Best phones to buy across price ranges (July 2024)

Last Updated: July 19, 2024

Finding the best smartphone within your budget has become increasingly challenging due to the multitude of options available in every price segment. An ideal smartphone should offer an excellent display, a good processor that offers quick performance across day-to-day tasks, a decent set of cameras, and a robust battery life so that you can go about your day without worrying about a dying battery. In order to simplify your next smartphone purchase, we have meticulously curated a list of the best phones to buy across price ranges, ensuring you get the best value for your money.

Best phone under Rs 10,000

itel P55 5G

Price – Starting at Rs 9,999

The itel P55 (review) is one of the best offerings in India under Rs 10,000. The handset comes with the MediaTek Dimensity 6080 SoC, which enables 5G network support. There is a 50MP primary camera with AI support for better photography results. We get a large 6.6-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate and 180Hz touch sampling rate support on board as well.

The display delivers an immersive viewing experience for the segment, be it for content consumption or gaming. There’s a substantial 5,000mAh battery with 18W fast charging support, and this should be more than just a day with moderate usage. The handset delivers reliable performance for everyday tasks, and while the cameras might not be its strongest suit, the daylight photos are good considering the price.

Pros

The performance is good for everyday use
The 5,000mAh battery ensures extended usage
The display quality is respectable for the price

Cons

Bloatware
The cameras could use some improvement

Best phone under Rs 20,000

iQOO Z9

Price – Starting at Rs 19,999

The iQOO Z9 (review), much like its older cousins, the iQOO Neo 9 Pro and the iQOO 12, is a performance-centric offering that excels on several other metrics, making it our pick for the best phone to buy under Rs 20,000. The MediaTek Dimensity 7200 SoC powers the smartphone, and the device stands out as the best-performing handset in its price range. It effortlessly breezes through regular tasks like browsing, streaming and also doubles as an excellent gaming device. On top of its impressive performance prowess, the device comes with a 6.67-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz and a peak brightness level of 1800nits. The brightness levels allow the display to remain legible even in direct sunlight.

Surprisingly, the device not only packs the top chipset in the segment but also features a 50MP Sony IMX882 primary lens with OIS support, paired with a 2MP portrait lens. The camera captures sharp daylight pictures with good colour reproduction and satisfactory low-light images, which is impressive for the price bracket. The iQOO Z9 packs a standard 5,000mAh cell paired with 44W fast charging support. The battery delivers respectable performance and can last an entire day with moderate usage levels. The handset takes roughly 67 minutes to recharge completely, which is slightly behind some of its competitors but is overall an acceptable result.

Pros

Fastest performing device in the segment
Attractive display and robust build quality
Good daylight primary camera

Cons

Only 2 years of major OS updates
No ultra-wide lens

Best phone under Rs 30,000

POCO F6

Price – Starting at Rs 29,999

The POCO F6 (review) is the successor to the immensely popular POCO F5 and successfully builds upon its legacy by bringing thoughtful upgrades over its predecessor. It features the latest Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset with up to 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. The setup makes it the best-performing device in the price range, and it even competes with other higher-priced offerings in terms of performance, like the Realme GT 6 and the Xiaomi 14 Civi. The smartphone does not pull its punches when it comes to performance and tackles everything you throw at it with ease, be it multi-tasking or heavy games.

For visuals, the device features a 6.67-inch 120Hz AMOLED display with a 1.5K resolution and 2600nits of peak brightness. The POCO F6 offers an excellent display with razor-thin bezels and great viewing angles. Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support enhance the content streaming experience significantly. While the cameras are not the standout feature of the POCO F6, they are surprisingly decent for a performance-focused smartphone. Finally, the 5000mAh battery offers excellent battery life, and the fast 90W charging quickly charges the battery from 20 percent to full capacity in just 32 minutes.

Pros

The handset performs seamlessly with everything thrown at it.
The display offers excellent picture quality and smooth visuals.
The cameras are good compared to their closest arch-rivals.

Cons

The design could have been better.
The app drawer feels bloated with several pre-installed apps.

Best phone under Rs 50,000

Xiaomi 14 Civi

Price – Starting at Rs 42,999

The Xiaomi 14 Civi (review) is the first smartphone of the Civi lineup to launch in India, a series that was previously exclusive to China. The name ‘Civi’ stands for ‘Cinematic Vision,’ emphasising the focus on delivering impressive photography. In line with this vision, the Xiaomi 14 Civi features Leica cameras, broadening access to professional-grade imaging capabilities. The Xiaomi 14 Civi also uses the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset and comes with up to 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. The device thus manages to deliver an impressive performance output and can easily handle multi-tasking and heavy games.

Where the Xiaomi 14 Civi stands out is its flagship-level camera performance. The phone uses Leica lenses in its rear camera system, which includes a 50MP Light Hunter 800 sensor with OIS, a 50MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultra-wide camera. You also get a 32MP primary lens and a 32MP wide-angle lens at the front. The camera system is super versatile and takes stunning images both in daylight and lowlight. The phone uses a smaller 4700mAh battery with 67W fast charging support. The battery lasts an entire day with moderate usage and takes only 40 minutes to charge the device from 20 to 100 percent. The flagship-level camera experience, impressive performance output and fast charging speed make the phone our overall recommendation under Rs 50,000 price bracket.

Pros:

Stunning design and in-hand feel
Bright and attractive display
Good Leica cameras for photos and videos

Cons:

Average battery life
CPU throttles under stress
Portraits lack sharpness

Best phone over Rs 50,000

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Price – Rs 1,24,999

Surprising probably no one, our pick for the best smartphone over Rs 50,000 is the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (review). As Samsung’s latest flagship, it comes equipped with all the bells and whistles that define a premium flagship device. The handset packs a 6.8-inch dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with a resolution of 3,120 x 1,440 pixels (Quad HD+), 2,600nits of peak brightness, and a 120Hz refresh rate. A custom Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC powers the smartphone, paired with up to 12GB of RAM and 1TB of internal storage.

The smartphone gets a quad-camera setup on the rear with a 200MP primary sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide angle sensor, a 10MP telephoto sensor, and a 50MP telephoto sensor with support for 3x and 5x optical zoom, respectively. For selfies and video calls, the handset has a 12MP camera on the front. A 5,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging support fuels the smartphone.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra appears to be an incremental upgrade compared to its predecessor, featuring a flagship with a flat screen and an upgraded chip at its core. Where it differs is, however, in its AI features, which were the key focus during its launch event. The smartphone offers a plethora of productivity-based AI features, making it ideal for power users, professionals, and creative individuals. It performs admirably across all key aspects and is undoubtedly one of the most well-rounded smartphones currently available for purchase.