You can find excellent smartphones in the price segment of 350 to 500 euros. ITdaily has mid-range devices from seven well-known Android brands in its range. Who offers the most value for money?

Smartphones come in all different shapes, sizes and prices. You don’t always have to dig deep into your pockets to get a good device. So far we have examined five devices up to 300 euros, now we are moving up the price ladder and looking at smartphones with a price up to 500 euros. In this segment you get very interesting specifications at a reasonable price.

Seven well-known Android brands sent a device they selected to our editorial team for a comparison test. Each of these devices will hit the market in 2023. You can view the individual reviews by clicking on the link.

• Samsung Galaxy A54 (test report, 369 euros including VAT)
• OnePlus Nord 3 (test report, 449 euros including VAT)
• Oppo Reno 10 (test report, 509 euros including VAT)
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+ (test report, 499 euros including VAT)
• Motorola Edge 40 Neo (test report, 399 euros including VAT)
• Google Pixel 7a (test report, 399 euros including VAT)
• Sony Xperia 10 V (test report, 399 euros including VAT)

Mid-range car with a flagship appearance

These devices have one thing in common: they don’t look cheap at all. While manufacturers used to cut corners on finishing, this is no longer the case. They often resemble one of their more expensive brothers and on many devices a plastic back gives way to a glass back. Only Google and Sony still use plastic for their mid-range devices, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be a disadvantage.

No expense was spared when it came to the image specifications either. All devices are equipped with a Full HD screen with AMOLED technology, which ensures a sharp and colorful image. What’s special about it is the Sony Xperia 10 V, which immediately catches the eye with a screen ratio of 21:9. This is not the only thing that sets the device apart, as it is also the only one in its class where the refresh rate does not exceed a (bad) 60 Hz. The Google Pixel 7a’s 90Hz refresh rate is still being considered. The rest easily reaches the 120 Hz mark, Motorola even reaches 144 Hz.

Two powerhouses

There are hardly any major differences in terms of appearance and image specifications, but the processor always shows the true nature of a smartphone. In general, you can expect more than decent CPU and GPU performance from a mid-range smartphone. The benchmark values ​​also prove this, with some outliers in a positive and negative sense.

In a positive sense, this is the Pixel 7a: Google’s Tensor chip is unparalleled in the mid-range segment. Unfortunately, the negative outlier is once again the Xperia 10 V. Sony had already fallen significantly behind with its disappointing display and, after looking at the benchmark results, was actually already eliminated from the final victory.

We see the same highlights in the GPU scores. The Google Pixel 7a has delivered strong results again, but this time the OnePlus Nord 3 wins the game of graphical arm wrestling. If you want a device that delivers top performance, then the Pixel 7a and Nord 3 are clearly the best options. With the exception of Sony, all of the devices listed below will be able to provide you with sufficient computing power.

Fast and slow chargers

The devices also show clear differences in battery life. Motorola, Xiaomi, Samsung and OnePlus, among others, do not seem to be in the best condition. The Oppo Reno 10 performs significantly better and the Google Pixel 7a is a pleasant surprise due to its smaller battery (4,385 mAh). It proves that capacity doesn’t say everything about the actual battery life: how greedily the processor sucks up the battery juice is what decides at the end of the trip. The battery champion is the Sony Xperia 10 V.

How quickly you can recharge the battery also varies greatly depending on the model. Xiaomi, OnePlus, Oppo and Motorola have made fast charging a selling point: their devices charge to eighty percent in half an hour or less. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the rest. Samsung already does poorly with fifty minutes to refuel to eighty percent, but what about Sony and Google? The Xperia 10 V takes 64 minutes to reach eighty percent, the Pixel 7a only exceeds the limit after 74 minutes.

Camera comparison

Cameras are another specification that can make or break a smartphone. We conducted a blind camera test where we compared the same photos taken by seven different smartphones. The editorial team agreed that the Google Pixel 7a stands out in this segment. Even if we compare the photos taken with the Pixel 7a to those of the Pixel 8, there is hardly any difference, which is a nice compliment for the former.

The other devices were more balanced, with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12+ ultimately being named the “best of the rest.” The OnePlus Nord 3 previously disappointed here, while the Sony Xperia 10 V even missed the mark completely. Since photos are always a matter of personal taste, you can see three series of photos taken in different lighting conditions (day, evening and night) below. This means you can decide for yourself which device delivers the best photos.

During the day

Evening

Night

Generous with updates (or not at all)

You buy a smartphone so that you can enjoy it for several years. The manufacturer must make this possible not only in terms of processing quality, but also through a sufficiently extensive update policy. Especially with the cheapest devices, manufacturers in the lower price ranges sometimes dare to neglect this, so we can be strict when assessing mid-range devices.

Samsung is setting a good example and consistently provides its Galaxy A devices with four years of software updates and five years of security updates. Google also does well at three and five years for the Pixel 7a, with the added advantage of being the first to bring new versions of Android to market. The standard is two to three software updates and three to four years of security updates; anything other than that would be unacceptable.

You can view the update policy per device in this table:

Winner to be confirmed

Choosing a winner was once again not an easy decision. In general, we rate the quality of the tested devices positively: the competition is getting tougher in the middle class. Every device has its strengths, even if there are still weaknesses that have to be taken into account.

For us, the Google Pixel 7a is the winner. The processor is unparalleled in this segment, the cameras are (almost) on par with premium devices and you get a clean Android version without annoying bloatware. The scandalous loading time almost cost Google its victory. There is still one but: The Pixel 7a is now available for 399 euros, but the original recommended retail price was 509 euros. It’s unclear whether this is a temporary price drop or not, but with the Pixel 8a just around the corner, Google could potentially stick with this new price. If the price rises again soon, we will also have to reconsider our final judgment.

The OnePlus Nord 3 is more than deserving of number two. This device features impressive graphics performance and is also an all-round strong device. The slightly worse cameras and the battery life ultimately led us to choose Google. The Oppo Reno 10 also captivated us, but was disappointing due to its slightly high price of 509 euros and could not adequately justify its additional price.

The final podium place is close. The Motorola Edge 40 Neo is a worthy candidate, even if the battery and update guidelines only barely earn a passing grade. Apart from the slow charging, the Samsung Galaxy A54 doesn’t do much wrong, but it also doesn’t excel at anything. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 12+ can rely on strong hardware and cameras, but due to the abundance of useless pre-installed apps, we simply cannot recommend this device to a professional audience. A device can actually claim nothing of itself: Even in comparison with devices up to 300 euros, the Sony Xperia 10 V would not have been chosen as the winner.

This is a collection of the mass-tested mid-range phones between 350 and 500 euros on ITdaily. Click Here to view all ratings of participating smartphones.