The 6 Best Basic Cell Phones of 2021

Best Overall: Plum Ram 7 E700blk

View On Amazon

In reality, the Plum Ram 7 E700 isn’t that basic of a phone. Its bells and whistles make it the cream of the crop, among other basic phones. For example, the Ram 7 has a sizeable 2.4-inch display with a 320 x 240 resolution, a 5MP back camera, a 2MP selfie camera, a 460MHz processor, and 64MB of RAM. Suppose the standard amount of RAM isn’t enough for storing your pictures, videos, and music. In that case, the incorporated SD card slot allows users to add more storage to save memories and media.

Users have plenty of time to enjoy the phone’s many features, as the 1,700mAh battery delivers a full day of use. With the Ram 7, users can enjoy 24 hours of talk time or 900 hours of standby time. Unlike the modern iPhone and Android smartphones, the Ram 7 can last weeks between full charges.

The cell phone's rugged design can endure almost anything you can throw at it. Unlike most smartphones with big glass screens and fancy cameras, the Ram 7 is IP68 certified for water and dust resistance, military-grade shockproof, and scratch-resistant. The phone can withstand extreme elements including rain, snow, and wind.

Specifically, the Ram 7 can stay submerged in up to 2 feet of water for up to 30 minutes without issue and can also survive extreme drops unscathed. Whether you enjoy the outdoors or are constantly on the go, the Ram 7 is perfect for travelers as it offers dual SIM capabilities.

_{Screen Size: 2.4 inches | Resolution: 320 x 240 | Processor: 460MHz | Camera: 5MP, 2MP | Battery Life: 24 hours} 

Best for Verizon: Kyocera DuraXV Extreme E4810

View On Amazon View On Walmart View On EBay

While Verizon has plenty of options for smartphones, it’s surprising that the carrier provides several options for basic cell phones as well. For Verizon customers, the Kyocera DuraXV Extreme E4810 cell phone checks all the boxes for a quality basic phone. 

One of the most impressive characteristics of the DuraXV Extreme is its resilience. Kyocera opted to use a traditional clamshell design to protect the phone. The DUraXV Extreme’s military standard protection can tolerate almost everything you or the elements throw at it. This level of protection acts as a shield against dust, shock, vibration, temperature extremes, rainstorms, low pressure, solar radiation, salt fog, humidity, snow, freezing rain, and more.

The phone is even certified for use in Class I, Division 2 hazardous locations, suggesting that the DuraXV Extreme is guaranteed to be safe in many industrial areas where flammable gases may be present in smaller concentrations. The phone is also safe if dropped from up to 5 feet onto solid concrete or dropped into 6.5 feet of water for up to 30 minutes. 

Even with the DuraXV Extreme’s ruggedness, it takes crisp pictures and videos with the incorporated 5MP auto-focus camera with an LED flash and video recording capabilities. If you’re hard of hearing or you frequent noisy environments, you’ll appreciate the phone’s speakerphone, as it’s one of the loudest on the market thanks to the 100dB+ front-facing speakers.

The DuraXV Extreme can serve as an LTE mobile hotspot for up to 10 other devices. But be careful when acting as a hotspot or otherwise using your phone, as the 1,770mAh battery affords a battery of life of under 10 hours. Fortunately, the DuraXV Extreme’s 1.2GHz processor allows you to navigate from task to task quickly.

_{Screen Size: N/A | Resolution: N/A | Processor: 1.2GHz | Camera: 5MP | Battery Life: 9.5 hours}

Best for T-Mobile: Alcatel Go Flip 3

View On T-mobile.com

Although the Alcatel Go Flip 3 is the only basic cell phone sold on T-Mobile, the Go Flip 3 has decent specs and features. As a part of the T-Mobile network, the Go Flip 3 operates on the carrier's 4G and 4G LTE network. The phone’s network capability is considerably more impressive than the 3G networks that most basic cell phones are limited to.

Furthermore, the Go Flip 3 has dual-band Wi-Fi, VoLTE, and Bluetooth 4.2. For music lovers, you have the option to use wired or wireless headphones for music playback as the phone includes a 3.5mm audio jack.

The Go Flip 3 includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of internal memory. Luckily, you can expand the storage to 32GB, depending on your needs. Like most other basic phones, the Go Flip 3 has a screen size of almost 3 inches, a resolution of 320 x 240, and a 2MP camera.

Perhaps most interestingly, the phone supports Google Assistant, allows web browsing, and can handle email and calendar appointments. Consequently, the Go Flip 3 provides essential smartphone features without making it too complicated for users. Moreover, you’ll be able to use the phone’s basic and smartphone features for a full day, as the Go Flip 3 has a battery life of 7.9 hours of talk time.

_{Screen Size: 2.8 inches | Resolution: 320 x 240 | Processor: 1.1GHz | Camera: 2MP | Battery Life: 7.9 hours}

Best for Texting: ZTE Altair 2 Z432

2.8

View On Amazon View On EBay

If you’re not much of a talker and would rather text instead, the ZTE Altair 2 Z432 is the phone for you. Mainly using your phone for texting doesn’t require a more expensive, complicated smartphone when you have a basic phone like the ZTE Altair 2 on the market.

The AT&T network phone comes equipped with a full QWERTY keyboard, making it easy to text your friends and family. Some would argue that using the QWERTY keyboard is even easier than using a touchscreen. With the Altair 2’s 2.4-inch display with a 320 x 240 resolution, there’s plenty of room to read incoming texts, navigate menus, and screen the caller ID for incoming calls.

The phone’s design closely resembles the more traditional Blackberry PDAs of 2 decades ago. Unlike the earliest Blackberry models, the Altair 2 is slim and compact enough to fit into a shirt or jeans pocket when not in use. When tucked away on your body or purse, you can lock the keyboard to avoid pocket dialing or texting.

The ZTE Altair 2 also includes a built-in MP3 player, GPS, 2MP camera, 460Hz processor, and Bluetooth connectivity. The phone has only 14MB of internal storage, but you can add a 32GB card to store more of your favorite photos and songs.

One of the less impressive features is the Altair 2’s battery life for anything other than texting. For example, the battery supports only up to four hours of talk time. On the flip side, the Altair 2 grants a staggering 240 hours of standby time. The phone is a device designed more for texting than talking.

_{Screen Size: 2.4 inches | Resolution: 320 x 240 | Processor: 460MHz | Camera: 2MP | Battery Life: 4.5 hours}

Best for Seniors: Easyfone Prime A1

View On Amazon View On EBay View On Sears.com

While some seniors are tech-savvy enough to enjoy the latest smartphones, the Easyfone A1 will appeal to the rest—the rest being seniors who just need a simple phone to make and receive phone calls from their children, grandchildren, and other family members. 

As the name suggests, the Easyfone A1 was designed to be one of the simplest basic cell phones on the planet. In particular, the phone boasts features such as sizable, easily readable text and menus, and larger buttons clearly designed with older users or those with poor vision in mind. The Easyfone A1 even includes a hearing aid compatibility mode to avoid the potential for electronic feedback while talking on the phone.

While the phone is easy to use, its use is limited as the Easyfone A1 isn’t compatible with major cellular networks. However, since the phone doesn’t come with a SIM card, you can use any available compatible network.

To further highlight its ease of use, the phone has an eternal screen so users can check the date, time, and ID of incoming calls and texts at a glance without needing to open the phone. In an emergency, the Easyfone A1 has an SOS calling feature that will rapidly dial up to five contacts.

The phone even features storage for critical personal and medical information that first responders can access. For day-to-day use, users don’t have to worry about charging the phone much as the Easyfone A1 has a battery of life of almost an entire day. 

_{Screen Size: 2.4 inches | Resolution: 320 x 240 | Processor: 460MHz | Camera: 2MP | Battery Life: 22 hours}