For average users and even a lot of advanced users, looking for the best value for money phones is actually the smartest choice they can make. Despite they are the most expensive ones, flagship phones are not necessary for everyone in order to achieve the best user experience. Unless you need the most awesome specs sheet, you can find devices with amazing performances, stunning camera quality and long battery life even in affordable price ranges.
And you can save a lot of money while still getting all you need. Here, we will show you the top 10 best value for money smartphones of September 2019. The ranking only includes devices which already hitten the shelves during this year, so newly-announced devices which are not available are excluded, as well as upcoming phones.
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
With an international price tag of just €449/$500, Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro is one of the most affordable smartphones equipped with the Snapdragon 855 that is the most powerful chipset by Qualcomm. So if you are looking for the most amazing performance you can get on a phone but you have a limited budget, it is worth giving it a chance. Another pro of this device is the presence of a pretty nice battery boasting a capacity of 4000 mAh.
The handset even comes with a modern design including a very high screen-to-body ratio, a notch-less display, and a motorized pop-up camera. It is made of premium materials and it sports a nice HDR display. It is not a top camera phone, but it still features a high-end triple camera including 2x optical zoom and accurate autofocus.
OnePlus 7 Pro
OnePlus 7 Pro is one of the most powerful flagships out there, but even though it does not have a lot of rivals in terms of specifications, both the listing price and the street prices are very convenient in both Chinese and global market. Further, it is one of the fastest smartphones ever thanks to an amazing software optimization, the Snapdragon 855 chipset and up to 12 GB of RAM.
OnePlus 7 Pro even comes with one of the best displays available, including a 90 Hz refresh ratio and a Quad HD+ resolution. A lot of people criticized OnePlus for releasing every year devices at a higher price tags, but given the specifications, it offers, OnePlus 7 Pro is still an awesome value for money phone.
Huawei P30 Pro
If you are looking about the best flagship camera phone sold at a modest price, then go for the Huawei P30 Pro. After the U.S. ban, we noticed a drop in the price of Huawei’s phones, especially flagship ones. Huawei P30 Pro is all but an affordable flagship, however, its actual street prices are amazing. And if you consider that it is one of the most revolutionary camera phones, you should understand what an awesome deal it is.
Huawei P30 Pro comes with a rear camera providing the best quality you can expect in low light conditions, thanks to the RYYB paradigma which replaces the green with yellow. Further, it is one of the smartphones with the best zoom capabilities as it is able to reach a 5x optical zoom. Last but not least, it even features a big battery and reverse wireless charging.
Samsung Galaxy S10e
Just like Apple, even Samsung released three devices from its main flagship series this year. One of them is an affordable and more compact variant: the Galaxy S10e. It comes at a way more affordable price, but it still features the same flagship-class hardware department you can find on the Galaxy S10 and S10+.
Further, it has an amazing HDR10+ display and reverse wireless charging, despite its battery comes with just a 3100 mAh capacity (but it is well-optimized, so battery life is not disappointing). Its main camera is brilliant thanks to its variable aperture and optical stabilization. Samsung Galaxy S10e is one of the few handsets under 6 inches to feature a flagship hardware side without compromises, as well as one of the few compact waterproof phones.
Honor 20 Pro
Honor 20 Pro is the latest iteration of affordable flagship by Huawei. If you can not afford the flagships from the P30 or the Mate 30 series, but you still want amazing cameras, great performances, and long battery life, you have no better choice among Huawei devices. It has a very modern design thanks to its punch-hole display, and it is even a pretty compact phone.
Honor 20 Pro is even one of the best top-end camera phones you can find in the market: among its key elements, there are a 48 MP main sensor with OIS, a dedicated macro camera and even 3x optical zoom, as well as a 32 MP selfie camera. Honor 20 Pro is powered by the flagship-class Kirin 980 chipset and it even has a big 4000 mAh battery. And its global listing price is inferior to €600/$667 in the 8/256 GB configuration!
Oppo Reno2
Oppo Reno2 is the perfect upper-midrange. It is not a flagship, but it has a flagship-like camera department. For less than €500/$555, it offers a stunning quad camera setup including optical stabilization, a telephoto sensor, ultrawide lens and an additional 2 MP B/W sensor for portraits. It has one of the most beautiful designs out there, with a glass back, an aluminum frame and one of the highest screen-to-body ratio, thanks to the presence of a notch-less display and a shark fin pop-up camera.
The high screen-to-body ratio allows the presence of a wide 6.5-inch display on a compact body. When it comes to the hardware side, we find even more surprises, given that the phone is equipped with a gaming-centric Snapdragon 730G chipset paired with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage. The SD730G is definitely the best Qualcomm’s chipset if we exclude the flagship-class Snapdragon 8xx series. There are no compromises even when it comes to battery life, thanks to the 4000 mAh unit.
Realme 5 Pro
If you live in Asia and you do not want to spend more than €200/$220, your best choice is either the Realme 5 Pro or the Redmi Note 8 Pro. The new Realme 5 Pro released by Oppo’s sub-brand is a perfect mid-ranger with upper-midrange performances sold at an “almost entry-level” price.
It features the powerful Snapdragon 712 and even an astonishing quad-camera including a 48 MP main sensor, a dedicated macro camera, an ultrawide sensor, and even a depth sensor. Further, it comes with a big 4035 mAh battery which will never leave your phone out of charge before a day of intensive use. There is not an AMOLED display and the phone has a cheap plastic body, but these are things anyone can definitely ignore given its incredibly affordable price.
Redmi Note 8 Pro
Are you a gamer but you have no money? Then there is no better option for you than grabbing a unit of the Redmi Note 8 Pro. It is the world’s first phone with the Helio G90T SoC and it is the most performing phone you can get under €200/$220 in the Asian market. Redmi Note 8 Pro features a liquid cooling system and up to 8 GB of RAM.
It even has a great camera department including the world’s first 64 MP camera in the mobile devices market and a dedicated macro camera. Helio G90T has a pretty high energy consumption, but you should not worry as it comes with a big 4500 mAh battery. Further, it even sports a wide 6.53-inch display and a glass back.
Xiaomi Mi A3
The Mi A3 is the latest smartphone from the only Xiaomi’s line-up with Android One, a stock version of the operating system supported directly by Google with faster and more constant updates in the long term. Xiaomi Mi A3 is available in the global market with a €220 price tag and you can even buy it for less than €200/$220 thanks to online street prices, yet it offers an impressive specs sheet with a very nice hardware department, a big battery and even nice cameras.
With its Snapdragon 665 chipset and its stock user interface, the handset provides very smooth performance. And with a 4030 mAh, it lasts a lot on a single charge, especially because it comes with a compact and efficient display. Its only disadvantage is the display resolution that is just HD+, but it increases the battery life even more.
