Smartphones improve each year, with budget and mid-range offerings delivering impressive features at modest prices. The year 2023 witnessed intense competition in the mid-range segment, with brands launching capable new smartphones for around Rs 25,000. This is a widely appealing price point for the masses, and this is where you get a good lot of phones that offer good performance, display, cameras, and more.
We have curated a list of the best smartphones under Rs 25,000, handpicked by our in-house experts, allowing you to choose the best of what the industry has to offer.
Samsung Galaxy F54 5G
- Price: Starting at Rs 24,999 on Amazon/Samsung’s website
- Display: 6.76-inch 120Hz FHD+ Super AMOLED display
- Processor: Samsung Exynos 1380 SoC
- RAM and Storage: Up to 8GB RAM + 256GB storage
- Cameras: 108MP+8MP+2MP triple rear camera, 32MP front camera
- Battery: 6,000mAh battery with 25W charging
Expert Comment: The Galaxy F54 5G shines when it comes to the user experience. With its impeccable viewing experience and reliable performance for everyday tasks, the handset offers a delightful smartphone experience. The phone’s capable cameras excel in daylight, while its battery life is impressive for regular usage.
Infinix Zero 30 5G
- Price: Starting at Rs 23,999 on Flipkart
- Display: 6.78-inch 144Hz FHD+ Curved AMOLED display
- Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 8020 SoC
- RAM and Storage: Up to 12GB RAM + 256GB storage
- Cameras: 108MP+13MP+2MP triple rear camera, 50MP front camera
- Battery: 5,000mAh battery with 68W charging
Expert Comment: The Infinix Zero 30 comes as the latest offering from the brand and excels on several fronts. The handset’s display, performance, and charging speeds make it an extremely compelling buy. In particular, the phone’s curved display is its highlight feature, and along with its leather-like back panel, it provides a unique look to the phone that shouts premium. As far as camera performance is concerned, the phone’s highlight is its front camera, which can shoot up to 4K60FPS videos. For budding social media influencers, this is the ideal choice in the price segment.
OnePlus Nord CE 3 5G
- Price: Starting at Rs 24,999 on Amazon
- Display: 6.7-inch 120Hz FHD+ Fluid AMOLED display
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 782G SoC
- RAM and Storage: Up to 12GB RAM + 256GB storage
- Cameras: 50MP+8MP+2MP triple rear camera, 16MP front camera
- Battery: 5,000mAh battery with 80W charging
Expert Comment: The OnePlus Nord CE3 5G is a capable device at what it does. It delivers a good combination of hardware and bloat-free software, resulting in a smooth user experience. However, the only niggle is that, upon comparing it with the competition, the OnePlus Nord CE3 5G doesn’t seem to have any standout features worth shouting about.
iQOO Z7 Pro 5G
- Price: Starting at Rs 22,999 on Amazon
- Display: 6.78-inch 120Hz FHD+ AMOLED display
- Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 7200 5G SoC
- RAM and Storage: Up to 12GB RAM + 256GB storage
- Cameras: 64MP+2MP dual rear camera, 16MP front camera
- Battery: 4,600mAh battery with 66W charging
Expert Comment: The iQOO Z7 Pro stands out as a performance-focused smartphone adept at effortlessly handling gaming and multitasking demands. The phone has a powerful MediaTek Dimensity 7200 SoC ticking at its core. As for the viewing experience, the handset boasts a curved 6.78-inch AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution and HDR10+ support. On the camera front, the Z7 Pro sports a capable 64MP primary camera enhanced by Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS), paired with a secondary 2MP depth camera at the back. The design language is pretty appealing, and the phone houses a respectable 4,600mAh battery.
POCO X6 5G
- Price: Starting at Rs 21,999 on Amazon
- Display: 6.67-inch 120Hz FHD+ Flow AMOLED display
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 SoC
- RAM and Storage: Up to 12GB RAM + 512GB storage
- Cameras: 64MP+8MP+2MP triple rear camera, 16MP front camera
- Battery: 5,100mAh battery with 67W charging
Expert Comment: The POCO X6 5G is a no-nonsense, performance-oriented phone that is ideal for gaming, watching videos, or multitasking. With 67W fast-charging support, the phone refuels in no time and is ready to go again, with its 5,100mAh battery keeping the lights on beyond a day with ease. The phone also manages to click decent pictures, but it does have some consistency issues in this department. If you are looking for a phone that delivers on performance, the X6 is a no-brainer.
Motorola Edge 40 Neo
- Price: Starting at Rs 22,999 on Flipkart
- Display: 6.55-inch 144Hz FHD+ pOLED display
- Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 7030 SoC
- RAM and Storage: Up to 12GB RAM + 256GB storage
- Cameras: 50MP+13MP dual rear camera, 32MP front camera
- Battery: 5,000mAh battery with 68W charging
Expert Comment: The Motorola Edge 40 Neo is a smartphone that deserves serious consideration given its price. It excels in design, offering a premium vegan leather back. The handset is also IP68 water and dust resistance certified, comes with an impressive pOLED 144Hz refresh rate display, and boasts excellent battery life. The phone’s performance is also satisfactory, and the cameras perform well in daylight. With near-stock Android software, this device presents a compelling package.
Realme 12 Pro 5G
- Price: Starting at Rs 23,999 on Amazon
- Display: 6.7-inch 120Hz FHD+ curved AMOLED display
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 SoC
- RAM and Storage: Up to 8GB RAM + 256GB storage
- Cameras: 50MP+32MP+8MP triple rear camera, 16MP front camera
- Battery: 5,000mAh battery with 67W charging
Expert Comment: While the Realme 12 Pro offers good performance, it is not its strongest suit. The Realme 12 Pro’s telephoto camera also lets you click some incredible pictures. In most other departments, such as display, battery, and others, the phone fares well, but doesn’t offer anything that makes it particularly extraordinary.
iQOO Z6 Pro 5G
- Price: Starting at Rs 23,999 on Amazon
- Display: 6.44-inch 120Hz FHD+ AMOLED display
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G SoC
- RAM and Storage: Up to 12GB RAM + 256GB storage
- Cameras: 64MP+8MP+2MP rear camera, 16MP front camera
- Battery: 4,700mAh battery with 66W charging
Expert Comment: The iQOO Z6 Pro continues to push forward the newly found legacy of the former Vivo sub-brand in the mid-range market. Like all iQOO devices, the focus of the Z6 Pro falls squarely on performance. To that end, the device has a Snapdragon 778G handling processor, while the supporting hardware includes 8GB of fast LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. Improvements have been made to the viewing experience thanks to an AMOLED display that is capable of refreshing at 90Hz and has 1,300 nits of peak brightness. Lastly, the phone’s 64MP camera makes it a decent image-capturing machine.
Realme Narzo 50 Pro 5G
- Price: Starting at Rs 21,999 on Amazon
- Display: 6.4-inch 90Hz FHD+ Super AMOLED display
- Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 920 5G SoC
- RAM and Storage: Up to 8GB RAM + 128GB storage
- Cameras: 48MP+8MP+2MP rear camera, 16MP front camera
- Battery: 4,700mAh battery with 33W charging
Expert Comment: The Realme Narzo 50 Pro is a phone that has a lot going for it in terms of its design, processing prowess, and battery life. It has a stellar camera setup, including a 48MP sensor that takes crisp, detailed, and colour-accurate shots in daylight. Processing-wise, the device harbours a Dimensity 920 SoC, making it one of the fastest phones in the segment. With a slim 8mm chassis, a 90Hz AMOLED panel, excellent stereo speakers, and a 5,000mAh battery, you are looking at a perfect package in the Realme Narzo 50 Pro 5G.
Vivo V25 5G
- Price: Starting at Rs 24,990 on Amazon
- Display: 6.44-inch 90Hz FHD+ AMOLED display
- Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 900 SoC
- RAM and Storage: Up to 8GB RAM + 128GB storage
- Cameras: 64MP+8MP+2MP rear camera, 50MP front camera
- Battery: 4,500mAh battery with 44W charging
Expert Comment: The Vivo V25 5G offers pretty much everything that you can expect from a mid-ranger. From its eye-catching colour-changing design to reliable performance, a vibrant screen, decent cameras, and battery life, the Vivo V25 5G ticks most boxes. The handset could, however, have fared better with stereo speakers, a 120Hz refresh rate screen, and a faster chipset.
