- Okay, so you're looking for a 5G phone
but on a budget.
But first, have you watched my last video
to see if you even need 5G?
Chances are, you probably don't,
but if you are fully decided on getting a 5G phone,
but you don't want to spend too much for it,
then this is the video for you
because I'm going over the best budget
and mid-range phones for you.
So you don't have to spend an arm and a leg upgrading to 5G.
(happy upbeat music)
Buying a budget 5G phone might seem like a no-brainer
and you spend one third the cost of a flagship phone
from Apple or Samsung
and you still get to connect to 5G.
Yes, please.
In fact, that was my initial reaction.
When I first started seeing budget phones
was this is great.
Now we don't have to spend $1,200 to break into 5G
but unfortunately that's not necessarily the case
because there is a little trick to budget 5G phones
that I'm going to let you in on
and help you figure out which one's best for you.
If you're even going to want to buy
a 5G budget phone after all.
So the thing with budget 5G phones is that
you're missing out on some very crucial software
that you get with the more expensive
name brand flagship phones.
So let me go over that a little bit more.
When we're talking 5G,
there are 3 different types of 5G.
You have low band,
you have mid band
and you have a high band.
And now the high-end phones
have all 3 bands built into them.
Meaning you can connect to the slow 5G
and the super fast 5G
because all 5G is not created equal.
But when we're talking budget phones
sometimes you can't connect to the fast 5G.
You don't get connect to the high band.
The high band 5G is the numbers we see,
that are incredible,
that the advertisers aren't throwing at us,
that are the best speeds you'll ever see in a mobile.
But when we get to budget phones,
it's not possible for lots of them
to connect to those amazing speeds.
So that is just the one caution I want to let you in on
and why budget phones might not be the best investment
but I'm still going to go over the best ones
to help you get the best bang for your buck.
So let's get going.
And for me, the best bang for my buck
and getting a great overall experience,
is experiencing or having the capability
to experience those super fast 5G speeds.
So the phones I offer will have all the bands,
will have all the software necessary to connect
to all three 3 levels of 5G
because if you can't experience the best of it,
why even get it at all?
And that's kind of my thought around this video.
So we'll see how it goes.
(lightly chuckles)
And a second kind of word of caution about this video is
that when it comes to manufacturers,
giving phones to different carriers,
sometimes there is a little bit
of differences in the software of them, right?
So my phone recommendations are going to be different
for AT and T, T-Mobile and Horizon
because sometimes Horizon's phones are a little bit better.
They have more coverage.
Sometimes AT and T's phones are.
So I'm going to go through these one by one.
There's only a handful of phones I recommend,
across the board for all carriers.
So stay to the end for those.
The first phone I am recommending
that is more of a mid-range phone.
It's not necessarily budget is the OnePlus 8.
Now, normally I wouldn't recommend this one
because it's kind of a newer phone,
but it's actually a year old.
They've come out with the OnePlus 9 now.
So all of the OnePlus 8s have been marked down
and that's why I recommend it.
I recommend it specifically for T-Mobile and Verizon.
Now with Verizon,
the price is a little bit more expensive
because they offer 5G ultra wide band with it,
so the cost goes up a little bit.
Now with T-Mobile,
it doesn't offer the highest band,
so it's a little bit cheaper.
So the range is going to be from 500 to 600
but it is a really solid phone.
And with T-Mobile it has the bands you need
to connect to most of T-Mobile's 5G,
which is why I'm recommending it.
So I want to go over the aspects of this phone real quick.
It was released in April of 2020.
It's cheaper because the OnePlus 9 just came out
and many people who review this phone,
say the battery life could be better.
The selfie camera isn't great at 60 megapixels
but overall they love the phone and recommend it.
The next phone I'm recommending is the Galaxy A71 5G
for AT and T and T-Mobile users.
It is in the $600 range.
So again, this one isn't super budget,
but it is about half the price
of a high-end name brand phone.
So in that regard,
it's slightly a budget
but it's still more mid-range.
There's no high band with this for T-Mobile and AT and T.
It's just the mid and low band.
So you're not going to get the super speeds
that you see advertised.
You're just going to get okay speeds.
For the most part,
I only have access to mid band 5G
and it works just fine for me
but it is always fun to experience 5G plus
or the ultra wide band,
high band 5G from all the carriers.
So if you're not looking for that extra level of access
then this might be a great phone for you.
If you are then hold off,
because I got some better options for you.
Now with this phone,
reviewers say they like it for its battery,
its camera and display
but say the performance is lacking
and can be a little bit sluggish.
So keep that in mind with the Galaxy A71 5G.
Now my last general kind of recommendation
for people is the Google Pixel 4A 5G
for T-Mobile and Verizon users.
Now, again, it's more expensive at Verizon
because it has all 3 bands.
At T-Mobile, it only covers the mid and low band.
So keep that in mind.
But overall, the Google Pixel 4A 5G
is a really awesome phone.
And one of the cheapest of the bunch
at just about 5 to $600,
depending on where you get it.
5, closer to 500 with T-Mobile,
closer to 600 with Verizon.
Now for this phone,
people love the battery,
the camera and performance
but the screen could be a little bit stronger.
But overall a really solid phone.
Now I am getting to the official recommendation
for the best budget or mid-range phone for 5G capability.
And I'm going to offer the same phone recommendation
for T-Mobile and AT and T.
So T-Mobile and AT and T are both GSM,
which is just a fancy way to say they both kind
of use the same technology.
Verizon is CDMA,
so they're kind of a little bit separate
which is why I'm choosing different phones for them.
Even though most phones work cross-functionally now
but it doesn't matter.
I'm getting ahead of myself and losing train of thought.
So, the best phone that I recommend
for T-Mobile and AT and T
is the iPhone 12 mini.
Now the iPhone 12 mini comes in
at around $700 at the base price.
If you get the lowest amount
of storage available for that device.
Now I know that might feel
like a cop out or like a cheap way to get around.
All of these phones is saying,
go with an iPhone.
I feel like that might be kind of obvious for some people
but going through all of these phones
and looking at all the specs
and all the prices and everything about it,
the iPhone 12 mini is the cheapest phone
that offers all 3 bands of access to 5G
for AT and T and T-Mobile.
So it's a little bit more expensive
but it's the only phone at this price
that offers you the full 5G experiences,
the iPhone 12 mini.
So I do highly recommend that
for AT and T and T-Mobile users,
as the cheapest way to get the full 5G experience
on those networks.
Now, if you don't want an Apple product,
if you don't want an iPhone,
the equivalent to this phone would be a Google Pixel 5.
It is very similar in price range
and in functionality
and how nice of a device it is.
They're very similar,
just one's an Android,
one is from Apple.
So those are my two recommendations
for the best overall 5G experience
on AT and T and T-Mobile is the iPhone 12 mini
and the Google Pixel 5.
And just for kicks and giggles,
if you want to know the cheapest option for 5G
from AT and T and T-Mobile,
here they are.
The absolute cheapest option from AT and T
is the LG K92 5G,
coming in at $395.
And then for T-Mobile,
it's the Motorola One 5G Ace,
coming in at $264.
Both these phones are going to be fairly low quality
and they're not going to offer great 5G access.
It's just going to feel like you have 4G.
It's not going to feel like anything faster than 4G LTE.
So that's why I don't recommend those.
The speeds aren't going to be much faster
than what you are working with right now,
if you have 4G.
Now with Verizon,
it's a little bit different.
See, most of Verizon's phones
that they sell on their site
that you buy directly from Verizon,
all have the whole 5G access.
They're all just a little bit upgraded
from what AT and T and T-Mobile offer.
And they're out just a little bit more expensive
because of that as well.
But the cheapest phone
that has all the bells and whistles for 5G
that connects to all 3 5G bands
that will get you the full experience
is the Samsung A42,
which is about $400.
Now with a $400 device,
you're not looking at something super high-end
or super high quality
but this is probably the best budget 5G phone
that gives you a full 5G experience.
And that's why I'm recommending it,
just for that.
It's just the cheapest possible way to get 5G
on Verizon with all 3 bands.
The TCL 10 5G UW is the same cost as the Samsung phone
but the Samsung one has a little bit higher reviews.
So that's why I chose it as my recommendation
but they're both equal in terms of what,
in terms of what they offer
for 5G coverage on Verizon's network.
Okay, that is it for this video.
I have given you a bunch of different options to choose from
in terms of budget and mid-range phones.
Let me know if any of these sound intriguing to you
or which ones would you have chosen for this video?
What 5G phones are you looking forward
to testing out or buying or using?
I'm look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks for watching I'm Sherri Riggs
with WhistleOut TV.