fairly chunky build with no water- or dust-resistance, but this device is otherwise unrivalled spec for its price. It's quite simply bonkers this phone sells for the money it does.
The best of the rest mid-range phones
The Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro might not be for everyone, and luckily there are plenty of other great affordable phones to consider. Or if you want a round-up of the best smartphones across all budgets, then check out our feature.
Moto G8 Power
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This phone is all about battery life - that's why it has 'Power' in its name. It lasts for an absolute age, comes in at the lower end of our budget, and is a surprisingly smooth handler too.
At this price point you won't get the best cameras going, but if you want longevity and as little outlay as possible then it's simply superb.
Oppo Reno 2 Z
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The Oppo Reno 2 Z has a clear and crisp display, a premium look and feel and a great battery life. It isn't a flagship phone, but it gets you most of the way there for an astonishingly good price.
The finish is a little slippery and the low-light images aren't as good as the Google Pixel 3a - see further down this list - but the Oppo Reno 2 Z offers super fast-charging and you get an awful lot for your money, making it easily recommendable.
Motorola Moto G8 Plus
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The Motorola Moto G8 Plus has a refined design over its predecessor, making it a great price proposition with excellent battery life.
It's camera is a little basic, albeit capable, and there is some serious competition in this market, but the Moto G8 Plus offers ample performance and its problems are few and far between.
Honor 9X
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One of the last Huawei-made phones to come with Google Services - so no limits to access there - the 9X is one of the unsung hereos on this list in many respects.
The absence of a notch on that large screen, the eye-catching reflective design, and great battery life all make for a solid handset. However, the processor isn't a bump over last year's and the cameras aren't all that. At this price, though, it's a strong contender.
Samsung Galaxy A51
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Samsung's flagship phones might steal the limelight, but it's also been putting out really solid mid-range handsets this whole time, with its Galaxy A series the most interesting. The A51 is the latest lower-priced star, and we're suitably impressed. Perhaps its most impressive aspects are in design, where you could honestly be fooled into thinking it's a premium handset.
The display is great, and while you might not have loads of power under the hood it'll do nicely for most people. Battery life is also solid, and an under-display fingerprint scanner works well for unlocking. You even get a quad-camera setup to make sure that you can play with the big boys while shooting.
Google Pixel 3a
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The Google Pixel 3a - which is the affordable version of Google's flagship line - just manages to slip into this price category. This phone offers a clean and smooth software interface, coupled with the excellent Pixel camera, offering a great point-and-shoot experience.
It's not the cheapest of the devices on this list, though, and there are some with more advanced processors and more impressive specifications, while the plastic build feels cheaper than the flagship Pixel. Overall, if you're after a pure Android device then it's a great device.
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