The 10 best mid-range phones you can buy

There are compromises. The wired charging is sluggish, and Google doesn’t include a charger in the box. Battery life isn’t bad, but it isn’t great either. Check out our round-up of the best phone chargers.

You’ll also have to put up with a 90Hz refresh rate display, lagging behind the smoother 120Hz panels found elsewhere.

Those are small negatives in an otherwise excellent phone though, and overall the Pixel 7a offers the best bang for your buck out there right now.

An outstanding follow-up to 2022’s OnePlus Nord 2T, with the same 80W fast charging, 5G, OnePlus’s signature Oxygen OS interface, and a near-flagship main camera.

The OnePlus Nord 3 again demonstrates that the company is brilliant at taking exactly what’s needed in a phone, packaging it into a nice, well-built exterior, and topping it with a competent Android skin. What’s not to love?

The Nord 3 misses out on flagship niceties like wireless charging and waterproofing, and its additional cameras are nothing to write home about. But these are really the only compromises you have to make.

There’s also the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite, which delivers a stripped-back version for a slightly lower price.

In 2022, the Nothing Phone (1) made quite a splash when it finally launched. It promised to shake up the phone market, and in some ways – especially design-wise – it really did.

Its successor continues the project with much better performance, even more lights, and an even better (and less buggy) Android software experience.

Unfortunately, it also sticks with last year’s cameras, which weren’t the best of the bunch back then.

Set aside the lights, and the Nothing Phone (2) is really just a regular mid-range device, albeit one of the better ones around. Battery life is stellar, but the trade-off is you get a display that is a bit dim. You can make a light show on the back if you really want to, though.

There are two mid-range phones in the Redmi Note 13 range, but we think you’re better off with the cheaper one.

As good as the Note 13 Pro+ is, it’s also £110 more expensive at launch than the Note 13 Pro. For a slightly more powerful chipset, IP68 water and dust resistance (as opposed to IP54) and faster 120W charging (rather than 67W), we don’t think it’s worth it.

For just £339, the Note 13 Pro still delivers a premium experience, including the excellent 120Hz OLED screen. Performance and charging are still key strengths, as is the high-end design and strong battery life.

The only real issues are on the software side, where Xiaomi’s MIUI skin still leaves a lot to be desired and the company only officially commits to two years of updates.

If you can put up with that, though, the Redmi Note 13 Pro is a superb phone for the money,

The OnePlus 12R isn’t the best mid-range phone at any one thing, but it performs well in nearly all key areas.

That includes a large, gorgeous 120Hz OLED display, strong performance from the older flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and a 5500mAh battery that can stretch to two full days. Alongside 100W fast charging and slick software, it’s almost the full package.

However, cameras are an obvious weakness, with a decent main rear sensor supported by some underwhelming secondary lenses. It’s also missing some of the features you might be hoping for at this upper mid-range price, including wireless charging and a flagship-level IP68 water resistance rating.

But if you can live without these, you won’t be disappointed with the OnePlus 12R.

At £699/$699, the Pixel 8 is only just cheap enough to be considered a mid-range phone. It certainly feels like a flagship, and one of the best compact phones you can buy at any budget.

The main camera lens remains the highlight, delivering stunning stills in a variety of environments – including at night. The ultrawide and selfie lenses aren’t bad either, though you miss out on the telephoto from the Pixel 8 Pro.

Performance from Google’s Tensor G3 chip is only slightly inferior to Qualcomm’s latest and greatest, and it enables a range of clever software features – including Best Take. The rest of the Android 14 software isn’t bad either, especially with Google promising seven years of updates.

Battery life is the main weakness, and becomes even more frustrating when combined with slow 27W charging and no charger in the box.

But the combination of premium design and 6.2-inch, 120Hz OLED display mean the Pixel 8 is definitely worth considering. Don’t rule out the older Pixel 7 though, which is much more affordable.

Put simply, the Edge 40 Neo is the best phone you can buy for under £300. It’s such a shame it isn’t sold in the US, though it may be possible to import one.

That’s not something worth considering for most handsets, but the Edge 40 Neo isn’t like most phones at this price.

A stunning 6.55in, 144Hz OLED display is the best example of this, delivering a excellent viewing experience. If only it wasn’t curved, which does more harm than good. MediaTek’s Dimensity 7030 chipset might not sound like anything special, but it ensures consistently excellent performance.

The cameras are good, provided you use the 50Mp main rear sensor for most of your photos. The 13Mp ultrawide is useful in some situations, but not nearly as high quality. Battery life is average, but it’s nice to get fast 68W charging using the included power brick.

However, while Motorola’s take on Android is impressive, the company only commits to two years of OS updates and three years of security updates. It means nothing beyond Android 15 and 2026, but the Edge 40 Neo is still easy to recommend.

If you’re looking for something more premium, though, consider the regular Motorola Edge 40.

The Poco X6 Pro is the second Xiaomi phone in this round-up, though its Poco sub-brand is focused on speed.

And that’s very apparent here, with the X6 Pro offering some truly excellent performance. Its MediaTek Dimensity 8300 Ultra chipset speeds through pretty much all tasks – including gaming.

It’s supplemented by a very good 120Hz OLED display a core part of a very premium albeit plain design. Strong battery life pretty much guarantees a full day of usage, while the necessary 67W fast charger is included in the box.

Cameras are the obvious weakness, and Xiaomi’s MIUI replacement (known as HyperOS) still needs work, but it’s still a stellar cheap phone for day-to-day usage.

You can save some money by opting for the regular Poco X6 5G instead, but there are a few downgrades there.

Compared to flagship phones, cameras are often compromised on mid-range handsets. But the Oppo Reno 10 5G proves that doesn’t have to be the case.

An excellent 64Mp main sensor delivers excellent shots in a variety of different environments, and it’s specifically designed for great portrait-style photos. The telephoto and selfie lenses (both 32Mp) are also impressive, though it’s probably worth avoiding the 8Mp ultrawide.

But with decent MediaTek Dimensity 7050 performance, all-day battery life an impressive 6.7in OLED 120Hz display, the Reno 10 5G has a lot going for it. You’ll have to put up with a lack of IP rating and extra apps you don’t need, though.

Whether you buy this phone might come down to your opinions on ColorOS 13, Oppo’s skin over Android 13. It makes relatively subtle changes to the experience on Pixel phones, but there are lots of annoying pre-installed apps. And Android 15 will be the last major version it gets, despite four years of security updates.

There are two ways of looking at Fairphone 5. If you look at its specs alone, it really is nothing special. Its processor is quite slow, the screen isn’t the best, and the whole package is chunky and not as sleek as the competition.

On the other hand, you can look at it as a cause. It’s so repairable that you can take it apart with only a screwdriver and replace every part just as easily, with replacements available straight from Fairphone. It’s a statement against all the other brands that make your phone impossible – or uneconomical – to repair.

What’s more, it has other things going for it. The five-year warranty and eight-year software support are in a class of their own. It also has some nice tricks up its sleeve such as a desktop mode if you want your phone to be your only electronic device, plus a nice, retro-looking back panel.

So, don’t buy Fairphone 5 if you want all the performance and specs you can get for your money. Buy it if you support what it stands for.