T3 - UK (2020-10)

doesn’t support the very latest and greatest

HDR standards.

Smartphone specs can be a bit

bewildering, but don’t buy anything until

you’ve found out where the trade-offs are

being made. Remember that as 5G spreads

across the country, this is something else to

look out for, though it’s not really essential

for a smartphone at the moment – 4G will

still serve you very well for the next few

years, whether you’re streaming movies or

downloading games while away from Wi-Fi.

We’ve already mentioned Apple, Google

and Samsung, but brands such as Nokia and

Motorola have been putting out reliable,

affordable mid-range phones for years: these

are well worth adding to your mid-range

phone shortlist, offering a variety of specs

and features across a variety of price levels.

Don’t buy anything

until you’ve found

out where the

trade-offs are

BUYER BEWARE: THE BUDGET PHONE OPTION

Budget phones can offer a good deal – but they’re not for everyone

If mid-range phones are so appealing, then

what about budget phones? Do they offer

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performance? Well, in a word: no. There’s

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constitutes a budget phone and what doesn’t,

but we’d say that anything below around

£300 or so counts as budget.

For the occasional smartphone user and

those who really have very little to spend,

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and run all your apps, and keep you connected.

Down at this end of the market though, you

will start to notice laggy performance and

serious slowdowns in your apps, so much so

that the most demanding games and apps

might struggle to run properly at all.

Phone camera quality is usually

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lowest price points as well. Budget phones

will still take photos, of course – but they’ll

show more noise and blurring than mid-range

phone cameras do, and they’ll really struggle

with dark scenes where light is at a premium.

We’re generalising a bit here, but do be

careful before buying one. The extra £10 0 or

so that you need to spend to get into the

mid-range is usually well worth it, whether

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processor, the amount of R AM you get, the

quality of screen, or how well the phone is

able to capture photos and videos.

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these lowest price points, and nor will you

see upgrades like faster refresh rates on the

screen or Dolby-Atmos-compatible sound.

Google actually makes a lightweight

version of Android called Android Go,

especially for low-powered phones: it’s

mainly aimed at users in developing countries,

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Maps and YouTube to make them less

demanding on your phone’s hardware as

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CHOOSE YOUR PRIORITIES
If you can’t or don’t want to spend
enormous sums of money on a flagship
smartphone, then picking the right mid-
ranger is all about deciding on what you do
want – these more affordable handsets offer
sleek looks, excellent battery life, fantastic
cameras and speedy performance... but not
usually all in the same phone. You’re going
to have to make some compromises to
spend a little less.
As well as taking a look at the headline
features, examine the small print closely
when you’re picking out a mid-range phone
for yourself. Manufacturers usually won’t
advertise the areas where they’ve cut
corners: it might be a lack of support for the
latest Wi-Fi 6 technology, for example,
slower charging speeds, or a display that

You do of course also have the choice

between Android and iOS – you may well

have already made this decision a long time

ago, but in terms of guaranteeing future

updates for several years, Apple usually has a

better record than Google. If you’re picking

Android, check with the manufacturer how

long you can expect updates for (and if you

want the best Android software before

everyone else, choose a Pixel).

Otherwise picking a mid-range phone is a

lot like picking a flagship phone: look at how

much you’re having to spend versus what

you get in return, be aware that product

refreshes usually happen about once a year

(price discounts on current models are a

good indicator of this), and make sure you

read plenty of reviews – starting with those

in T3 of course! – before putting down

money for your chosen handset.

Speaking of product refreshes, we’re

expecting new iPhones and Pixel phones

before the year is out, as well as plenty of

other handsets – though it’s those Pixel

phones (the Pixel 5 and the Pixel 4a 5G) that

are likely to be of more interest to the

mid-range shopper. As for what’s to come in

2021, the rise of the mid-range smartphone

doesn’t look like it’s going to be stopping

anytime soon.

50 T3 OCTOBER 2020

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