I tortured myself for 2 weeks with the Trump Phone — here's 3 phones under $500 that are way better

(Image credit: John Velasco / Tom's Guide)

Spending just a single day with the Trump Phone T1 at a World Cup game wasn't enough to fully test it. That’s why I’ve been living with this $499 phone for over two weeks now, using it to try and capture Fourth of July fireworks and asking people what they thought about it.It’s no secret that I like the phone's $499 price tag because it certainly puts it in contention for a best cheap phone contender, but it needs more than a low starting price to prove it’s worth buying. Once I began to look beyond its lustrous design and actually compare it to other phones I’ve been testing, I soon realized its shortcomings and why it's actually overpriced.Instead, here are three phones under $500 I’ve tested that are way better than the Trump Phone T1.Trump Phone T1: specs comparisonSwipe to scroll horizontallyRow 0 - Cell 0 Trump Phone T1Google Pixel 10aTCL NxtPaper 70 ProSamsung Galaxy A37Starting Price$499$499 / £499 / AU$849$329$449Display6.78-inch AMOLED Screen, 120Hz6.3-inch Actua pOLED, 60-120Hz6.9-inch IPS LCD, 120Hz6.7-inch Super AMOLED, 120HzRear Cameras50MP main, 8MP ultrawide, 50MP telephoto with 2x zoom48MP (f/1.7) main, 13MP (f/2.2) ultrawide50MP main, 8MP ultrawide50MP main, 8MP ultrawide, 5MP macroFront Cameras50MP13MP (f/2.2)32MP12MPChipsetSnapdragon 7 Gen 3Tensor G4MediaTek Dimensity 7300Exynos 1480 RAM12GB8GB8GB6GBStorage512GB128GB, 256GB128GB128GBBattery5,000 mAh5,100 mAh5,200 mAh5,000 mAhCharging30W wired, 15W wireless30W wired, 10W wireless33W wired, no wireless45W wired, no wirelessDimensions6.58 x 2.95 x 0.35 inches6.1 x 2.9 x 0.4 inches6.67 x 3.15 x 0.31 inches6.41 x 3.08 x 0.29 inchesWeight5.9 ounces6.5 ounces7.3 ounces6.9 ouncesColorsGoldLavender, Berry, Fog, ObsidianBlue, GoldAwesome Lavender, Awesome CharcoalTCL NxtPaper 70 Pro