Best midrange all-rounders 2021 - buyer’s guide

There is no better mid-ranger than the €189 Poco X3 NFC if your budget is around the €200 mark. It was, in fact, our previous top pick for the €250 category, but now it's even cheaper!

The phone offers unmatchable bang for the buck - you get a large 120Hz display within a splash-proof body, good enough performance, a very good (mid-range) quad-camera, and pretty amazing battery life.

The Poco X3 NFC omits nothing - it has a 3.5mm jack, stereo speakers, a microSD slot, IR blaster, FM radio, NFC. It runs on the latest Android and MIUI versions.

There is only one issue with the Poco X3 NFC but it will be noticed by few if any users - slower pixel response time which may result in smearing or ghosting when scrolling. But as we said - you need to really look for it and even then - you may not be able to notice it.

If we have about €200 to spend on a phone and the Poco X3 NFC isn't an option for some reason, we will then go with the Redmi Note 10. It has pretty much everything you'd want out of a handset for this price - a large and sharp AMOLED display, a capable chipset (powerful enough and efficient), a big 5,000mAh battery with 33W charging support and a whole array of cameras.

But that's not even all. It's offers IP53-rated body with splash protection, has stereo speakers, and can even control your legacy appliances with its built-in IR emitter.

Perhaps the missing NFC and the lack of HRR could be problematic for some users, but still - the Redmi Note 10 is one of the best phones in this price bracket.

The Realme 6 may not be our Editors' Choice anymore, but it is still among our top recommendations in this under-€200 mid-range category. Its price has already dropped to some bargain numbers and it is easily the most feature-rich phone you can buy for as low as €150.

The Realme 6 is better suited that many more expensive mid-rangers - it offers a 6.5" 1080p screen with 90Hz refresh, there is gaming-capable Helio G90T chipset and 4GB or 6GB of RAM. The phone scored a great 103h endurance rating on our battery life test and on top of that you can top up its battery quite fast.

But wait, there is more. The Realme 6 offers a capable quad-camera on its back, which snaps regular, ultrawide, macro and portraits shots with good quality, and it can even do 4K video capturing.

Finally, the Realme 6 runs on Android with Realme UI and it's quite fast under that 90Hz screen.

The Galaxy A41 may be a year-old device, but it is still easy on your pocket in more than one way. It stands out thanks to a high-density Super AMOLED display, excellent battery life and a decently capable camera system for the money.

What helped Samsung meet the budget is the unpretentious chipset. It's acceptable for routine tasks, but heavy gaming is not its strong suit. There's also no 4K video recording capability, though certain users may not mind one bit.

Still, getting a great AMOLED screen and decent camera at such low price - €200 or so - is quite the deal and we do recommend considering this Galaxy A41.

The €150 Poco M3 is still one of the best offers on a budget. It has a large and high-res LCD screen, stereo speakers and a massive 6,000mAh battery with fast charging, which makes it a great companion for multimedia and social networks. Gaming is very much possible, too, you just need to lower the graphics settings and resolution.

The M3 won't be known for its camera prowess, but it's okay. It makes up for that with speedy charging, a 3.5mm audio jack, stereo speakers, and a microSD storage.

The Moto G40 Fusion is one very interesting India-exclusive phone. It is shaping as quite the marathon-runner with that large 6,000 battery. It also employs a large 1080p LCD screen with 120Hz refresh and HDR10 support, as well as the Snapdragon 732G chip that should be enough for gaming on the go. It offers speedy charging, a 3.5mm audio jack, NFC, and a microSD storage.

The G40 Fusion also packs a triple-camera on the back with a 64MP primary, an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP depth sensor. Night Mode and 4K capturing are available on the main camera.

The phone is about 1cm thick and weighs 225 grams, making it a bit bulky. But other than that, it seems like one of the best phones you can get in India at INR 13,999.

In case if you fancy a 108MP primary camera, you can spend a bit more and get the Moto G60, which is basically the same device, but with a 108MP main camera and a 32MP selfie shooter.

The $190 Nokia G20 is a unique suggestion for its clean Android. It has a large 720p screen and a good enough chip to handle such resolution, plus it shows potential with its quad-camera (wide+ultrawide+depth+macro). The 5,050mAh battery seems excellent for the job, too.

The Nokia G20 isn't the fastest phone and its screen sharpness isn't ideal, but it's quite cheap and Android 11 is a treat you'd probably like.

Another interesting offer is the €170 OnePlus Nord N100. It offers a large enough screen with 90Hz refresh and an adequate chip to handle its 720p resolution. It also packs a triple camera on the back with a familiar setup (main, ultrawide, macro). The 5,000mAh battery capacity should be plenty, too.

The Nord N100 also offers stereo speakers and plenty of connectivity options but NFC. The Oxygen OS runs pretty fast on this one thanks to the lower-res yet 90Hz screen. It's not the fastest phone, but it is cheap and it does offer enough for its price and that's why we are putting it in this shortlist.

The €220 Poco X3 Pro is easily the best phone under the €250 mark. It has a large 120Hz display and one enormously powerful (for the class) Snapdragon 860 chipset with plenty of RAM and storage. The phone is IP53-rated for splash resistance and offers Gorilla Glass 6 screen protection.

The Poco X3 Pro also impresses with good camera skills across the board, impressive battery life and fasts charging, good stereo speakers, and all sorts of connectivity options. It may be a bit bulky, but its flagship performance is worth every extra gram, for sure.

The Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite 5G is a bit reworked version of the Poco X3 NFC with a 5G-capable chip. It has the same 6.67" 120Hz LCD display but with better pixel response time and better refresh rate handling (including Smart AdaptiveSync). The Mi 10T Lite 5G offers excellent bang for the buck - you get a large 120Hz display within a splash-proof body, snappy performance thanks to the Snapdragon 750G chip, a very good (mid-range) quad-camera, and pretty amazing battery life.

The Mi 10T Lite 5G, just like the Poco X3, comes with a 3.5mm jack, stereo speakers, a microSD slot, IR blaster, FM radio, NFC. It runs on the latest Android and MIUI versions.

The Mi 10T Lite 5G is a bit pricier than the Poco X3 NFC and that's why they are in different price categories.

The Realme 7 Pro price has dropped to €230 or so, and that's why we moved it here. Even if there is a newer Realme 8 Pro model, the Realme 7 Pro is, in fact, the better phone with more features (Realme does that, yes).

So, the Realme 7 Pro has a punchy AMOLED screen, capable chipset and quad-camera, as well as loud stereo speakers and impressive battery life with even more impressive fast charging. Sure, it doesn't come with an HRR screen, but it has plenty to make up for that.

If you are a fan of them Super AMOLEDs, the Samsung Galaxy A32 is a pretty viable option priced at around €220. 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.

The OnePlus Nord N10 5G is an interesting mid-ranger if you are keen on having access to 5G networks. The phone does offer a decent 90Hz screen and Snapdragon 690 5G chip, and does well with its quad-camera, especially at nighttime.

It also ticks some fan-favorite boxes as stereo speakers, a 3.5mm jack, and even a microSD slot. But its ultrawide camera isn't that good, there is no NFC, the fingerprint reader performance is a letdown, and it will be stuck on Android 11 forever. The Oxygen OS is rather smooth though and we love to work with it.

There is no better mid-ranger than the Redmi Note 10 Pro if your budget is around the €300 mark (MSRP of €279, but can be bought at €250 on Mi.com via promo offers). The phone offers excellent screen and camera quality, plus splash resistant glass design. Its chipset may not be the fastest, but it's up to par.

The Redmi Note 10 Pro 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.

If you are looking for the best mid-ranger at about €300, look no further.

The Redmi Note 10 Pro is available in India as Redmi Note 10 Pro Max.

The Galaxy A52 is a truly interesting offer. It is a water-proofed smartphone with one excellent AMOLED screen, 90Hz at that. The quad-camera on the back turned out pretty good, and we were impressed by its loud stereo speakers and dependable 4,500mAh battery (105h endurance rating).

The Snapdragon 720G isn't the fastest chip for the mid-rangers already and even if it does provide adequate performance, there are speedier phones out there. Yet, the IP67-rating and the great AMOLED are tough to match, and Samsung is promising a lot of future updates for this A52.

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G is a new entry in this category, one with a great AMOLED screen with 10-bit colors and 90Hz refresh rate. It impressed us with its camera quality across the board, the loud stereo speakers and the great battery life with fast charging.

The Snapdragon 732G chip is no longer as fast, though it will still get the job mostly well done. And that's probably the only caveat with this Mi 11 Lite - there are faster phones for the same cash. Yet, the Mi 11 Lite is super thin and lightweight (it's just 157g!), has one of the best screens and cameras, so if the flagship-like performance isn't what you are after, you could be very happy with this phone.

The OnePlus Nord CE 5G is an interesting mid-ranger with 5G, a good screen, snappy OS and excellent battery life, with nicely fast charging at that. It is a bit cheaper than the original Nord and that’s why it has made it to our regular mid-range chapter.

The ultrawide camera quality is not that good and there are no stereo speakers on this Nord. The missing ingress protection isn’t great either, as many competitors are offering at least splash resistance.

The Nord CE 5G is priced at €299 and with that good screen, fluid Oxygen OS and great battery life – it sure deserves a chance.

The Realme X50 5G has aged very well and it can now be bought for about €260 or so. It offers a responsive 120Hz display and fast Snapdragon 765G chip with 5G modem. Its quad-camera is promising, too.

The X50 5G omits any sorts of water protection, a 3.5mm jack, a microSD slot, and even stereo speakers, but it has quality on the cheap that are tough to find elsewhere. And it runs that Realme UI super smooth on that screen.