What companies arbitrarily categorize as "budget" doesn't really represent or communicate anything.

My results if I Google "budget phones"

* Toms: Under $400

* Verge Under $500

* TechRadar: Under $500 with the lowest category Under $200

* CNET: Under $500

* AndroidAuthority: Under $500

* Wired: Under $500

Like you can personally decide that a budget phone should be under $200 or something but real life people looking to buy "cheap" phones are looking to pay ~<$500 for it.

I mentioned that companies shouldn't decide what is budget for people, and your response is to list a lot more companies and what those companies consider budget?

>real life people looking to buy "cheap" phones are looking to pay ~<$500 for it.

A good portion of the world must not be "real life people" to you. I will hazard a guess and say that you must have lived a life without much financial difficulty.

True but you're looking at the US. Here in Spain a ton of people use Xiaomi phones between 100 and 200 euro.

It always surprises me how much of those I see in the metro. I don't see many flagships at all here, many people on the street also use wired headphones.

In the Netherlands it's a totally different picture. Lots of iPhones, S-class Samsung, airpods...

It really depends on the country and their average wages.

That is one month salary for plenty of people in Portugal, hardly budget.