Best Smartphones Under $400 – January 2026

Its a fact that mobile phones are getting more expensive by the day. But there is some good news. The best phones under $400 right now are shockingly good. You can get a bright screen, a fine camera, and a fast phone without a huge bill. This list is for the smart buyer. We will look at five great phones you can buy this month. We will tell you what makes each one stand out, using the facts from their specs. Let us find you a great phone.

This phone wins on two fronts: how it is built and how long it will serve you. First, the build. It is very slim and light at just 159g. It has a top water and dust rating (IP68 + IP69) and meets a tough military grade test (MIL-STD-810H). This means it can handle real life.

Second, the promise. It runs Android 16. Motorola says you will get three more big Android updates and four years of safety patches. Your phone stays new and safe.

In front of this device, there is a 6.7-inch display which supports 120Hz refresh rate. This means that its scrolling will be smooth. Under the hood, this device runs on the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 SoC coupled with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. In the camera department, it uses a dual 50MP sensor which the company claims can capture 4K videos. To keep its lights on, there is a decent 5000 mAh battery which supports 68W wired charging and 15W wireless charging which is quite low.

The name says it all. The Honor Power 2 has a 10080mAh battery. Let that sink in. It is over twice the size of a normal phone battery. You will get days of use, not hours. It charges fast at 80W and can even charge another device at 27W through a cable—you can be a power bank for a friend.

But it is not just a big battery. It has a 6.79-inch 120Hz screen that gets very bright (1800 nits). To make things even more exciting, it uses a Dimensity 8500 Elite chip with 12GB of RAM, so it feels super quick, like lightning. It also has a crazy High dust/water rating (IP69K, IP69, IP68, IP66). But, I would not immerse this device in water if I were you. Why? because I just don't trust these ratings. Maybe its because of a bad experience i've had in the past

The 50MP main camera has OIS for steady shots. If your main worry is "will my phone die today?" this is your answer.

If you love pictures or videos, you've got to check out the camera on this thing—it's got a massive 200MP main shooter, a 50MP ultra-wide for those big group shots or landscapes, and get this: a 50MP periscope lens that gives you a real 3.5X optical zoom. It's like having a pro camera kit in your pocket.

This triple-threat camera setup is unheard of under $400. The periscope lens lets you zoom in far and keep detail. For anyone who loves to take photos, this is the phone.

The rest of the phone is strong, too. You can get the OPPO Reno 15 with up to 16GB of RAM and a huge 1TB of storage, all paired with a bright and eye-friendly 6.32-inch 120Hz screen, a large 6200mAh battery with 80W charging, and robust protection from dust and water (IP66/68/69). This phone puts its money where the camera is.

This phone is different. It runs a clean, simple version of Android (Nothing OS 3.5 on Android 15). It does not have loads of extra apps you do not want. Its 6.77-inch 120Hz AMOLED screen is smooth and good for your eyes.

It also gives you a choice others do not: a microSD card slot. You can add up to 2TB more space. The 50MP main camera is good for daily shots, and the 5000mAh battery is solid. Its water rating (IP54) is basic, just for splashes. This phone is not about the highest specs. It is for the person who wants a clean, simple, and unique phone that works well.

The Realme 16 Pro 5G wants to wow you with its display, as its 6.8-inch OLED screen not only has a super-fast 144Hz refresh rate for ultra-smooth motion but also gets incredibly bright with up to 6500 nits peak. You will see it clearly in any light. It uses special tech to be very easy on your eyes during long use.

It pairs this great screen with other strong specs. It has the same 200MP main camera as the OPPO for super detailed shots. It has a massive 7000mAh battery with 80W fast charging. It is well protected from dust and water (IP66/68/69/69K). This phone has no weak spot. It is the "do everything well" pick.

Above, we have five pretty recent phones that are excellent in specific aspects of their operation. The final choice is left to you. If your problem has always been power, would you leave the 10,080 mAh Honor Power 2 for some other phone? If you are a camera freak, then your best bet will be the 200MP OPPO Reno 15 or the Realme 16 Pro 5G.

So, if your pocket is not deep enough for the flagship phones, you have no choice but to settle for one of these. With less than $400, you can snap up any of these mobile phones, at least the base models. Because some of these devices are very new, they may not be readily available on the shelves for purchase.

A couple of pretty good mobile phones will launch in the next few months. Some of them have already arrived. We have the Redmi Turbo 5 Max which was launched just a few days ago and it falls within this price. However, since there are no real reviews for this device, we can not include it on this list.