The Elephone U and its Pro version have all the markings of a modern flagship, save for the highest-end chipset... and the price. The glitzy phones are built with metal and glass, curved AMOLED displays, and sport dual cameras on the back. Curved OLED displays and glass rears aren't exclusive to Samsung any more, and Elephone is not even using a Samsung display in the U/Pro, as their 6-inchers are crafted by BOE, keeping all the advantages a flexible OLED screen brings, i.e. they have thin yet durable panels that are frugal with power consumption, and have sky-high contrast ratio to boot.

The difference between the two models is that Elephone U sports octa-core MediaTek Helio P23 processor, clocked at at 2 GHz, while the Pro uses an upper midrange Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset, running at 2.2 GHz maximums, allowing it to record 4K video, unlike its U brethren. The most outfitted version of the phones comes with 6 GB RAM and 128 GB of storage, which is encroaching on flagship territory.

When we add the dual 13 MP camera on the back, 8 MP front-facing shooter, and wireless charging, made possible by the glass body, the Elephone U and U Pro certainly deserve a second look, especially considering that they ship with Oreo right out of the box, and cost just $389.99 and $459.99, respectively.

Elephone throws in the trendy face unlock feature, too, and the symmetrically curved front and back reminisce of a Samsung flagship. The company says it has used 7-series aluminum alloy for the frame, and anodized ceramic coating to bring out that glistening impression, so if the shiny design and fine specs fit your sub-$500 requirements, check out the link below for more details.