If you're in the market for a capable, affordable phone that looks good and is nice to use, then our rundown of the best mid-range phones of the moment is worth a gander.
A few years back, Apple broke the £1,000 barrier for the mainstream flagship smartphone and since then, plenty of competitors have followed suit. Luckily, despite the high prices of top-end handsets, people have shown that they don't want to spend such large quantities of money, leading to a far more competitive mid-range space than ever before.
Add in Chinese newcomers and you've got a mid-range segment of capable smartphones that sail beneath the £600 mark but still afford you excellent design, performance and features, in varying measures.
You'll notice this list reflects our list of best mid-range phones, albeit with a few extra deals thrown in for colour.
Best Mid-range Phone Deals
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1. Sony Xperia 10 III (6GB RAM, 128GB)
From: Amazon
Was: £399
Now: £339 (£60 off)
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There's currently £60 off Sony's Xperia 10 III on Amazon – one of the most intriguing mid-rangers of the moment, offering great battery life and a clean, easy-to-use Android UX.
2. Motorola Moto G100 (8GB RAM, 128GB)
From: Amazon
Was: £449.99
Now: £409.21 (£40.78 off)
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The Moto G100 boasts a pleasing design, a 90Hz display, near-flagship performance, clean Android 11 and serves as one of the first mid-range devices to support Motorola's Ready For desktop-like experience. This Amazon discount is a nice bonus too.
3. OnePlus Nord (12GB RAM, 256GB)
From: Amazon
Was: £469
Now: £399 (£70 off)
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OnePlus' superb re-entry into the mid-range market in 2020 – the OnePlus Nord – is already a great example of value-for-money, but this discount on the higher RAM/storage SKU found on Amazon makes a good deal even better. (There's also currently a discount on the 8GB RAM model and other colourways too.) See our full coverage.
4. Xiaomi Poco F3 (6GB RAM, 128GB)
From: Xiaomi
Was: £329
Now: £299 (£30 off)
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You'll find fantastic performance and a superb OLED display on the Xiaomi mid-ranger that is the Poco F3.
5. Google Pixel 4a (6GB RAM, 128GB)
From: Currys PC World
Was: £349
Now: £299 (£50 off)
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The simplicity of Android as Google intended paired with modest but effective hardware, an impressively capable camera, a clean design and an OLED display – the Pixel 4a is a wonderfully well-rounded package and now comes with £50 off from Currys.
6. Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (6GB RAM, 128GB)
From: Amazon
Was: £599
Now: £489 (£110 off)
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The Snapdragon 865-powered Galaxy S20 FE offers impressive bang-for-buck out the gate but is now even more affordable thanks to this Amazon deal that knocks £110 off the price of the 4G version. There's also up to £175 off the 5G variant. Discount varies by colour, check before purchase.
7. OnePlus Nord CE (8GB RAM, 128GB)
From: Amazon
Was: £299
Now: £290.25 (£8.75 off)
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The Nord CE is OnePlus' reimagining of the company's original top-notch mid-ranger from 2020, focusing on a slim build, great display and respectable performance while sporting a lower price tag, made even cheaper by this Amazon deal.
8. Samsung Galaxy A71 (6GB RAM, 128GB)
From: Amazon
Was: £419
Now: £375 (£44 off)
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Samsung's 2020 mid-range family was fronted by the Galaxy A71, with its expansive display, multiple cameras and eye-catching Prism finish. Now available with over £40 off the RRP, courtesy of Amazon.
9. Oppo Reno 4 5G (8GB RAM, 128GB)
From: Amazon
Was: £499
Now: £299 (£200 off)
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The Oppo Reno 4 5G is now practically half price, making an already-capable 2020 mid-ranger even more enticing.
10. Oppo Reno 4Z 5G (8GB RAM, 128GB)
From: Amazon
Was: £329
Now: £249.95 (£79.05 off)
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Despite toting mid-range performance, the most affordable member of Oppo's Reno 4 line – the 5G-capable Reno 4Z 5G – comes in at a budget phone price thanks to this near £80 discount on Amazon.
11. Apple iPhone SE (3GB RAM, 256GB)
From: Amazon
Was: £569
Now: £539 (£30 off)
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The top storage SKU of Apple's stellar affordable 2020 iPhone – the updated iPhone SE – enjoys a £30 Amazon discount right now. Discount varies by colour, check before purchase.
12. Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite (8GB RAM, 128GB)
From: Amazon
Was: £579
Now: £429.99 (£149.01 off)
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Don't be fooled by the name, the Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite is a 2020 phone, making the fact that this Amazon deal knocks over £145 off the asking price all the more impressive.
Mid-range phone buying advice
Mid-rangers are typically a mix of competitively-priced fully-fledged flagships, more affordable members of the same product family as a company's top device with reduced performance, or a dedicated device, designed to deliver a certain premium feature (or features), without breaking the bank.
Deciding which one best suits your needs falls to a number of factors. If you want raw performance, a former flagship will stand you in better stead but will more likely suffer more from waining software support sooner than less powerful but newer dedicated mid-ranger compatriots.
Flagship-adjacent phones will try and offer the closest experience to a product line's true top-tier offering but will likely skimp on the processor and/or RAM available. While dedicated mid-rangers don't aim to excel based on their price point, save for one or two key areas, chosen by the manufacturer.
As ever, buying from phone makers you trust is always the way you go, even if it means paying a little more for a similarly-specced phone. Bigger companies' products are usually held to higher quality standards and should anything go wrong, they'll likely offer more robust customer support.
More deals
If you're looking to buy a phone outright, rather than on-contract, Amazon has some of the biggest bargains, but make sure you check the specs carefully - third-party sellers sometimes use Amazon to shift international stock, which may vary slightly from what you find in UK stores.
If you find that you’re missing out on Amazon’s Lightning deals, which run for just a few hours and offer limited stock, we'd recommend signing up for Amazon's 30-day free trial of Prime, which will get you access to deals 30 minutes before everyone else. Plus, you'll get free next-day delivery with the Prime trial, as well as access to Prime Instant Video and more. Sign up for Prime now.
Want more great deals on the latest tech? We round up the best tech deals in the UK all in one place and update them every week, so you're guaranteed to find a bargain in there, somewhere.
If you want to know more about the current mid-range phone market, check out our best mid-range phones roundup or if all the entries here still seem a little too pricey, have a look at our Best budget phones roundup instead, where every entry costs under £250. We also have a general roundup of the UK's best tech deals right now, worth checking in on too.
When is Black Friday 2021? Should you wait for a better deal?
Black Friday arrives on Friday 26 November this year, followed by Cyber Monday on 29 November, which leads to the question: should you wait until then for a better deal?
Yes, and no. If you urgently need a new phone or laptop and you see a stellar discount today, it's easy: pick it up. If you have the luxury of waiting until November, however, it may pay off to wait.
There's no need to hold off until 26 November itself, of course. In the past, the biggest and best Black Friday deals were typically reserved for the big day, but now Black Friday deals appear throughout November and sometimes, as early as October.
If you see dramatic Black Friday discounts before 26 November, just go for it! Some retailers that hold pre-Black Fridays sales also promise that prices won't go any lower on Black Friday itself and offer to refund customers back the difference if it does. We already have a dedicated article answering all your burning Black Friday-related questions, should you want to know more.
