Best Phones Under $300 in 2024
Every phone on this list has been put through its paces by CNET’s expert review team. We actually use the phone, test its features, play games, and take photos. We weigh in on all the marketing promises a company makes about its phones. If we find something we don’t like, whether it’s battery life or build quality, we’ll tell you all about it.
During testing, we examine every aspect of a phone:
- Display
- Design and feel
- Processor performance
- Battery life
- Camera quality
- Features
We test all of a phone’s cameras (both front and rear) in a variety of conditions, from outdoors in sunlight to dark indoor locations and night scenes (for all available night modes). We also compare our findings to similarly priced models. We have a suite of real-world battery tests to see how long a phone lasts under everyday use.
We consider extra phone features like 5G, fingerprint and face readers, styluses, fast charging, foldable displays, and other handy extras. We also weigh all our experiences and testing against price, so you know whether a phone is good value for money or not.
Reading more: How we test phones
