Finest Mid-Vary Smartphones 2024: Our favorite inexpensive handsets

In the event you’re in search of a smartphone that brings you as near the flagship expertise as attainable with out dropping flagship smartphone ranges of money, the Xiaomi 14T Professional is the best choice.

The 6.67-inch CrystalRes AMOLED display is a deal with for the eyes with its pixel-packed 1.5K decision and 144Hz refresh price, providing excellent visuals with inky blacks and vibrant colors helped by assist for 12-bit color depth that makes it improbable for each binging films and gaming.

The latter is definitely attainable with the 14T Professional, sporting MediaTek’s top-end 2024 chipset, the Dimensity 9300+, with benchmark outcomes competing, if not beating, a lot of the flagship competitors. That’s paired with 16GB of RAM and as much as 1TB of storage.

Digital camera efficiency can also be a deal with, sporting a 50MP most important, 50MP ultrawide and a 12MP 2.6x telephoto, sharing the principle digicam with the flagship Xiaomi 14. Its Leica-powered photographs look detailed and vibrant, with stable low-light efficiency as well.

Throw in a 5000mAh battery that’ll final all day and assist for super-fast 120W quick charging that delivers a full cost in 23 minutes and also you’ve obtained a stable all-rounder that’s simple to advocate to most.

Reviewer: Alex Walker-Todd
Full overview: Xiaomi 14T Professional

Google’s newest A-series machine matches lots of the important options present in its pricier counterpart, the Pixel 8, whereas additionally providing a number of benefits over final 12 months’s Pixel 7a. Enhancements embody a lift to 120Hz, up from 90Hz, together with the flagship Pixel’s Actua show tech for a large increase to brightness. 

The Pixel 8a additionally sports activities a extra rounded design than the Pixel 7a and even the Pixel 8 with rounded corners and softer edges, marking certainly one of few ‘a’ collection to diverge from the feel and appear of the flagship counterpart. It additionally sports activities the identical matte end because the top-end Pixel 8 Professional instead of the shiny Pixel 8, giving it a extra premium really feel within the hand. 

As with earlier entries within the collection, the standout characteristic of the Pixel 8a is its spectacular digicam array. Whereas the principle 64MP snapper is identical as final 12 months’s funds mannequin, delivering distinctive photos in varied lighting and a number of the greatest pores and skin tone rendering round, it additionally affords high-end AI-powered picture enhancing instruments like Finest Take and Magic Editor. 

Beneath the hood, the Pixel 8a is powered by the identical Tensor G3 chip present in its higher-end counterparts, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional. This chip affords passable efficiency for its worth vary and handles the cellphone’s AI options, akin to name screening and voice recording, with ease. There are sooner, extra succesful mid-range telephones although – together with the Poco F6 Professional.

The Pixel 8a sadly stays a one-day machine, with no actual increase to battery life this time round, and with equally sluggish charging, it’ll take shut to 2 hours to regain a full cost. A lift to cost speeds and battery capability could be welcome right here, particularly in comparison with the 125W charging of the Edge 50 Professional. 

Nonetheless, the Pixel 8a presents itself as a formidable alternative, combining glorious digicam capabilities, Google’s software program prowess, an inexpensive worth level and one of many longest software program assist guarantees round.

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full overview: Google Pixel 8a

If cellular gaming is a spotlight however you don’t wish to splash out for ultra-premium gaming telephones just like the ROG Cellphone 8 Professional Version, the Poco F6 Professional serves as a surprisingly succesful different that doesn’t break the financial institution. 

That’s as a result of, regardless of costing simply £499, the Poco F6 Professional sports activities the flagship-level Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset – aka the chipset of alternative for many flagships final 12 months – together with a wholesome 12- or 16GB of RAM and as much as 1TB of storage. 

That mixture means the Poco F6 Professional simply outperforms the mid-range competitors and isn’t that far off from what you’ll get from high performers in 2024. For gaming, you may max out the graphics settings on virtually any sport on the Play Retailer and it’ll run like a dream, and the cooling is great too. 

You may assume that, going all-in on energy, Poco has uncared for different areas of the cellphone – however that’s not the case. The design feels premium with a velvet glass rear, a flat 6.67-inch 120Hz AMOLED show with a 1440p decision, respectable digicam efficiency (from the principle 50MP f/1.6 digicam, anyway) and all-day battery life.

After all, you don’t get all the pieces with the Poco F6 Professional, with components like IP54 mud and water resistance falling effectively behind the competitors, middling auxiliary cameras and Poco’s spotty long-term software program assist, however if you’d like probably the most energy attainable from a mid-ranger, the F6 Professional stays a tempting choice.   

Reviewer: Luke Baker
Full Evaluation: Poco F6 Professional 

In the event you’re a Samsung purist and your funds can’t fairly stretch to the £799 Samsung Galaxy S24, the extra budget-friendly £439 Galaxy A55 5G may fit your wants.

It sports activities a glance not that dissimilar from the flagship Galaxy S24, full with a glass entrance, a glass again and aluminium sides, an improve from the plastic sidewalls of the Galaxy A54 5G that instantly makes the cellphone really feel extra premium within the hand than a lot of the plastic competitors. 

It’s additionally coated by Corning’s high-end Gorilla Glass Victus+, and sports activities IP67 mud and water resistance to finish the premium construct expertise. 

Netflix bingers and social media addicts will love the 6.6-inch 120Hz AMOLED show, delivering vibrant colors and deep blacks, and a 5000mAh battery will see you thru the day with none fear, even when the ‘quick charging’ stays comparatively sluggish at simply 25W.

The principle digicam is a reasonably succesful one, sporting a 50MP sensor that our reviewer described as “fairly satisfying” with not one of the common pink flags – purple fringing, oil painting-esque element on the pixel stage – that you just see from mid-range cameras. The auxiliary cameras, a 12MP ultrawide and 5MP macro lens, aren’t fairly as helpful, however that’s a sacrifice we regularly see on the worth level. 

The one actual weak level of the Samsung Galaxy A55 5G is, quite paradoxically, efficiency. Regardless of the premium construct and options, Samsung’s 4nm Exynos 1480 chipset is way from probably the most highly effective yow will discover. It was bested by the Pixel 7a’s Tensor G2, not to mention the Pixel 8a’s Tensor G3, in each CPU and GPU exams, suggesting that cellular players is likely to be higher off wanting elsewhere. 

Reviewer: Andrew Williams
Full overview: Samsung Galaxy A55 5G

Regardless of the Professional branding, the Edge 50 Professional is Motorola’s newest mid-ranger to hit the market, sporting a smooth, svelte design, a formidable display, stable efficiency and a number of the quickest charging we’ve seen at any worth level that makes it one to think about.

First off, the Edge 50 Professional seems to be the half with a alternative between vegan leather-based and marble rears, full with vibrant color choices together with a very engaging shade of Lavender to select from. It’s additionally skinny and light-weight at 8.2mm and 186g respectively, and when mixed with a barely curved display, it feels nice within the hand.

The 6.7-inch show is one other standout characteristic, with OLED display tech, a fast 144Hz refresh price that’s superb for gaming and a most brightness of 2000nits. Mixed with a 1.2K decision, the display expertise is crisp, vivid and vibrant, superb for binging Netflix on the go.

Regardless of its mid-range price ticket, the Edge 50 Professional is certainly one of few mid-rangers to sport a devoted 3x telephoto lens alongside its 50MP most important and 13MP lenses. The principle digicam is equivalent to the Motorola Edge 40, which is to say that it stays a formidable snapper with a big 1/1.55-inch sensor and f/1.4 aperture, however the addition of a 10MP telephoto means you will get nearer to the motion than ever earlier than. 

For us although, the actual spotlight of the Motorola Edge 50 Professional is the charging expertise. Not solely does it assist 125W quick charging tech, however you’ll get a 125W quick charger within the field – and you may’t say that about many flagships, not to mention mid-rangers. With exams displaying a full recharge takes simply 19 minutes, it’s one of many fastest-charging telephones in the marketplace at any worth level.

The one actual weak level of the Edge 50 Professional is the efficiency, utilising the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset current in telephones that price £100 much less. It’s greater than sufficient for on a regular basis use when paired with 12GB of RAM, however you’ll actually discover the dearth of graphical grunt when enjoying video games. 

Reviewer: Lewis Painter
Full overview: Motorola Edge 50 Professional

The OnePlus 12R is a stable try at a mid-range smartphone that manages to face out in a busy market with a smattering of actually high-end tech.

The OnePlus 12R’s show is likely one of the most important causes to go for the cellphone. Whereas the 6.78-inch AMOLED display isn’t fairly as pixel-packed because the flagship OnePlus 12, it boasts the identical 120Hz refresh price and, quite importantly, LTPO 4.0 tech.

It’s one of many first telephones in the marketplace to sport the tech at any worth level, not simply the mid-range market, and permits the cellphone to primarily regulate the refresh price as you scroll. This primarily signifies that the display feels tremendous responsive in use and, crucially, it’s far more battery-friendly.

That additionally signifies that, mixed with a 5500mAh battery that’s bigger than another cellphone in our chart, the OnePlus 12R has the perfect battery lifetime of any cellphone in our chart, managing round 7-8 hours of screen-on time on a single cost. In the event you’re not an influence consumer, that ought to get you thru two days of use. Even then, with 100W SuperVOOC charging it’ll get a full cost in below half-hour. That makes it one of many fastest-charging mid-rangers round.

It’s additionally an honest performer with the 2023 flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, particularly when coupled with OnePlus’ varied software program and {hardware} optimisations. It’ll even give the Pixel 7a’s Tensor G2 chipset a run for its cash, each in benchmarks and real-world use.

Elsewhere, it has a stable major 50MP digicam, although it’s let down by its supporting 8MP ultrawide and 2MP macro cameras, and it additionally lacks some key options like wi-fi charging.

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full Evaluation: OnePlus 12R overview

The Honor 200 Professional could also be one of many pricier telephones on our listing at £699, however if you’d like a top-notch viewing expertise, it might be well worth the upfront funding.

The Honor 200 Professional sports activities a 6.8-inch curved OLED display that’s bigger than a lot of the competitors, nevertheless it’s not only a big-screen machine. 

It comes with a pixel-packed 1.2K decision, a most brightness of 4000nits and even helps blazing-fast 3840Hz PWM Dimming that bests a number of the priciest smartphones round. There are additionally plenty of options aimed toward lowering blue mild to maintain your peepers recent, and the entire expertise is very customisable too. 

Elsewhere, the Honor 200 Professional boasts a formidable digicam expertise headed by a 50MP f/1.9 most important digicam with a big 1/1.3-inch sensor, however the 50MP 2.5x telephoto is most attention-grabbing. That’s as a result of Honor labored with famed French images home Studio Harcourt to convey its distinctive portrait type to the Honor 200 Professional utilizing AI to ship a number of the greatest Portrait mode outcomes round.  

It’s additionally a powerhouse with the Snapdragon 8S Gen 3 and 12GB of RAM that may deal with mainly something you may throw at it, and with a 5200mAh silicon-carbon battery, it has no concern lasting a day or two on a single cost. Mixed with 66W quick charging, it’ll regain a full cost in below an hour, attaining 70% in half an hour.  

The one hurdle is the software program expertise, with Honor’s MagicOS 8.0 primarily based on Android 14 deviating fairly removed from the inventory Android expertise. It’s arguably nearer to iOS 17 than inventory Android with components that mimic iOS, from Dynamic Island-esque controls to a cut up notification centre and fast management panel.

That’s nice for these leaving group iPhone, nevertheless it’s a large studying curve for different Android customers. 

Reviewer: Luke Baker
Full Evaluation: Honor 200 Professional