The Best Smarthones You Can Buy Under Rs. 25,000 [September 2020 Edition]

If you are buying a new smartphone, it is usually assumed that the more you are willing to spend, the better device you can get. However, that isn't always true, and if you have gone through our lists of recommended phones, you will be able to find at least one exception in every price range. Our sub-Rs. 20,000 price list mainly consists of devices that do everything just right and increasing your budget just a little will let you consider several options that do better. The sub-Rs. 25,000 smartphone segment in Indian isn't very crowded because there's so much value at lower prices, and every device in this price range isn't worth your money. We have compiled a list of the best phones you can buy under Rs. 25,000 to help you make the right choice.

Best phones under 25,000

OnePlus Nord

The OnePlus Nord is a mid-range smartphone from OnePlus with a few flagship-level features included. The OnePlus Nord has a polycarbonate body with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back. It has a 6.44-inch display with full-HD+ resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate, as well as support for HDR10+.

The OnePlus Nord is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G SoC, and so it is 5G enabled. It was announced in three variants: 6GB RAM with 64GB storage priced at Rs. 24,999; 8GB RAM with 128GB storage at Rs. 27,999; and 12GB RAM with 256GB storage priced at Rs. 29,999. The base variant is exclusive to Amazon.

OnePlus has packed a 4115mAh battery into the Nord, which delivers good battery life. This phone also manages good photos in the day, with a quick autofocus system. The wide-angle camera does not capture as much detail. In low light, the OnePlus Nord takes decent photos. It has a Night mode that helps capture a brighter image, but the results look flatter. Selfies turned out well, and the Nord can also take 4K videos.

Redmi K20 Pro

The Redmi K20 Pro has slowly slipped into the sub Rs. 25,000 segment. It is a powerful smartphone with a pop-up selfie camera module, which isn't very common feature. It has a big 6.39-inch display without a notch or a hole-punch. The selfie camera has a 20-megapixel resolution and is positioned in the pop-up module.

The Redmi K20 Pro is powered by the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC. The Redmi K20 Pro is available in two variants: 6GB RAM with 128GB of storage priced at Rs. 24,999; and 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage priced at Rs. 29,999. Xiaomi has used a 4,000mAh battery in the Redmi K20 Pro, and this phone supports 27W fast charging, but you only get an 18W charger in the box.

Xiaomi offers a triple rear camera setup on the Redmi K20 Pro with a 48-megapixel primary camera, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, and an 8-megapixel telephoto camera capable of 2x optical zoom. The primary camera takes good photos in favourable light and manages to capture details quite well. There is some barrel distortion in photos taken with the wide-angle camera. Low-light camera performance was good but fine grain was visible in the output on zooming in. Video tops out at 4K 60fps for the rear cameras while the selfie camera can shoot at 1080p 30fps.

Redmi K20

The Redmi K20 is a well-designed smartphone, and is among the few recently launched devices available at this price level. The Redmi K20 shares the same design as the Redmi K20 Pro, with a glass back and a striking gradient pattern at the back. The front is dominated by a 6.39-inch AMOLED display and there is no notch to hinder content on this panel. It has a pop-up selfie camera which rises up from the top of the frame when required.

The Redmi K20 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 SoC. There are two variants of the device, with the base variant sporting 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The other one has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. This phone does not have a microSD card slot for storage expansion, so you will have to choose the variant based on your requirement. It does offer very good performance, however newer devices in the sub-Rs. 20,000 price range can match it.

Xiaomi has equipped the Redmi K20 with a triple camera setup at the back and a 20-megapixel selfie shooter. We noticed that camera performance was very good, and the cameras captured details very well. The wide-angle camera also has distortion correction. Low-light camera performance was underwhelming. Selfies were good, but the selfie camera mechanism is slow. This phone also has a 4,000mAh battery and delivers good battery life.

Vivo V19

The Vivo V19 was added to Vivo's V series this year and is the successor to the Vivo V17. It sports a 6.44-inch AMOLED display with a full-HD+ resolution. The Vivo V19 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 SoC which isn't the most powerful option at this price level, and makes the phone feel relatively underpowered.

Vivo only offers 8GB of RAM on the V19, and you can choose between 128GB and 256GB storage options. The Vivo V19 has a 4500mAh battery that offers good battery life. You get a 33W fast charger in the box, which is quick to top the battery up. The Vivo V19 runs Android 10 with its custom FunTouch OS on top.

The Vivo V19 has a quad-camera setup with a 48-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera, a 2-megapixel macro camera, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. For selfies, it has a 32-megapixel selfie shooter and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera. The V19 is quick to focus and takes good photos in favourable light In low light, there is a drop in quality but it keeps noise under control. Selfies taken with the Vivo V19 are very good.