Few days ago I did write an article about basic guide to buy your ideal SMARTPHONE where I focussed on some points to consider while choosing your next phone. Indeed , there are tons of smartphones to choose from and one may be in dillema to select the PERFECT phone. Here, I will list out some of the trending and value for money phones which you can consider. Do remember that most of the phones are available online only i.e via Amazon or Flipkart and the prices are according to them.
1: about ₹ 10000 or $150
In India the most selling smartphones and most preferred budget is Rs. 10k. Here, the main competitors are XIAOMI , Samsung, Micromax, Lava and so on. However, the brand that has impressed with excellent specs to price ratio is Xiaomi. They have about 4 devices i.e Redmi note 4, redmi 3s, redmi 3s prime and redmi 4A
If you are tight on budget and do not want to spend more than 7000, you should consider Xiaomi Redmi 3S or 4A . The 4A is for 6K whereas 3S is for 7K.
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| From left: Redmi 3S prime , Redmi 4A The 3S prime has a fingerprint scanner in addition |
Redmi 4A:
5 inch 720p display, polycarbonate body, 13MP rear and 5MP front camera, Snapdragon 425 chipset and adreno 308 gpu with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. Battery capacity is 3120mAh.
Redmi 3S :
5 inch 720p display, 13MP rear and 5MP front camera, Snapdragon 430 chipset and adreno 505 gpu with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. Battery capacity is 4000mAh.
The main difference between them is in the battery capacity and slightly better performance due to Snapdragon 430 in the 3S. My advice will be to spend a bit more and buy the 3S over the 4A.
If you have a budget of dot 10k , without considering any other smartphone, go for Redmi note 4. This device has 5.5 inch 1080p screen with Snapdragon 625 chipset and 2GB RAM - 32GB storage. The rear camera is of 13MP and 5MP front camera. The battery capacity is 4100/4000 mAh.
However, if you prefer smaller screen device and prefer good day to day usage, the Redmi 3S prime is the smartphone for you. It has 5 inch 720p screen with Snapdragon 430 chipset and 3GB RAM-32GB storage. Camera is the same as on the Redmi 3S and the battery is 4000mAh.
Main reason to choose the 3S prime over the note 4 is smaller screen and 1GB more RAM for better multitasking. However, for pure performance and media , prefer the Redmi note 4.
2: under ₹20000 or $300
Another budget segment dominated with variety of midrange devices is that of 20k. Here, almost all Chinese OEMs in India provide their share of smartphones. This range has devices from Xiaomi, Samsung, Lenovo, Leeco, Huawei, Moto and so on.
Firstly considering the sub 15k category we have Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (3 and 4 GB RAM variant), Huawei Honor 6X, Motorola g5 plus, Cool 1 and Lenovo z2 plus.
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| From top left: moto g5, z2 plus, Honor 6X, Redmi note 4 |
Lenovo z2 plus :
This device was initially launched for a price tag of 18k. However, recently it got a price drop and now on Amazon it sells for RS. 15k. This was the first device in India to have Snapdragon 820 under Rs. 20000. Having the Snapdragon 820 makes it in the list of top phones for pure performance and for 15k its highly recommended provided if camera is not your priority. It has a 5 inch 1080p screen and has 3500mAh battery. It is available in 2 variants i.e 3-32 and 4-64GB via Amazon.
Huawei Honor 6X:
The z2 plus is a beast in performance keeping aside its camera. However, for one of the best camera performance in the sub 15k or even 20k, the 6X takes the spot. Its dual cameras with 12MP and 2MP resolution capture awesome shots not only in day light but also in low lighting conditions. Its various modes and the pro mode (if you use it perfectly) can lead to the perfect shot.
Specs wise it has a 5.5 inch 1080p screen with Huawei's own HiSilicon kirin 655 processor good enough for basic and not so demanding tasks. It comes in 2 variants i.e 3-32 for 13k and 4-64 for 16k via Amazon.
Moto g5 plus:
The g5 plus is an overall package as it suffices for both performance and camera. Its 12MP dual pixel camera with f/1.7 aperture is a perfect combination for excellent low light and day light shots and competes closely with 6X. The Snapdragon 625 processor provides the power for demanding tasks. It has a 5.2 inch 1080p screen with a battery capacity of 3000mAh.
It comes with Android 7 out of the box with Google assistant. The device is available in 2 varaints i.e 3-16GB for 15k and 4-32GB for 17k via Flipkart.
Redmi note 4: The 2 variants available are 3-32 and 4-64 for a price tag of 11k and 13k respectively. They have 5.5 inch screen with 1080p resolution and have Snapdragon 625 processor. The Redmi note 4 has become one of the best selling devices managing to sell more than a million units till date.
This device is mainly focussed on battery life (has 4000mAh battery and packs an efficient soc) , performance and end user experience. The only let down as compared to its competitors is in terms of camera. It has a 13MP rear camera with 5MP front camera which is decent.The camera is not bad but average.
Overall for the price , its a value for money product. The device is available via Amazon through flash sales.
There are others like the Le eco and Coolpad's Cool 1,1 Samsung J7 prime and some other J series devices. The cool 1 has great specs and good camera however the Company LE ECO is in trouble and nothing can be said about its future in India and elsewhere.
Samsung J7 prime is a decent buy for those looking for non- Chinese OEMs and prefer a decent user experience.
3: about ₹30000 or $ 450
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| OnePlus 3T |
Bumping up the budget we have only one major company who has been dominating this range i.e OnePlus. OnePlus has been ruling since the launch of OnePlus 3 since almost a year following the launch of OnePlus 3T. For the best value for money product, 3T is the device to consider.
It is a powerhouse boasting of Snapdragon 821 processor with 6GB of RAM. The 3T has 3400mAh battery good enough for a day's usage and comes with almost stock UI based on oxygen OS. The rear and front cameras are of 16MP which is good enough for the price range. However, its more focussed on power and performance.
It is available via Amazon for Rs. 29999 for the 64GB variant. The 128GB variant costs 34999.
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| A9 pro |
Another device that falls under the category is Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro. I know I am a bit reluctant to recommend Samsung midrange devices however this device is quite good. It packs decent specs as it has a Snapdragon 652 chipset with 4GB RAM and has a massive 5000mAh battery . It also has a massive screen of 6 inch with 1080p resolution. However, the major let down that Samsung does is by not providing Gyroscope sensor even on a 27K phone.
The device has a 16MP rear camera and 8MP front facing camera capable of taking good shots. It has 32GB internal storage with the capability to increase storage via sd card.
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| Back of the C9 pro. The front is the same as A9 pro |
If you can increase your budget slightly and do not want to go with both OnePlus 3T or the A9 , you can consider the Samsung C9 pro. This device is indeed better than the A9 as it has Snapdragon 653 chipset with 6GB RAM (strangely more than what the S8 will have ... Samsung logic :-P). The device has all the sensors required and even the gyroscope sensor. It comes with 4000mAh battery which should last for a day as it also has a large 6.0 inch 1080p display. It has a 16MP rear and 16MP front facing camera.
The rear camera quality on the A9 and C9 pro will be the same. The device has 64GB internal storage and also has sd card support. It retails for a price tag of Rs.36999.
There are still more devices like the Xiaomi mi5. However the device is about a year old and initially it had some issues related to network reception. As compared to OnePlus 3T, the mi5 will have a slightly better camera but almost same battery life. Do remember it has an underclocked Snapdragon 820 processor. ( The variant i.e sold in India)
This was an overview of my pick of SMARTPHONES to choose from. Do remember that I have referred quite a few sources to list the phones here. One small advice would be to check the offline pricing of Samsung phones if you are interested in buying them.
Do stay tuned for another article related to Flagship devices which will probably be after the launch of Samsung S8 and LG G6 in India.