8 Best Cheap Phones (2025), Tested and Reviewed

Samsung Galaxy A36 for $400: With a higher price, you’d think the A36 would be even better than the A26, right? Wrong. The Galaxy A36 (6/10, WIRED Review) hits many highs, including a brighter display, good battery life, and solid cameras, but storage is not expandable, and performance was bizarrely more choppy. The 6 years of software support is nice, but if the phone is already annoying to operate, I can’t imagine what it’ll be like in 6 years. It’s an OK phone, but you can do better.

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