THE BEST PHONES UNDER £500

You don’t need to spend serious money to get a seriously good Apple or Android

The intense rivalry between smartphone manufacturers means that last year's flagships become this year's mid-range phones: for less than £500 you can get your hands on a new phone with the same cameras, displays and batteries as the most expensive smartphones of a year or two ago. Of course there are some compromises - if you're getting a cutting-edge camera you're probably not getting the biggest possible battery; if the screen's brilliant the processor might not be as fast as this year's flagships - but these phones are all very compelling devices with excellent features, lots of great apps and performance that punches way above their price tag.

AFFORDABLE APPLE

iPHONE SE