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The best mid-range phones are closer to flagships than ever before, and although Black Friday sales are only on the distant horizon, there are still plenty of great deals to be found on affordable handsets.
You might have to give up on luxuries like waterproofing or wireless charging (though some of these phones have those!) but you can get top processors, amazing battery life, fast charging, and slick multi-lens cameras at some surprisingly affordable prices.
What are the best mid-range phones?
There are our five favourite mid-range phones right now:
If you want to know more about why we recommend these phones, check out our list of the best mid-range phones to find out how we rank them all at full price. And if your budget is a little different, then look at our separate guides to the best flagship phone deals and best budget phone deals.
Best mid-range phone deals
1. OnePlus Nord 2 5G (8GB RAM, 128GB)
From: Amazon
Was: £399
Now: £329 (£70 off)
View Deal
This limited time deal from Amazon slashes £70 off the excellent OnePlus Nord 2 5G.
2. Honor 50 (6GB + 128GB)
From: Honor
Was: £449
Now: £349 (£100 off)
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Buy the new Honor mid-ranger from the official store right now and you'll not only save £100 on the asking price, but the company will also throw in a free case worth £25.
3. Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro (6GB RAM, 128GB)
From: Amazon
Was: £269
Now: £219 (£50 off)
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A fantastic screen, a 108Mp camera and awesome battery life make this £50 discount on the budget Redmi Note 10 Pro difficult to ignore. Pay an extra tenner at the official Mi Store and you'll get a free Mi Band 6 (worth £39.99 thrown in).
4. Samsung Galaxy A52s (6GB+128GB)
From: Amazon
Was: £409
Now: £269 (£140 off)
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Samsung's star mid-ranger for 2021 – the upgraded Galaxy A52s – features a 120Hz AMOLED display, 5G, a 25W fast-charging 4500mAh battery, IP67 water and dust resistance, and a quad rear camera.
Amazon's £140 discount is the biggest you'll find.
5. OnePlus Nord CE (12+256GB)
From: OnePlus
Was: £369
Now: £299 (£70 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 - and you can save a decent £70 on the top model.
6. Xiaomi 11T 5G (8GB/256GB) + Redmi Buds 3 Pro
From: Xiaomi
Was: £549
Now: £429 (£120 off + Free Earbuds)
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The Xiaomi 11T has a few design flaws, but the excellent display, battery life and competitive price make up for these down sides - read our full review. Buy now from the official Mi Store and you'll get a £120 discount and a free pair of Redmi Buds 3 Pro (worth £59.99). If you don't want the buds, Amazon currently lists the phone for the same discounted price in its Spring Sale.
7. Oppo Find X3 Lite (8GB + 128GB)
From: Amazon
Was: £399
Now: £299 (£100 off)
View Deal
With £100 off, the excellent Find X3 Lite is about the cheapest it's ever been - and we gave it 4 stars in our review.
8. Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (6GB/128GB)
From: Amazon
Was: £599
Now: £352 (£247 off)
View Deal
The Galaxy S20 FE offers impressive bang-for-buck out the gate but is now even more affordable thanks to this Amazon deal that knocks a decent amount off the asking price.
9. OnePlus Nord (8GB RAM, 128GB)
From: Amazon
Was: £379
Now: £259 (£120 off)
View Deal
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 lower RAM/storage SKU found on Amazon makes a good deal even better.
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 waning 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.
Where do you find the best deals on mid-range phones?
The simple answer is that the best places to buy phones tend to be the same places you'd buy most of your tech: electronics shops and department stores. You can also check with carriers and networks, not to mention going direct to manufacturers' websites. Here are some ideas to get you started:
UK stores
US stores
How to find 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 locally.
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.
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/$350. We also have a general roundup of the UK's best tech deals right now, worth checking in on too.
