With groundbreaking cameras and the latest available hardware, the Mi 11 Ultra has it all. Combine that with a 120Hz QHD+ AMOLED screen and a unique 1.1-inch secondary display at the back and you have one of the strongest overall packages on Android.
Source: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central The Galaxy A series forms the bedrock of Samsung s mid-range ambitions. The series offers features that were previously limited to Samsung flagships at a much more affordable price point. While the series was traditionally focused on the mid-range segment, Samsung got rid of the entry-level Galaxy J series in 2019 and folded these devices into the Galaxy A lineup. The result is that the Galaxy A series now starts off at under $150 thanks to devices like the Galaxy A02. While the budget Galaxy A options make it easier than ever to upgrade to one of the best cheap Samsung phones in 2021, the mid-range options like the Galaxy A52 and A52 5G offer exciting new features for those that want the latest screen tech and 5G connectivity.
Source: Ara Wagoner / Android Central I m a firm believer in not overpaying for a quality smartphone experience. My favorite phone of 2020 wasn t the Galaxy S20 or the OnePlus 8 Pro, it was the Pixel 4a. After years of the best cheap Android phones being phones that were just good enough , the last two years have given us budget phones that look, feel and perform far better than expected, and the bar has been similarly raised for the mid-range phones like the OnePlus Nord, the Galaxy S20 FE, and the Pixel 4a 5G. Last year s Galaxy A51 5G brought us power that the 4G versions of the A51 lacked and gave us bonafide 5G options without having to shell out flagship money. That made its sequel, the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G, one of the most anticipated phones of the year from a normal consumer standpoint, and Samsung has delivered. While there are places where the strings of its $500 price tag shine through, the Galaxy A52 5G is a great phone for the everyday user.
Source: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central Motorola has seen its fortunes fade under Lenovo s tutelage, but the brand continues to roll out a cavalcade of budget phones that seemingly don t differ all that much from their predecessors. While it doesn t have the same level of cachet as five years ago, Motorola makes some of the best cheap Android phones and continues to do well in markets like the U.S. But the brand s sales have taken a nosedive in countries like India, where the Chinese contingent of Xiaomi and Realme effectively rule the budget category. Motorola s answer to this is to decrease the price of its budget devices with each generation. The Moto G9 Power launched back in December for ₹11,999 ($160), and Motorola launched its successor the Moto G10 Power just three months later.
Source: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central The POCO F1 launched nearly three years ago, but it continues to be one of the best cheap Android phones. Xiaomi doesn t usually sell phones beyond a 15-month window the brand is all about flooding the market with new releases but in a testament to the F1 s success, the phone is still available in India for ₹17,999 ($240). POCO launched a lot of devices last year, but it wasn t able to recreate the winning formula of the F1. The POCO X2 series was aimed at the budget segment, and while the POCO F2 Pro delivered top-tier hardware, it was too costly to be a true follow-up to the F1. It s telling that Xiaomi didn t bother launching the F2 Pro in India last year.
Source: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central The Galaxy A series has taken on an increased significance over the last two years as Samsung s flagships have crossed the $1,000 figure. Customers that don t want to spend that much on a phone have inevitably turned to options like the Galaxy A50 or the A51, and Samsung did a great job porting over features from its flagships to its more affordable phones. For 2021, Samsung rolled out exciting changes to the Galaxy A series. The Galaxy A52 and Galaxy A72 come with an fresh new design that makes them stand out a lot more from their predecessors, and there s also a 5G-enabled model of the A52 called the A52 5G that allows you to switch to 5G on a budget.
Source: Ara Wagoner / Android Central As reported last week, Google is drastically scaling back the Pixel A-line this year. Rather than the relatively wide launch like the Pixel 4a of last year, it s launching the new Pixel 5a 5G in only two countries the U.S. and Japan. Even for Google s modest Pixel ambitions, this is unlikely to be a good sign. But rather than dwell on the doom and gloom scenarios, there are some things we can take away from Google s revised strategy. First and most obviously, Google s Pixel 5a is launching. Despite the chip shortage that s plaguing the world, the company is going ahead with this. If Google did want to scale back on its hardware ambitions and only focus on one device, it had the perfect opportunity to cancel the Pixel 5a. It didn t even need to comment on the Pixel 5a rumors. After all, reports of the Pixel 4a XL being canceled did nothing to stop the Pixel 4a 5G from launching (and Google didn t comment on those rumors either). That Google did speak up means that the Pixel A-line is still important in Google s overall strategy.
More proprietary ear tips Taller and heavier case Whenever you pit two of the best at anything against one another, you likely come out with a splendid result, and that s one way to summarize the comparison between these two pairs. Each of them are among the best true wireless earbuds currently available, so the quality is already assured in both cases. The Galaxy Buds Pro are Samsung s best effort yet, and they are effectively a culmination of previous attempts. The Elite 85t are every bit of what makes Jabra such a tough competitor in this space, yet to squeeze so much in, it had to go back on one of its best attributes only one version prior. So, with all that in mind, this had all the makings of a fun duel.
Source: Hayato Huseman / Android Central Let s start off with some dog photos because, well, Tobu is a national treasure and deserves all the attention and adoration he can get. This set was taken on a beautifully sunny day in Central Park, with perfectly clear skies giving us a look at each phone s handling of differing levels of exposure, saturation, and white balance. The Pixel 5 s photo is noticeably more muted than the others overall, with slight magenta hues in the white of Tobu s fur, and doesn t exhibit nearly as much natural depth of field as the rest of the bunch you can still make out many of the details of the buildings in the background.
Source: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central With the OnePlus 9 Pro, OnePlus has shown that it can deliver an all-round package that measures up to the best Android phones in the market today. The OnePlus 9 takes that same formula but at a more accessible price point. Then we have the OnePlus 9R. The phone is positioned as the value option in the OnePlus 9 lineup, slotting in at ₹10,000 ($135) less than the OnePlus 9. But in reality, the OnePlus 9R is just a rebranded OnePlus 8T with a new design for the rear camera housing. Of course, this isn t the first time OnePlus did this. The OnePlus 7 was effectively the same phone as the OnePlus 6T, but with new camera modules and an upgraded chipset. It s no surprise, then, that the OnePlus 9R is limited to India and China. OnePlus isn t launching the phone in other markets because it also understands that the 9R doesn t offer anything substantially different to the 8T.