The prices of smartphones have skyrocketed in the past few years. The under Rs. 25,000 category was once filled with flagship killer smartphones, but you don't get many flagship killers in this segment now. But you do get many very well-balanced smartphones that come with great cameras, good performance, good display and great battery life. Nowadays, you don't need to spend upwards of Rs. 50,000 to get a great smartphone with every feature you need, you can get that for under Rs. 25,000.
1. Realme 9 Pro Plus
2. iQoo Z6 Pro
3. Vivo T1 Pro
4. Xiaomi 11 Lite NE
5. Samsung Galaxy M52
6. Xiaomi 11i
7. Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus
8. Tecno Camon 19 Pro 5G
Of late, high refresh rate AMOLED display and touch response rates have also become key criteria when selecting a new phone. Also, super fast charging has become a requirement in this segment.
Hence phones that come with all the above-mentioned features automatically get a chance to be featured on this list.
Talking about the list, the list is led by the current camera champion, Realme 9 Pro Plus. It is followed by the twins iQoo Z6 Pro and Vivo T1 Pro. Then there is Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G.
Here are the best phones under Rs 25,000 in India to buy right now.
Realme 9 Pro Plus 5G is the best camera phone in this budget of Rs. 25,000. It comes with a flagship-level primary camera with a 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor with OIS support. It is the same sensor that is used in the OnePlus 9 Pro, Oppo Reno 8 Pro and more. Coming to the secondary cameras, there is the usual 8MP ultra-wide and 2MP macro camera setup.
The phone is powered by Mediatek Dimensity 920 SoC. It is not the most powerful chipset in the segment, you need to choose Snapdragon 778G phones if you want more performance.
And the phone is backed up by a 4,500mAh battery and comes with fast charging support of 60W
Realme 9 Pro Plus comes with a 6.4-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 90Hz.
This is one of the best phones in the segment, and it often comes with various offers on Amazon.
It is powered by the Snapdragon 778G Soc. It is one of the most powerful chipsets in the segment currently. And you'll find the same chipset in various other phones in this list.
iQoo Z6 Pro comes with a triple camera setup of 64MP primary, 8MP ultra-wide camera and 2MP macro camera.
A 4,700mAh battery powers the phone and there is support for 66W fast charging.
Vivo T1 Pro and iQoo Z6 Pro are phones, but with different branding and slightly different design for the camera array. You'll find blacked out camera array on iQoo Z6 Pro while the one on Vivo T1 Pro is coloured the same as the rest of the body.
This phone also comes with a 6.44-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. And it is powered by the Snapdragon 778G chipset itself. And there is a 64MP triple camera setup.
There is a 4,700mAh battery that backs up the device. And there is a 66W fast charging.
This is one of the lightest and slimmest phones in India, and that is one of the defining features of Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G.
The phone comes with a 6.55-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate. It is a 10-bit display and supports Dolby vision. It is one of the best displays in this segment.
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G is powered by Snapdragon 778G SoC, and hence you don't need to worry about the performance.
Coming to cameras, there is a 64MP primary camera. And there is an 8MP ultra-wide camera and a 5MP telephoto-macro camera.
The phone is backed up by a 4250mAh battery with fast charging support of 33W.
If you are looking for a Samsung phone for Rs. 25,000, this is the one to go for. It also sometimes comes at a discounted price of Rs. 20,999.
The phone comes with a 6.7-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz. It has a plastic back and doesn't feel as premium as the other phones featured here.
Samsung Galaxy M52 comes with a Snapdragon 778G chipset, and it is quite surprising that Samsung is providing the best SoC in the segment for this phone.
Coming to cameras, the phone comes with a 64MP primary camera, a 12MPultra-wide camera and a 5MP macro camera. This phone no doubt comes with one of the best secondary cameras on the market.
It is backed up by a 5,000mAh battery and it supports fast charging of 25W. But the phone only comes with a 15W charger in the box even though it supports 25W charging.
The latest smartphone from Xiaomi in India, the Xiaomi 11i is the company's second-fastest charging phone in the country. While it cannot clock 12W fast charging like its HyperCharrge sibling, 67W is fast enough to charge the 5,160 mAh battery in a jiffy.
The phone comes with a bright 6.67-inch Full HD+ 120Hz AMOLED display with an excellent in-hand feel. The phone offers real value for money with its 5G capable Dimensity 920 SoC coupled with 6GB/8GB of RAM. Sadly the company has not introduced a 256GB storage option - but you can still expand the storage up to 1TB via a Micro SD card.
In terms of optics, the phone has a triple camera setup with the primary sensor being a 108MP snapper coupled with an 8MP ultrawide shooter with a 120-degree field of view and a 2MP macro shooter.
There's a 16MP front-facing camera as well to take care of selfies and video calls. As an upgrade to the Mi 10i from the last year, the Mi 11i is a very interesting phone that has a lot to offer.
Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus isn't a phone in this segment, it belongs to the under Rs. 20,000 one. But it can still stand on its own against any of the phones featured in this list.
The phone comes with a 6.67-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz. It comes with a design similar to that of the Xiaomi 11i.
Not just design, it borrows most of the stuff from Xiaomi 11i other than the SoC. The phone is powered by Snapdragon 695 SoC. It is not as powerful as Snapdragon 778G on the other phones, but it is comparable to Dimensity 920.
Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus comes with a 108MP primary camera, 8MP ultra-wide camera and a 2MP macro camera. There is a 16MP selfie camera on the front.
The phone packs a 5,000mAh battery with support for 67W fast charging.
The iQoo Z5 is India's first smartphone with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G chipset. The device gets most things right for its price. The star of the show is the Snapdragon 778G processor which offers good performance without any hitch including gaming sessions.
On the front, you are looking at a 6.67-inch Full HD+ LCD panel with a 120Hz screen refresh rate. An AMOLED panel with this spec sheet would've made this a true flagship killer.
The device features a 240Hz touch sampling rate and a Samsung GW3 64MP, an 8MP ultra-wide lens and a 2MP macro lens. On the front is a 16MP selfie camera inside a hole punch. The camera performance during daylight is permission with good output and accurate colour grading.
Lastly, the iQoo Z5 has a 5000mAh battery unit backed by a 44W fast charger. The charging speed on this phone is a slight downgrade though you get a bigger battery pack.
The Tecno Camon 19 Pro 5G is one of the most premium 5G phones from the company. It is also the first phone to ship with a 64MP camera with an RGBW sensor that offers superlative camera performance.
The phone offers premium looks thanks to its crystal glass covering. On the front, it has a 6.8-inch Full HD+ LCD panel with a 120Hz screen refresh rate. We only wish that the company shipped the phone with an AMOLED panel.
For optics, it has a triple camera setup with a 64MP, a 2MP macro lens and a 2MP depth sensor. On the front, there is a 16MP selfie camera housed inside a hole punch.
Powering the phone is a 5000mAh battery pack that supports 33W fast charging.
Want to know about the latest happenings in tech? Follow TechRadar India on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
