Best Android Phones Under $300 as of May 2018

• Best overall
• Best for navel-gazing
• Best for stock Android

Note: While the Moto G5S Plus is still a great option, the Moto G6 is on its way and may be worth waiting for.

Best overall

Moto G5S Plus

See at Motorola

The Moto G5 Plus was already one of our favorite phones in the sub-$300 price range, but the newer Moto G5S Plus (the ‘S’ stands for “Special Edition”) makes some small improvements that lead to an even better phone that still won’t break the bank.

With the Moto G5S Plus, you get terrific build quality, an eye-catching Blush Gold finish, and a dual camera system — on top of all the other benefits the Moto G5 Plus already included, like a large 1080p display, a fast fingerprint sensor, and the useful Moto Actions gestures. Better yet, if you can’t front the cost, Motorola offers financing through Affirm when you order from its online store.

Bottom line: The Moto G5S Plus offers great value for a phone under $300 and sets a new standard for powerful, inexpensive phones moving forward.

One more thing: Best Buy has the Moto G5S Plus for $40 off, so you can pick up our top recommendation for just $239.99.

Why the Moto G5S Plus is the best

In our review of the G5S Plus, we still recommended the standard Moto G5 Plus over the special edition because the difference in price didn’t quite justify the latter option’s minor improvements, but with Best Buy’s discounted price, it’s a different story.

The Moto G5S Plus has just about everything you could ask of a phone at this price. The design is attractive and well-built, the software is clean yet clever with the addition of Moto Actions and Moto Display, and the speaker sounds great. The best part? The Moto G5S Plus works on all U.S. carriers — yes, even Sprint and Verizon.

Best for navel-gazing

Honor 7X

See at Amazon

If you like a little pizazz, the Honor 7X is a great alternative to the Moto G5S Plus with a more modern design. Its 18:9 display is big and vibrant, and the dual cameras are some of the best in its price range. The Kirin 659 chipset keeps things running smoothly, and the 3,340mAh battery provides excellent longevity. Stock Android purists may not love its EMUI software, but the recent update to Android Oreo and EMUI 8.0 keeps it feeling modern.

Bottom line: The EMUI software isn’t for everyone, but at $200, the Honor 7X is a terrific phone with good camera performance, great battery life, and a more modern design than any other phone on this list.

One more thing: The Honor 7X is not compatible with the major CDMA networks in the U.S.

Best for stock Android

Nokia 6 (2018)

See at Amazon

At $269, the Nokia 6.1 (otherwise known as the 2018 Nokia 6) is the best way to get stock Android for cheap. It’s part of Nokia’s Android One lineup, combining unadulterated stock Android with an aluminum unibody design that feels far more premium than its pricetag would have you believe. The 5.5-inch 1080p LCD display looks fantastic, and it has one of the better cameras in its segment. On top of that, Nokia releases monthly security updates to keep its phones protected — a rarity for low-cost phones.

Bottom line: You’d be hard-pressed to find a better-made phone at this price point, and the regular software updates are icing on the cake.

One more thing: The Nokia 6.1 ships with Android 7.1.1 Nougat, though Nokia has said that an Oreo update is already in the works.

Best overall

Moto G5S Plus

See at Motorola

The Moto G5 Plus was already one of our favorite phones in the sub-$300 price range, but the newer Moto G5S Plus (the ‘S’ stands for “Special Edition”) makes some small improvements that lead to an even better phone that still won’t break the bank.

With the Moto G5S Plus, you get terrific build quality, an eye-catching Blush Gold finish, and a dual camera system — on top of all the other benefits the Moto G5 Plus already included, like a large 1080p display, a fast fingerprint sensor, and the useful Moto Actions gestures. Better yet, if you can’t front the cost, Motorola offers financing through Affirm when you order from its online store.

Bottom line: The Moto G5S Plus offers great value for a phone under $300 and sets a new standard for powerful, inexpensive phones moving forward.

One more thing: Best Buy has the Moto G5S Plus for $40 off, so you can pick up our top recommendation for just $239.99.

Update May 2018: Replaced last year’s Nokia 6 with the newer Nokia 6.1, and added a disclaimer about the upcoming Moto G6.

These are the Chromebooks that can run Android apps from Google Play

Android — and 1,000,000+ apps — on your Chromebook is awesome.

Not every Chromebook available today was released with Android app support out of the box — these need to be updated after the fact to add Google Play support. Many will be updated, but are in a long testing process.

We all hate waiting. And we all hate updates that break things. Google and the people who made your Chromebook are trying to make sure everything is good and keep the wait time to a minimum, but still — we all hate waiting!

Things are progressing. Here’s the current state of Android on Chromebooks and Chromeboxes.

Chromebooks with Android apps available in the stable channel

Make sure you have the latest version of Chrome and look in your settings if you don’t have a Play Store app. You can enable it there by checking the box.

Acer

• Acer Chromebook R11
• Acer Chromebook R13
• Acer Chromebook Spin 11
• Acer Chromebook 14 (CB3-431)
• Acer Chromebook 14 for Work
• Acer Chromebook 15 (CB3-532. CB5-571, C910)
• Acer Chromebook 11 N7 (C731, C731T)
• Acer Chromebook 11 (C771, C771T, C740)

AOpen

• AOpen Chromebox Mini
• AOpen Chromebase Mini

ASUS

• ASUS Chromebook Flip C100PA
• ASUS Chromebook Flip C101PA
• ASUS Chromebook Flip C213
• ASUS Chromebook Flip C302
• ASUS Chromebook C202SA
• ASUS Chromebook C300SA / C301SA

CTL

• CTL NL61 Chromebook
• CTL Chromebook J2 / J4
• CTL J5 Convertible Chromebook

Dell

• Dell Chromebook 11 (3180, 5190)
• Dell Chromebook 11 Convertible (3189, 5190)
• Dell Chromebook 13 (3380, 7310)

eduGear

• eduGear Chromebook M Series
• eduGear Chromebook K Series
• eduGear CMT Chromebook

Edxis

• Edxis Education Chromebook

Google

• Google Chromebook Pixel (2015)
• Google Pixelbook

Haier

• Haier Chromebook 11e
• Haier Chromebook 11 C
• HiSense Chromebook 11

HP

• HP Chromebook 11 G5
• HP Chromebook 11 G5 EE
• HP Chromebook 11 G6
• HP Chromebook x360 11 EE
• HP Chromebook 13 G1
• HP Chromebook 14 G5

Lenovo

• Lenovo Flex 11 Chromebook
• Lenovo N23 Chromebook
• Lenovo N23 Yoga Chromebook
• Lenovo IdeaPad N42 Chromebook
• Lenovo N22 Chromebook
• Lenovo N42 Chromebook
• Lenovo Thinkpad 11e Chromebook (Gen 3)
• Lenovo ThinkPad 11e Chromebook (Gen 4)
• Lenovo Thinkpad 11e Yoga Chromebook (Gen 4)
• Lenovo Thinkpad 13

Medion

• Medion Chromebook S2015

Mercer

• Mercer Chromebook NL6D

Multilaser

• Multilaser Chromebook M11C

NComputing

• NComputing Chromebook CX100

Nexian

• Nexian Chromebook 11.6″

PCMerge

• PCMerge Chromebook PCM-116E
• PCMerge Chromebook PCM-116T-432B

Poin2

• Poin2 Chromebook 11
• Poin2 Chromebook 14

Samsung

• Samsung Chromebook 3
• Samsung Chromebook Plus
• Samsung Chromebook Pro

Sector 5

• Sector 5 E1 Rugged Chromebook

Viglen

• Viglen Chromebook 11
• Viglen Chromebook 360

Chromebooks with Android support in the beta channel

You’ll need to switch to the beta channel to enable Android support. Further instructions on switching channels can be found here.

• Toshiba Chromebook 2 (2015)

Chrome devices that will be supported sometime in the future

These are the devices that will officially be updated to use Google Play. There is no word on when to expect the update, only that they will be supported.

Acer

• Chromebook 11 CB3-111 / C730 / C730E / CB3-131
• Chromebook 15 (CB3-531)
• Chromebox CXI2
• Chromebase 24

AOpen

• Chromebox Commercial
• Chromebase Commercial

Asus

• Chromebook C200
• Chromebook C201PA
• Chromebook C300
• Chromebox CN62
• Chromebit CS10

Bobicus

• Chromebook 11

CTL

• N6 Education Chromebook

Dell

• Chromebook 11 3120

Edxis

• Chromebook

Haier

• Chromebook 11
• Chromebook 11 G2

Hexa

• Chromebook Pi

Lava

• Xolo Chromebook

HP

• Chromebook 11 G3 / G4 / G4 EE
• Chromebook 14 G4

Lenovo

• 100S Chromebook
• N20 / N20P Chromebook
• N21 Chromebook
• ThinkCentre Chromebox
• Thinkpad 11e Chromebook Gen 2
• Thinkpad 11e Yoga Chromebook

Medion

• Akoya S2013

M&A

• Chromebook

Samsung

• Chromebook 2 11″ – XE500C12

Senkatel

• C1101 Chromebook

Toshiba

• Chromebook 2

True IDC

• Chromebook 11

Updated April 2018: Updated as models move from planned to stable.

We will continue to monitor the list and add any new Chromebooks that Google notes will support the feature.

Chromebooks

• The best Chromebooks
• Chromebooks in education: Everything you need to know
• Should you buy a Chromebook?
• Chromebook Buyers Guide
• Google Pixelbook review
• Join our Chromebook forums

Amazon launches kid-focused Prime Book Box subscription

Get 2 or 4 handpicked books for $23 per box.

Although Amazon Prime may be getting more expensive for subscribers over the coming month, the online shopping giant just announced a new perk for its members to hopefully ease the pain of the higher yearly fee. Prime Book Box is the name of that new perk, and it’s a subscription box that delivers children’s books right to your doorstep.

For $22.99 per box, Prime members can choose to receive 2 hardcover books or 4 board books every one, two, or three months. Amazon notes that you can save up to 35% on the cost of the books compared to buying them normally and notes that it “provides the best value on books sold by Amazon.com.”

After signing up for the service, you’ll create a profile for your child to ensure they get the books best suited for them. Books you’re offered are based on your kid’s age, and all of the titles are handpicked by Amazon Books editors. If you don’t like the books included by default, you can swap them out from a short list of other options for that month.

In addition to being exclusive for Prime subscribers, Prime Book Box currently requires an invitation to join. The service should be available for all Prime users later this year, but in the meantime, you can request your invitation via the button below.

See at Amazon

Are the Galaxy S9-style stereo speakers better than front-facing speakers?

They might not sound quite as good, but they’re less intrusive to the phone’s overall design.

Built-in audio has never been a particularly strong suit for most phones. Manufacturers are usually happy to just drill a couple of holes into the bottom of their devices and call it a day, but the end result is usually a tinny, thin-sounding speaker that’ll leave you connecting to headphones or Bluetooth speakers more often than not.

Every once in a while, though, we see a phone that actually makes onboard audio a priority. HTC is probably best-known for this, putting a big focus on its front-facing BoomSound speakers when it launched the legendary One M7. Since then, a number of other companies have tried their hand at front-firing speakers, but eventually even HTC gave up on the idea, because it just gets in the way of a beautiful design.

They’re both better than a mono speaker grill, but one boasts superior audio while the other saves room for design.

The HTC 10, along with the newer U11 and U11+, forego the dual front-firing speakers and instead opt for a combination of the earpiece speaker and a speaker grill along the bottom edge. Apple lifted this layout starting with the iPhone 7, and most recently, Samsung has started doing the same with its Galaxy S9 and S9+ — but why has this become the new norm?

This stereo speaker configuration makes a lot of sense from a design perspective. Nearly every phone is built with these two components in mind (save for a few devices with oddities like bone conduction), so there’s nothing to change as far as the outward appearance goes. The same can’t be said about the dual front-facing speaker layout, which is becoming increasingly less viable as the market shifts towards bezel-less phones with taller aspect ratio displays.

Imagine a phone with front-facing speakers and a notch. Once you’re done screaming and swearing, you’ll get an idea of why the stereo speaker configuration is becoming so popular lately; it doesn’t get in the way of any modern design trends, and most people aren’t buying their phones based off of speaker choices anyway. If you want small bezels, you’re going to have to live without front-facing speakers — or, in the case of the Pixel 2 XL, get both in exchange for a huge chassis, because internals still have to go somewhere.

I’m personally a big fan of the newer dual speaker design. I love the utility of a big screen, but I still want a phone that fits comfortably in my hand and pocket, so a phone with minimal bezels is ideal. That’s why I carry phones like the Galaxy S9 and iPhone X — both of which utilize the earpiece/speaker grill combo. Sure, it isn’t as loud or full-sounding as a pair of true front-firing speakers, but it’s still a hell of a lot better than something like the Galaxy S8, and I don’t mind connecting to my Bluetooth headphones when I really need better audio.

What’s your take? Do you, like me, favor the speaker combination implemented on newer phones like the Galaxy S9, or do you long for the days of BoomSound? Let us know in the comments below!

Prepay for one month of DIRECTV NOW and score a complimentary Roku Streaming Stick

A new offer worthy of your time.

DIRECTV NOW is back with another great promotion on some streaming hardware, this time offering a Roku Streaming Stick at no additional cost when you prepay for one month of service. This steaming device normally sells for close to $50, but with this offer you can get it for just $35 with a month of access to DIRECTV NOW.

You will need to be a new customer to take advantage of this offer and the Roku Streaming Stick will be shipped to you via FedEx within 1 to 2 weeks from the time you sign up. Simply click the “Redeem & Stream” button on the page to get yourself started.

How to sign up for DIRECTV NOW

DIRECTV NOW does automatically bill each month, so if you only want to do the required two months for this promotion, be sure to cancel the renewal once you complete the checkout process. If you’d prefer an Apple TV 4K, you can get one for no cost when you prepay for three months of service.

See at DIRECTV NOW

Google I/O 2017 report card: Successes, failures and no-shows

Has Google made good on the promises from last year?

Google’s annual developer keynote is a fantastic spectacle. New things are announced every couple of minutes, ranging from developer tools to new apps to hardware you can purchase moments after seeing it for the first time. It’s a lot of fun, but with so many ideas flying your way it can be easy to forget what actually launched successfully and what hasn’t yet come to pass.

This video serves as a quick glance at the things we saw at IO last year, and what became of the announcements from that event. Be sure to drop a note in the comments if you find something we missed!

Facebook is moving Groups into the spotlight

At the Facebook Developers conference today in San Jose, California, Chris Cox noted that the use of Groups is on pace to outgrow the main Facebook experience itself, with 1.4 billion users currently. Cox revealed that Facebook has been working with leaders of large, one-million-plus groups to help admin better serve these intentional communities. Facebook is rolling out a new Groups tab that will help you navigate to your existing groups, interact with content there and eventually join new groups.

Cox mentioned Females in Nigeria, a one million plus strong group headed up by former Nigerian journalist Lola Omalola, and Physician Mom’s group, a Facebook community of mothers who are also doctors. Facebook sat down with these and other group administrators to find out how to make things better for them and their members.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from F8 2018!

Source: Facebook

Facebook teases simplified Messenger redesign

Facebook didn’t announce Messenger Lite for iOS today, but the social network did reveal a redesign for the app. Specifically, a cleaner interface that’s faster and, well, a little lighter and simpler too. Hopefully that means the camera app will get an upgrade too, especially with the augmented reality features Facebook is grafting on. Facebook says soon you’ll be able to share 4K photos and 360 degree video, too, in addition to everyone having access to translation. The app has grown to support 300,000 chatbots, and some 8 billion messages are sent every month.

From the looks of it, Messenger will eventually resemble an iMessage window of open conversations, cutting back on clutter like the camera and games tabs. It’s been in the works since beginning this year, and the company said the redesign will be be out very soon.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from F8 2018!

Instagram will filter out bullying comments

At the F8 conference today, it was announced that Instagram will filter out bullying comments from posts, starting today. This includes anything “intended to harass or upset people in our community,” the platform’s CEO said in a post. Doing this will ensure Instagram remains “an inclusive, supportive place for all voices,” he wrote.

From our CEO @kevin: “Starting today, Instagram will filter bullying comments intended to harass or upset people in our community. To be clear: we don’t tolerate bullying on Instagram. Our Community Guidelines have always prohibited bullying on our platform, and I’m proud to announce this next step in our ongoing commitment to keeping Instagram an inclusive, supportive place for all voices. We also believe in promoting kindness — encouraging our community to support one another both on and off Instagram. On Saturday we will host a Kindness Prom to celebrate people on our platform who are spreading positivity. These young leaders are inspiring their peers by helping kindness, acceptance and support grow on Instagram and in the world. Since Mike and I founded Instagram, it’s been our goal to make it a safe place for self-expression and to foster kindness within the community. This update is just the next step in our mission to deliver on that promise.” Check out the link in our bio to learn more about this update. Photo by @runnerkimhall

A post shared by Instagram (@instagram) on May 1, 2018 at 10:31am PDT

This is a more forceful attempt to rid Instagram of negative interactions than their earlier efforts to clean up the platform. Back in September 2016, they enabled users to create filters for blocking content featuring certain words — a potentially effective but laborious method that put the onus on the user. Last year, they introduced another to block offensive comments, but it was aimed to protect users from frequently-targeted groups.

The new bullying filter hides any comments on “a person’s appearance or character, as well as threats to a person’s well-being or health,” according to Instagram. It’s enabled by default to automatically comb content, but can be turned off in the Comment Controls. Either way, the filter will still detect and flag bullying content for official review.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from F8 2018!

Source: Instagram blog, Instagram

Nintendo faces Switch patent infringement investigation in the US

Nintendo is under investigation by the US International Trade Commission, and the fate of the Switch hangs in the balance. Gamevice, the company behind the Wikipad and a line of snap-on controllers for mobile devices, says the Nintendo Switch violates its patents on attachable handheld gamepads and their related accessories. Alleging violations of the Tariff Act of 1930, Gamevice is requesting a cease and desist order against Nintendo, a move that would halt imports of the Switch into the US.

The USITC notes that while its investigation has begun, it hasn’t ruled on the validity of the complaint. The commission will hold an evidentiary hearing to determine whether Nintendo is in violation of the Tariff Act, with a final decision “at the earliest practicable time.” The USITC will announce a target date for the end of the investigation within 45 days.

“The products at issue in the investigation are controller systems with parts that attach to two sides of an electronic device, such as a smartphone or tablet, and the parts fit into a user’s hands and have gaming controls,” the USITC’s announcement reads.

Nintendo declined to comment on the investigation. We’ve reached out to Gamevice and will update this story as we hear back.

This isn’t the first time Gamevice and Nintendo have gone head-to-head over the Switch. In August, Gamevice sued Nintendo for violating its Wikipad patents with the Switch, but that lawsuit was dropped in October.

For the record, Gamevice doesn’t hold a patent on cardboard-based video game accessories. Nintendo’s grip on that market is secure, at least.

Via: CNET

Source: USITC