Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

3 smartphones under $400 you can (and really should) buy today

As Apple announces its iPhone 12, it seems like consumers have resigned themselves to paying thousands of dollars for a new phone. No judgment, but it doesn’t have to be this way. There are some fantastic phones out there that are accessible for under $400, and, in fact, there are phones for under $200 that are not only perfectly good, they’re great! Right now on Amazon, you browse great deals on LG, Samsung, and Motorola phones for less than $400. Check them out!

Samsung Galaxy A20S

— $160, was $172

Image used with permission by copyright holder

On the most affordable end of Samsung’s A-series lineup, the A20S still has plenty to crow about. If all you really care about is a phone for calls, texts, browsing, and photos, you can have one for $160. There’s a sizeable 6.5-inch LCD Screen (not quite AMOLED but it will do), with decent brightness and contrast. In terms of muscles, it has a starter Snapdragon 450 processor backed up by 3GB of RAM. And that’s plenty to handle everyday tasks (though maybe not enough to get the best performance from games that are heavy on graphics or serious multitasking). What’s really the standout here, especially for the price, is the camera. It boasts a 13MP primary sensor with an f/1.8 lens, an 8MP sensor with an ultra-wide lens, and a 5MP depth sensor. There’s a vertical triple camera setup, which can be magic for wide-angle shots. All in all, this is an impressive package for the price.

Motorola Moto G Power

— $220, was $250

Best Buy Prime Day deals 2020
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Here’s something you don’t see every day: Three-day functional battery life on one charge. Which isn’t to say this muscly little machine is all battery. The screen is gorgeous Full HD+ and the processor boasts a lightning-fast octa-core, backed up by 4GB RAM. We love this phone for younger folk or maybe more aggressive users; it has a splash-proof design. Also, a 16MP triple camera system for the best panoramas, portraits, and close-ups. You can see them on the brilliant 6.4-inch screen, which is also great for streaming and games as you listen to crystal-clear sound through Dolby dual speakers. If you like to be entertained on-the-go, this phone is a dream, an inexpensive dream at that.

LG Stylo 4

— $245, was $300

LG Stylo 4
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Of this group, the Stylo 4 does the best job of approximating a premium smartphone. You’ll recognize some standout features here, like its 2160 x 1080-pixel resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio, and a USB-C charging port. You’re getting a much better phone than you’re paying for here. The screen has super-thin bezels, full HD+, and is safely tucked under Corning Gorilla Glass 3. It’s powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon SDM450 processor on 3GB of RAM, which won’t blow anyone’s hair back but will be more than fine if you keep the multitasking to a minimum. The amazing bonus here is the stylus, which comes with the phone.  It lets you jot down quick notes and make notes on screen captures and you can use it for signature gestures or shortcuts. It really brings this phone and its versatility to the next level.

Shopping on a budget? We’ve also rounded up the best Black Friday smartphone deals ahead of Black Friday sales.

Editors' Recommendations

Jacob Silver
An avid cook, boxer, reader, and binger of Netflix (and Hulu, HBO Max, Amazon and more) Jacob Silver writes deals posts about…
Best Buy is having a HUGE SALE on laptops, tablets and TVs today
The 70-inch Hisense 70A6G 4K TV with the Android TV home screen on the display.

Best Buy, a reliable source for 4K TV deals, including 70-inch TV deals and 50-inch TV deals, laptop deals, Chromebook deals, and Surface Pro deals, is currently offering discounts on a wide variety of products. If you've been planning to make a purchase, you should first check out Best Buy's sale if it covers the device that you want to buy.

The sale includes several product categories, so it's a daunting task to go through all the listings on Best Buy. We've gathered some of the best offers to help you out, but feel free to keep looking if nothing catches your eye.

Read more
Amazon is having a secret tech sale today — here are the best deals to shop
iPad air sitting on table.

Amazon, a reliable source for discounts on all kinds of devices, appears to be holding a secret tech sale today because of the variety of offers that are currently available. If you look at the retailer's website, you'll find all sorts of smartphone deals, tablet deals such as iPad deals, and laptop deals, among many other deals that you wouldn't want to miss.

It's unclear how long the discounts will last, so if there's a deal that catches your eye, you shouldn't hesitate on finalizing your purchase as there's no assurance that it will still be available once you get back to it. There are a daunting numbers of tech deals that you can shop on Amazon today, so to help you out, we've rounded up some of the best offers.
Fire TV Stick 4K – $35, was $50

Read more
Yes, you can really buy a Samsung QLED 4K TV for $400 for Prime Day
Samsung 2021 QN80A 4K QLED TV

We've seen a lot of great Prime Day deals but we're honestly kind of amazed that it's actually possible to buy a Samsung QLED 4K TV for just $400 as part of the Amazon Prime Day sales going on right now. Yup, at this very second, you can snap up the 32-inch Samsung QN32Q50RAFXZA QLED 4K TV for just $400 -- a saving of $100 on the usual price, representing 20% off. Now, it might not be the largest QLED 4K TV out there but that's still an amazing deal. Be quick though. Prime Day ends at the end of today and you won't want to miss out on this exceptional screen!

The Samsung QN32Q50RAFXZA Flat 32-inch QLED 4K TV doesn't feature in our look at the best QLED TVs but honestly, we were focusing on bigger screens and far more expensive ones too. Samsung does feature in our look at the best TV brands however with its key calling card being its QLED technology. Providing you don't mind a smaller screen size, you're going to love the Samsung QN32Q50RAFXZA Flat 32-inch QLED 4K TV.

Read more