The best smartphones under $300

[The Morning After]( It's Friday, March 15, 2024. Aside from who’d win in a fight between Elon Musk and the ghost of Steve Jobs, the question I’m asked most is how to find the best budget-friendly smartphone. [[TMA] Samsung]( As an insufferable early adopter/power user, I’m used to spending $1,000-plus on my daily addiction, but you don’t have to get a great capable phone in 2024. This time around, our top picks cost between $100 and $300, so we truly mean [cheap](. (In fact, our picks undercut [my go-to recommendation]( of the Pixel 7A, which is hovering above $400.) [Take a look at our guide]( which includes devices from OnePlus, Samsung and Moto. — Mat Smith The biggest stories you might have missed [Where to recycle your used and unwanted gadgets]( [The Steam spring sale is here to raid your wallet]( [Unicorn Overlord is a must-play for tactics fans]( ​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. [Subscribe right here!]( [No more Pornhub for Texas]( The parent company blocked access to all its other adult entertainment websites. You’ll have to get your kicks elsewhere, Texas. Pornhub is now inaccessible in the state, after the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled Texas can enforce its age-verification regulations for porn websites. If you try, you’ll be met with a message: “Dear user, as you may know, your elected officials in Texas are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website.” As you might have guessed, Texas now tops the list of states for VPN searches as its residents look for a workaround to access their favorite adult content. [Continue reading.]( [Google I/O 2024 takes place on May 14]( What’s next for Android and the company’s AI products. [[TMA] Google]( Google revealed the date for this year’s I/O conference in really annoying fashion. It asked folks to complete a tedious logic puzzle. Once enough people finished all 15 levels and got a marble to its destination repeatedly, they got the date. The keynote will give us a look at upcoming Pixel and Android features — and maybe a bit of hardware. Please? [Continue reading.]( [SpaceX’s third Starship test launch takes off successfully]( Next, the company plans to test relighting its Raptor engine in space. [[TMA] SpaceX]( The third time’s the charm as SpaceX attempted another test of its Starship rocket. The Starship launched at 9:25AM ET on Thursday morning. Shortly after launch, it completed the hot-staging separation from its Super Heavy Booster, and the Starship successfully ignited the second-stage Raptor engines. While SpaceX said both the booster and Starship were going to return to Earth at “terminal velocity,” thus making any recovery of them impossible, it looks like Starship didn’t make it to splashdown, breaking up on re-entry (according to initial data). [Continue reading.]( The Morning After is a daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you'll miss if you don't [subscribe](. Craving even more? [Like us on Facebook]( or [follow us on Twitter](. Have a suggestion on how we can improve The Morning After? [Send us a note.]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( You are receiving this email because you opted in at [engadget.com](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe from this newsletter.]( Copyright © 2024 Yahoo. All rights reserved.