Best Mid-Range Smartphone ($300 ⇆ $500) in 2022

scrimshaw on 18/05/2022 - 16:48
Last edited 18/05/2022 - 17:18

Moderators at OzBargain are now running yearly polls to decide the best products in popular categories that get asked repeatedly in the forum. Our aim is to have a central thread where users can vote on the items, suggest options and also change their vote throughout the year. For more information on how these polls work, or if you want to suggest a new poll that isn't covered already, please refer to our announcement thread here.

Question

What is your favourite Mid-range Smart Phone for the year 2022?

Mid-range: Phones with market prices between $300 AUD to $500 AUD. Good phones don't always have to be expensive, and there lots to choose from in this category.

The Winner of last year's poll was the Xiaomi Poco F3, followed by the Motorola G 5G Plus and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro.

Remember: You can change your votes at anytime, and suggest more than 1 product over the course of the poll.

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Do try to make a sensible suggestion (e.g make sure the phone is still available to purchase) and include a brief argument as to why you would recommend the product. You can only suggest 1 product at a time.

Poll Options expired

This is part of What Should I Buy poll for 2022. Check out other recommendations from the OzBargain community.
Mobile What Should I Buy

Comments

  • FLICKIT on 18/05/2022 - 17:17
    +2

    A small error,
    The Winner of last year's poll was the Xiaomi Poco F3
    your link goes to 2020…. The 2021 link is:
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/620816

  • Mr Haj on 19/05/2022 - 15:43
    +2
    Suggested Poco F3

    Are any of these better than last year's winner?

    • nereus on 12/08/2022 - 09:13

      ^ Great phone, the OS can be a little weird sometimes. Flashed an X3 to Lineage OS and it's much better. Going to flash my partners F3 when I get some time.

    • wisdomtooth on 05/09/2022 - 16:18

      No headphone jack?? Deal breaker.

    • Malemanjam on 21/12/2022 - 12:23

      Samsung A33 5G seems like it is. Just having IP67 alone makes it better in my eyes just in case you drop it in water along with the screen and continued updates to the OS.

  • Mouse123 on 30/05/2022 - 15:45
    Suggested OnePlus 8

    feels like a good all rounder with performance, build quality, camera and os

  • OssieA on 01/06/2022 - 15:32

    Moto g51 5g is $299

  • Kangal on 02/06/2022 - 19:36
    +4
    Suggested Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G

    The A52-s gives you, like the flagships: IP67, 3-Year Software, 120Hz-sOLED, 4500mAh, and Fast QSD 778 processor. But it includes 3.5mm Headphone Jack and microSD slot. And it's "weakness" is having a midrange Camera and "plastic" rear-panel.

    To me this is a flagship device, or at least 90% of the way, but it's at 40% of the price. Other decent options are Samsung S20Fe, Redmi Poco F3, ASUS ZenFone 8, and OnePlus 9t (if you can get it cheaply).

    • OssieA on 03/06/2022 - 12:16
      +1

      I wish I grabbed the a52s when it was $409.

      • Kangal on 03/06/2022 - 13:32
        +1

        Me too!
        Also you can get it with the Spigen Thin-Fit case, which is pretty much the best in industry, and on xda they've now started messing with it (root, custom recovery, etc etc).

        I think I will wait until 2023 phones, there's a pretty big upgrade coming with the QC 8g2 processor. It's using the 2nd-gen ARMv9 cores from the European Team, those Cortex-A730 on the TSMC-4nm are great.

        • Ice009 on 18/07/2022 - 23:46

          Anywhere I can read about the processors in next year's phones?

          I need to get something from the lower midrange from this year. Any suggestions?

  • silenthillrocks on 10/06/2022 - 13:28
    Suggested Samsung Galaxy A33 5G

    Samsung galaxy a33 5g

  • ubor on 11/06/2022 - 12:40

    What would you choose between Poco F3 and Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE?

  • ozozoioi on 25/06/2022 - 20:13
    +1

    A73

  • Giant Dwarf on 15/07/2022 - 11:50

    Samsung A73 5g for me

  • Meenas on 15/07/2022 - 18:21

    Any opinions on the oneplus nord 2t? I know it’s over $500

    • scrimshaw on 15/07/2022 - 18:44
      +1

      Oneplus software support quality seems to have dropped over the years after they got taken over by Oppo. See posts on reddit on software issues

      1. 2. 3. Linus tech tips rant video and reddit's response to it

      Their hardware seems okay but I think Xiaomi / Poco often gives them a run for the money in the sub $400 price bracket, while the 2022 Samsung A-series is preferable if you want a phone with longer term OS support (5 years, which is on par with Google Pixel). That's why the top 4 choices are either Xiaomi or Samsung.

  • garage sale on 18/07/2022 - 11:17

    It's 2022, we are seeling lots of phones now with5G under $500, trade offs might be AMOLED vs IPS, should 5G be a criterea ? 5G not for the speed but I'm seeing more microcells in streets where typically there is congestion (one at each end of my street in Elwood (inner city Melb) or poor 4G coverage due to flats, etc.

    • scrimshaw on 18/07/2022 - 11:31
      +1

      All of the phones in the list support 5G and even the more budget Galaxy A33 has a Super AMOLED display. 5G is pretty common on mobile phone chipsets now, with only the super-low-end SOCs and pre-2021 models missing 5G support.

      Suffice to say if you are buying a new phone in the $300~500 range, most of the time you can expect it to support 5G. If there are any corners cut it's usually the absence of premium cameras (e.g no optical img stabilisation) or wireless charging, or a lower tier SoC.

  • LustStarrr on 08/08/2022 - 22:00
    +1

    Just suggested the Oppo A74 5G - they're currently $347 at Officeworks (silver/black). I got one for Mum for her birthday the other day, & so far so good…

  • wisdomtooth on 06/09/2022 - 21:55
    Suggested Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G

    $454 on eBay (probably cheaper on AliEx).

    Specs on GSM Arena

  • limucat on 09/09/2022 - 15:27

    Hi, I know the Moto G82 didn't make the cut in this poll, but the price dropped to $429 on In and OW. Is it worth it at this price? I like the barebones software, chop chop for flash light and camera gimmick.

    Is it still over priced? Thx

  • stronglight on 13/09/2022 - 12:51
    Suggested Oppo Reno8 Lite

    Oppo Reno8 Lite

    *Snapdragon 695 5G (6 nm)
    *Octa-core (2x2.2 GHz Kryo 660 Gold & 6x1.7 GHz Kryo 660 Silver)
    *Li-Po 4500 mAh battery with 33W Fast Charging
    *64 MP, f/1.7, 26mm (wide), PDAF Camera
    *6.43" 60Hz AMOLED screen
    *3.5mm jack
    *NFC

    $495 at dick smith
    https://www.dicksmith.com.au/da/buy/mobile-world-oppo-reno-8…

    • ozchappy on 15/10/2022 - 22:02

      Isn't Dick Smith just a Kogan white label?

      I just checked and apparently it isn't. Sorry, not sure why I thought that.

  • stronglight on 13/09/2022 - 12:57
    Suggested Xiaomi Mi 11i

    Xiaomi Mi 11i

    *Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm)
    *Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Cortex-X1 & 3x2.42 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A55)
    *Li-Po 4520 mAh battery with 33W Fast Charging
    *108 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.52”, 0.7µm, PDAF Camera
    *6.67" 120Hz AMOLED
    *Stereo speakers
    *NFC
    *Infrared port

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/718591

  • 19199090 on 20/09/2022 - 00:37
    +2
    Suggested Realme GT 5G

    Realme GT 5G is $500 but has a Snapdragon 888, the same processor as the s21. It also has headphone jack, 120hz AMOLED display and 64mp Camera. Ridiculous value for a phone that performs as well as flagship devices. Also has 65w fast charge.

  • oz-sam on 05/10/2022 - 11:16
    +1
    Suggested Motorola Edge 30

    I was able to buy in $350 from JB and it is really good value for money.
    OzBargain Deal link

    —s—
    Specifications
    Processor: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 778G+ 5G
    Display: Display 6.5" display AMOLED | 10-bit | DCI-P3 color space | 144Hz refresh rate | HDR10+

  • beach bum on 17/11/2022 - 18:43

    Motorola ,
    it's just great value .

  • ozchappy on 17/11/2022 - 19:27
    Suggested Oppo A77 5G

    OPPO A77 5G Dual SIM - 6.56 inches, 128GB/6GB, CPH2337AU

    Just bought on eBay with their 15% off if you pay with ZipPay for $373.15 - reviews aren't bad.

  • neonlight on 25/12/2022 - 12:00

    Should be G82 Moto

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