Top performance at a fair price: Top smartphones up to 750 euros Spend 1200 euros or more on a smartphone? That doesn’t have to be the case – without having to do without cutting-edge technology. TechStage shows the best sub-flagships. 8:00 p.m. tech stage

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top performance at a fair price top smartphones up to.jpeg
top performance at a fair price top smartphones up to.jpeg

Spend 1200 euros or more for a smartphone? That doesn’t have to be the case – without having to do without cutting-edge technology. We show the best sub-flagships up to 750 euros.

In extreme cases, modern smartphones can scratch the RRP of 2000 euros – that’s an incredible amount of money for an object that is already outdated after a few years. But there are alternatives that do not have to do without a lot of technology compared to such expensive high-end models and that are significantly cheaper at a maximum of 750 euros. But the selection here is not yet large – or you have to make more concessions. We show what such a sub-flagship should be able to do and name the ten best high-end alternatives.

120 Hz and OLED technology are mandatory for the display, and some models even offer 144 Hz. Ideally, such screens not only show fixed values ​​such as 60 and 120 Hz, but also adapt as freely as possible to the displayed content. 1 Hz can be sufficient when looking at a photo, but the smartphone has to clock up again independently for video games or scrolling. This is the only way to ensure an optimal compromise between power consumption and smooth display of content. But not all smartphones up to 750 euros offer that.

A major difference between the top models and the mid-range is the camera layout and the image quality. A top model today must have at least a main, wide-angle and telephoto lens. The main and telephoto cameras should also be stabilized using optical image stabilization (OIS). While the image quality of the models mentioned in this top 10 is actually quite good and in many cases comes close to the extremely expensive top models, at least in daylight, the situation is different when it comes to the camera design. Not all models meet the above-mentioned trio of lenses as the minimum requirement for a top model. Anyone who values ​​the camera should therefore choose one of the top-ranked models.

Wifi-6, NFC and 5G are set in this price range, but unfortunately Wifi-6E and USB 3.X are not always available. This also applies to other high-end features such as wireless charging and IP certification. Interested parties must take a very close look here. The technical features in particular often depend on the built-in chipset. Android 12 should be currently set.

The absolute high-end models inevitably come onto the market with the current top chipset. In this version of the leaderboard, that’s Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Mediatek and Samsung cannot quite keep up due to the lack of the latest version. In terms of performance, they are more at the level of Qualcomm’s predecessor from 2021, the Snapdragon 888. But that doesn’t matter for a sub-flagship, because the differences are actually noticeable in the grandiose performance only in benchmarks. Smartphones with chips like the Mediatek Dimensity 8100 or Exynos 2200 should not be spurned up to 750 euros. The Apple A15 Bionic is also at the top in terms of performance, but iPhones do not appear in our list of the best up to 750 euros for another reason.

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The absolute top models today easily offer 12 GB of RAM and up to 1 TB of internal memory. The RAM doesn’t look bad in this list of the best, 12 GB are definitely available here. It’s different when it comes to memory, with 256 GB up to 750 euros – but that’s not a broken leg in our eyes. We see 8/128 GB as the minimum quantity in this price range, but most users should actually get by with 6/128 GB.

Of course, no statement can be made about the battery performance based on the mAh number, but it should tend to be in the direction of 5000 mAh. Top models also offer wireless charging via the Qi standard (also in the opposite direction) and can now be fully recharged within a few minutes thanks to 150 watts and more. However, this is rare up to 750 euros and we have placed more value on wireless charging as a “luxury feature” than on particularly fast charging.

None of the models listed in this top 10 comes close to a real top model in all areas, but in our opinion the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (test report) comes closest as an overall package. It offers a great OLED display with 120 Hz, a good camera with a telephoto lens, USB 3.2, the still very fast Snapdragon 888 from last year and sufficient memory with 8/256 GB. There is also a 4500 mAh battery with wireless charging and an IP 68 certification. Savings tip: If you get by with 6/128 GB of memory, the price is even just under 500 euros – we would grab it here!

Second place also goes to Samsung – namely to the Samsung Galaxy S22 (test report) . A slightly smaller display is used here, but it also offers 120 Hz and OLED technology. The camera of the S22 also has a telephoto lens with OIS and even the higher-resolution main camera. USB C 3.2 is at the start again, an Exynos 2200 is used as the drive. You currently only get 8/128 GB of memory, if you want 8/256 you end up at around 765 euros at the time of this article. The battery is weaker than the S21 FE at only 3700 mAh, but wireless charging and IP certification are included again.

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The Oppo Find X5 (test report) also has 120 Hz and OLED and an optical telephoto lens, which is not stabilized via OIS. Wifi-6E is already on board and thanks to the Snapdragon 888 there is a lot of steam. 8/256 GB are easy to get for less than 750 euros and the battery is not only sufficiently large with 4800 mAh and also charges wirelessly, but also quite quickly with a full 80 watts. Unfortunately, there is no IP certification.

The Motorola Edge 30 Pro (test report) even offers 144 Hz and OLED, unfortunately the manufacturer does not use a telephoto lens. The front camera with 60 megapixels offers a particularly high resolution. USB 3.1 and Wifi-6E are included, and as in the absolute top models, a lightning-fast Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 with a full 12/256 GB of memory serves as the drive. The Motorola Edge 30 Pro also offers wireless charging with its 4800 mAh battery and fast charging with 68 watts, plus an IP52 certification.

The Xiaomi 12 (test report) also has OLED and 120 Hz, but unfortunately the camera does not have a telephoto lens. The ranks of the USB 2.0 group also begin from this 5th place, which we think is a pity – USB 3.X should slowly prevail from the middle class upwards. In terms of performance, the Xiaomi model is again at the top thanks to Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, even if the memory is “only” 8/256 GB. The 4500 mAh battery not only charges very quickly with 67 watts, but also wirelessly – even with a proud 50 watts.

The Realme GT 2 Pro (test report) not only offers a special back made from recycled paper and biopolymers, but also a lot technically. The OLED display shows variable 1-120 Hz with a sampling rate of a full 1000 Hz, the camera is designed much more conventionally with a main and wide-angle lens. The Realme model does not have to hide when it comes to sheer power, it is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 with 12/256 GB of memory. The battery has a capacity of 5000 mAh and charges with 65 watts, there is no wireless charging.

At 6.67 inches, the OLED screen of the Poco F4 GT is one of the largest in this list, of course it displays 120 Hz. The camera has 64 megapixels plus wide angle, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 ensures maximum power. There is a full 12/256 GB of memory for less than 750 euros and the 4700 mAh battery can be charged extremely quickly with 120 watts. The same applies here: If you manage with 8/128 GB of memory, you save money and hardly have to spend more than 500 euros.

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With the Realme GT Neo 3 150W there are few changes to the “normal” Neo 3 (test report) – one of them is in the name. Otherwise there are 6.7 inches with 120 Hz and OLED, the fast Mediatek Dimensity 8100 as the drive, which together with 12/256 GB has a similar amount of power as a Snapdragon 888. The 4500 mAh battery charges with lightning-fast 150 watts – it doesn’t get much faster at the moment.

In ninth place for us, the Xiaomi Black Shark 5 gaming smartphone is currently charging. Here again, an OLED display with 144 Hz is used, the sampling rate is a strong 720 Hz. The camera, with its main and wide-angle lenses, is not the focus of the Development, the power of the Snapdragon 870 with 12/256 GB of memory offers a good compromise between performance and runtime. A battery with 4650 mAh and fast charging speed of 120 watts should take care of the latter. As a gaming smartphone, the model also has additional shoulder buttons. The same applies again: Smaller memory saves money – it’s around 100 euros here.

The Oneplus 10T makes it into our top 10 as one of the newest models. Due to the short market availability, unfortunately only the version with 8/128 GB of memory is available for less than 750 euros. The drive is again a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and the battery with its 4800 mAh charges again with a full 150 watts.

If you take it very seriously, then none of the models mentioned is a full replacement for a 1500 euro smartphone. But honestly, that would be weird, wouldn’t it? But there are models that do the same as a top model in some areas – such as chipset and memory. And there are models like the first three of the top 10, which as a whole are hardly worse than a much more expensive top model – even if they are of course at a disadvantage in detail. If you then put this partially weaker performance in relation to the price, such devices are even better placed than the expensive top devices from a neutral point of view. So it depends on the viewing angle – the smartphones in this top 10 do not offer absolute best performance in all respects,

If you still haven’t found what you’re looking for here, you should take a look at our top 10 best smartphones of 2022 . Our best lists of smartphones up to 400 euros and up to 500 euros provide a lot of performance for less money .