Best mid-range smartphones 2021
Your guide to the latest and best mid-range smartphones. ANDROID ADVISOR STAFF report
Not everyone can afford a flagship phone like the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, but the good news is that plenty of cheaper devices offer an excellent experience all the same.
Some are half the price or even less, so don’t panic if your bank account is looking a little bare and you’re in need of a new smartphone. We’ve reviewed and ranked the best mid-range phones you can buy today.
We define a mid-range phone as one that costs between £250 (the higher limit of our even cheaper budget phones chart) and £600 on a SIM-free basis – perfect to pair with a SIM-only plan.
Mid-range smartphones aim to combine flagship-level features with great value. You may have to compromise slightly on one aspect or another, like the camera or build quality, but it’s often totally worth it to save hundreds – and some of the phones at the top of the price range are flagships in their own right.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
It’s difficult to define a mid-range phone by its specification, hence why we’ve opted for a price bracket instead.
Some mid-range phones will take the all-round good-value approach, with capable specs in each area; others will focus on a key trait, such as the camera or display, and promise flagship-rivalling capabilities in that one aspect; others still used to be those flagships, so will offer fantastic specs at a great price, but may be running on slightly older hardware.
One common element is that you’ll likely have to give up on nice-to-haves like wireless charging or a waterproof rating – these still tend to be reserved for the most expensive phones on the market.
Try to remember that it’s not always about specs either. We’ve hit something of a ceiling when it comes to smartphone tech anyway, so although these phones may not be as fast as your average flagship, they are almost certainly fast enough for most users. Go for a phone that balances value, performance, features and design in a way that appeals to you and your needs.
1. ONEPLUS NORD
Price: £379 from fave.co/2DNYVZJ OnePlus made its name undercutting flagship phones, but over time the brand slowly became exactly what it had originally set its stall against. I loved the OnePlus 8 Pro, but – like many others – noted that it is a flagship through and through, with the price to match.
Enter the OnePlus Nord. Much has been made of the company’s return to the mid-range market – even Apple
couldn’t generate this much hype around an affordable phone when it launched the iPhone SE
– and it’s fair to say that expectations were high.
So has OnePlus done it again? Well let’s put it this way: I moved from the OnePlus 8 Pro to the Nord for this review, and even though that phone costs more than twice as much, I’m in no rush to go back. The notorious flagship killer has killed again.
Design
The best thing I can say about the design of the Nord is that absolutely everybody I’ve shown it to has been shocked when I tell them it costs just £379.
The Nord looks and feels just like any other OnePlus phone – which is saying something, given that OnePlus’s flagships are among the best designed out there. It runs a little smaller, but not by much – I actually wish they’d shrunk it down further, but OnePlus doesn’t really make small phones.
Available in two finishes – Blue Marble and Grey Onyx – the Nord looks different to the flagships, but no less polished. There’s a shinier finish, rather than the matte frosted glass of its big brothers, but that makes it look different – not worse. Expect fingerprints though.
The rear camera module has moved to the corner, but otherwise things look like OnePlus’s flagships. You get the same controls: power button, volume rocker and the always-welcome notification toggle, still rare on Android phones.
OnePlus has essentially made two concessions to price here. The first is the frame, which is plastic rather than the metal of the flagships. I’ll be honest, I didn’t even notice this until it was pointed out to me, and if I hadn’t just told you I suspect you wouldn’t have noticed either. It may have some impact on the phone’s durability of course, but the Gorilla Glass 5 finish on the rear and screen should help somewhat.
The bigger change is the move to a flat display. This is really a matter of taste, and I know plenty of people who prefer a flat screen to a curved one, so it’s hard to chalk this up as much of a downgrade either.
There’s also no official waterproof rating for the phone, but OnePlus does claim that it will survive being submerged for up to 30 seconds in 30cm of water, which is longer than I ever intend to keep it underwater. I’ll admit I haven’t dared test that claim myself, though.
Finally, as per usual there’s no headphone jack. There’s also only mono sound through the speakers, but that’s par for the course at this price.
Display
Let’s talk about that display. At 6.44in it’s a touch smaller than the OnePlus 8, but it’s roughly comparable. That means it’s still a pretty sizable screen, though the 20:9 aspect ratio and slim bezels keep it usable.
The core specs are hard to complain about: FHD+ (2,400x1,080) with a pixel density of 408ppi, a 90Hz refresh rate and AMOLED to boot. To be blunt, this is a better screen than some flagships are shipping with – I’m looking at you, LG Velvet – and is quite possibly the best you’ll find anywhere near this price.
Yes, you can get a 120Hz refresh rate screen for less in the Realme X50 5G, but it won’t be AMOLED. Few people will notice or appreciate the jump from 90Hz to 120Hz, but the colour depth, brightness and accuracy of AMOLED is immediately apparent. OnePlus has made the right compromises here.
Performance
Speaking of making the right compromises, the biggest downgrade the Nord gets is in its chipset – and it really doesn’t matter at all.
The Nord uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G chip, which brings with it the same 5G support you’ll find
on flagships – though no Wi-Fi 6, sadly. OnePlus pairs it with either 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, or a soupedup model with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage – the one I’ve been testing.
Yes, there’s a performance gap between the 765G and the flagship 865, and it looks stark in benchmarking comparisons to the OnePlus 8. But unless you’re playing the absolute most demanding mobile games around, you simply will not notice while you’re actually using the phone.
The Nord is just as fast, responsive, and reliable as any phone you can buy right now for day-to-day usage and will outpace many at this price.
Geekbench 5 (multi-core)
OnePlus Nord: 1,963 OnePlus 8: 3,400
Oppo Find X2 Lite: 1,845 Motorola Edge: 1,813 Realme X3 SuperZoom: 2,617 Huawei Nova 5T: 2,422
GFX Aztec Open Normal
OnePlus Nord: 22fps OnePlus 8: 48fps
Oppo Find X2 Lite: 21fps Motorola Edge: 20fps Realme X3 SuperZoom: 40fps Google Pixel 3a: 11fps Huawei Nova 5T: 17fps
GFX Aztec Open High
OnePlus Nord: 13fps OnePlus 8: 31fps
Oppo Find X2 Lite: 13fps Motorola Edge: 12fps Realme X3 SuperZoom: 26fps Google Pixel 3a: 7fps Huawei Nova 5T: 18fps
GFX Aztec Vulkan Normal
OnePlus Nord: 21fps OnePlus 8: 45fps
Oppo Find X2 Lite: 21fps Motorola Edge: 19fps Realme X3 SuperZoom: 31fps Google Pixel 3a: 9fps Huawei Nova 5T: 13fps
GFX Aztec Vulkan High
OnePlus Nord: 13fps OnePlus 8: 30fps
Oppo Find X2 Lite: 13fps Motorola Edge: 12fps
Realme X3 SuperZoom: 323fps Google Pixel 3a: 6fps
Huawei Nova 5T: 9fps
OnePlus Nord battery charge in 30 minutes
OnePlus Nord: 68% OnePlus 8: 57%
Oppo Find X2 Lite: 68% Motorola Edge: 38% Realme X3 SuperZoom: 68%
Google Pixel 3a: 47% Huawei Nova 5T: 54%
Photography
If there’s one area where the Nord’s budget limitations show through, it’s in the camera. Not because it’s bad, but because it’s a decidedly mixed bag. First up, the main lens is a 48Mp, f/1.75 shooter using the popular Sony IMX586 sensor – the same sensor OnePlus has used in phones since the 7 Pro, though this year’s 8 Pro upgraded to the more impressive IMX689.
This main lens is where the Nord shines. OnePlus has had the benefit of the best part of two years optimizing its software for this specific sensor, and the results speak for themselves. This won’t quite match a Pixel – or even the similarly priced iPhone SE – for sheer point-and-shoot performance, but it’s pretty darn close.
Colours are bright and accurate, exposure is even, and there’s both detail in contrast in spades. Especially once you factor in the price, this camera is a clear winner.
As for video, it’ll handle 4K footage at 30fps – disappointingly not at 60fps, though the selfie camera will – with OIS and EIS to keep things steady.
Things get a little murkier once you move to other lenses and shooting
modes however. The 8Mp, f/2.25 wideangle inevitably loses some detail, but more than that the colour balance and contrast are off. Shots expose darker than through the main lens, with extra shadow eating up that detail even more. The results aren’t bad, but they aren’t great either. Those two lenses are bolstered by a depth sensor to help with portrait shots, and a 2Mp macro camera that is clearly only here to make up the numbers. Like most low-megapixel macro cameras, this is absolutely terrible, with low detail, awful exposure and desaturated colour. There is no conceivable circumstance in which you’d ever want to use this camera, but the good news is that you don’t have to: take a shot with the main lens, crop in and you can get a fantastic close-up shot that way.
Low light photos are decent, but nothing to write home about – I suspect the 765G is slightly showing its limitations here. Still, my test shots were taken in near total darkness and the phone still managed to pick out colours spectacularly well, even if fine details are missing. Real low light shots outside at night or in dim bars should come out much better.
Finally, the front. In an unexpected twist you get two selfie cameras here, a trend that I thought had died out. In addition to a 32Mp main lens you get an 8Mp ultra-wide for group shots – both f/2.45. Unsurprisingly, the main shooter wins on detail and exposes for highlights a little better, but I’m actually impressed with the results out of both lenses – this is a great camera for selfie shots.
Battery
Battery life and charging speed have long been among the stronger elements of OnePlus phones, and the Nord is no exception. The 4,115mAh easily lasts a day’s use with room to spare, though it won’t quite make it all the way through the next one.
That’s alright though, as the Warp Charge 30T fast charging was enough to top the battery up by 68 per cent in half an hour in my testing – which is enough to last the day, when push comes to shove.
There’s no wireless charging, but at this price the Apple iPhone SE is pretty much the only phone out there that does include the feature, so that’s no real surprise.
Software
The Nord ships with Android 10, and runs the same Oxygen OS 10.5 software as the company’s other phones.
If you haven’t used a OnePlus phone before, Oxygen is arguably the best Android skin around right now. It’s clean and simple to use, but packed with customization options if you want them, along with a few custom features like the distraction-free Zen Mode and the Fnatic-sponsored gaming mode.
Disappointingly, OnePlus still hasn’t added an always-on display to its OS, but the company assures fans than one is on the way, and it should be added within the next year.
OnePlus has actually stripped Oxygen back ever so slightly for the Nord by shipping the phone with Google’s Messages and Phone apps, rather than OnePlus’s own counterparts. It’s a small touch that avoids duplication and gives users access to features like RCS messaging.
There’s one final area where the Nord beats most of its Android rivals: updates. OnePlus is promising two years of software updates and a third year of security patches for the Nord, which is the kind of commitment you’ll struggle to find outside of Apple. It’s a promise that if you get a Nord, it should stick with you for at least two years if you want it to.
Verdict
The OnePlus Nord is the best mid-range phone in the world
right now. It looks and feels like a phone twice its price, with a display and main camera lens to match. The 765G processor more than holds its own, and all of the camera lenses are solid except the forgettable macro shooter.
More importantly, you won’t find better at this price, or a better selection of the priority features for most users on a budget, with luxuries like wireless charging or an OTT 120Hz refresh rate ditched in favour of a focus on the fundamentals. The Nord would be a good buy at £100 more – at this price, it’s a steal. Dominic Preston
Specifications
• 6.44in (2,400x1,080; 408ppi) Fluid AMOLED capacitive touchscreen
• Android 10, OxygenOS 10.0
• Qualcomm SDM765 Snapdragon 765G (7nm) processor
• Octa-core (1x 2.4GHz Kryo 475 Prime, 1x2.2 GHz Kryo 475 Gold, 6x 1.8GHz Kryo 475 Silver) CPU
• Adreno 620 GPU
• 6GB/8GB/12GB RAM
• 64GB/128GB/256GB storage
• Four rear-facing cameras: 48Mp, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/2.0in, 0.8–m, PDAF, OIS; 8Mp, f/2.3, 119-degree (ultrawide); 5Mp, f/2.4, (depth); 2Mp, f/2.4, (macro)
• Dual selfie camera: 32Mp, f/2.5, (wide), 1/2.8in, 0.8–m; 8Mp, f/2.5, 105-degree (ultra-wide), 1/4.0in, 1.12–m • 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi dual-band • Bluetooth 5.1, A2DP, LE, aptX HD • GPS with dual-band A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, SBAS, NavIC
• NFC
• USB 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go • Fingerprint scanner (under display) • Non-removable 4,115mAh lithiumpolymer battery
• 158.3x73.3x8.2mm
• 184g
2. XIAOMI REDMI NOTE 10 PRO
Price: £249 from fave.co/3v4WTK1 The mid-range continues to be a hotbed of smartphone innovation and fierce competition. It’s not unusual to find a 120Hz refresh rate, AMOLED display, 5G or even a 108Mp on some but combining multiple is rare. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro has three of those four at under £250.
As with many Redmi handsets, the Note 10 Pro is extremely impressive when you look at what you’re getting for not much money at all. It’s at the lower end of the mid-range undercutting Google and OnePlus. However, there’s still some strong competition from the likes of Realme and even another Xiaomi brand in the form of Poco.
Design
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro is like many other phones these days when it comes to design and for ‘Pro’ model, this is plain-looking. At least, in the Onyx Gray colour I tested, anyway. However, you can get it in more exciting Glacier Blue and Gradient Bronze colours.
It’s a pretty big phone (193g in weight), but nothing unusual and remains at only 8.1mm thick, although I can’t imagine that figure includes the camera module. That has to be the standout feature of the design here as it even has two levels.
The lower step contains the flash and various sensors while the upper section is where you’ll find the four cameras. It’s not the nicest looking module around, but with the silver around the main module, I quite enjoy the old 35mm camera styling.
While it looks nice face down on my desk, flip the Redmi Note 10 Pro over and the camera module makes it very difficult to use without picking up. The rock between opposite corners is one of the worst I’ve encountered. Apart from the ‘CE’ and bin logos slightly ruining the back – that’s a general bugbear of mine on phones – there are some more subtle or invisible design features to mention.
A headphone jack on the top is great to see along with stereo speakers (that sound quite decent) and an ‘Arc’ fingerprint scanner is found in the power button on the side, a position I’ve found works well in the past as well as here. It’s also been a while since I’ve seen a phone with an IR blaster.
Xiaomi only says that the front is Corning Gorilla Glass 5 so the back is plastic I assume, but the phone still has an IP53 rating protecting it from splashes of water. There’s also a clear silicone case in the box for extra protection.
Display
As I mentioned earlier, this is a big phone. Most Pro devices are and with a 6.67in display, the Redmi Note 10 Pro fits the bill.
Like the Poco X3 NFC, the key specs include a 120Hz refresh rate, Full HD+ resolution (2,400x1,080) and HDR10 support. It is, however, AMOLED rather than LCD IPS, so you get better viewing angles, punchier colours and better contrast. It is also very bright with a Spyder X measuring it at 455 nits.
It’s a lovely display and the punchhole camera at the top is one of the smallest I’ve seen so stays out of the way, practically hidden most of the time.
Note that the phone isn’t set to 120Hz by default so it’s worth turning this on in the settings for a much smoother experience. As you’ll find out later, I still got impressive battery life despite using this mode.
Bezels around the display aren’t the smallest but this is a mid-range device so you can only expect so much.
Considering more expensive devices like the OnePlus Nord are limited to 90Hz and the Pixel 4a 5G is just regular 60Hz, the Redmi Note 10 Pro is very impressive for the asking price. It’s one of the best phone screens you’ll get in the mid-range.
Performance
Despite the ‘Pro’ branding, this is no rival to phones such as the Oppo Find X3. With a Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G, it’s more in the realms of another X3 device, the Poco X3 which also has the 732G.
This is one of Qualcomm’s most recent mid-range chips offering decent performance but without the inclusion of 5G to keep costs down. Other than 5G, it’s quite like the 765G found in various phones, featuring eight cores up to 2.3GHz (six lower power and two higher) and an Adreno 418 GPU.
The model I tested came with 6GB of RAM but you can also get an 8GB model if you like, which comes with 128GB of storage. Otherwise, you get 64- or 128GB with the lower memory so there’s lots of choice and there’s also a microSD card slot here if you want to add more.
As you can see below, the Redmi Note 10 Pro keeps up with devices with the 765G so it’s just a case of whether the lack of 5G is an issue for you. Our usual benchmarks apps – Geekbench 5 and GFXBench – wouldn’t run so I’ve used PCMark for Android here.
PCMark Work 2.0
Redmi Note 10 Pro: 8,437 Realme X50 Pro: 11,559 Google Pixel 4a 5G: 8,488
Benchmark scores aside, the real-world performance of the Redmi Note 10 Pro is pretty solid. Apps open quickly and more difficult tasks are a relative breeze. Even shooting and loading a 108Mp picture in the camera doesn’t take long at all, which leads us nicely onto photography.
Photography
That’s right, the Note 10 Pro has a whopping 108Mp camera for its main sensor. This is backed up by an 8Mp ultra-wide, 5Mp telemacro and 2Mp depth sensor. Considering the last one is a sensor, it’s really a triple set-up but an impressive one nonetheless.
The main sensor is huge and has an aperture of f/1.9. Of course, you won’t want to take pictures in the full resolution very often, but you can if you want. Normally, though, the Note 10 Pro uses 9-in-1 pixel-binning technology which Xiaomi says, combined with Dual native ISO technologies and 2.1μm ‘super pixels’, results in stunning detail and higher dynamic range.
When snapping ‘normal’ photos, the main camera is impressive and you’ll
get 12Mp final images which are more manageable at 4,000x3,000 pixels at default aspect ratio, taking up around a quarter of the storage space compared to the full 108Mp.
With no telephoto lens, Xiaomi is leaning on that large sensor for those zoom, zoom moments as you hit the ‘2x’ button in the app. Results at least have the same colour and dynamic performance of the regular images, which is very good most of the time, but can’t compete with a fully-fledged telephoto if you need one a lot.
Really, you’re likely better off using the 108Mp mode if you are going to want to crop in on something in the shot. You just have to remember to switch to it. The main camera’s weakness is in lower lighting conditions, either indoor with artificial lighting or at night. Here, the performance is more hit and miss with some graining and slightly off focus. Night Mode 2.0 is on par with rivals, in that you’ll get a shot with some details rather than simply nothing but it can’t compete with the software found on the Pixel 4a phones.
No OIS (optical image stabilization) doesn’t help with this and it’s also missing for video, of course. Video can be shot at up to 4K at 30fps, but still