We’re still haunted by the ghosts of cheap Android phones past—the stuttering, plastic devices that felt like a punishment. But that era is definitively over. The quietest and most meaningful revolution in personal technology has been the rise of the astonishingly competent cheap Android phone. It is no longer a device of compromise, but a symbol of liberation from the expensive, unnecessary flagship cycle, proving that for most of us, “good enough” is now more than enough.

Choosing a new smartphone can be tough. You might wonder if an…