Best midrange all-rounders 2022 - buyer’s guide

The €199 Poco M4 Pro 5G is our top pick for this base mid-range category. First and foremost it impresses with battery life and fast charging, but it also comes with a handful pick of excellent specs.

It features a good 1080p 90Hz display and large battery, there are stereo speakers and fast charging, too. The M4 Pro 5G has good performance even if not gaming-friendly. Its cameras shoot good enough photos, meaning they will get the job done and will do just fine for social sharing. If gaming is not that important you can have an affordable 5G phone with good camera and multimedia experience and great battery life with this M4 Pro 5G.

The €180 Redmi Note 11 is one of the most attractive offers within the €150-€200 price bracket. It offers a bright and fast 90Hz AMOLED screen, and its battery life is superb across the board. We also appreciate the fast 33W charging. The Snapdragon 680 4G chipset isn’t the fastest chipset in this segment, but is not bad either.

The Redmi Note 11 is a well-built all-rounder. It offers a splash-resistant design, there is a good OLED display, the camera does a nice job, you can listen to music via stereo speakers, and there are all sorts of connectivity options but 5G.

The Redmi Note 11 is quite affordable and the and the only omissions we can think of are 5G and 4K video capturing.

The €169 Redmi 10 (2022) is another affordable smartphone worthy of your attention. It’s built around a 6.5” 1080p LCD screen of 90Hz refresh rate and runs on the adequate though Helio G88 chipset that could lead do some UI lag.

The Redmi 10 (2022) is the same phone as the original Redmi 10 with the only difference being the now hybrid dual-SIM/microSD slot.

The Redmi 10 (2022) has a versatile four-camera setup with a 50MP primary, an 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro and a 2MP depth cams. It also offers stereo speakers, one large battery and many connectivity features.

While the Redmi 10 (2022) is not the fastest phone, it will offer a decent performance and reliable display, battery life, speakers, and camera performance. And that’s plenty enough.

The Moto G31 costs about €160 and it’s quite a reasonable offer right now. It has a water-repellent design and packs a 6.4” AMOLED screen, a versatile triple camera, a large battery, and manny fan-favorite features like an audio jack and a microSD expansion.

The G31 runs on clean Android 11, which many people prefer over skinned versions such as MIUI or Realme UI.

The G31 is one of the few phones with a 60Hz display and its chipset while enough for day-today operations, may still lead to lag and stutter across UI and games.

Even with these omissions, the Moto G31 remains a solid offer for its all-round feature set and we do recommend it.

The €180 Galaxy A23 deserves a spot here, though it should be around the bottom of your shortlist. It has quite a few nice features like excellent battery life, a likable design, fast 90Hz screen, good photo camera quality (OIS available), and Android 12 with the latest One UI.

On the other hand, the Galaxy A23 is a slow phone due to the sluggish Snapdragon 680 chipset. It also lacks some basic features like ambient light and proximity sensors (virtual sensing). And the screen quality is not as we hoped it to be – read not excellent, but not that bad either.

While far from perfect, we can see why the Galaxy A23 can make sense for some people – it comes from a popular brand with the latest software and offers enough to be a good daily driver – like excellent battery life and good camera.

The Realme Narzo 50 is quite the deal in India, currently retailing at about INR 12,000. It has a good 120Hz LCD screen, an adequate Helio G96 chipset, and a 50MP primary camera.

The Narzo 50 is also likable for its stylish design, large battery and fast 33W charging.

This Realme has no splash protection, no ultrawide camera, and no stereo speakers, though on that price we’d say it offers enough.

The €160 Realme 8i is quite an interesting smartphone with an incredibly adaptive 6.6" 120Hz LCD and a good enough Helio G96 chipset. It aced our battery life test, and we were impressed with its camera performance even if it lacks an ultrawide camera. Lag-free gaming is possible, too, you just need to lower the graphics settings and resolution.

The Realme 8i is affordable and it has some omissions like splash resistance and stereo speakers. There is no ultrawide camera, too. But it's still a good smartphone with thoughtfully picked features for this price and it gets our recommendation.

The Realme 8 impressed us with its long battery life and fast charging and that's why we've put it on our battery champs list. But it's also one particularly good all-round offer with a decent Super AMOLED screen and a capable Helio G95 chip, which does well for games. It also offers speedy charging, NFC, a 3.5mm jack, a dedicated microSD slot, and even FM radio.

Its camera setup may be packing four shooters, but the photo quality of the main and ultrawide shooters was rather uninspiring. The videos turned out nice, though, selfies, too.

The Realme 8 isn't the best phone, but it's cheap, it aced our battery life test, and it offers more than enough for its price.

The €200-€220 Redmi Note 11S is easily the best phone under the €250 mark. It has a bright and fast 90Hz AMOLED screen and offers excellent battery life and fast charging. The Helio G96 isn’t the fastest chipset in this segment, but is not bad either.

The Redmi Note 11S is a very good all-rounder, though. In addition to its splash-resistant design and good display, we also liked its photo camera performance, the stereo speakers, and the all-round connectivity package.

The Redmi Note 11S is cheap enough and the only notable omissions are 5G and 4K video capturing. There is also a Note 11S 5Gmodel, which offers 5G and similar specs, buts its LCD is of inferior quality.

The Realme 9 is recently launched smartphone that impressed us with incredibly long battery life. The Realme 9 offers a likable 90Hz OLED screen, can charge fast, and its main camera is dependable.

The Realme 9 has a weak chipset, though, there is no ingress protection, no stereo speakers, no 5G either. It is an obvious downgrade from the Realme 8, too. But as far as battery life, screen and camera are concerned, it can do a solid job.

If you are a fan of them Super AMOLEDs, the Samsung Galaxy A32 is a pretty viable option priced at around €200. It has a 90Hz 1080p AMOLED screen, a good quad-camera and selfie shooter, and offers brilliant battery life.

The Galaxy A32 is a bit slow to charge and its GPU performance is trailing behind the competition. The Night Mode is not okay, while there is no 4K video - things that the majority of smartphones do well of the price. Still, if you are okay with these setbacks, then you will enjoy the A32 and its large and fast AMOLED screen for sure.

Motorola has this cool offer if you like the clean no-nonsense Android experience – the Moto G62 5G. For €200 you will get a splash-proofed body with 6.5” 120Hz LCD and decent performance thanks to the Snapdragon 480+ 5G chipset.

The Moto G62 5G also offers the usual triple-camera for the midrange that includes a 50MP primary, an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro shooters. There are also stereo speakers, 128GB base storage with microSD expansion, and a large 5,000mAh battery for long-lasting Android experience.

The Mogo G62 is cheap enough and that’s why we can forgive the weak GPU performance, the sluggish 15W charging and the lack of 4K video capturing.

The Poco X4 Pro 5G is not really a sequel to any old Poco but a rebranded Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G (the global one). What makes it such a great offer for India is the low price – it often sells for about INR 17,000 (€210). The phone offers a large OLED panel of excellent quality – it has 120Hz refresh rate, 1080p resolution, and we found it to feature great color accuracy. The performance is good, too.

The Poco X4 Pro 5G camera quality is not up to par, unfortunately. But it does excel in battery life and charging. Plus, it also comes with stereo speakers, a 3.5mm jack, a microSD slot, IR blaster, FM radio.

Finally, the Poco X4 Pro 5G is IP53-rated for splash resistance and we liked its dual-glass design.

Even if there is a newer Galaxy A53 model that will soon replace the Galaxy A52s worldwide, we cannot recommend it over the A52s as it’s a notable downgrade, more expensive at that. So, the €290 Samsung Galaxy A52s stock will be depleted in a few months, and now is probably your last chance to get it. It is our top pick for this category as it strikes a balance between premium features and attractive pricing. The latest Galaxy A52s features a great 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, there is also the Snapdragon 778G 5G chipset with flagship-like performance and HRR gaming, we did like the stereo speakers and all sorts of ports and wireless connectivity.

The A52s is also a particularly reliable cameraphone and we did like the photos and videos coming from its rear 4-camera setup. The selfie weren't that good, though.

Finally, this Galaxy is IP67-rated for dust and water resistance, and we liked its design and matte rear panel even if it was a plastic one. For all those niceties we picked the Galaxy A52s for Editor's Choice in this category.

The Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G currently retails at about €270 and it’s a pretty solid offer. The phone offers a large OLED panel of excellent quality – it has 120Hz refresh rate, 1080p resolution, and we found it to feature great color accuracy. The performance is good, even if not as Galaxy A52s good.

The Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G camera quality has been worsened since the Note 10 Pro and that was a bit baffling. But it does excel in battery life and charging. Plus, it also comes with stereo speakers, a 3.5mm jack, a microSD slot, IR blaster, FM radio, NFC. It runs on the latest Android and MIUI versions.

Finally, the Note 11 Pro 5G is IP53-rated for splash resistance and we liked its dual-glass design. If you are looking for a mid-ranger at about €300, this one will surely do.

The Samsung Galaxy A33 5G is another excellent offer priced at about €270. The phone offers a smooth 90Hz OLED screen of traditionally great quality, while its Exynos 1280 chipset delivers more than satisfying performance for this price range and play games rather well.

In our review we found the Galaxy A33 to be quite good when it comes to battery life, camera quality, speakers. We were even surprised by the 2x lossless zoom that wasn’t even advertised.

Sure, the Galaxy A33 5G is not the fastest phone and many competitors offer 120Hz displays vs. 90Hz on the A33. But this Galaxy is fully waterproofed, and with all the other good qualities, it deserves to be considered and better – even purchased.

The OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G is an interesting mid-ranger with 5G, a good screen, snappy OS and a large enough battery with nicely fast charging at that. Its design is really good looking, too.

The Nord CE 2 runs on the decent Dimensity 900 chipset with 5G capabilities and it offers all sorts of connectivity options. Its triple camera meets the mid-range standards, too, with a 64MP primary, an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro shooters.

The Nord CE 2 5G is priced at €299 and with that good screen, fluid Oxygen OS and 65W fast cahrging – it sure deserves a chance.

The Realme 9 Pro price varies between €250 and €300 and it deserves a recommendation for its smooth 120Hz display, fast enough Snapdragon 695 5G chipset, and good camera quality.

The Realme 9 Pro also impressed us with excellent battery life, fast enough charging speed, and excellent software with Android 12 and Realme UI 3. It may lack ingress protection and stereo speakers, and the LCD panel may not be everyone’s favorite (undeserved), but it’s still a very good offer for its price and it has earned a mention on our shortlist.

The Galaxy M52 costs about INR22,000 (€270) in India and it’s a solid offer for its great 120Hz AMOLED, fast hardware and dependable camera. Plus, it offers class-leading battery life.

The M52 is like a cheaper alternative to the A52s – it’s a similar phone but without the ingress protection, OIS for the main camera, and stereo speakers.

If you are okay with the omissions, the Galaxy M52 would offer an excellent screen, performance and photo quality on a budget.

Motorola has this cool offer for India – the Moto G82 that’s available for INR 22,000 (€270). It is a splash-proofed smartphone with a 120Hz AMOLED screen and a decent performance with the Snapdragon 695 5G chipset. The no-nonsense Android experience is a big plus, too.

The Moto G82 5G also offers the usual triple-camera for the midrange that includes a 50MP primary with OIS, an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro shooters. There are also stereo speakers, 128GB base storage with microSD expansion, and a large 5,000mAh battery for long-lasting Android experience.

The Mogo G82 is affordable and that’s why we can forgive the weak GPU performance the lack of 4K video capturing.