Best smartphones available under Rs 20,000 (September 2020)
Best phones under 20,000
| Phone under Rs 20,000 | Rating of Gadgets 360 (out of 10) | price in india |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung Galaxy M31s | 8 | Rs. 20,499 |
| realme 7 pro | 8 | Rs. 19,999 |
| Motorola One Fusion+ | 8 | Rs. 16,999 |
| redmi note 9 pro max | 8 | Rs. 16,999 |
| poco x2 | 8 | Rs. 17,499 |
| realme 6 pro | 8 | Rs. 17,999 |
| samsung galaxy m31 | 8 | Rs. 16,499 |
| realme x2 | 8 | Rs. 17,999 |
Samsung Galaxy M31s
Samsung launched the Galaxy M31s at Rs 19,499, but at the time of updating this guide, its price had increased to Rs 20,499 on the company’s online store. Samsung has a habit of constantly raising its prices, so by the time you read this article, we wouldn’t be surprised if its price went up or down.
We think the Galaxy M31s is a good upgrade over its smaller brother, the Galaxy M31. It has a higher starting price, but for that extra money you get an Infinity-O AMOLED display, a charger with high charging support, and a slightly redesigned design. It retains many of the features that made the Galaxy M31 successful, such as the large 6,000mAh battery. However, some weak features have not been removed, such as the same old chipset. There is no doubt that this chipset cannot handle your daily tasks, but other smartphones at this price offer more powerful chipsets.
The cameras are decent but the video stabilization is not effective and the detail in low-light photos is not good. However, if great battery life is important to you, then the Samsung Galaxy M31s is a great choice for you.
Realme 7 Pro
The more premium model in Realme’s 7-series, the Realme 7 Pro features some big upgrades over the Realme 6 Pro, such as an AMOLED display, 65W fast charging, and stereo speakers. With a hefty price tag of Rs 19,999, the new model has a unique blend of features that only a few phones in this segment can offer. The 65W charging charges the battery very quickly and the stereo speakers make any media experience great. The new phone is thinner and lighter than the 6 Pro, which is a nice bonus.
However, you don’t get a 90Hz display, which is a bit disappointing. The 7 Pro also has the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G chipset as the 6 Pro, so there aren’t huge performance differences seen in the new phone compared to the previous model. The primary rear camera is slightly improved, but once again, you’ll miss out on the ultra-wide-angle selfie camera and rear telephoto camera of the 6 Pro.
While there is no doubt that the Realme 7 Pro is a good phone, however, it takes a step back in some areas and that is why the Realme 6 Pro still remains a recommendable option in this segment.
Motorola One Fusion+
Motorola One Fusion+ An excellent pick in the sub-20,000 price segment. On one hand its price is very competitive, on the other hand Motorola has left no stone unturned in terms of hardware. The Motorola One Fusion+ sports a large 6.5-inch notch-less display. This panel is HDR10 certified and offers very good viewing angles. The speaker output is also quite loud, which combined with the crisp full-view display gives a good movie experience. Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G chipset has been provided to power Motorola One Fusion+. This mid-range chipset is quite capable and achieved very good scores in our benchmarks. One Fusion+ comes in only one configuration, which offers 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage. You can also increase the storage by using its hybrid dual-SIM tray. Motorola has also provided a 5,000mAh battery and this phone comes with an 18W turbocharger.
It runs on clean stock Android and we did not encounter any bloatware. The good thing is that it has Moto Action gesture control options, which prove useful at times. The Motorola One Fusion+ has four cameras on the back and a pop-up selfie camera on the front. It has a 64 megapixel primary sensor, 8 megapixel ultra wide angle camera, 5 megapixel macro camera and 2 megapixel depth sensor. Camera performance in daylight was good and the phone was fast at locking focus and meter light accurately. Low-light shots were average but using the night mode made a big difference. Video recording can be done at a maximum of 4K. The footage comes out stable during the day.
Redmi Note 9 Pro Max
Redmi Note 9 Pro Max is currently the top pick in our list under Rs 20,000. When Xiaomi launched this smartphone, its price started at Rs 15,000, but due to the increase in GST rate, the prices have increased. The Redmi Note 9 Pro Max comes with a 6.67-inch display, which is a good display for watching videos, but a little big to use with one hand.
The Redmi Note 9 Pro Max has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, so you can unlock it quickly. The smartphone comes equipped with four rear cameras. Redmi Note 9 Pro Max works on Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G chipset. Xiaomi has launched it in 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage, 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage options. Their prices are Rs 16,999, Rs 17,999 and Rs 19,999 respectively.
The Redmi Note 9 Pro Max has a 5,020mAh battery and it gives a very good backup. It also performed very well in our HD video loop test. Xiaomi has provided a 33W charger in the box, which charges the phone fast. The camera performance of Redmi Note 9 Pro Max is quite good, but sometimes the pictures become a bit blurry. Low-light camera performance is average, but the night mode gives better output.
Poco X2
The Poco X2 is a tall phone and features a large 6.67-inch display with a 20:9 aspect ratio. Its panel comes with a 120Hz refresh rate, which is not common in this range. The Poco X2 has a dual-camera punch-hole on the front, and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner. Poco X2 feels big and heavy. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G, which is a powerful chipset and can handle gaming quite well.
There are many variants of Poco X2. These include 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage, 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage options. The prices of Poco
Poco has provided a 4,500mAh battery in the phone and a 27W charger is also available in the box. The phone sports a quad rear camera setup and we found the photo quality to be quite good in daylight. Low-light photo quality was also relatively impressive, but detailing was lacking compared to daytime. The quality of low light video is also not that good.
Realme 6 Pro
The Realme 6 Pro features a 6.6-inch display with a dual-camera hole-punch for selfie cameras. Like Redmi Note 9 Pro Max, it works on Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G chipset. The device is well designed, but a bit slippery, as it has a glass back. This phone comes with a weight of 202 grams, which is a bit heavy. A special feature of Realme 6 Pro is its 90Hz refresh rate screen. It also has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner that makes unlocking the phone easier and faster.
Realme 6 Pro has been introduced in 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage, 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage options. Their prices are Rs 17,999, Rs 18,999 and Rs 19,999 respectively.
There is a quad-camera setup at the back. Camera performance was good in daylight and for close-ups, but the camera performance needs some improvement in low light. The Realme 6 Pro has a 4300mAh battery, which isn’t as big as some of the other phones on this list, but it provided excellent battery life when we tested it.
Samsung Galaxy M31
This Samsung model has a 6.4-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display, which comes with vivid colors and very good viewing angles. There is a quad-camera setup at the back with a 64-megapixel primary camera. It comes with a large 6,000mAh battery and a good performing Exynos 9611 chipset.
Samsung Galaxy M31 is available in 6 GB RAM and two storage options, 64 GB and 128 GB. The price of these two variants is Rs 16,499 and Rs 18,999. The large battery gives great battery life and this phone can easily last for two days. The cameras perform well in daylight and with Night Mode enabled, the Galaxy M31 takes better low-light shots too. We found video stabilization to be average.
The Exynos 9611 chipset isn’t as powerful as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 720G, which powers the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max and Realme 6 Pro, but it’s more than capable of handling everyday tasks with ease.
realme x2
Realme X2 has a 6.4-inch AMOLED display, which has an in-display fingerprint scanner. Like Poco X2, it also runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G processor. The phone performs well in day-to-day use. The Realme X2 sports a quad-camera setup at the back and comes in different colors.
Realme has given it a 4000mAh battery and has given a 30W fast charger in the box which makes charging faster. The Realme X2 can handle day-to-day tasks and gaming very easily, and its battery lasted for a day and a half in our tests. The price of its 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage variant is Rs 17,999. Its 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage variants are priced at Rs 19,999 and Rs 20,999 respectively.
The quad-camera setup lets you take good pictures in daylight. We liked our portrait shots, as the dedicated depth camera does good edge detection. Low-light camera performance is also good but there was a problem of noise in the output. Nightscape mode helps improve low-light photography.
