The Essential PH-1 was one of our picks for best value smartphone of 2017, and it's cheaper right now, as Amazon has it listed at US$435. Not a bad deal for a device with a QHD display, 4 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage, and a Snapdragon 835.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Essential-Phone-now-available-for-just-435.280286.0.html