The Best Phones Under $1000 to Buy Today

Shortly after its release, the Samsung Galaxy S24 quickly became our top pick for the best smartphones under $1,000. With this new model, Samsung has outdone itself once again, launching an impressive high-end device that not only features an exceptional 6.2-inch display but also delivers powerful performance with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor.

The Google Pixel 8 Pro is a pricier option than before, starting at $999, and it comes in cool colors like light blue, black, and beige. It offers 12 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage as a base model, but you can choose versions with more storage (256 GB or 512 GB). It’s important to note that you can’t expand storage with a microSD card.

The phone’s display is exceptional, with super bright settings that make it easy to use outdoors. It has a solid processor for everyday tasks, but it might not handle really demanding games as well as some competitors.

With the discontinuation of compact phones such as the iPhone mini and the Asus Zenfone, flip phones are the de facto compact smartphones nowadays. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 may not be the newest of those, but it offers almost the same features and performance as its successor, with a lower price (and more frequent deals).

With phones long past the $1000 mark, we will inevitably deal with trade-offs when looking for an option under that price. A few features like 5G, eSIM, NFC, and wireless charging are still standard in this category, but in other categories, we still find some differentiation. So for this selection we concentrated on the following specs:

Our selection criteria

• Display: The screen characteristics influence not only how sharp (resolution) or smooth (refresh rate) content is displayed, they also indicate how big or small the phone is. We chose options that range from the pocket-friendly Galaxy Flip all the way to the big 6.7-inch camera alternative.
• Performance: Although all phones above should perform pretty well in both apps and games with their flagship SoCs. The amount of RAM will determine how fluid will be the multitasking performance, especially with the memory demands of AI features. Also, be careful to avoid 128 GB storage models if you like to have a lot of apps, photos, and videos stored on your device.
• Camera: The feature that separates these phones from those in the cheaper selections is mainly the cameras: Better image quality with bigger sensors, models with telephoto lenses for zoomed shots, and better image processing for night images and filters. If you like to photograph big vistas, make sure the ultra-wide lens has enough resolution for your photos, on the other hand, prioritize a telephoto lens if you usually struggle to get a good enough zoom on your subjects.

Smartphones that cost less than $1,000 have become less premium in nature, but they are still considered high-end smartphones. When buying a smartphone close to the $1,000 mark, it is clear that compromises will have to be made, although not to the extent of a $400 smartphone. To remain relevant at the $1,000 price point, these smartphones offer everything you need to have an almost flawless user experience.

As mentioned earlier, there are compromises made in a smartphone that falls within this price range that will not make it a crippling experience. The user experience is still pleasant enough, and you can do almost anything you want with your smartphone.