The 9 best affordable smartphones you can buy

The HTC U11 Life pulls off a neat little trick: it looks almost exactly like the flagship HTC U11 but costs about half the price.

There are some major ways it differs, of course. Rather than an all-glass back, it's made from a durable plastic, and its USB-C charging port is, oddly enough, off to one side rather than in the middle. But to an untrained eye, the U11 Life will look like its pricier older sibling.

The phone boasts a surprisingly great camera, a nifty solution to its missing headphone jack, and everything else you'd expect with the U11: decent battery life, squeeze-able sides called "Edge Sense," built-in Alexa, and a serviceable (if slightly bloated) version of Android.

The one downside is that it's only available in the US on select carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile.

As my colleague Tony Villas-Boas put it, the Moto E4 is perfect "for someone who just wants a smartphone." It's a bare-bones device that's almost shockingly cheap at $129.99 (or $159.99 for the Plus model).

The E4 comes in two finishes — licorice black and fine gold — and has a 5-inch display. It's also water repellant, has a fingerprint sensor, and decent battery life. That said, its camera is pretty mediocre, its display isn't as sharp as an iPhone or Galaxy device, and it can be a bit slow. But for $130, you get what you pay for.

For a more in-depth look, check out our full review of the Moto E4.

The Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom is a nondescript, aluminum-bodied phone that is a bit too big for one-handed use, and it only works with networks like AT&T and T-Mobile.

But it does have a headphone jack, a high-res 5.5-inch screen, a solid camera, and can last a full two days on a single charge, even with heavy use.

Check out our full review for more.

The Huawei Honor 8 is a bit dated at this point — it came out in August 2016 — but it's still a stunning phone. It has super-slim bezels, no camera bump, and a cool, light-reflecting finish that makes it seem high-end. It also has a beautiful display, it's nice and quick, and there's a dual camera on the back.

It does have some downsides: The beautiful glass body is very slippery, its battery life isn't very impressive, and the software is just so-so. Still, for $400 — or $355 on sale right now — it's a great pick.

Check out our in-depth review for more on the Honor 8.

The Moto X4 isn't going to take on the Galaxy S8, but it's a solid phone in its own right. It's waterproof, has Alexa built-in, plus a dual rear camera and a front-facing camera that, according to Lenovo, performs great in low light.

It comes in two colors: super black and sterling blue. Plus, you can get a deal on it right now — $349 compared to its usual price of $399.

At $350, the iPhone SE is surprisingly inexpensive for an iPhone, but it has a lot more going for it than just the price.

The iPhone SE is essentially an iPhone 6S inside the body of an iPhone 5S. The same chip that powers the iPhone SE also powers the iPhone 6S, as well as the most recent iPad. It can shoot 4K video and HDR photos, has a headphone jack, fits in the palm of your hand, and is still able to run the latest version of Apple's smartphone operating system, iOS 11.

Check out our full review for more, or read my colleague Ben Gilbert's breakdown of the reasons why you should choose the iPhone SE over any other iPhone.

The ZTE Blade V8 Pro isn't really anything special, but it has some nice perks. Its battery lasts even longer than the Moto G5 Plus, plus it has a large 5.5-inch screen and a nice dual-camera setup. The phone also has a grippy, rubber back that doesn't exactly feel premium, but will make it easier to hold.

The main selling points: The V8 Pro is a bit faster than some of its peers and costs only $139 on Amazon, right now compared to its usual price of $229.

Arguably the coolest part of the Huawei Honor 6X is its dual rear-camera setup. This lets you mess with the focus of your photos, similar to what you can do with Apple’s iPhone X, 8 Plus, and 7 Plus. It also tends to perform better in low-light settings than other similar phones.

There are a few downsides: The display is prone to smudging, and it also has outdated software that may contain a lot of features most people don't really need.

But the phone — which is already a great deal at $200 — is on sale for $150 right now, so you can't really go wrong.