Great smartphones don’t need to cost a fortune. Years of commoditization have brought features once exclusive to high-end devices – including big batteries, multi-camera arrays and high refresh rate displays – down to their more affordable siblings. While there are still some things you’ll only find on flagship smartphones, you don’t have to compromise as much anymore if you’re looking to find the best buy at a lower price point. If you have less than $600 to spend, we can help you figure out what features to prioritize when trying to find the best midrange smartphone.
What is a midrange phone, anyway?
While the term shows up frequently in articles and videos, there isn’t an agreed-upon definition for “midrange” beyond a phone that isn’t a flagship or an entry-level option. Most of our recommendations for the best midrange smartphones cost between $400 and $600 — any less and you should expect significant compromises. If your budget is higher, though, you should consider flagships like the Apple iPhone 16 and the Samsung Galaxy S24.
What to consider before buying a midrange smartphone
Buying a new device can be intimidating, but a few questions can help guide you through the process. First: what platform do you want to use? If the answer is iOS, that narrows your options down to exactly one phone. (Thankfully, it’s great.) And if you’re an Android fan, there’s no shortage of compelling options. Both platforms have their strengths, so you shouldn’t rule either out.
Obviously, also consider how much you’re comfortable spending. Even increasing your budget by $100 more can get you a dramatically better product. And manufacturers tend to support their more expensive devices for longer. It’s definitely worth buying something toward the top limit of what you can afford.
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Having an idea of your priorities will help inform your budget. Do you want a long battery life or fast charging speed? Do you value speedy performance above all else? Or would you like the best possible cameras? While they continue to improve every year, even the best midrange smartphones still demand some compromises, and knowing what’s important to you will make choosing one easier.
Lastly, pay attention to wireless bands and network compatibility. If you don’t want to worry about that, your best bet is to buy directly from your carrier. To make things easier, all the phones we recommend are compatible with every major US wireless provider and can be purchased unlocked.
What won’t you get from a midrange smartphone?
Every year, the line between midrange and flagship phones gets blurrier as more upmarket features and specs trickle down to more affordable models. When we first published this guide in 2020, it was difficult to find $500 devices with waterproofing or 5G. Now, the biggest thing you might miss out on is wireless charging. Just remember to budget for a power adapter too – many companies have stopped including chargers with their smartphones. Performance has improved in recent years, but can still be hit or miss as most midrange phones use slower processors that can struggle with multitasking. Thankfully, their cameras have improved dramatically, and you can typically expect at least a dual-lens system on most midrange smartphones below $600.
The best midrange phones for 2024
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Photo by Sam Rutherford / Engadget
Screen size: 6.1 inches | Storage capacity: Up to 256GB | SIM card type: Nano-SIM, eSIM | Front camera resolution: 13MP | Rear camera resolution: 64MP main, 13MP ultrawide | Weight: 6.6 ounces
Google’s A-series Pixels have long been some of the best midrange phones on the market. But now with the addition of a Tensor G3 chip, the Pixel 8a supports the same powerful and versatile AI functions you get on Google’s flagship phones along with excellent cameras, a gorgeous 120Hz OLED display and great battery life. The device also comes with creature comforts like IP67 dust and water resistance and convenient (but slow) 7.5-watt Qi wireless charging. But most importantly, starting at $499, it might be one of the best deals on the market.
Screen size: 6.1 inches | Storage capacity: Up to 512GB | SIM card type: Dual eSIM | Front camera resolution: 12MP | Rear camera resolution: 48MP main, 12MP ultra wide | Weight: 6.02 ounces
Our previous pick here was the iPhone 13, but that model is no longer being sold at Apple. Now, if you’re looking to save a little (just a little) cash and still get an iPhone, your best bet is the iPhone 15. Yes, the iPhone 14 is still hanging on in the lineup, but it relies on a Lightning port for wired charging. It’s 2024, and we recommend your next phone — regardless of how much you spend — have a USB-C port.
We called the iPhone 15 the “most substantial update to the regular iPhone in years” in our iPhone 15 review. While the overall design and display were familiar, the biggest upgrades came in the camera array and the adoption of the Dynamic Island. You’ll get a 48-megapixel main shooter with a quad-pixel sensor that’s capable of taking better shots in dim lighting. You can also apply portrait mode settings after taking photos with this system, instead of having to choose it before taking a shot. We saw noticeable improvements in photos taken on the iPhone 15 when compared to those taken on the iPhone 14, particularly in low-lighting conditions, so you’re getting a better camera system overall. As for the Dynamic Island, it’s a carry-over feature from Pro-level iPhones that’s genuinely useful here.
The iPhone 15 runs on Apple’s A16 Bionic chipset, and performance is as we expected — solid, with very few instances of running warm during daily use. The smartphone has Apple’s signature “all day” battery life, and we’ve seen it last a little longer than that in our testing. While we understand that $700 isn’t exactly a “midrange” price, we believe the iPhone 14 and iPhone SE, which come in at $600 and $429, respectively, present too many compromises to be worth the cost. If you’re dead-set on getting an iPhone but want to spend as little as possible, future you will be grateful that you spent the extra money on the iPhone 15. — Valentina Palladino, Deputy Editor
Screen size: 6.6 inches | Storage capacity: 128GB + microSD | SIM card type: Nano-SIM | Front camera resolution: 13MP | Rear camera resolution: 50MP main, 8MP ultrawide, 5MP macro | Weight: 7.5 oz
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A newer version of one of our previous top picks, the Samsung A35 5G has one of the best displays you’ll get in a sub-$500 smartphone. It sports a 6.6-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and Samsung’s Vision Booster technology, which adjusts the display’s tone mapping based on the lighting in your environment.
Other standout features of this Samsung phone include a versatile camera system and a 5,000mAh battery. The triple rear array includes a 50MP main shooter, an 8MP ultrawide lens and a 5MP macro camera, while the battery supports 25W super fast charging.
The A35 5G runs on an Exynos 1380 chipset, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Don’t expect it to perform as well as our top pick in this guide, but it should handle most tasks well. Samsung also included a microSD card slot on this device, so you can expand the storage if you need.
Screen size: 6.72 inches | Storage capacity: 128GB + microSD | SIM card type: Nano-SIM | Front camera resolution: 16MP | Rear camera resolution: 108MP main, 2MP macro | Weight: 6.8 oz
When it first came out, the Nord N30 had basically everything you could want in a phone that cost $300. Its Snapdragon 695 5G chipset delivers strong performance along with speedy wireless connectivity that’s compatible with all the big US carriers, not to mention good specs including 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It also has a big 6.7-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate, which is rare on a budget phone as most rivals feature slower 60Hz or 90Hz panels. And thanks to its 50-watt wired charging, you can top it up quickly, too. But most importantly, the Nord 30 recently got a price drop from $300 to $250, making it an unquestionably good deal and our top pick in this space.
We’re thrilled to welcome Bret Taylor to TechCrunch Disrupt 2024. As the former co-CEO of Salesforce, founder of Quip, former CTO of Facebook, the co-creator of Google Maps, and current chairman of the board at OpenAI, Taylor needs very little introduction.
Bret Taylor is one of the most influential players in the world of enterprise and SaaS, so we invited him to join us for a fireside chat on our SaaS Stage at Disrupt 2024 on October 29.
In our conversation with Bret, we’ll explore his innovative AI startup, Sierra, recently launched in partnership with former Google executive Clay Bavor. Sierra envisions AI agents as the next major technological breakthrough, much like the rise of websites and mobile applications. These agents could become crucial digital resources for businesses, ultimately enhancing the digital customer experience.
Join us at Disrupt 2024, taking place at Moscone West in San Francisco from October 28-30, as we delve into this topic with Bret, along with a host of other insights. Register your passes today and enjoy savings of up to $600. This offer ends tonight at 11:59 p.m. PT.
Steam just removed its forced arbitration policy, opening the door for lawsuits against its parent company, Valve. In an update on Thursday, Steam says its subscriber agreement “now provides that any disputes are to go forward in court instead of arbitration.”
Many companies include a forced arbitration clause in their user agreement, waiving a person’s right to a trial in court. Arbitration involves settling a dispute outside a legal system before an impartial third party. This method is often faster but may not get the best results for consumers, as arbitrators don’t need to consider the law when issuing a decision.
Previously, Steam’s user agreement said, “you and Valve agree to resolve all disputes and claims between us in individual binding arbitration” for all disputes related to Steam, your account, hardware, or the company’s content and services. The new agreement eliminates any mention of a binding arbitration policy.
Steam doesn’t say why it decided to suddenly remove the forced arbitration clause. As pointed out by 404 Media, a group of plaintiffs recently challenged Valve’s forced arbitration policy and were able to file a class action lawsuit over Steam’s dominance.
19-inch server cabinets with integrated fire protection from Lehmann IT
19-inch server cabinets with integrated fire protection can basically be placed in all locations where there is an increased risk of fire in order to optimally protect the devices located in the server cabinet as well as all relevant data. For this purpose, we at Lehmann IT have developed and designed various solutions that can be used for numerous applications and requirements.
When should a server cabinet with fire protection be considered?
Basically, a 19-inch server cabinet with an integrated fire protection function can never hurt, as fires can occur anytime and anywhere, often caused by electricity or human error. However, these models are especially interesting for companies that want to place the cabinets in locations with increased fire risk.
As a rule, however, fire-protected server cabinets are used in the industrial sector. In times of Industry 4.0 and the advancing digitalization of industrial processes, reliable IT infrastructures are increasingly needed in production halls. These are often subject to high temperatures because the machines used there radiate heat during operation or the production processes themselves require these temperatures. In addition, the amount of dust is very high, which is also harmful to unprotected IT equipment. This is because this dust accumulates on and in the equipment and can sometimes clog air slots and fans, which has a strong negative impact on air circulation in the cabinet, resulting in so-called hot spots. At these points, there is an extremely high temperature locally, which can cause considerable damage to the equipment.
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Especially in industrial halls, IT equipment should therefore be well protected, which is why the purchase of a server cabinet is inevitable. Since the risk of fire in these industrial halls is very high due to the high temperature or the use of highly flammable substances, it is recommended to immediately choose a model with integrated fire protection. In the event of a fire, this will not only protect the equipment but also all the data stored on the servers.
What consequences can fire have for IT equipment?
Even small and quickly contained fires can cause damage with high costs. Even server racks without integrated fire protection can be severely affected in a very short time. If a fire is not quickly detected and appropriately fought, IT equipment will be very badly damaged as a result of sooting and corrosion. Smoke development also has severe consequences for the servers, routers, and switches in the cabinet. The technology is no longer salvageable as a result of a fire, and the data on the devices can also be irretrievably lost. A server cabinet with fire protection not only protects the devices themselves but also gives you enough time to save the data.
How does fire protection in the server cabinet work?
The fire protection server cabinets are certified according to the relevant DIN and EN guidelines and offer fire resistance of approximately 90 minutes. In addition, the models comply with the IP54 protection class, which is an indicator of protection against dust and water, however, both of which can also be potential hazards for server cabinets in industrial halls. The surface of the server cabinets is highly resistant to chemicals and moisture. The cabinets have sensors that measure the exhaust air temperature and smoke development in the cabinet. If this is too high, all ventilation openings are immediately closed.
According to the European classification EN 13501-1, our server cabinets have the marking As1d0. The “A” indicates that the cabinet itself does not contribute to the fire, which is the highest rating for this fire safety aspect. The “s1” (for low smoke emission) and “d0” (no burning drip) markings are also the highest indexes for the aspects considered, according to the EN directive.
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The classification EN 13501-2 is also important for the classification of fire protection for various devices. Our cabinets have the specification EI 90, which means that the cabinet is fire resistant for 90 minutes. The inner and outer walls of the server cabinet are non-load-bearing, as no loads are applied to them. This is expressed by the two letters “EI”.
Lehmann IT – Your partner for server cabinets
If you have questions about our server and network cabinets or need help choosing a suitable model, we are the right contact for you. We are looking forward to your inquiry.
NVIDIA Container Toolkit and GPU Operator were carrying a critical vulnerability that allowed threat actors access to the underlying host’s file system, experts have warned.
Cybersecurity researchers at Wiz discovered and reported the flaw, tracked as CVE-2024-0132, and carries a vulnerability score of 9.0/10 – critical, to Nvidia on September 1, 2024.
It is described as a Time-of-Check Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) vulnerability. To be abused the tools need to be set up in default configurations – then, a threat actor could craft a special container image that grants them access to the host file system.
Different environments at risk
“A successful exploit of this vulnerability may lead to code execution, denial of service, escalation of privileges, information disclosure, and data tampering,” the company said in a security advisory.
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The bug affected all NVIDIA Container Toolkit versions to v.1.16.2, and all NVIDIA GPU Operator versions until 24.6.2, which were the first ones to have addressed the flaw. It is also worth mentioning that the vulnerability does not work when Container Device Interface (CDI) is used.
“The urgency with which you should fix the vulnerability depends on the architecture of your environment and the level of trust you place in running images,” the researchers said in their technical write-up. “Any environment that allows the use of third party container images or AI models – either internally or as-a-service – is at higher risk given that this vulnerability can be exploited via a malicious image.”
They stressed that single-tenant compute environments could be at risk if a user downloads a malicious container image from an untrusted source, giving the crooks access to the workstation. In orchestrated environments such as Kubernetes (K8), an attacker with permission to deploy a container could access data and secrets of other applications running on the same node or cluster.
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Facebook parent company Meta has been fined €91m (£75m) by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) following an investigation into the storage of passwords.
An inquiry was launched in April 2019 after Meta notified the DPC that it had inadvertently stored certain passwords of social media users on its internal systems without encryption.
The DPC submitted a draft decision to other European data watchdogs in June 2024.
No objections were raised by the other authorities.
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Meta has been found to have four breaches of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
DPC deputy commissioner Graham Doyle said: “It is widely accepted that user passwords should not be stored in ‘plaintext’ considering the risks of abuse that arise from persons accessing such data.
“It must be borne in mind, that the passwords the subject of consideration in this case are particularly sensitive, as they would enable access to users’ social media accounts.” he added.
The decision, which was made by the commissioners for data protection, Dr Des Hogan and Dale Sunderland, and notified to Meta on 26 September, includes a reprimand and a fine.
That fine was also issued by Ireland’s DPC; the largest fine imposed under the EU’s GDPR privacy law.
In 2022, Meta was fined €265m (£220m) after data from 533m people in 106 countries was published on a hacking forum having been “scraped” from Facebook years earlier.
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