Budget
€0–€200
Published category bar
Smartphones (EU models with EU warranty)
This is the exact versioned market bar used by the deterministic engine. It defines what is mandatory, typical and above-class for each European price class.
- Version
- 2026.07-5
- Status
- Active
- Price classes
- 5
European price classes
Mid-range
€200–€400
Upper mid-range
€400–€650
Premium
€650–€900
Ultra-premium
€900+
The lowest documented European price selects the class. Within ±10% of a boundary, both neighbouring classes are calculated and the better result counts.
Mandatory category features
CE marking and radio equipment (RED) conformity for the model sold in the EU
Model intended for the EU market, supporting the cellular bands used in Europe (at least LTE band 20; for 5G devices at least one European 5G band such as n1, n3 or n78)
Publicly documented update commitment: the manufacturer states, for this model or model series, the number of years of security and OS updates
Expected features by price class
Budget
- Display with approx. 120 Hz refresh rate (FHD+, LCD or OLED)
- Battery approx. 5,000 mAh or more
- NFC for contactless payments (Google Wallet usable in the EU)
- 5G support
- Main camera with approx. 50 MP sensor resolution or more per datasheet
- Update commitment of approx. 4 years of security updates and at least approx. 2 OS upgrades
Mid-range
- OLED/AMOLED display with 120 Hz
- Approx. 8 GB RAM and approx. 256 GB storage
- Main camera with optical image stabilisation (OIS)
- IP protection rating against dust and water stated in the datasheet, at least approx. IP64
- Fast charging approx. 30 W or more
- Update commitment of approx. 5–6 years of security updates and approx. 3–4 OS upgrades
Upper mid-range
- Very bright 120 Hz OLED (peak brightness approx. 1,200 nits or more)
- Upper mid-range chipset or previous-generation flagship chip (e.g. previous-year Snapdragon 8 series or 8s, Dimensity 8000/9000 series, previous-year Tensor/A series)
- IP68 dust/water protection
- Telephoto camera with optical zoom or an equivalent OIS camera setup
- eSIM support and stereo speakers
- Update commitment of approx. 6 years of security updates and approx. 4 or more OS upgrades
Premium
- Current-generation flagship chipset
- LTPO OLED with adaptive refresh rate (up to 120 Hz), peak brightness approx. 2,000 nits or more
- Wireless charging (Qi)
- Triple camera with optical telephoto zoom
- Glass/aluminium build with IP68 or better
- Update commitment of approx. 6–7 years of OS and security updates
Ultra-premium
- Periscope telephoto zoom (approx. 5x optical) or premium special form factor (foldable)
- Generation-leading LTPO display (peak brightness approx. 3,000 nits)
- Wireless charging plus reverse wireless charging
- Titanium/ceramic frame or specially hardened protective glass
- Comprehensive on-device AI suite (assistant, photo editing, live translation)
- Update commitment of approx. 7 years of OS and security updates
Above-class bonus features
- Equipment clearly above class expectation (e.g. OLED/IP68/OIS in budget, telephoto or LTPO in mid-range)+4
- Update commitment clearly above class expectation (e.g. approx. 6+ years in budget, approx. 7+ years in mid-range)+4
- Documented monthly security patch cadence for this model (not merely quarterly or irregular)+2
- Large battery approx. 6,000 mAh or more (e.g. silicon-carbon technology)+3
- Very fast charging approx. 80 W or more+3
- Matching fast charger included in the box (no longer common EU-wide)+2
- Wireless charging below the premium class (budget to upper mid-range)+3
- Repairability class A or B on the EU energy label, or self-repair programme with original spare parts+4
- Battery and display individually orderable as original spare parts via EU channels, repair information publicly accessible+3
- EU energy label with energy efficiency class A or B (battery runtime per charge), EPREL entry publicly accessible+3
- Battery lifespan clearly above the EU minimum (approx. 1,400+ charge cycles per energy label/datasheet)+3
- Drop resistance class A on the EU energy label or MIL-STD ruggedness+2
- eSIM in addition to physical dual SIM in budget/mid-range+2
- 3.5 mm headphone jack and/or microSD expansion+2
Negative characteristics
- Update commitments documentedly broken, or updates repeatedly rolled out with extreme delays-5
- Ads in system apps / aggressive preinstalled bloatware without a full opt-out-4
- Core functions only usable with a manufacturer account or non-European cloud, without the privacy policy or datasheet naming EU data processing or a server choice (evidenced by the published privacy policy or a review)-5
- EU version clearly cut down versus the global version (less storage, slower charging, removed features) with no price advantage-3
- Repeatedly documented severe performance throttling or heat issues in everyday use-4
- Repeatedly documented severe warranty/service problems in the EU (handling, duration, cost disputes)-5