• Trending: Best Presidents’ Day tech sales Meta is fighting the concept of social media addiction Ring nixes Flock partnership after Super Bowl backlash Fire TV sticks add NVIDIA’s GeForce Now app Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 is Feb. • 25 ASUS Zenbook Duo (2026) review Mullvad VPN review Valve’s Steam Machine: Everything we know The best VPNs with free trials What exactly is Moltbook? • A few years ago, it may have been fashionable to spend $1,000 on the latest flagship smartphone, but for most people, that’s neither practical nor necessary. • You don’t even have to spend $500 today to get a decent handset, whether it’s a refurbishediPhoneor an affordableAndroid phone, as there are plenty of decent options as low as $160.However, navigating the budget phone market can be tricky; options that look good on paper may not be in practice, and some devices will end up costing you more when you consider many come with restrictive storage. • While we spend most of our time reviewingmid-tohigh-end handsetsat Engadget, we’ve tested a number of the latest budget-friendly phones on the market to see cut it as the best cheap phones you can get right now. • Best cheap phone overall Samsung Galaxy A17 5G Best cheap phone overall - runner up OnePlus Nord N30 5G Best cheap phone under $200 Moto G Play (2024) Honorable mention Motorola Moto G Stylus Best cheap phones Samsung Best cheap phone overall Samsung Galaxy A17 5G Read our fullSamsung Galaxy A17 5G review Building a good budget phone is tricky as manufacturers have a very hard limit on what they can include while staying under cost.

Article Summaries:

  • The best cheap phones for 2026 You don’t need to break your budget to find a great everyday phone. In this story A few years ago, it may have been fashionable to spend $1,000 on the latest flagship smartphone, but for most people, that’s neither practical nor necessary. You don’t even have to spend $500 today to get a decent handset, whether it’s a refurbished iPhone or an affordable Android phone, as there are plenty of decent options as low as $160. However, navigating the budget phone market can be tricky; options that look good on paper may not be in practice, and some devices will end up

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