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Best Mid-Range Smartphones of 2020

Jeff Wilkins
July 1, 2020

When IBM created the first smartphone 25 years ago, there was everything to suggest that the future was going to be very promising. But the scale of how big and how soon that future would be was totally beyond imagination. 

Smartphones have come a very long way since then. You can use them to shop, check into hotels, and even to book for services such as the Las Vegas trade show furniture rentals without any hassle. In a world that used to be ruled by Samsung and Apple products, we now have thousands of smartphone makers. 

The competition has given rise to mid-range phones that pack powerful specs at low prices. The following are some of the best mid-range smartphones in the market.

OnePlus 7T

Pros

  • Comes with a very powerful processor
  • It has an OLED screen that is bright and sharp
  • Has a sleek design

Cons

  • The macro camera is below average
  • Does not have wireless charging like its peers

 

OnePlus has established itself as a quality product in the market that has brought fierce competition to Samsung and Apple phones. Costing at about $549, OnePlus 7T comes equipped with a 6.55 inch HD screen that maintains its visibility even in direct sunlight. The phone also has a rapid charge system that attains 50% charge within 20 minutes.

It has a sleek design that is attractive and comfortable in the hands. It is the perfect phone for those that love playing games on their phones.

TCL 10 Pro

Pros

  • Has a very sleek design
  • It is fast
  • Has an edgy OLED display

Cons

  • The camera does not perform well in low-light
  • The interface still needs a lot of work
  • The battery is underwhelming

TCL has been known for its television sets that have taken the world by storm. They recently began to wade into the murky smartphone waters, and TCL 10 Pro is their best bet yet. Costing about $420, the phone has vibrant colors that are boosted by superb contrast and brightness levels.

 Being new entrants into the scene, the TCL 10 Pro needs a lot of work before it can go head-to-head with the big boys. At the moment, however, it is reasonably priced in line with what it can do.

 

Xiaomi Mi Note 10

Pros

  • It comes with a curved and smooth glass front and back
  • Has an excellent camera. 108MP
  • Has a super HD OLED screen

Cons

  • The camera, although big, does not do well in low light
  • Comes laden with a lot of bloatware
  • The camera comes with a protruding housing

Xiaomi has slowly been building on its popularity over the last five years, establishing itself as the go-to brand for powerful cheap phones. The Xiaomi Mi Note 10 costs about $420 and comes with a super HD 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution screen.

With a 6GB RAM, you will not have any trouble playing some of the heaviest mobile games without any lags. There is more to be improved on, but at $420, there is very little to complain about here.

Google Pixel 3a

Pros

  • Great size
  • It has the best camera and screen you’ll ever find at that price.
  • Has a headphone jack

Cons

  • Does not have wireless charging
  • It has no IP certification
  • It is not water-resistant

 

The Google Pixel 3a is a $420 phone that has a $1000 phone features. The phone has one of the best cameras in the market, thanks to the excellent Google AI software. Its body is made of plastic, which means it is much lighter and it comes packed with a Snapdragon 670 chipset.

The 3000mAh battery is a little underwhelming, but at that price, it is a bit better compared to other phones within the same price range. 

Samsung Galaxy A51

Pros

  • Has an attractive design
  • It has an excellent screen that can hold up in sunlight.
  • Very decent camera

Cons

  • The battery could have been better

 

The $400 smartphone is Samsung’s reply to the mid-range phones that have flooded the market in the last three years. Known mostly for expensive gadgets, Samsung Galaxy A51 is well within the affordable range of most people. It has a 6.5 inch OLED display, a 48MP camera, and comes in two variants, a 4GB and 6GB RAM option. The 4000mAh battery is disappointing and could have been better, but I guess that is what $400 gets you these days.

Realme X2

Pros

  • Has a colour-accurate AMOLED screen display
  • Has a very capable camera, 64MP
  • Has an excellent battery life

Cons

  • Its videos are not that good
  • The screen does not fare well in sunlight

 

An offshoot of Oppo, the Realme phone was the answer to Xiaomi’s onslaught on the phone market. The Realme X2 costs about $320 for the 128GB/6GB RAM variant and $300 for the 64GB/6GB RAM one. It has a super HD AMOLED screen on top of having one of the fastest charging systems you can find at that price. The 64MP camera takes very sharp images and is decent in low-light. 

Huawei Nova 5T

Pros

  • Runs on the powerful Kirin 980 chip
  • Has a total of 5 cameras
  • Has a beautiful design

Cons

  • Does not have a microSD card slot
  • Has no earphone jack
  • The battery is very substandard

Costing about $420, Huawei Nova 5T is a mixture of excellent and underwhelming features. On one side, it packs a large 8GB RAM and a powerful Kirin 980 chipset. On the other hand, it has a 3700mAh battery that can barely support the top of the range feature the phone possesses. It is like a double-edged sword.

Conclusion

There is no competition more fierce in the world than the one being witnessed in the phone industry. That is one of the reasons why phone companies keep launching new products every six months, barely giving people time to digest them. 

With more players getting into the game with irresistible flagship phones, the prices will keep going down as the quality shoots through the roof. In the long run, it is the consumer who benefits the most.

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