Best Mid-Range Phone 2025: Reasonably priced iPhone and Android handsets tested

If you’re looking for a smartphone that brings you as close to the flagship experience as possible without dropping flagship smartphone levels of cash, the Xiaomi 14T Pro is your best option.

The 6.67-inch CrystalRes AMOLED screen is a treat for the eyes with its pixel-packed 1.5K resolution and 144Hz refresh rate, offering superb visuals with inky blacks and vibrant colours helped by support for 12-bit colour depth that makes it fantastic for both binging movies and gaming.

The latter is certainly possible with the 14T Pro, sporting MediaTek’s top-end 2024 chipset, the Dimensity 9300+, with benchmark results competing, if not beating, much of the flagship competition. That’s paired with 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage.

Camera performance is also a treat, sporting a 50MP main, 50MP ultrawide and a 12MP 2.6x telephoto, sharing the main camera with the flagship Xiaomi 14. Its Leica-powered shots look detailed and vibrant, with solid low-light performance to boot.

Throw in a 5000mAh battery that’ll last all day and support for super-fast 120W fast charging that delivers a full charge in 23 minutes and you’ve got a solid all-rounder that’s easy to recommend to most.

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The OnePlus 13R is a solid attempt at a mid-range smartphone that manages to stand out in a busy market with a smattering of genuinely high-end tech.

The display is one of the main reasons to opt for the phone. While the 6.78-inch AMOLED screen isn’t quite as pixel-packed as the flagship OnePlus 13, it boasts the same 120Hz refresh rate and, rather importantly, LTPO 4.1 tech.

Along with the OnePlus 13, it’s one of the first phones on the market to sport the tech, which allows the phone to adjust the refresh rate as you scroll. This means that the screen feels super responsive in use and, crucially, it’s way more battery-friendly.

That also means that, combined with a sizeable 6000mAh silicon carbon battery that’s larger than any other phone in our chart, the OnePlus 13R has superb battery life, easily able to last a day if not two depending on what you’re up to. Even then, with 80W SuperVOOC charging it’ll get a full charge in 52 minutes.

It’s also a decent performer with the 2024 flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, especially when coupled with OnePlus’ various software and hardware optimisations and upgraded cooling mechanisms. It’ll leave practically any other mid-ranger in the dust, both in benchmarks and real-world use.

Elsewhere, it has a solid 50MP primary and 2x telephoto cameras, though the 8MP ultrawide isn’t quite as exciting. It also won’t get as many updates as the Pixel 8a, capping out at four OS upgrades and six years of security patches.

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Google’s mid-range ‘a’ series has long dominated when it comes to camera performance, and this year’s Pixel 9a is here to pick up that mantle. 

Sporting a refreshed 48MP camera with a larger sensor than that of the 8a, the main lens does an admirable job in practically any lighting condition. Images are always packed with light and detail, with way more accurate colours than other mid-rangers, especially when it comes to skin tones. 

That said, Google is losing ground to the Nothing Phone 3a Pro and its dedicated periscope lens, with the 9a still relying on Google’s AI-powered Super Res Zoom, but it does a decent enough job when you want to close the gap.

There’s also a 13MP ultrawide lens that, while not as performant as the main lens, is great at capturing scenic vistas during the day. 

It’s not just a great camera phone of course; the Pixel 9a sports its own unique look for the first time, ditching the iconic camera bar for a near-flush camera housing, and it’s powered by the same Tensor G4 chipset as the flagship too. 

Throw in an AI-infused stock Android 15 experience with seven years of OS upgrades, all-day battery life and a solid 6.3-inch screen, and it becomes hard to resist. 

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The Nothing Phone 3a Pro is the latest mid-ranger from startup Nothing, and it comes with quite the surprising feature considering its £449 price point: a 3x periscope camera. All other zoom lenses at a similar price point are fixed telephoto snappers locked at 2x, whereas the 3a Pro’s OIS-enabled snapper can deliver rich and sharp images at the 10x mark and beyond.

The primary 50MP camera also delivers performance above what you’d expect for the price, utilising Google’s Ultra XDR magic to boost the dynamic range of shots to deliver stunningly rich and vibrant results. However, it’s let down by a weak 8MP ultrawide that can’t quite match the performance of the other lenses.

It’s not just a great camera phone, either; it’s also one of the more unique-looking phones on the market. Its transparent glass rear shows stylised cables and other internal components, along with Nothing’s signature Glyph LED tech. That look also translates to the software in the form of the heavily stylised Nothing OS 3.1.

What it isn’t, however, is a powerhouse. The Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 is fine for day-to-day tasks and closely mirrors the performance of the year-old Samsung Galaxy A55 5G, but it’s left behind by the Pixel 8a and Poco X7 Pro.

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If you’re after the best performance possible without spending flagship prices, look no further than the Poco F7 Ultra. 

The Poco F-series has always led the way in performance in the mid-range space, but this year’s Ultra model takes things a step further with the inclusion of the Snapdragon 8 Elite. That’s the most powerful chipset on the market at the moment, and the chipset of choice for practically every flagship Android phone on the market.

As such, the Poco F7 Ultra can handle practically anything you can throw at it, delivering faster speeds and better gaming performance than any other phone mentioned in our chart in both benchmark tests and real-world use. If you’re a keen mobile gamer wanting to get the most out of your smartphone, this should be of serious consideration.

It’s not just a powerhouse either; it sports a 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED screen with a pixel-packed WQHD+ resolution – the same as the top-end Galaxy S25 Ultra – and a 5300mAh battery that’ll keep you going all day without much complaint. 

If you want a super-fast phone for as little money as possible, the Poco F7 Ultra is the phone to go for. 

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The Honor 400 Pro may be one of the pricier phones on our list at £699, but if you want a top-notch viewing experience and flagship-level AI smarts, it may well be worth it.

The Honor 400 Pro sports a 6.7-inch curved AMOLED screen that’s every part flagship, with a 120Hz refresh rate, 5000nits peak brightness and advanced eye comfort tech. It makes for a great viewing experience, whether gaming or bingeing a movie.

The main draw of the Honor 400 Pro is its impressive AI capabilities, offering pretty much every AI feature present on the company’s top-end Magic 7 Pro.

That includes both Honor-developed AI features like Magic Portal alongside new Google AI features like Photo to Video, the first smartphone to offer the tech. It’s easily the most versatile phone in this list when it comes to AI.

Elsewhere, the Honor 400 Pro boasts an impressive camera experience headed by a 200MP main camera and flanked by 50MP telephoto and 12MP ultrawide snappers. The hardware is impressive, and Honor uses AI trickery like AI Super Zoom to further boost performance – though results are hit-and-miss.

It’s also a powerhouse with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 that was the flagship chip of choice just a year ago, and with a 5300mAh silicon-carbon battery, it has no issue lasting a day or two on a single charge.

There’s very little to dislike, though again, it’s one of the more premium mid-range options available.

Until recently, the iPhone 15 sat as our go-to Apple recommendation within this list, sitting right at the ceiling of our cut-off point with a price tag of £699/$699. However, with the iPhone 16e now on the market, Apple finally has a handset that fits more in line with the pricing of most mid-range phones.

While the iPhone 16e doesn’t topple the likes of the Pixel 8a on smartphone photography, or the OnePlus 13R where the display is concerned, its value proposition lies in giving you a high-end iOS experience at a price that’s much cheaper (£200/$200 to be exact) than the iPhone 16.

Despite being the cheapest option in the iPhone 16 range, the 16e still boasts the same A18 Bionic chipset as the standard 16 and the iPhone 16 Plus, so you’re not missing out in terms of day to day performance. Apps load quickly, Apple Arcade titles run beautifully and more. Plus, you’ve got access to Apple Intelligence.

While Apple’s take on AI isn’t worth the upgrade alone at the time of writing, we no doubt anticipate that it’ll be at the heart of Apple’s software strategy in the near future, and the iPhone 16e should get access to those same updates as soon as they become available.

In the here and now though, the iPhone 16e’s allure is still in the sleek nature of iOS and apps like Apple News and Apple TV which are very accessible, beautifully designed and feature-rich. There’s also an abundance of helpful widgets that you can add to your homescreen, and the seamless way in which iPhones interact with other Apple devices is unparalleled in the Android space.

Where the iPhone 16e does suffer is in all of the things it’s missing, including MagSafe compatibility, a second rear-facing camera and Apple’s Dynamic Island, all of which can be found on the iPhone 15 which in turn can be found for not that much more if you know where to look.

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Some mid-range phones can feel a little bit cheap in the hand – often down to the use of materials like plastic over the metal and glass alternative usually found on truly high-end phones – but Samsung’s Galaxy A56 5G is the polar opposite.

Much like the flagship Galaxy S25, the Galaxy A56 is made from an aluminium frame and a glass rear, instantly making it feel more premium in the hand than the likes of the Nothing Phone 3a Pro and Google Pixel 9a. 

It’s also impressively slim, measuring in at an increasingly rare 7.4mm thick despite housing a 6.7-inch screen and a large 5000mAh battery that makes it feel great to use, especially combined with the device’s flat edges. 

It’s not just a looker either; the 6.7-inch AMOLED screen is a treat for the eyes, with much slimmer bezels than the competing Pixel 9a, and even with the same triple camera setup as the Galaxy A55, it’s still surprisingly solid in the camera department. 

It’s powered by the mid-range Exynos 1580 that, while not in the same league as the Snapdragon 8 Elite of the Poco F7 Ultra, provides solid everyday performance. That’s backed up by OneUI 7, Samsung’s spin on Android 15, with a 5000mAh battery that won’t struggle to last all day on a charge. 

It’s a solid all-rounder with a premium design that won’t disappoint. 

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As soon as you pick up the Oppo Reno 13 Pro, any sense that this phone feels like anything less than a flagship device simply melts away.

The plastic frame of yesteryear has been replaced by a sturdy glass and aluminium backing, which is then complemented by IP69 dust and water resistance, letting you know that the phone is unlikely to be taken down by the elements anytime soon.

There’s also the super fast MediaTek Dimensity 8350 under the hood, which makes general day-to-day use feel not at all dissimilar to what you’ll find on pricier options within our best smartphones list. If you’re concerned about having a phone that can keep up with the latest games then you might be better off picking up the Poco F7 Ultra, but when it comes to social media, multitasking and more, you won’t be feeling hard done by.

Just like almost every other manufacturer nowadays, Oppo has also made sure to embolden the Reno 13 Pro with plenty of AI features to lure in potential adopters. Thankfully, these features don’t feel half-baked like what we’ve found from Moto AI or Honor AI, Instead providing helpful quality of life concepts such as AI Speak, which can analyse a webpage and read it back to you.

The main 50MP camera can pump out some really great shots under the right conditions, and there’s an 8MP ultra-wide too.

There are plenty of great options on this list that excel when it comes to overall camera prowess, battery life and more, but if what you value above all else is day to day speed and super fast processing then the Poco F7 is something of a mid-range powerhouse.

Thanks to a winning combination of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 and 12GB RAM to keep it running steady, the Poco F7 features some of the best everyday performance you’re going to find at this end of the market, easily outdoing the Pixel 9a and the Samsung Galaxy A56 in several of our tests. Not only is this great for professionals who quickly dip from one app to another, but also gamers who want a smooth experience with classic titles like Call of Duty Mobile.

Luckily there’s a hefty battery that can keep up with the Poco F7’s ambitions of higher than average processing speeds. Under the hood there’s a 6500mAh cell, and even when pushing the battery with a more intensive day than usual over the course of the review, we still struggled to have it drop below the halfway mark, so it’s hard to imagine not being able to get two days of use at a time unless you’re really going all in on some gaming.

That battery life also goes a long way with the phone’s 6.8-inch AMOLED display. It’s exactly the type of panel that’s a joy to use when it comes to streaming films and TV shows, so if you’re the type of person who prefers to use their phone as their main source of entertainment on a flight or a train journey, then the Poco F7 is a great option to have on your person.

As a final point, even though this is still a mid-ranger, you won’t have much to worry about when it comes to longevity. There’s an official IP68 dust and water resistance rating here, which is always handy for peace of mind, particularly if you’re using your phone whilst on holiday and it accidentally gets drenched by other holidaymakers taking a dive into the nearby pool.