Best Smartphones Under Rs 20,000 (September 2020)
Best phones under 20,000
| Phones under Rs 20,000 | Gadgets 360 rating (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, the price had increased to Rs 20,499 on the company’s online store. Samsung has a habit of constantly increasing its prices, so we wouldn’t be surprised if its price has gone up or down by the time you read this article.
We think the Galaxy M31s is a good upgrade over its smaller sibling, 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-speed charging support, and a slightly altered design. It retains many of the features that made the Galaxy M31 successful, such as the large 6,000mAh battery. However, some of the weaker 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 than this.
The cameras are decent but the video stabilisation isn’t effective and low-light photos lack detail. However, if great battery life is important to you, the Samsung Galaxy M31s is the best option 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 mix of features that few phones in this segment can offer. The 65W charging helps charge the battery pretty quickly, and the stereo speakers make any media experience great. The new phone is also 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 Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G chipset like the 6 Pro, so there aren’t many major performance differences in the new phone compared to the previous model. The primary rear camera has been slightly improved, but once again, you’ll miss out on the ultra wide-angle selfie camera and the 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 worth recommending option in this segment.
Motorola One Fusion+
Motorola One Fusion+ It is a great pick in the sub-20,000 price segment. While its price is very competitive, Motorola has not left any stone unturned in terms of hardware. The Motorola One Fusion+ gets 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. Powering the Motorola One Fusion+ is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G chipset. This mid-range chipset is quite capable and scored very well in our benchmarks. The One Fusion+ comes in only one configuration, which gets 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. You can also expand the storage using its hybrid dual-SIM tray. Motorola has also provided a 5,000mAh battery and the phone comes with an 18W turbocharger.
It runs on clean stock Android and we didn’t encounter any bloatware. The good thing is that it gets Moto Action gesture control options, which prove to be useful at times. The Motorola One Fusion+ has four cameras at the back and a pop-up selfie camera at the front. It has a 64-megapixel primary sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera, a 5-megapixel macro camera, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. Camera performance was good in daylight and the phone was fast to lock focus and meter light correctly. Low-light shots were average but using the night mode made a lot of difference. Video recording can be done at a maximum of 4K. Footage comes out stable during the day.
Redmi Note 9 Pro Max
The 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 bit big for one-handed use.
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. The 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. They are priced at 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 very good backup. It also did very well in our HD video loop test. Xiaomi has provided a 33W charger in the box, which charges the phone quickly. The camera performance of the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max is quite good, but sometimes the pictures turn out a bit dull. Low-light camera performance is average, but the night mode gives better output.
Poco X2
The Poco X2 is a tall phone and has 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. The Poco X2 feels big and bulky. It runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G, which is a powerful chipset and can handle gaming quite well.
There are several variants of the Poco X2. These include 6GB RAM + 64GB storage, 6GB RAM + 128GB storage and 8GB RAM + 256GB storage options. The prices of the Poco X2 have increased since its launch and now these three variants are priced at Rs 17,499, Rs 18,499 and Rs 20,999 respectively.
Poco has packed a 4,500mAh battery in the phone and a 27W charger is also available in the box. This phone sports a quad rear camera setup and we noticed that the photo quality in daylight is quite good. Low-light photo quality was also relatively impressive, but lacked detail compared to daytime. The quality of low-light videos is also not that good.
Realme 6 Pro
The Realme 6 Pro has a 6.6-inch display with a dual-camera hole-punch for selfie cameras. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G chipset, just like the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max. The device is well designed, but a bit slippery, as it has a glass back. The phone weighs 202 grams, which is a bit heavy. One of the highlights of the Realme 6 Pro is its 90Hz refresh rate screen. It also has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner that can unlock the phone easily and quickly by swiping it.
Realme 6 Pro is offered in 6GB RAM + 64GB storage, 6GB RAM + 128GB storage, and 8GB RAM + 128GB storage options. They are priced at 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 camera performance in low light needs some improvement. The Realme 6 Pro has a 4300mAh battery, which isn’t as big as some of the other phones on this list, but it did deliver great 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 colours 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 well-performing Exynos 9611 chipset.
The Samsung Galaxy M31 is available with 6GB of RAM and two storage options, 64GB and 128GB. These two variants are priced at Rs 16,499 and Rs 18,999. The big battery offers great battery life and the phone can easily last two days. The cameras perform well in daylight and with Night mode enabled, the Galaxy M31 also takes better low-light shots. We found the video stabilization to be average.
The Exynos 9611 chipset isn’t as powerful as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 720G that powers the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max and Realme 6 Pro, but it is capable of handling everyday tasks with ease.
Realme X2
The Realme X2 has a 6.4-inch AMOLED display with an in-display fingerprint scanner. It also runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G processor like the Poco X2. The phone performs well in day-to-day use. The Realme X2 has a quad-camera setup at the back and comes in various colors.
Realme has packed a 4000mAh battery in it and has provided 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 test. Its 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant is priced at Rs 17,999. Its 6GB RAM + 128GB storage and 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variants are priced at Rs 19,999 and Rs 20,999 respectively.
The quad-camera setup lets you take good photos 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. The Nightscape mode helps improve low-light photography.
