Buying a $300 phone comes with a big choice: fun features or more support

If sticking to a budget is important, there are many worthwhile ones phones for less than $300. And these phones are likely to get new attention as holiday deals drop even more, but there's a big trade-off for phones in this price range. A phone with modern specs, such as an attractive design, improved multitasking and wireless charging, can still only receive one major software update and three years of security patches. Some phones under $300 have longer timelines of four years for software updates and five years for security updates. But those devices skimp on certain features, which may leave you wanting to upgrade sooner.

This is the dilemma I have after testing various phones that cost less than $300 throughout 2024. We take software and security timelines seriously in our reviews because these updates can dictate whether devices receive new software features and critical fixes. Now that premium phones like Samsung Galaxy S24 and on Pixel 8 seven years of software and security updates are promised, we'd like to see more affordable phones boosted to at least four to five years.

However, we are not there yet. Most phones that cost $300 or less come with the promise of one additional software update and three years of security updates. While Samsung takes the opposite approach with its $200 Galaxy A15 5G and $300 Galaxy A25 5Gboth get four years of software updates and five years of security updates, both have outdated designs and lack features found on comparable phones.

That means buyers have to face the same decision I've been thinking about for the past few months: Do you go with a feature phone like $300 OnePlus Nord N30 5Gwhich has ultra-fast wired charging and a 108-megapixel main camera? Or better yet, opt for a bare-bones phone like those in Samsung's Galaxy A series, which will receive key software updates for years to come. And to confuse matters, what about an older device that is now available at a discount, as is Google Pixel 6A?

More features, but shorter updates

Motorola and OnePlus offer $300 phones that are worthy of your time and attention.

This year's Moto G Power 5G is thoughtful, starting with its pale lilac vegan leather design. The whole Moto G line now uses this material, resulting in an easier grip if you choose not to use the phone with a case. Motorola has also thrown 15-watt wireless charging into the mix, making it one of the cheapest phones to include this option. You'll get faster speeds than 30W when you plug in your phone and charge it the old-fashioned way, but the flexibility to charge wirelessly is quite useful — and rare at this price.

Last year's OnePlus Nord N30 5G has an attractive reflective design that highlights its 108-megapixel main camera. It took decent photos when I reviewed it last year, but the real highlight was its 50-watt SuperVooc charger. Although it's proprietary (meaning only the included charger achieves these speeds), it charges the battery up to 75% in 30 minutes — a speed most other phones can't achieve.

Both phones include a super-smooth 120Hz refresh rate, NFC for contactless payments, and processors that are fast enough for multitasking along with gaming. But unfortunately, both of these phones also have shorter update schedules, with the OnePlus phone already a year into the update timeline getting Android 14. While the N30 is still on sale, it only gets two more years of security updates. Meanwhile, Motorola's new Moto G Power 5G will at least get Android 15 at some point in the future and security updates until 2027.

Long life, but a phone that's less fun

Samsung deserves credit for extending the life of its cheaper Galaxy A series phones. It's absolutely wonderful that both the $200 Galaxy A15 and $300 Galaxy A25 will get four years of software updates and five years of security updates. No competitor comes close to that promise.

However, I wish both phones were more fun. Samsung has nailed the basics for both of these phones, with high-refresh screens, NFC contactless payments, and powerful enough processors.

But compared to other similarly priced phones, Samsung's Galaxy A devices feel dull. Both are made of plastic and feature a blocky notch instead of the sleeker selfie camera cutout found on most other competing phones. While Samsung's cheaper phones can handle the basics without a problem, they struggle with simple multitasking. The A15 in particular loads consistently slowly. While the A25 fared better with most tasks, it occasionally stuttered when loading games or playing music while simultaneously using a web browser and password manager.

This makes the Galaxy A15 and Galaxy A25 a perfect fit if all you want is a communication phone that won't need to be replaced anytime soon. But I worry that you'll hit a dead end as apps and services are developed over the coming years, especially if these phones are already easily overloaded.

Could Google's Pixel 6A be the budget champion?

You may have noticed that I haven't discussed the cameras on any of the previously mentioned phones. That's because while all of them have at least 50-megapixel main cameras, none of them take particularly impressive photos. However Google's Pixel 6A remains available for sale and often fetches a price under $300.

Thanks to a recent extension given to Pixel 6 and laterThe Pixel 6A will now receive software updates until July 2027 along with security updates for the same amount of time. This is a big boost to the usability of this cheaper phone, especially considering that Google originally planned to end software updates on the Pixel 6A in 2025.

The Pixel 6A's 12.2-megapixel main camera is still impressive for the price. It runs on Google's first-generation Tensor processor and comes with many of Pixel's flagship features like Magic Eraser for photo editing, Live Translate, and other longtime Pixel exclusives like Call Screening and Hold for Me. The Pixel 6A also includes AI-powered Circle to search. Although the Pixel 6A will miss out on Google's new and more advanced Features of Gemini AIit's still a promising option even two years after its release.

However, you won't get wireless charging or a headphone jack on the Pixel 6A, and its screen is smaller and darker than the other phones mentioned in this story.

How to decide on the best option?

Your priorities matter most when choosing a budget phone. If you want the most features for an affordable price wrapped in an attractive design, consider phones from Motorola, Google and OnePlus.

However, if the most important reason for buying a cheaper phone is to avoid upgrading for as long as possible, you should consider Samsung's Galaxy A phones.

The irony is that you can't have both. A phone that gets updated for four years may not necessarily be one you want to hang onto for four years.