Here are some options to consider if none of the phones above appeal to you.
Asus Zenfone 8 for $499: You can buy the predecessor Zenfone 9 (6/10, WIRED Review). It has a very high profile because it is powered by the top device of 2021: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888. It also has a 120-Hz AMOLED screen and IP68 water resistance. bad? It doesn’t work on Verizon, and so do its cameras and battery life. It also only gets one version of Android version (Android 13).
The Moto G Stylus 2022 is $200: This Motorola phone (6/10, WIRED Review) is a great phone. A head-mounted recorder is available, as is a 90-Hz LCD screen, two-day battery life, decent performance, and a MicroSD card slot. There is no NFC, so you cannot pay with this phone, and there is no 5G support, plus it will only add to Android 12. It has a note if that makes a difference.
OnePlus N300 5G for $230: This phone only works on T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile, so if you’re on that network, it’s a great, affordable device. It only gets an update to Android 13 and two years of security updates, but there is a 5G service, you can pay with the phone via NFC, and the 5,000-mAh battery lasts two full days. The MediaTek Dimensity 810 chipset is also very fast. It also has a 90-Hz screen, a microSD slot, and a headphone jack. Like most phones in this book, the cameras are meh, and there’s no water resistance.
Nokia G400 5G for $270: The new Nokia phone will work on every major US network, hooray! Just me just I just started using it so I don’t know for sure. But it’s promising so far. There is a 120-Hz screen refresh rate, a 5,000-mAh battery, and the ability to pay without a connection. Performance seems good, but 4 GB of RAM already feels a little low, so you have to deal with instability here and there.
