When people ask me what phone to buy this year, it’s not a $1,000 powerhouse

The end of the year and early 2025 are shaping up to be exciting times for performance junkies like myself. The arrival of the latest iPhone and Android flagships sporting the newest silicon from Qualcomm and MediaTek tout huge performance gains for everything from gaming and networking to AI and image processing. In lieu of many other spec upgrades, faster performance seems to be the next-gen’s biggest selling point.

However, from a buyer’s perspective, I don’t think these are the most exciting phones on the market right now and might not be the ones you should be spending your money on either. Hear me out.

First up, they’re darn expensive. OK, not really all that much more expensive than last year, but $1,199 for the ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro is a lot of cash to spend on more performance than you can realistically realize in today’s games. The OPPO Find X8 Pro is a whopping £1,049 (~$1,330), and I’m sure it will take amazing pictures, but again, it’s an enthusiastic product rather than something you should buy for banging out snaps to Instagram. Then there’s the $999 iPhone 16 Pro, a phone that lacks the AI greatness you can buy on Android, seems to run pretty hot, and has horrible battery life. OPPO being the exception, you could probably pick up a last-gen flagship from most brands and still be perfectly happy.

But the phones I’m pointing to my friends and family (and you) to are predominantly the Google Pixel 8a and Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, priced at a very friendly $499 and $649, respectively. Why? Well, we gave them both a 9/10 and Editors Choice awards for a start. But really, it’s because they get the core jobs done, don’t cost an arm and a leg to do it, and, importantly, will last you just as long as a more expensive flagship. Seriously, when have we ever had a choice of inexpensive phones with flagship-tier update promises and solid hardware?

I still have to check my inner spec junky and remind myself that these phones are still admirable performers, even though they’re not the fastest. Yes, the shiny new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite trounces the poor Tensor G3, and Exynos 2400e in benchmarks. However, Google’s last-gen processor still hits 60fps in PUBG and well above 30fps in Genshin Impact if you want to game on a budget. Samsung’s 2400e is even better; it’s a very similar chip to global versions of Samsung’s more expensive Galaxy S24. Importantly, they’re both fairly frugal enough to take you through a full day of use too.

Again, their cameras might not be the pinnacle of mobile tech, but Google’s software processing always ensures a solid snap, and the main lens looks pretty indistinguishable from its more expensive flagships. The Galaxy S24 FE also has some camera spec downgrades from its flagship siblings but retains three cameras of flexibility to help more adventurous photographers frame their perfect shot. Oh, and these two phones boast a selection of decent AI tools if you want to dip your toes into those waters, too. These phones go well beyond the basics.

Yes, it’s true that they’ll charge a bit slower and might not be first in line for the latest OS upgrades for features, either. You know the drill; you can’t have everything on a budget. But these two phones, in particular, save you a significant chunk over their flagship alternatives while still providing the bulk of the core experience. For “typical” phone owners who mainly browse social, snap the odd family photo, and, importantly, want a handset that’ll stay up to date and last for years to come, I think you’ll struggle to argue that one of today’s blazing fast $1,000 handsets is actually worth the extra money. I certainly haven’t been able to justify it to my friends and family.

This isn’t exactly a new argument, of course. We’ve seen great-budget buys come and go for years now, particularly in Google’s Pixel series. Still, 2024 has seen long-term update pledges, top-tier software features, robust cameras, solid builds, and nippier processors all come together to produce a few upper-mid-range smartphones that will exceed most people’s expectations.

They’re not just adequate anymore; they’re pretty fun and exciting phones in their own right. Even foldables are in on the action. The $699 clamshell Motorola Razr (2024) might not match the update support of my other picks, but the hardware and software are arguably better executed than Samsung’s Flip, and it’s $400 cheaper.

Of course, if you have more specific requirements, by all means buy those juicy top-of-the-line flagship phones. Gamers will love the latest ROG, photography buffs will no doubt be happy to see the return of OPPO’s Find, and S Pen fans should keep their eyes peeled for the Galaxy S25 Ultra next year. But for the rest of us, we’re in the midst of a golden age of moderately priced smartphones, and it couldn’t be happening at a better time.