Technology often moves at terrific pace, but owning the latest and greatest products will cost you a hefty premium. Smartphone innovation is slowing. The best phones from a year or two ago are still great phones. They may lack the latest style trends, but they’re plenty powerful enough for most people. If you want to stretch your budget further, starting with last year’s flagships is a great idea because some of them are now heavily discounted. Here are five of our favorite phones from 2016 that are easy to recommend.
Note: One problem with buying older smartphones is that they will not get software updates as long as the latest releases. Two years is standard for flagships, which means this crop of 2016 phones should keep getting updated for at least another year, but schedules vary by manufacturer.
Google Pixel ($550)
The perfect phone for the Android purist, the Pixel from Google offers the most slick, stylish, and elegant experience you can find on the
Read our full Google Pixel review to learn more.
ZTE Axon 7
($400)
A stylish, solid metal slate with powerful front-facing speakers flanking a high-resolution AMOLED screen, the ZTE Axon 7 was one of the biggest bargains of 2016. It matched far more expensive
Read our full ZTE Axon 7 review to find out more.
ZTE Axon 7
Apple iPhone 7 ($550)
We can’t blame you if the $1,000 price tag of the iPhone X has given you pause. Why spend that much when you can get a great iPhone for just over half that amount? The iPhone 7 offers lightning fast performance, an excellent camera, decent battery life, and water resistance in a well-designed package. There’s no headphone jack and it lacks the dual camera setup of the 7 Plus, but it’s still a solid smartphone that will serve you well. If you can scrape together an extra $120, the iPhone 7 Plus is also worth a look. Apple continues to update its devices for longer than its competitors, so you can expect to keep getting software updates for several years to come.
Read our full Apple iPhone 7 review for more.
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
($500)
Shop around and you should be able to find some hefty discounts on perhaps the most desirable
Check out our Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review to learn all about it.
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
HTC 10 ($370+)
It failed to attract the audience it deserved, but the HTC 10 is a stylish
Read our HTC 10 review for all the details.