50+ smartphones tested — best phones across price segments (September 2025)

With so many options crowding every price segment, finding the right smartphone within your budget has become more confusing than ever. The ideal phone should check all the right boxes. This includes a sharp display, a capable processor for smooth performance, reliable cameras, and good battery life to get you through the day without worry. To make your next smartphone purchase easier, we’ve handpicked the best phones in every price segment, ensuring you get the most value for your money. 

Selection criteria

The rankings in this list are based on our extensive testing and review process. Each phone is scored across key areas like design, display, software, camera, performance, and battery. The test process comprises synthetic benchmarks, in-depth camera comparisons, and day-to-day, real-life evaluation of all aspects such as performance, battery life, software/AI features and more. The average of these scores forms the overall rating for that device. We’ve shortlisted the top three rated smartphones in each price segment, so you can pick the one that best fits your needs and budget.

Best smartphones under Rs 15,000

Winner: The Tecno POVA 7 5G (review) takes the top spot because it delivers the most complete and well-rounded experience you can get at this price. The phone provides a smooth user experience, both for daily use and gaming, with its MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC. It has a reliable camera system that is, in fact, at the top of this price segment. Plus, its huge battery and fast charging mean you’re always ready to go. It all adds up to a device that feels dependable and looks quite unique. 

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Runners-up: The runners-up, the Lava Play Ultra (review) and iQOO Z10x (review), are both strong performers but fall just shy of the top spot. The Lava Play Ultra is a fantastic choice for gamers, offering smooth performance and a clean, stock-Android-like experience, but it’s held back by an average camera and slower charging. The iQOO Z10x is a dependable all-rounder with great battery life and solid gaming capabilities, though its design isn’t as distinctive, and the software comes with a few too many pre-installed apps. Both are great phones, but they don’t quite offer the complete, well-rounded package of our winner.

Tecno POVA 7 review at a glance:

Best smartphones around Rs 30,000 

Winner: The Motorola Edge 60 Pro (review) earns its spot at the top with major upgrades across the board. You get smooth performance with the new Dimensity 8350 chip, improved cameras that deliver in all lighting conditions, and a durable IP69-rated design. The battery offers good backup with fast charging and wireless charging support. On top of all that, you get a vibrant curved pOLED display and useful AI features, making it one of the most well-rounded phones in the segment. Minor quirks aside, it’s a great all-rounder that gets most things right.

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Runners-up: At second place, the Realme 15 Pro (review) offers an excellent low-light camera and a massive 7,000mAh battery, though its raw performance isn’t the best. In a tie for third, the OnePlus Nord 5 (review) offers a more balanced experience with its good software, capable cameras, and strong gaming performance, while the iQOO Neo 10 (review) is geared entirely towards power users with its top-tier Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor and blazing-fast 120W charging.

Motorola Edge 60 Pro review at a glance:

Best phones around Rs 50,000

Winner: The Realme GT 7 Pro (review) snags the top spot in this category, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s one of those phones that gets just about everything right, offering a true flagship experience without the price tag. With Snapdragon 8 Elite, its performance is incredibly fast, handling anything you throw at it with ease, whether you’re gaming or just bouncing between apps. The screen is big, bright, and beautiful, making everything from videos to web pages look fantastic. Plus, the battery life is excellent, and it charges up in no time. While the camera can sometimes make photos look a little over-processed, it’s a minor issue in an otherwise outstanding phone.

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Runners-up: The OnePlus 13s (review) makes a strong case for compact flagships with top-tier performance with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, reliable all-day battery life, and a sharp ProXDR display. All this is enclosed in a lightweight, one-hand-friendly form factor. It just falls behind because its cameras aren’t as good as the GT 7 Pro. 

Sharing the third spot are two excellent phones that cater to very different priorities: the Vivo X200 FE (review) and the iQOO 13 (review). The Vivo X200 FE is a fantastic choice for those who love compact phones, offering a top-notch camera system and great all-day battery life in a small, durable package. In contrast, the iQOO 13 is an absolute performance beast, built for anyone who craves speed. With its powerful processor, beautiful display, and fast charging, it’s a gamer’s dream.

Realme GT 7 Pro review at a glance:

Best phones under Rs 80,000

Winner: The OnePlus 13 (review) combines raw power with everyday practicality, making it one of the most well-rounded flagships in its class. Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, it handles everything from multitasking to gaming with ease. You get a bright and immersive ProXDR display, solid cameras with Hasselblad tuning, and a massive 6,000mAh battery that charges fast. The new AI features add to its everyday usability, and durability has also been stepped up. Aside from a few software quirks, this is OnePlus at its most refined.

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Runners-up: This price segment is packed with flagship options from major brands, including the Xiaomi 15 (review) and OPPO Find X8 (review). The Xiaomi 15 has impressive camera performance and a polished design but falls behind the OnePlus 13 with a lower-resolution display, slightly weaker performance, and a less refined software experience. The OPPO Find X8 is a very balanced phone that delivers great results in almost all key areas but its performance is a notch behind the other competitors. 

OnePlus 13 review at a glance:

Best flagship phones

Winner: The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (review) is the most well-rounded flagship we’ve tested yet. It delivers excellent across-the-board performance with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, a stunning 6.9-inch 2K AMOLED display with anti-glare coating, dependable battery life, and one of the most versatile camera setups in the segment. What sets it apart is its deep AI integration, polished ecosystem experience, and the productivity boost from the S Pen. While it is an incremental update over its predecessor, the S25 Ultra is still impressive for how complete and refined the overall package is.

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Runners-up: The competitors here are impressive in their own right, with the Xiaomi 15 Ultra (review) taking second place and the Vivo X200 Pro (review) and OPPO Find X8 Pro (review) tied at third. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra gets quite close but doesn’t offer the same level of software and AI integration and lacks productivity tools. While Vivo and OPPO offer strong cameras and battery life, they lack essentials like a 2K display and fall short on software longevity. What sets the Galaxy S25 Ultra apart is its seamless connectivity across devices, meaningful AI features, and 7 years of software support, making it the most well-rounded flagship for users who prioritise performance, productivity, and long-term value.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review at a glance: