The Moto G77 Power is the latest addition to Motorola's G-series, bringing the same tried-and-tested combo to a higher price segment. Coming at Rs 25,999 for the sole 8GB RAM and 128GB storage configuration, the G77 Power packs the MediaTek Dimensity 6400, a large 7,000mAh battery, and a 50MP LYTIA-600 primary camera. With others in the same segment offering the slightly superior Dimensity 7400 SoC, how does the G77 Power stack up against the competition? Find out in this review where I daily drove the device for over a week.

Quick verdict

The Moto G77 Power features a tall display that delivers sufficiently vibrant colours, while the stereo speakers provide an immersive sound experience. The vegan leather rear panel is soothing to hold, and the battery life is stellar. On to the downsides: it's set to receive only one OS upgrade, while the primary camera needs work to produce better detail.

Design: repetitive, yet comfortable

[pdp-expert-review]
While the Moto G77 Power's appearance may seem repetitive, as previous Moto G series smartphones featured the same design, it is comfortable to wield. The handset is sleek, lightweight, and comes with a vegan leather back for a good in-hand feel.
[/pdp-expert-review]

Right off the bat, the Moto G77 Power looks and feels strikingly identical to the Moto G37 Power (review). Since we received the blue colourways of both smartphones for review, it was nearly impossible to distinguish the two based on the back and even the front panel, unless you take a closer look at the cameras of the G77 Power, which carries the "LYTIA" branding. The Fuchsia Red and Nautical Blue colourways of the device feature a vegan leather back, while the Black variant's rear is made of acrylic.

The Moto G77 Power weighs 215g and measures 8.9mm in thickness, making it heavier than its close rivals, such as the Redmi Note 15 (review) and OnePlus Nord CE 6 Lite (review). Its build may feel hefty initially, but one should get used to it over time. Just like the G37 Power, the G77 Power is IP64 rated and carries MIL-STD-810H protection to absorb shocks during accidental drops.

A fair advantage the G77 Power has over its competitors is the inclusion of a 3.5mm headphone jack, making it crucial for people who still rely on wired headphones. Then there are Dolby-backed stereo speakers, which produce loud and thumpy sound output.

That said, Motorola hasn't moved an inch in terms of design language with the G77 Power, as it's the fourth consecutive G-series smartphone to sport the same front and rear appearance. While this helps the company maintain consistency and develop an identity, it can often come across as monotonous to the public.

Display: detailed with smooth scrolling

[pdp-expert-review]
The 1080p LCD display offers sufficient clarity and detail for watching content, while the colours are well preserved for the type of panel on offer. The 120Hz refresh rate also provides smooth scrolling.
[/pdp-expert-review]

Moving on to the display and viewing experience, the Moto G77 Power gains a 6.72-inch Full HD+ LCD display with a 120Hz refresh rate, and the same front appearance as the Moto G37 Power. Meaning, you get relatively thick bezels with a considerably large bottom chin.

The 1080p resolution offers sufficient clarity and detail for watching content on YouTube and JioHotstar, while the colours may not preserve their tone when the display is viewed from different angles. Otherwise, I found the colours to be vibrant enough in most scenarios, be it viewing social media posts, web browsing, or going through photos in the gallery. Speaking of which, it runs all apps at 120Hz in the 'Hyper smooth' setting, resulting in a fluid scrolling experience throughout.

Like most previous Motorola releases, the Moto G77 Power's display is protected using Corning Gorilla Glass 7i. Unfortunately, since Motorola doesn't pre-apply a factory screen protector, the display has endured noticeable scratches and scuffs.

Performance: fares well for daily use

[pdp-expert-review]
The Dimensity 6400 SoC may not offer the highest benchmark scores in its price class, but it offers sufficient prowess for running daily-use apps and casual games.
[/pdp-expert-review]

Despite a price markup of Rs 10,000 over the Moto G37 Power, the Moto G77 Power is equipped with the same MediaTek Dimensity 6400 processor. In real-world use, the chipset falls behind in raw power on benchmarks compared to its close rivals, as you can see in the chart below. However, the chipset offers enough prowess to run light to medium tasks, such as chatting, playing Clash Royale, and browsing Instagram.

[comparative-benchmark type="1" title="AnTuTu score" caption="AnTuTu assesses a smartphone's CPU, GPU, memory, and overall user experience (higher is better)" highlight="product_1" products="42273,38945,42001,," ][/comparative-benchmark]

[comparative-benchmark type="10" title="Geekbench single-core score" caption="Geekbench assesses the efficiency of the CPU's single and multiple cores (higher is better)" highlight="product_1" products="42273,38945,42001,," ][/comparative-benchmark]

[comparative-benchmark type="11" title="Geekbench multi-core score" caption="Geekbench assesses the efficiency of the CPU's single and multiple cores (higher is better)" highlight="product_1" products="42273,38945,42001,," ][/comparative-benchmark]

The device is available in a single storage variant of 128GB UFS 2.2 paired with 8GB LPDDR4X RAM. Given this combo, the Moto G77 Power does a fine job of holding several apps in memory, unless you load games or the camera into RAM. When we ran Call of Duty: Mobile for 30 minutes in the 'Medium' graphics and 'Max' frame rate settings, the G77 Power offered average frame rates of 55.4, while in BGMI's 'HDR' graphics and 'Ultra' frame rates, the device delivered 38.5 frame rates on average, also in 30 minutes of gameplay.

All in all, while the Dimensity 6400 SoC falls behind the likes of the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 and Dimensity 7400 chipsets, it can offer a fairly reliable day-to-day usage experience, unless you push the limits by running games at the highest frame rates or multitask heavily.

Software: lacks update longevity

[pdp-expert-review]
The Moto G77 Power runs the signature Hello UI software, which is identical to other G-series phones launched earlier this year. However, its update longevity lags behind the competition by a good margin.
[/pdp-expert-review]

On the software front, you get Motorola's Hello UI on top of Android 16, which looks and feels identical to the interface found on the Moto G37 Power (review). Therefore, all the nifty new software additions made on that phone are present on the G77 Power, which include native support for Android 16's Live Updates for Google Maps, a OneUI-like Now Bar pill on the status bar to track timers, a stopwatch, and a torch toggle, and several new lockscreen clock styles.

[gallery link="file" columns="2" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" ids="703043,703044"]

With many similarities in the software, which we've already covered all the newly introduced elements in-depth in our Moto G37 Power review, the core Hello UI experience remains the same as any other midrange Motorola phone. Meaning, you get the essential goodies, such as karate chop to turn on the flashlight, twist gesture to summon the camera, and Smart Connect for running your phone apps on a PC.

In terms of updates, the device lags behind the competition as it's set to receive just one major Android upgrade, i.e. Android 17, along with three years of security updates. In comparison, the OnePlus Nord CE 6 Lite is promised two major OS upgrades, while the Redmi Note 15 will get three Android updates down the line.

[comparative-benchmark type="3000" products="42273,42001,38945,," pias="41,52,64,,"][/comparative-benchmark]

Battery: stellar endurance

[pdp-expert-review]
The 7,000mAh battery provides solid battery endurance on a single charge, to the point you can achieve 8 to 9 hours of Screen On Time.
[/pdp-expert-review]

The Moto G77 Power runs on a 7,000mAh battery, paired with 30W fast charging. During my use of over a week, the phone delivered around 9 hours of screen-on time on a single charge. But that's not even the best part, as this result was obtained over the course of three days, indicating strong endurance even when the device is idle.

[gallery link="file" columns="2" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" ids="708982,708985"]

So, if your usage is typical, such as watching YouTube videos, scrolling Instagram, chatting on WhatsApp, and playing games for a few minutes a day, the Moto G77 Power will serve you well with multi-day battery life. Furthermore, the usage included a mix of WiFi and mobile data, with location and Bluetooth enabled throughout.

On to the battery stats achieved in our PCMark Battery Drain tests, the G77 Power clocked over 16 hours in the test; while not the best, these are respectable numbers. However, the OnePlus Nord CE 6 Lite, with a 7,000mAh battery, fares better in this regard.

[comparative-benchmark type="3" title="PCMark Battery score (in hours)" caption="PCMark battery test measures phone battery life from 100% to 20% (higher is better)" highlight="product_1" products="42273,42001,41949,," ][/comparative-benchmark]

When it comes to topping up the battery, we were able to charge the Moto G77 Power from 20 to 100 percent in 84 minutes, which is fairly swift for a 7,000mAh battery.

Camera: daylight outputs require work

[pdp-expert-review]
The daylight shots could do with better details; otherwise, the colours come out. When it comes to charging, the devices take just over an hour for a full top-up.
[/pdp-expert-review]

Since almost all new releases under Rs 30,000 have started omitting 1/2-inch or larger primary camera sensors in favour of smaller ones, the Moto G77 Power differentiates itself by packing the 50MP Sony LYTIA 600 camera. This comes with a 1/2-inch sensor size with no OIS support. Tagging along is an 8MP ultrawide lens, while the punch-hole cutout upfront gets a 32MP selfie camera.

As for video recordings, both the front and back cameras can capture 2K video at up to 30 FPS. As for the actual photography outputs, despite using such a prolific camera sensor, the details and clarity don't match the levels of Motorola's own phones with the LYTIA 600 camera sensor, such as the Moto G67 Power (review), which could possibly be due to the inferior ISP of the Dimensity 6400 over the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 SoC. That said, the images from the main camera are sharp enough, but fall apart when you zoom in. Most of the daylight outputs contain slightly boosted warm tones, while the brightness is generally on the lower side even in well-lit conditions.

Apart from that, the dynamic range is balanced, and exposure control is good at night. That said, night outputs may turn out soft when there's no significant light source, which you can see for yourselves in the image gallery below. Lastly, the ultrawide camera severely lacks detail compared to the primary sensor, even though colour consistency is well maintained.

[smartslider3 slider=2160]

As for how the cameras perform against the competition, I compared the Moto G77 Power against the Redmi Note 15, which is equipped with a 108MP primary and an 8MP ultrawide camera, to see how it stacks up:

Daylight

[twenty20 img1="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Moto-G77-Power-daylight-16-scaled.jpg" img2="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Redmi-Note-15-daylight-scaled.jpg" offset="0.5" before="Moto G77 Power" after="Redmi Note 15"]

It's instantly noticeable that the Moto G77 Power's shot carries an unappealing amount of warmth to the image, while the Redmi Note 15 delivers a contrasty image with slightly punchier colours. What's more, the Redmi Note 15's 1/1.67-inch sensor does a much better job of capturing details from the scene.

Ultrawide

[twenty20 img1="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Moto-G77-Power-ultrawide-scaled.jpg" img2="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Redmi-Note-15-ultrawide-scaled.jpg" offset="0.5" before="Moto G77 Power" after="Redmi Note 15"]

Coming to the ultrawide shot, while both smartphones have rendered the image soft, the Note 15's image is slightly sharper, as you can make out the individual tiles on the building. However, the Moto G77 Power maintains colour consistency with the primary camera better.

Portrait

[twenty20 img1="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Moto-G77-Power-portrait-scaled.jpg" img2="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Redmi-Note-15-portrait-scaled.jpg" offset="0.5" before="Moto G77 Power" after="Redmi Note 15"]

Switching to portrait mode, the Moto G77 Power takes the lead by handling background highlights noticeably better while maintaining the subject's actual colours. Surprisingly, it also yields better detail, even though edge detection is superior on the Note 15.

Selfie

[twenty20 img1="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Moto-G77-Power-selfie-scaled.jpg" img2="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Redmi-Note-15-selfie-1-scaled.jpg" offset="0.5" before="Moto G77 Power" after="Redmi Note 15"]

In selfies, once again the Moto G77 Power goes for a sharper and clearer look, while the Note 15 struggles to bring out the details. It also outputs more pleasing colours, be it for the background or foreground, while capturing a wider perspective, ideal for group selfies.

Low-light

[twenty20 img1="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Moto-G77-Power-night-mode-scaled.jpg" img2="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Redmi-Note-15-low-light-scaled.jpg" offset="0.5" before="Moto G77 Power" after="Redmi Note 15"]

Despite carrying a superior primary camera sensor, the Note 15's low-light shot falls apart when it comes to details compared to the Moto G77 Power. The Moto smartphone also adds enough exposure to the scene, whereas the Redmi Note 15's image appears darker. However, many may prefer the Note 15's shot as well for its contrasty look, if we keep the detail levels aside.

Final verdict: Should you buy the Moto G77 Power?

The G77 Power feels solid and comfortable to hold with the inclusion of a vegan leather back, even though it may seem bulky initially. The 1080p LCD panel produces crisp details, but is no match for phones with AMOLED displays in its price range, such as the Redmi Note 15 and Samsung Galaxy M47, while the stereo speakers certainly add to the experience.

The 7,000mAh battery on board grants the phone multi-day endurance, with users likely to get over eight to nine hours of screen on time on a single charge, while topping it up takes just slightly over an hour. When it comes to areas of improvement, while the software currently performs excellently and delivers smooth, swift performance, the promise of just one OS upgrade for a phone priced at Rs 25,999 leaves a bitter taste. On the other hand, I expected better details and colour science from the camera given the hardware, though selfies and portrait shots turn out decent.

While the Dimensity 6400 processor trails behind the likes of the Dimensity 7400 and Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 in terms of raw power, the G77 Power's day-to-day usability remains intact. Furthermore, with smartphone prices on a constant rise, phones with Dimensity 6300/6400 SoC could soon retail at the Rs 25,000 mark or above, just like the G77 Power.

Moreover, phones like the Redmi Note 15 offer punchier tones, thanks to an AMOLED display, superior daylight shots, and a fairly lightweight, more comfortable build. That said, if you value a comfortable vegan leather design, strong battery life, sharp portraits and selfies, decent daily performance, and wired audio output, then the Moto G77 Power is worth considering. 

Editorial rating: 8.1/10

Reasons to buy the Moto G77 Power

• Tall display that is sufficiently detailed for everyday use.
• Vegan leather back makes the device comfortable to hold.
• Stellar battery life on a single charge.
• Stereo speaker setup enhances the entertainment experience.

Reasons to skip the Moto G77 Power

• Set to receive just one Android upgrade, while most rivals are offering at least two.
• Primary camera produces less detailed results than expected.

The Motorola Edge 70 Max reviews are out, including our own, with many praising the value it offers. That said, it is not without its shortcomings. While Motorola's feature-packed smartphone delivers strongly in several key areas, there are a couple of aspects where it could have performed better. Even so, for power users and in the right usage scenarios, the Edge 70 Max (review) presents a compelling case.

In this article, we take a closer look at what it gets right, where it falls short, and whether it deserves a place on your shortlist.

Reasons to buy Motorola Edge 70 Max

Impressive build

The Motorola Edge 70 Max may not stand out with its design, but it is certainly designed to endure demanding usage. The handset boasts an aluminium frame sandwiched between Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protection on the front and back. Then, there is IP69 water and dust resistance and MIL-STD-810H military-grade durability for protection against minor drops and falls.

The Edge 70 Max is also designed differently from the previous lot of Edge 70 series. The handset features flat edges, making it easy to grip and preventing accidental touches while gaming. 

Sharp display

The Motorola Edge 70 Max features a 6.8-inch ‘Extreme' AMOLED 10-bit LTPO display with 144Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support, and 100 percent DCI-P3 colour gamut. However, the real highlight of the panel is the 2K QHD+ resolution, making it the sharpest in its class. While the difference isn't immediately apparent when watching videos, the higher pixel density makes text noticeably crisper, making the phone a better choice for users who spend a lot of time reading on their device.

Excellent performance

[comparative-benchmark type="1" title="AnTuTu score" caption="AnTuTu assesses a smartphone's CPU, GPU, memory, and overall user experience (higher is better)" highlight="product_1" products="42264,41748,41310,41759," ][/comparative-benchmark]

At the core of the Motorola Edge 70 Max lies a sub-flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 SoC, which breezes through intensive gaming, multitasking, and productivity workloads. Furthermore, the handset offers an efficient 5,500mm2 VC cooling system, ensuring performance remains consistent even during extended gaming sessions.

Overall, the handset keeps pace with similarly equipped rivals such as the iQOO 15R and OnePlus 15R, while avoiding any noticeable throttling during prolonged gaming sessions.

Reliable cameras

[gallery link="none" columns="1" size="full" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" ids="708849,708852,708850,708851,708848"]

Despite being positioned as a gaming-focused smartphone, the Edge 70 Max's primary camera is a pleasant surprise. The handset features a dual-rear camera setup, comprising a mid-range 50MP Sony LYT710 main sensor and an 8MP ultrawide lens. The front camera is a 32MP snapper.

The cameras deliver detailed photos with pleasing colours, good dynamic range, and dependable low-light performance. The image quality remains well-exposed, often outperforming the iQOO 15R in daylight and ultrawide comparisons. However, the absence of a telephoto camera lens and an underwhelming ultrawide lens makes it less appealing for camera enthusiasts.

Reasons not to buy Motorola Edge 70 Max

Limited software support

[comparative-benchmark type="3000" products="42264,41748,41310,41759," pias="59,54,53,51,"][/comparative-benchmark]

The Motorola Edge 70 Max feels intuitive with a near-stock Android experience, even though the list of pre-installed apps on the Android 16-based Hello UI remains on the higher side. However, the three major OS upgrades and five years of security updates feel modest in this price segment. Rivals such as the iQOO 15R and OnePlus 15R offer longer software support while also bundling AI features across all variants, giving them an edge for buyers planning to keep their phone for several years.

Outdoor legibility could be better

Although the 2K AMOLED panel is among the sharpest in its class, its outdoor brightness doesn't quite match the rest of the package. The display, which supports up to 7,000 nits peak brightness, struggles under direct sunlight, allowing rivals like the iQOO 15R (review) and OnePlus 15R (review) to pull ahead in terms of outdoor readability.

Final thoughts

To sum it up, the Motorola Edge 70 Max may not be the ideal choice for users seeking class-leading software support or excellent outdoor display visibility. However, gamers and power users, who are typically indoors, will find plenty to like. Its strong performance, gamer-friendly form factor, and sharp display make it a compelling option, while the reliable primary cameras are a welcome bonus despite the limited versatility of the overall camera system.

Xiaomi has built a strong reputation for offering feature-rich, value-for-money smart TVs, while TCL is widely recognised for its in-house display technology and focus on picture quality. With both brands offering compelling options across price segments, choosing between them can be confusing. Which brand offers the better display? Which one delivers more features for the price? Where does each brand excel, and where do they fall short? Most importantly, which models are worth buying?

To help answer these questions, we've compared Xiaomi and TCL TVs across their features, strengths, weaknesses, and best models. Check it out.

Which is better for...

Sizes available

TCL offers a wider range of TV screen sizes than Xiaomi. Both brands start with 32-inch models, but Xiaomi's lineup currently tops out at 75 inches. TCL, by comparison, offers significantly larger options, including 85-inch, 98-inch, and flagship 115-inch models, making it the better choice for buyers looking for large-screen home entertainment setups.

*Sizes as mentioned on Xiaomi and TCL's official websites in India.

Display

Both TCL and Xiaomi offer a wide range of display technologies across their smart TV portfolios. In the budget and mid-range segments, both brands rely on LED and QLED panels, delivering comparable picture quality with sharp visuals, vibrant colours, and decent contrast.

[caption id="attachment_699459" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Xiaomi-X-Pro-QLED-TV-2026[/caption]

The competition becomes more interesting in the premium segment. Both Xiaomi and TCL now offer QD Mini LED TVs, which combine Mini LED backlighting with a Quantum Dot layer. Compared to conventional QLED TVs, these panels deliver higher brightness, better contrast, more precise local dimming, and a wider colour gamut, resulting in deeper blacks and more impactful HDR performance.

[caption id="attachment_431361" align="aligncenter" width="1057"] tcl-c825-mini-led-4k-tv[/caption]

TCL, however, takes things a step further with its flagship SQD Mini LED technology. This is an enhanced version of QD Mini LED that incorporates a more advanced Quantum Dot layer and improved light control, helping reduce colour bleed, improve contrast, and produce more accurate, lifelike colours. When paired with TCL's advanced local dimming system, the technology delivers deeper blacks and a viewing experience that comes closer to OLED than conventional Mini LED TVs.

Apart from that, TCL's premium TVs also boast impressive local dimming zones and higher peak brightness. This translates into stronger HDR performance, brighter highlights, and better shadow detail, making dark scenes and colourful HDR content appear more immersive.

Winner: TCL

Smart TV experience

While TCL has the upper hand in display technology, Xiaomi offers a more feature-rich software experience. In addition to Google TV, Xiaomi TVs include the company's PatchWall interface, which provides a personalised content discovery experience. PatchWall aggregates movies and TV shows from multiple OTT platforms into a single, easy-to-browse interface, reducing the need to open individual streaming apps. It also includes dedicated content collections, recommendations, and, in India, free access to more than 200 live TV channels through Xiaomi TV+.

[caption id="attachment_701232" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Xiaomi TV[/caption]

TCL TVs, on the other hand, run Google TV out of the box, which offers a pretty standard experience. The TV sticks to personalised recommendations based on your viewing history, support for multiple user profiles, Google Assistant, Chromecast built-in, and the ability to sync your Watchlist from your Google account - all these features you will also find on a Xiaomi TV.

However, unlike PatchWall, it does not provide a dedicated content-first interface that lets you browse extensively across streaming platforms without eventually opening the respective OTT app. For users who prioritise content discovery and convenience, Xiaomi's software experience has a slight edge. The software also comes with the Mi Home app, which lets you control other Xiaomi home appliances directly from the TV.

Winner: Xiaomi

Gaming

If you're looking for a TV that can double as a capable gaming display, TCL is the stronger choice. That's not to say Xiaomi TVs can't handle gaming. Many of its models include features such as Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), MEMC for smoother motion, and HDMI 2.1 ports on select models. However, Xiaomi's current lineup is largely limited to native 60Hz refresh rate panels.

[caption id="attachment_431360" align="aligncenter" width="993"] tcl-c825-mini-led-4k-tv[/caption]

While a 60Hz panel is perfectly adequate for casual gaming and slower-paced, story-driven titles, it falls short for competitive first-person shooters, racing games, and other fast-paced genres, where higher refresh rates deliver smoother motion and more responsive gameplay. Some Xiaomi TV options offer a 120Hz refresh rate with Game Boost, but that comes at the expense of reduced resolution.

For users looking for both high resolution and high frame rates, TCL TVs come across as a better proposition. Several TCL models offer native 120Hz and even 144Hz panels, along with support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), ALLM, HDMI 2.1, and gaming modes on select models. These features make TCL TVs better suited for getting the most out of modern consoles such as the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, particularly in games that support high frame rates.

Winner: TCL

Audio

Audio performance is fairly evenly matched between Xiaomi and TCL. Both brands equip their larger TVs with 2.1-channel speaker systems, while their smaller and more affordable models rely on bottom-firing stereo speakers. Speaker output is also broadly similar across comparable models, and both brands support DTS Virtual for a more immersive soundstage.

The TVs also feature HDMI eARC, allowing you to pass high-quality audio to compatible soundbars and AV receivers. The only notable difference is the Dolby Atmos support on select TCL models, whereas Xiaomi primarily offers Dolby Audio. Technically, this means a more immersive listening experience on compatible TCL TVs, but the difference is unlikely to be significant through the built-in speakers, which aren't designed to fully reproduce the height and spatial effects that Dolby Atmos is designed to deliver.

To experience a noticeable improvement, you'll need a capable soundbar or home theatre system.

Winner: Tie

Price comparison

The Xiaomi TVs are most competitively priced, starting as low as Rs 13,499 for the 32-inch variant. A comparable 32-inch TCL TV, by contrast, typically costs around Rs 17,000. The price gap widens further in the larger screen segments. For instance, Xiaomi's 75-inch TV is listed on the company's website for Rs 69,999, while TCL's 75-inch models start at around Rs 1,79,990.

*Starting price, as listed online

The higher price of TCL TVs reflects their positioning rather than simply a brand premium. Many of the company's larger models feature QD Mini LED or SQD Mini LED panels, higher refresh rates, superior local dimming, and better HDR performance, features that are generally absent from Xiaomi's lineup.

As a result, Xiaomi remains the better value option for budget-conscious buyers, while TCL justifies its premium pricing with more advanced display technology and gaming-focused features.

Winner: Xiaomi

Top Xiaomi TVs in India

Top TCL TVs in India

Verdict

Xiaomi TV seems to be a better choice for most buyers, offering excellent value with a polished smart TV experience, good picture quality, capable audio, and useful features like PatchWall and smart home integration, all at highly competitive prices.

TCL, on the other hand, should be your top priority for premium picture quality and gaming. Its Mini LED technologies, higher brightness, superior HDR performance, high-refresh-rate panels, and wider range of large-screen models make it the stronger choice for home theatre enthusiasts and console gamers.

The Tecno Camon series is the brand's lineup of devices that are focused on design and camera performance. There was no new Camon series phone launched in 2025, but the new Tecno Camon 50 Ultra marks the latest entry into the lineup this year. The new Camon 50 Ultra boasts a beautiful design that catches your eye immediately, packs a big 6,500mAh cell and is one of the few phones under Rs 40,000 to offer you a telephoto lens. 

In this review, I'll discuss how the device performs in day-to-day use, its camera output, battery life and other aspects and try to answer if it's worth its asking price. Let's get started!

Short verdict

The Tecno Camon 50 Ultra is a good choice for users who want a stylish phone with a good camera setup, bright display, and solid battery life under Rs 40,000. It is not the most performance-focused phone, but it feels well balanced and thoughtfully put together. For camera-focused buyers who want a phone that looks good and lasts well through the day, it makes a convincing case.

Design: slim and oh-so-chic

[pdp-expert-review]
The Tecno Camon 50 Ultra has a slim, stylish design with a classy dual-tone finish, a comfortable in-hand feel, and strong durability ratings that make it look good while feeling sturdy enough for everyday use.
[/pdp-expert-review]

The Tecno Camon 50 Ultra has a really likeable design right out of the box, with a matte finish on the back panel. My Cypress Green colourway has a beautiful algae-green finish that looks quite classy. The dual-tone finish around the camera island also adds a nice touch, and the final design is definitely a head-turner.

The paired case in the box takes things up a notch with a similar dual-tone finish, while the larger section gets a rubberised texture that feels soft to the touch. It is already a noteworthy design, but the case makes it feel even more refined, and I really like that.

[comparative-benchmark type="1000" products="41843,42000,41523,42052," ][/comparative-benchmark]

The phone also feels extremely comfortable to hold, thanks to its curved edges, thin 7.75mm profile, and 190g weight. On top of that, it brings serious durability credentials with IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K protection, along with MIL-STD-810H compliance. That makes it feel durable enough to handle quite a bit of abuse, and it is easily one of its strongest aspects.

Cameras: finally a telephoto lens

[pdp-expert-review]
The Camon 50 Ultra features a versatile camera system with a 50MP main sensor, 3x telephoto lens, and 50MP front camera. It delivers vibrant, social media-ready photos with strong daylight performance, natural selfies, and usable low-light shots. The telephoto adds zoom and portrait flexibility, while the ultrawide is functional but less impressive. Overall, it offers a well-rounded, camera-first experience for the price.
[/pdp-expert-review]

Next up is the camera, and the Camon 50 Ultra brings a pretty good setup for the price, a telephoto lens, in particular. You get a 50MP front camera, and at the back there is a 50MP 1/1.56-inch main camera with OIS, a 50MP 3x telephoto lens, and an 8MP ultrawide camera. It is nice to see another smartphone under Rs 40,000 with a telephoto lens, which immediately gives it a big advantage in this segment.

In general, the cameras produce likeable results with slightly punchy, vibrant colours that make the shots look social media-ready. The main camera does especially well in daylight, with good detail, accurate white balance, and dynamic range, while the selfies are also a highlight thanks to good detail and natural skin tones.

[smartslider3 slider=2162]

In low light, the main camera continues to perform well with good detail and dynamic range, while the 2x zoom remains usable, although the detail level is substantially diminished. 

The telephoto lens is handy for zoom and portraits, though it does have its quirks with loss of detail at the 3x level. The lens has a mixed output at night, with softer and less consistent results. The ultrawide camera, in my opinion, is the weakest and gets the job done in daylight, but expect softer results in low light.

I compared the phone's camera against the only other contender under Rs 40,000 to offer a telephoto lens, the Nothing Phone (4a) (review). Check it out below. 

Daylight

In daylight scenes, the Camon 50 Ultra's shots look a little washed out with a low contrast level. The Phone (4a), meanwhile, does a much better job in delivering a cohesive image with more appealing colours. In terms of detail level, Phone (4a) is a step behind its peer, Tecno, which offers a sharper, more detailed picture.

[twenty20 img1="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Tecno-Camon-50-Ultra-daylight-scaled.jpg" img2="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Nothing-Phone-4a-daylight-14-scaled.jpg" offset="0.5" before="Tecno Camon 50 Ultra" after="Nothing Phone (4a)"]

Ultrawide

Turning to the ultra-wide shot, both phones undergo a massive colour shift. The Phone (4a) is the one that struggles with contrast level and washed-out colours, while the Tecno's image is a lot more vibrant and contrast-heavy. The Camon 50 Ultra maintains its superiority in terms of detail level.

[twenty20 img1="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Tecno-Camon-50-Ultra-ultrawide-scaled.jpg" img2="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Nothing-Phone-4a-ultrawide-scaled.jpg" offset="0.5" before="Tecno Camon 50 Ultra" after="Nothing Phone (4a)"]

Portrait

Both phones perform quite decently in portrait modes at their individual optical lengths. The Camon 50 Ultra's shot is more detailed in terms of facial features and textures while keeping the colours more in line with the actual scene. The Phone (4a)'s image is slightly warmer in comparison. The edge detection is quite on par on both devices.

[twenty20 img1="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Tecno-Camon-50-Ultra-portrait-scaled.jpg" img2="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Nothing-Phone-4a-portrait-scaled.jpg" offset="0.5" before="Tecno Camon 50 Ultra" after="Nothing Phone (4a)"]

Selfie

The Nothing Phone (4a)'s image shows true-to-life colours, be it skin tone, the background environment or the subject's clothes. On the other hand, the Camon 50 Ultra's image is significantly more detailed and sharper. 

[twenty20 img1="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Tecno-Camon-50-Ultra-selfie-scaled.jpg" img2="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Nothing-Phone-4a-selfie-scaled.jpg" offset="0.5" before="Tecno Camon 50 Ultra" after="Nothing Phone (4a)"]

Low light

With the dedicated night mode enabled on both phones, the actual scene looks closer to the Camon 50 Ultra's image in terms of colour accuracy. The detail level is also better on the Camon's image, keeping it in the lead for night shots. 

[twenty20 img1="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Tecno-Camon-50-Ultra-nightmode-scaled.jpg" img2="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Nothing-Phone-4a-nightmode-scaled.jpg" offset="0.5" before="Tecno Camon 50 Ultra" after="Nothing Phone (4a)"]

Display: curved panels have their charm

[pdp-expert-review]
The 6.78-inch curved AMOLED display offers vibrant colours, high brightness, and an immersive viewing experience. The 144Hz refresh rate is smooth but limited to select apps. Speakers are loud with Dolby Atmos, though they can sound a bit sharp at higher volumes.
[/pdp-expert-review]

Next up is the display, a 6.78-inch curved AMOLED ProXDR panel with 4500 nits peak brightness, a 144Hz refresh rate and HDR10 support. It has good colours, and while I don't personally like curved displays, they do have their charm. The content looks quite immersive, and there is a sense of premium-ness to the overall panel.

The higher 144Hz refresh rate kicks in only for a few apps, as I'll show below, and some games will likely get support down the line. As for the multimedia experience itself, it is pretty decent, with likeable, vibrant colours and good visibility even under direct sunlight.

[comparative-benchmark type="2000" products="41843,42000,41523,42052," ][/comparative-benchmark]

The speakers are Dolby Atmos-supported, but they are not my favourite. They are decently loud, but there is a shrillness to the sound signature that shows up when you play audio at higher volume levels, which I found a little unpleasant personally. All in all, it is mostly a decent multimedia device that works well across the board.

Performance: good enough for everyday use

[pdp-expert-review]
The Tecno Camon 50 Ultra uses the MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Ultimate with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, delivering smooth everyday performance for apps, multitasking, and casual gaming. While generally stable, the OS can feel slightly laggy at times, and the phone tends to heat up during extended outdoor use or camera sessions, leading to occasional stutter. Overall, Tecno has balanced specs and cost wisely, making it a practical choice for typical users.
[/pdp-expert-review]

Next up is performance, and the Tecno Camon 50 Ultra is specced just enough to deliver a decent everyday experience. It uses the MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Ultimate, paired with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage, and that setup handles app switching, general use, and even gaming to a decent level.

[comparative-benchmark type="1" title="AnTuTu score" caption="AnTuTu assesses a smartphone's CPU, GPU, memory, and overall user experience (higher is better)" highlight="product_1" products="41843,42000,41523,42052," ][/comparative-benchmark]

I did not run into too many stutters, although the OS can get a little laggy at times. The phone also has a little trouble dissipating heat, particularly when shooting outdoors. The device can get rather hot and stutter even more.

[comparative-benchmark type="10" title="Geekbench single-core score" caption="Geekbench assesses the efficiency of the CPU's single and multiple cores (higher is better)" highlight="product_1" products="41843,42000,41523,42052," ][/comparative-benchmark]

It is competing against phones like the Nothing Phone (4a) and the OnePlus Nord CE6, with the latter being the more performance-focused option, while the 4a offers a similar level of output.

[comparative-benchmark type="11" title="Geekbench multi-core score" caption="Geekbench assesses the efficiency of the CPU's single and multiple cores (higher is better)" highlight="product_1" products="41843,42000,41523,42052," ][/comparative-benchmark]

There is nothing really bad to complain about here since Tecno has kept the specs modest to keep costs low, and that has paid off. In my opinion, it is a smartly planned device given the current market conditions.

Battery: decent longevity and charging time

[pdp-expert-review]
The 6,500mAh battery delivers strong endurance, lasting over 13 hours in benchmarks and comfortably more than a day in typical use. Even with high brightness and gaming, expect 7–8 hours of screen time. The included 45W charger fills the battery from 20 to 100 per cent in just over an hour, offering solid value.
[/pdp-expert-review]

A 6,500mAh battery inside a phone this thin is pretty decent, and it lasted over 13 hours in our PCMark battery benchmark, which is a solid result for the segment. It also holds up well in everyday use, with around a 6 per cent drop after 1 hour of YouTube and about 13 per cent after more than 1 hour of gaming.

[comparative-benchmark type="3" title="PCMark Battery score (in hours)" caption="PCMark battery test measures phone battery life from 100% to 20% (higher is better)" highlight="product_1" products="41843,42000,41523,42052," ][/comparative-benchmark]

You can expect around 7 to 8 hours of SOT if you keep brightness high and game often, but for most users, it should comfortably last well beyond a day before needing a charge. The 45W charger in the box also tops it up from 20 to 100 per cent in just a little over an hour, which is great for the price. While the phone may not dominate the segment in power efficiency, it is more than capable of meeting the needs of most users. 

[comparative-benchmark type="4000" products="41843,42000,41523,42052," ][/comparative-benchmark]

Software: relatively clean and snappy

[pdp-expert-review]
Running Android 16 with HiOS 16, the phone promises 3 OS upgrades and 5 years of security patches. HiOS adds useful customisation like enhanced Always-on Display options, depth-effect screens, and AI-generated themes. Features such as the Ella assistant, FlashMemo, translation, and AI image tools offer practical value without overwhelming users who prefer a simpler experience.
[/pdp-expert-review]

The Camon 50 Ultra ships with Android 16 with Tecno's HiOS 16 skin on top, and the brand is promising 3 OS upgrades and 5 years of security patches. HiOS 16 brings a good amount of customisation, including improved Always-on Display options, depth-effect lock and home screens, plus AI-based themes and wallpaper generation.

[comparative-benchmark type="3000" products="41843,42000,41523,42052," pias="52,54,30,47,"][/comparative-benchmark]

The AI features are where the software tries to be useful for both power users and regular users. Tecno's Ella assistant can help with voice commands, settings, and everyday tasks, while features like FlashMemo, translation, writing help, and image editing add more practical value if you use AI often.

At the same time, most of these tools are easy enough to ignore if you only want a simple phone experience, so the software does not feel too overwhelming.

Final verdict

The Tecno Camon 50 Ultra is priced at Rs 39,999 for the single 8GB + 256GB configuration on Amazon. For the price, it brings a lot to the table, especially for users who want a stylish phone with a great camera setup, a bright display, and good battery life. Its main weakness is that performance is not quite as ambitious as some rivals, and the 144Hz rate is limited in its implementation. Still, it feels like a smartly put-together device that focuses on the right things for its price.

Against the Nothing Phone (4a) (review), Tecno feels more balanced with its bigger battery. The OnePlus Nord CE6 (review) is the better pick if performance and speed matter more to you, but it gives up camera performance in the process. The Motorola Edge 70 Pro (review) is a better all-rounder, although it does not offer a telephoto lens, which makes the Camon 50 Ultra more appealing for users who care about zoom shots and portraits.

The Tecno Camon 50 Ultra is a good fit for users who prioritise cameras, want a device that turns heads, and need something they can carry around without worrying too much about running out of charge. For anyone looking under Rs 40,000, it presents itself as a capable camera-first option with a good balance of design and battery. 

Editor's Rating: 8.2/10

Reasons to buy:

• Impressive eye-catching design that feels comfortable in hand
• The display feels bright, vibrant, and enjoyable for media
• Impressive cameras with a telephoto lens
• Battery life makes it easy to rely on through a full day and beyond

Reasons not to buy:

• Performance isn't the strongest in the segment
• Limited 144Hz support.

Samsung has been trying to position its Health platform as an all-encompassing, holistic platform for well-being, and over the years, its wearables have ably supported that mission by acting as advanced trackers that capture data reliably. Advanced health features combined with the power of AI have been the differentiator, and the latest Galaxy Watch9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra2 carry that mission forward. 

Hands-on with the Galaxy Watch9

While the Galaxy Watch9 is the lighter of the two, designed for effortless all-day wearing, its capabilities cannot be taken lightly. Sticking to the same design language as before, it uses an aluminium casing and signature cushion design in typical Samsung style. Thanks to the new Snapdragon Wear Elite platform powering it, it promises smooth, lag-free usage, and in the brief period that I got to play with it, the UI certainly seemed quite zippy. 

As far as the specs are concerned, the Samsung Galaxy Watch9 comes in two sizes: a 44mm model (available in Graphite and Silver) weighing a lightweight 34.0g, and a 40mm model (Graphite and Cream) weighing just 31.5g. Both variants feature a Sapphire Crystal-protected Super AMOLED display capable of up to 3,000 nits peak brightness, with the 44mm sporting a 1.47-inch (480x480) panel and the 40mm housing a 1.34-inch (438x438) screen. The Watch9 packs 2GB of memory and 32GB of storage, running Wear OS 7 layered with One UI 9 Watch. Battery capacity stands at 445mAh for the 44mm model and 390mAh for the 40mm model, both supporting WPC-based wireless Fast Charging.

For fitness and health monitoring, the Watch9 is equipped with the Samsung BioActive Sensor (combining Optical Bio-signal, Electrical Heart Signal, and BIA) alongside temperature, accelerometer, barometer, gyro, geomagnetic, and light sensors. Rounding out the hardware, it offers comprehensive connectivity via LTE, Bluetooth 6.0, dual-band Wi-Fi, NFC, and dual-frequency GPS, supported by 5ATM + IP68 water/dust resistance and MIL-STD-810H durability certification.

Checking out the Watch Ultra2

Moving on to the richer cousin, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra2. It comes as the successor to the Watch Ultra, Samsung's ultimate high-performance smartwatch built for extreme outdoor sports and continuous wellness monitoring. Housed in a shock-resistant titanium casing that is 12 percent thinner than its predecessor, it packs a massive 800mAh battery, which is a 35% capacity jump over the previous model. This is good news, since the OG model was rather large and bulky for wearing 24/7.

The Ultra2's 1.52-inch (498x498) Super AMOLED display is protected by Sapphire Crystal and boasts a world-first 5,000 nits peak brightness, while the Snapdragon Wear Elite platform powers its capabilities. Designed for extreme environments, it carries IP69K, 10 ATM, and EN13319 certifications, enabling pro-level diving capabilities with real-time tracking of depth, water temperature, and safe dive limits (developed in partnership with Mares). For endurance athletes, it introduces a dedicated Trail Run mode (tracking elevation and terrain impact) and Nutrition Alert for real-time hydration guidance based on sweat loss. Anchored by the upgraded BioActive sensor, it also delivers Samsung's AI health intelligence suite, including sleep apnea detection, continuous Vitals alerts, heart health scoring, and daily cardio load tracking.

To give you a rundown of the specs, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra2 comes in a single 47mm size option (available in Titanium Silver and Titanium Gray), weighing 61.5g. It runs Wear OS 7 with One UI 9 Watch. Health and fitness tracking are powered by the Samsung BioActive Sensor (combining Optical Bio-signal, Electrical Heart Signal, and BIA) alongside dedicated sensors for temperature, acceleration, barometric pressure, gyroscopic motion, geomagnetism, and ambient light. Connectivity options include LTE, Bluetooth 6.0, dual-band Wi-Fi, NFC, and L1+L5 Dual-Frequency GPS, backed by 10ATM + IP69K water and dust resistance, MIL-STD-810H military durability, and EN13319 diving certification.

To sum it up

Both watches seem to be taking their health and fitness tracking responsibilities quite seriously, and while the hardware seems on point, the Samsung Health platform is looking like a solid and capable health companion too. Looking well-rounded from an aethetics PoV as well, both the Watch9 and Watch Ultra2 do look quite compelling, based on my quick hands-on. We'll have more on these wearables as soon as we get them in for review. 

Disclosure: The writer attended Samsung Unpacked in London on Samsung India's invitation

Both the flip and the fold form factors have been around in the foldable smartphone segment for a while now, but a new contender is emerging that could sway many buyers in its direction. I'm referring to the new Galaxy Z Fold8, which is the so-called 'Wide' version of Samsung's book-style foldable. Rather than a book though, it resembles a passport more closely, and I have to tell you this – if you've been considering a foldable smartphone before and find the regular flip a bit too small and the fold a bit too big, the Z Fold8 could be the ideal sweet spot. Within just a few minutes of playing with it, I've fallen in love, and I suspect you will too.

Design and build

Weighing 201g, the Z Fold8 is said to be the lightest fold smartphone ever, and it's quite compact too. Measuring 81.9 x 123.9 x 9.7mm when folded, it's not much bigger than a passport, and that's a good analogy since I think this device could be your passport to immersive content.


Samsung is highlighting its new Flex Titanium tech as a major breakthrough, resulting in a design that's slimmer and more durable, and also helps reduce the crease. This technology involves a titanium-based display structure, using a titanium-alloy film with an enhanced titanium plate, capable of absorbing pressure and impact, and also reducing the crease. There's IP48 rating to indicate resistance to dust and water.

That screen

The word ‘immersive' comes up a few times in Samsung's messaging around this phone too, and it's easy to see why. The 5.5-inch cover display is nice for all your regular tasks, and the 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2x screen looks nice and punchy too. Open up the device to feast your eyes on the 7.6-inch, 1,848 x 2,448 pixel, 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2X main display. With the brightness going up to 3,000 nits, covered with an anti-reflective coating, and bearing support for Vision Booster, the screen looks gorgeous.


The 4:3 aspect ratio works well for watching videos in landscape, with slim black bands appearing on the top and bottom. And if you switch the orientation to portrait, the aspect ratio becomes ideal for reading content – web pages, magazines, documents, what have you. In terms of build quality, the Z Fold8 seems pretty good, and it carries an IP48 rating too.

Shooting

For shooting, you get dual cameras on the back – a pair of 50MP sensors, with the primary one offering OIS and 2x zoom, and the other one handling ultrawide photography. The setup might not seem as versatile as other contenders which offer dedicated telephoto sensors, but Samsung's cameras have delivered well in the past, and there's no reason why the Z Fold8 won't do the same. 10MP sensors handle selfie and video calling duties – there's one on the main display and another 10MP one on the cover display. There's a new My FanCam feature that's quite interesting: it lets you track a selected person in an existing video and reframe it to an aspect ratio of your choice, giving you social-ready videos in a matter of seconds.

The innards

Core specs are true-blue flagship – there's the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy SoC, mated to 12 or 16GB of RAM, along with up to a terabyte of storage, depending upon the variant you choose. Despite the compact form factor, the battery capacity is a respectable 4,800mAh, and you can juice it up at up to 45W speeds using a cable or up to 20W wirelessly.


Notably, the Fold8 lineup is the first from Samsung to use silicon carbide battery tech, and hopefully, we'll get to see bigger batteries in Samsung phones going forward. For now, the Z Fold8 uses it to keep its battery capacity respectable and its chassis super-slim.

Software

Samsung's One UI 9 with Android 17 makes up the software side of things, and while I didn't get enough time with the device to check out the new features properly, I know how intuitive the platform is and the ecosystem benefits it brings. Security should be top-notch with Knox baked in, while Galaxy AI has also been improving with each new iteration. Now Brief (personalised, contextual info) and Now Nudge (surfaces relevant prompts automatically) are features that have proven to be quite useful and make their way into the new device too. There's Gemini Intelligence and App Automation that can tie in multiple apps, and the ability to just describe what you need and let the AI do its thing, and more. The overall direction is agentic AI, and with each step, Samsung seems to be moving in that general direction.

To sum it up

I'll have lots more to say about the Galaxy X Z Fold8 after I get to use it properly, but for now, I'll just say this: it's a refreshing new form factor that holds a lot of promise. Making content consumption more immersive seems to be one of its key highlights, and it does that without compromising on any of the core features expected of a Samsung flagship.


I can't wait to get my hands on it again and use it as my daily driver to see what it can do for me, but my sense is that this form factor might just turn out to be quite popular, despite the premium sticker price it's bound to carry. Let's see if I'm right about this.

Disclosure: This writer attended Galaxy Unpacked 2026 in London on Samsung India's invitation

It's easy for me to get carried away when I'm in the midst of all the action at Galaxy Unpacked – checking out Samsung's new foldable smartphones up close and before most others have laid their eyes on them. When the spotlight switches off, and the noise dies down though, what remains is the real deal – the devices that promise to get users through the daily grind. Sometimes, the gap between the promise and real-life usage can be a significant one, but Samsung has delivered on its promises in the past, multiple times… and from what I can see now, I think it's going to deliver this time too. As I lay my hands on the new Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Flip8, there's a sense of familiarity, and more importantly, confidence that both these devices have what it takes to bridge that gap between promise and reality. Samsung's new Flex Titanium tech that uses a titanium-alloy film with an enhanced titanium plate in the display structure is said to be one of the main reasons why the new Fold8 lineup is quite slim and more durable than before. The creases in the middle are also barely noticeable.

Up close with the Galaxy Z Flip8

First up, the Galaxy Z Flip8. Weighing 180g and 6.1mm thick, it's the lightest and thinnest Flip ever, and that bodes well for a device which boasts sleekness as one of its USPs. But there's more to it, of course. Apart from its compactness, the beauty of this form factor lies in the unique use cases it offers – FlexCam is a good example. Using the flip design and the cover screen, it provides flexible shooting angles and real-time previews, aiding photography and letting you get creative in ways you couldn't imagine before.


The Camcorder Grip is another feature that only the flip form factor can offer, and it allows for an intuitive way to shoot videos on the go. And now with Horizontal Lock added to the Super Steady mode, you can really go all out. A new Mirror View lets you check your appearance before you head out. Shooting is handled by a 50MP primary and a 12MP ultrawide, while a 10MP sensor handles selfies.

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Next, the 4.1-inch cover screen displays more apps and useful info so a fair bit can be accomplished without even unfolding the device. The Now Brief AI feature that keeps surfacing useful info through the day also finds a spot on the cover display. Open it up, and the 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x display with 120Hz refresh rate and Vision Booster tech is revealed in all its glory.


As far as the innards are concerned, the device is powered by the Exynos 2600 SoC, with 12 gigs of RAM and up to 512GB of storage. A 4,300mAh battery that can charge at 25W with a cable and 15W sans wires keeps the lights on. Other key specs include an IP48 rating and Android 17 with One UI 9.

Next up, the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra

Moving to the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, this device is the successor to the Z Fold7 from last year. Samsung seems to have slapped on the Ultra suffix this time to indicate that this is the top model in its flagship lineup. And since the Fold8 Ultra is the torchbearer, it's the most loaded among the new trio. And as the line goes, "with great power comes… ". Unsurprisingly, the Galaxy Z Fold8 gets the responsibility of focusing on productivity as one of its key USPs.


At 4.2mm when unfolded, the Z Fold7 was already quite slim. With its successor, Samsung has shaved off another 0.1mm, making the Z Fold8 Ultra the thinnest Fold yet. Tipping the scales at 215g, it's not too unwieldy to carry around and use. Overall, the design language sticks to the tried and tested, and frankly, the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra seems happy to let the new Z Fold8 with its snazzy new form factor get all the limelight as it stands by its side to do the heavy lifting.

[gallery link="file" columns="1" size="full" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" td_gallery_title_input="Galaxy X Fold8 Ultra" ids="709044,709047,709048,709042,709050,709051,709052,709049,709055,709054,709058"]

With the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy providing the grunt, along with 12 or 16GB RAM and up to a terabyte of storage, the Z Fold8 Ultra takes the ‘Ultra' bit quite seriously. The cover display measures 6.5 inches across and boasts flagship specs including Dynamic AMOLED 2X tech and 120Hz refresh rate. The main screen measures 8 inches, making the device pretty much akin to a small tablet when unfolded.


The Fold8 Ultra also promises pro-grade creativity with its 200MP main camera, 50MP ultrawide sensor and 10MP telephoto. The Nightography mode has been improved, so low-light photos should get brighter and clearer, while 8K video recording using the new APV codec and Cine LUT support ups the ante for serious videographers. All of this needs juice, so the battery has been bumped up to 5,000mAh, with Samsung going for silicon carbide tech for the very first time. The Fold8 Ultra also uses a new dual-path charging architecture to support up to 45W fast charging. Wireless charging is also supported at 20W speeds.


Needless to say, Samsung has added tons of AI features as part of the Galaxy AI bouquet and both the Z Flip8 and the Z Fold8 Ultra offer the full gamut. Features like Now Brief and Now Nudge have been there and new ones have been added too. One of the most interesting ones is app automation that can work across different apps to carry out the user's command – looking up tickets, getting a table reservation and the like. We've been told that this would only be available in the US and Korea to begin with, though. Still, the healthy mix of useful AI features, the intuitive and customisable One UI platform and the ecosystem goodies that only Samsung can offer, make the software side of things quite robust.

To sum it all up

It's an AI world out there, and with each successive generation, the story is becoming more about what you can do with these devices than just specs. And this is where Samsung's new foldables aim to deliver. Users looking to buy a device in the super-premium league have sky-high expectations, and from what I can make out, the Galaxy Z Flip8 and the Z Fold8 Ultra should be able to meet them.

Disclosure: This writer attended Galaxy Unpacked 2026 in London on Samsung India's invitation

Mini-LED stopped being a premium-only technology sometime in the last year. It used to mean dropping Rs 1.5 lakh-plus for real dimming zones and proper brightness control. But Xiaomi's newest launch just broke that assumption, and it's worth examining what actually changed when hunting for the best mini-LED TVs under Rs 80,000 in India right now.

A genuinely good mini-LED TV at this price needs to clear a few real bars. For starters, it needs enough local dimming zones to control contrast scene by scene rather than one giant backlight zone doing all the work. It also needs HDR format support that actually includes Dolby Vision rather than settling for HDR10 alone, and a refresh rate that holds up for both movies and gaming, along with audio that doesn't feel bolted on as an afterthought. Most budget "mini-LED" TVs in India cut at least one of these corners to hit their price.

Xiaomi TV S Mini LED Series (65-inch) - Best overall TV

Price: Rs 71,999

Most brands treat mini-LED and colour accuracy as separate purchases. You either get precise local dimming or a proper Quantum Dot colour layer, rarely both at a mid-range price. Xiaomi's TV S Mini LED Series refuses that trade-off by pairing genuine QD Mini-LED backlighting with a full HDR stack most competitors reserve for their flagship tiers. For anyone searching for the best mini-LED TV under ₹80,000 in India in 2026, it resets what "budget mini-LED" is supposed to mean.

Specifications:

• 65-inch QD Mini-LED, 4K UHD, 384 local dimming zones
• 1200 nits peak brightness, 94% DCI-P3 colour coverage
• Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HLG, Dolby Atmos + DTS:X
• 144Hz refresh rate, AI Game Boost, MEMC
• 34W quad speakers, Google TV, 32GB storage

TCL Q6C (65-inch) - Best for gaming

Price: Rs 76,990

Most budget mini-LED TVs advertise "mini-LED" without publishing an actual dimming zone count, leaving buyers to take contrast performance on faith. TCL doesn't do that here because the Q6C ships with 512+ Precise Dimming Zones and TCL's All-domain Halo Control Technology, specifically built to suppress the blooming and halo effects that plague cheaper mini-LED panels. It's also backed by Dolby Vision IQ and a genuine 144Hz panel rather than a lower refresh rate dressed up as premium.

Specifications:

• 65-inch QD-Mini LED, 4K UHD, 512+ Precise Dimming Zones
• 144Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10, TCL All-domain Halo Control Technology
• 46W speakers, Dolby Atmos, DTS Virtual:X
• AiPQ Pro Processor, AMD FreeSync Premium, MEMC 120Hz, HDMI 2.1
• Google TV, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, 178° viewing angle

Hisense E8S (65-inch) - Best audio

Price: Rs 76,990

Audio is the corner where most mini-LED TVs cut hardest at this price. Brands will spend on the panel and ship a thin 20W speaker setup that undoes half the viewing experience the moment dialogue or bass shows up. Hisense doesn't take that shortcut with the E8S. A 61W system tuned by Devialet is a genuinely unusual inclusion in this bracket, backed by Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive on the picture side, so the TV isn't leaning on one strength while quietly starving the other.

Specifications:

• 65-inch Hi-QLED Mini-LED, 4K UHD, 144Hz refresh rate
• Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+, HDR10+ Adaptive, Filmmaker Mode, 500 nits (peak 700 nits)
• 61W speaker system tuned by Devialet, Dolby Atmos, AI Sound, built-in subwoofer
• AMD FreeSync Premium, ALLM, VRR, Gaming in Dolby Vision
• VIDAA OS, built-in Alexa, AirPlay2, 4 HDMI ports, Bluetooth 5.4

Samsung M2EH (65-inch) - Best display

Price: Rs 79,990

Most mini-LED TVs squeeze into a 65-inch price point by trimming something you don't notice until you're already watching. Screen size, panel technology, or picture processing - all get quietly downgraded to hit the number. Samsung's M2EH doesn't take that route. Supreme Mini LED Dimming and Pure Spectrum Colour arrive at full 65-inch scale, no asterisk attached. What actually gets sacrificed here is speed. Refresh rate ties for the slowest on this list, alongside the LG, which reframes who this TV is actually built for: someone watching a film or a match, not someone chasing frame rates in a shooter.

Specifications:

• 65-inch Mini LED, 4K UHD, 60Hz refresh rate
• Mini LED HDR, HDR10+, Pure Spectrum Color, Supreme Mini LED Dimming
• 30W sound output, Object Tracking Sound Lite, Q-Symphony
• Vision AI Companion, Football Mode, Auto Game Mode (ALLM), VRR, HGiG
• Samsung Knox Security, 150+ free channels via Samsung TV Plus

LG QNED65 (55-inch) - Best software

Price: Rs 58,499

Not every buyer shopping for a mini-LED TV wants to spend right up to the ₹80,000 ceiling - some are looking for the cheapest entry into the category that doesn't feel like a compromise the moment the remote is in hand. LG's QNED65 answers that specific search. It settles for a 60Hz panel to hit this price, but webOS 26 running underneath is anything but stripped down. It is loaded with AI Concierge, a working chatbot, and Copilot-powered search, which are the kind of smart TV software most brands only bother building for their flagship tier.

Specifications:

• 55-inch QNED Mini LED, 4K UHD, 60Hz refresh rate
• Dolby Vision, HDR10, HLG, α7 AI Processor 4K Gen9, Dynamic Tone Mapping
• 20W 2.0-channel speakers, Dolby Atmos, AI Sound Pro (Virtual 9.1.2 Up-mix), WOW Orchestra
• webOS 26, AI Concierge, AI Chatbot, AI Search with MS Copilot, LG Shield
• 3 HDMI (eARC, ALLM), Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.3, FILMMAKER Mode

Which TV do we recommend?

The Xiaomi TV S Mini LED at Rs 71,999 is the only TV here running Dolby Vision, Atmos, and DTS:X together on a 144Hz panel, and it does it for less than every other entry on this list except the LG. That's the easiest recommendation of the five.

If dimming zones and raw contrast control matter more than any single brand name, the TCL Q6C's 512+ zones and dedicated halo-control tech make the strongest case, provided the missing HDR10+ doesn't bother you.

The Hisense E8S argues the opposite position just as well: fewer disclosed dimming zones, but a 61W Devialet-tuned sound system nothing else here comes close to matching, and it covers both Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ where TCL only manages one.

Samsung's M2EH is the one to pick if screen size is the priority that can't be compromised, a full 65-inch panel where Samsung's usual tier would otherwise shrink to 55-inch, but that 65-inch commitment costs the TV its refresh rate, tied for the slowest of the five.

And the LG QNED65 sits slightly outside this bracket on price, cheaper than everything else here, but it earns that price with the sharpest webOS software experience on the list, at the cost of the thinnest hardware spec sheet. There isn't one TV that wins outright, but there's a TV for whichever trade-off actually matters to the person buying it.

When foldables first appeared on the scene, I used to get goose pimples each time I picked up one. Touted by one and all as the future of smartphones at the time, these devices have evolved significantly since then. The first name that really comes to mind when talking about foldable smartphones is Samsung, because let's face it — no other brand has focused so intently on this segment, especially from an India perspective. With each new model, Samsung brought improvements and tweaks. Sometimes big, sometimes small, but each change was meaningful, designed to improve the user experience. Tweaking, polishing, changing, improving, enhancing, cleaning, modifying, and then polishing again, to a point where I think it delivered a foldable that comes across as a really compelling device, one that I can really use as my daily driver. I'm referring to the Galaxy Z Fold7 (review), a foldable that shows how far this segment has come.

The engineering

I remember how durability used to be a concern with foldables, but I'd say that despite their shortcomings, those early devices were engineering marvels. Sure, they were bulky and needed to be handled with kid gloves, but the tech that went into them was quite amazing. Fast forward to today, and thanks to some solid behind-the-scenes work, the Galaxy Z Fold7 comes across as a really mature device that's ready to take on the rigours of daily use. The hinge and the folding screen are a couple of the aspects that have really defined the progress for foldables, I think, along with the chassis, and Samsung seems to have worked hard to show noticeable improvements with each successive iteration in all of these.


The Z Fold7's Armor FlexHinge for example, is thinner and lighter than before, uses a new multi-rail structure that reduces the crease and helps make the phone more durable too. The cover display uses Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2, while the frame and hinge utilise Advanced Armor Aluminium for added strength. When it comes to the chassis, the Z Fold7 is 8.9mm thick when folded, and a mere 4.2mm when open — that's super svelte. And at 215 grams, the weight is quite manageable too. And all of these things aid usability… by making the phone easier to wield, and adding to peace of mind. That's the real benefit of all that engineering.


I said this in my review, and I'll say it again now. The Z Fold7's beauty is that it feels like a regular phone when folded, and that means there's none of that bulk usually associated with foldables. And when you need a bigger window into your stuff, all you need to do is to unfold it.

The softer side

While I am referring to the software as the softer side, it doesn't mean it doesn't have an important role to play in the bigger scheme of things. Quite the opposite, in fact. There are just too many things and features to talk about here, but I'll keep things simple. First, the base — One UI. While it does come with a fair share of preloaded apps, the simple and intuitive interface and the customisability work in its favour. There are special features that make use of the large screen and help with multitasking. For example, you can drag and drop content in Multi Window mode. Then there's the AI goodness Samsung has infused, upping the ante with each new refresh. Samsung phones are usually the first ones to get new AI goodies from Google, and features like Circle to Search, Gemini Live, etc, have proved to be quite useful. I find Now Brief quite useful, as it keeps surfacing useful info throughout the day.

The core

A true flagship should offer flagship specs, and there are no nasty surprises in this regard. The Z Fold7 is a loaded one in this aspect, and it expectedly gets the most high-end SoC from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. A device that focuses on productivity can't afford slowdowns, whether one is using multiple apps together, juggling between work emails and long documents, running AI workloads, or getting some leisure time with streaming apps, and the chipset delivers smooth performance throughout. The battery life might not be its strongest suit, but the Galaxy Z Fold7 can last about a day with light usage. Foldables aren't known for their camera, but the Z Fold7 doesn't really disappoint in that department.

To sum it up

With the ultimate aim of having a single device being able to do it all, a book-style foldable's magic lies in what you can do with it when it's folded and when it's open. The Galaxy Z Fold7's dual personality works in its favour, as it delivers on both sides. When closed, it's a regular, albeit powerful flagship that works for most use cases. And unfolding it opens a larger window into your apps, allowing you to work and play on a larger display that treads on tablet territory. Features like DeX even aim to displace laptops, but that's a story for another day. In my own usage, I find the Galaxy Z Fold7 a solid companion while commuting, to be able to read or edit large documents on the go, and even at night when I read some news or articles before I head to slumberland.

The Z Fold7 is still a solid foldable phone, if you're looking to buy one right now. But with its successor just around the corner, you might want to wait and see what's on offer before pulling the trigger. I can't wait to see what Samsung does next. And with another model with a new form factor expected, the foldable smartphone space continues to generate waves. Tomorrow is a new day.

Motorola smartphones have rarely been associated with gaming, but the brand is looking to change that with the Edge 70 Max. Designed with power users in mind, the handset packs a sub-flagship chipset, a large battery, a flat-edged design, bypass charging, and several other performance-oriented features. Starting at Rs 54,999 in India, the Motorola Edge 70 Max is competitively positioned, but it still has its worth to prove against the more established iQOO 15R and OnePlus 15R in this segment.

To see where the Motorola Edge 70 Max stands in this competitive segment, we put it through its paces as both a gaming device and a daily driver. We also compared it with one of its closest rivals, the iQOO 15R, to find out how it stacks up in real-world use. Before we get to the Motorola Edge 70 Max review, it is worth noting that we received the base variant of the phone, which comes with an 8GB RAM configuration.

Verdict

The Motorola Edge 70 Max may not be the most competitively priced gaming smartphone on the market, but it offers features that punch above its price tag, including a 2K AMOLED display and magnetic wireless charging. The handset also delivers on the essentials, with powerful performance, impressive thermal management, and decent battery life, but it is not without its shortcomings. Outdoor legibility remains a concern, while the device's software support feels limited compared with what some of its rivals offer.

Design

[pdp-expert-review]
The Motorola Edge 70 Max is aimed at gamers, starting with the flat edge design, offering a more secure landscape grip and reducing accidental touches. However, its 221-gram weight and 8.29mm thickness make it less handy for one-handed use. Despite its gaming focus, the phone retains an understated premium flagship design with a textured glass back, aluminium frame, Gorilla Glass 7i, IP68/IP69 ratings and MIL-STD-810H durability.
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To appeal to gamers, Motorola has swapped the curved edges we've come to associate with the Edge series for a flat-frame design. This has been done to minimise accidental touches and provide a more secure grip when holding the phone horizontally. As mentioned in our first impressions, this does make the Edge 70 Max feel less handy for everyday one-handed use.

At 8.29mm thick and weighing 221 grams, it's certainly on the heavier side, which may not appeal to lifestyle users. Gamers, however, are unlikely to mind the added width and weight, as the phone is typically used with both hands in landscape orientation. The weight is also evenly distributed, making extended gaming sessions feel comfortable.

Despite being gaming-focused, the Edge 70 Max looks just like a regular premium flagship. There are no gaming aesthetics, like the RGB light or flashy logos. Instead, the smartphone sports an understated look, with a glass back and a slight texture and an aluminium frame. The squarish camera module appears identical to other Motorola smartphones.

The Motorola Edge 70 Max comes in three colour options (Pantone-certified), namely Aqua Grey, Icy Melt, and Dark Shadow. Each one has Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protection on both the front and back, an IP68/IP69 water and dust resistance rating, and MIL-STD-810H military-grade durability. The handset should easily survive minor drops and falls. We received the Aqua Grey variant for review. It has an understated, elegant finish, though it doesn't stand out quite as much as some of the bolder designs we've seen from contemporary smartphones.

As for the I/O, the Edge 70 Max features a USB Type-C port on the bottom edge, alongside a speaker grille and SIM tray. The secondary speaker is tucked behind the earpiece at the top, while the power and volume buttons are placed on the right spine. The left spine houses a dedicated AI Key, which can be customised to launch any app instead of just the digital assistant, which is the default action. I do wish Motorola had also allowed the button to be mapped to system functions, such as toggling between ring and silent modes.

Display

[pdp-expert-review]
The Motorola Edge 70 Max's 6.8-inch QHD+ 144Hz AMOLED display is among the sharpest in its segment, delivering vibrant colours and excellent text clarity. Despite its 144Hz claim, the display was limited to 120Hz during testing, while outdoor visibility remains a weakness despite the 7,000-nit peak brightness claim. Moving on, the stereo speakers are loud but lack bass depth, and while the optical in-display fingerprint scanner is fast and accurate.
[/pdp-expert-review]

The Motorola Edge 70 Max features a 6.8-inch 'Extreme' AMOLED 10-bit LTPO display with a QHD+ (1,440 × 3,168) resolution, a dynamic 144Hz refresh rate, up to 7,000 nits of peak brightness, HDR10+ support, and 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage. While most smartphones in its segment, and even many premium rivals, still use FHD+ or 1.5K panels, the Edge 70 Max stands out with its 2K QHD+ display, making it the sharpest in its class at an impressive 510 pixels per inch (ppi).

Don't expect a dramatic improvement over a high-quality FHD+ panel, as the extra pixels deliver diminishing visual returns on a smartphone-sized display. I compared the Edge 70 Max's display against the iQOO 15R's 1.5K panel, and both delivered near-identical results while watching videos. The difference became noticeable only when reading, with text appearing marginally sharper on the Motorola smartphone, making it a better choice for users who spend a lot of time reading on their phones.

The 10-bit AMOLED panel with 100 percent DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage produces vibrant, punchy colours with smooth tonal gradations. Colour reproduction also remains consistent when viewed from an angle. Users can customise the display profile by choosing between Natural, Radiant, and Vivid modes in the Settings app. While the display promises up to a 144Hz refresh rate, it could only clock 120Hz during my time with the device across UI, system apps, and gaming. This is the issue we have faced on many other Motorola smartphones with the high refresh rate.

My only qualm with the display remains its outdoor visibility. Despite Motorola's claim of up to 7,000 nits of peak brightness, the highest in its segment, the panel remains only just readable under direct sunlight. Part of this could be down to the reflective nature of the Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protecting the display, although the relatively modest 1,800-nit High Brightness Mode (HBM) also appears to limit outdoor legibility. Indoors, however, the screen is more than bright enough and offers a comfortable viewing experience even in well-lit environments.

Backing that experience are dual stereo speakers, fine-tuned by Dolby Atmos. The speakers get decently loud but lack depth, so the bass doesn't sound fuller. Moving on, the smartphone sports an optical in-display fingerprint scanner, which is quick and accurate in unlocking the device, but it isn't very conveniently placed at the bottom edge. A more intuitive approach would have been towards the centre where the thumb naturally rests.

Performance

[pdp-expert-review]
The Motorola Edge 70 Max delivers smooth everyday performance and benchmark results comparable to other smartphones within the segment. However, its 38 per cent Burnout CPU throttle score is underwhelming despite the 5,500mm2 ArcticMesh vapour chamber. In gaming, the phone delivered respectable frame rates without getting uncomfortably warm while playing graphically-enhanced games such as BGMI and COD: Mobile.
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At the heart of the Motorola Edge 70 Max is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 SoC, paired with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.1 storage. As you may know, it is a sub-flagship chipset with two 3.8GHz prime cores and six performance cores clocked at 3.32 GHz. It's paired with an Adreno 829 GPU and on-device multimodal AI processing capabilities. All this ensures a smooth everyday experience, with not an iota of hiccup or stutter.

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The chipset was previously seen on other gaming smartphones, such as iQOO 15R and OnePlus 15R. The Motorola Edge 70 Max delivers identical performance on AnTuTu, Geekbench, and other benchmarking apps, despite the lower memory and RAM type than its counterparts. However, its Burnout CPU throttle test performance remains underwhelming at 38 percent. This is with the ArcticMesh cooling system, which uses a 5,500 mm2 vapour chamber designed to distribute heat more effectively to keep the CPU cool.

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In day-to-day use, the Edge 70 Max felt exceptionally fluid, with buttery-smooth scrolling and seamless app switching. However, the phone's capabilities extend well beyond a slick user experience. It's also designed to handle demanding workloads, including graphically intensive games. To evaluate its gaming prowess, we put the handset through our usual tests with BGMI and Call of Duty: Mobile, both of which are optimised to support frame rates of up to 120fps on the device.

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The Edge 70 Max averaged close to 60fps in Call of Duty: Mobile and around 40fps in BGMI at the highest graphics settings. Even under sustained gaming loads, the handset's surface temperature rose by an average of just 3.6 degrees C. This thermal performance is notably better than what we observed on the iQOO 15R and OnePlus 15R during our internal testing.

We were also able to clock 120 fps in both games at moderate graphics settings, staying true to its appeal among power users.

Software

[pdp-expert-review]
The Motorola Edge 70 Max offers a mostly stock Android experience with smooth animations and extensive customisation, although it includes some bloatware. The software also includes interactive Dynamic Island-style notifications and Motorola's new Qira AI platform, though the latter is currently limited to the 12GB RAM variant. However, the phone's three major OS upgrades and five years of security updates lag behind several rivals.
[/pdp-expert-review]

The Motorola Edge 70 Max runs Android 16-based Hello UI out of the box. The software delivers an experience that's close to stock Android, retaining Google's app icons, animations, and app drawer. However, it isn't quite as clean as Motorola's software used to be. The handset comes preloaded with a handful of third-party apps, offers app recommendations, and even has an Indus Appstore - in addition to the Google Play Store.

[comparative-benchmark type="3000" products="42264,41748,41310,41759," pias="59,54,53,51,"][/comparative-benchmark]

Fortunately, most of the pre-installed apps can be uninstalled after the initial setup, resulting in a much cleaner software experience. Beyond that, there's plenty to like about Hello UX, which complements the phone's snappy performance. Animations are fluid and well-optimised, making navigation feel effortless, and I didn't encounter any awkward stutters, app freezes, or crashes during my time with the device.

The phone boasts plenty of customisation and personalisation options as well, including dynamic wallpaper styles. The Edge 70 Max also offers iPhone-like Dynamic Island notifications, which you can interact with; however, you cannot simply swipe them right to hide them. It stays there like a sticky note, which is a little frustrating.

Speaking of frustrations, the Motorola Edge 70 Max will only receive three major OS upgrades and five years of security updates. This is lower than its rivals, as well as its younger sibling, Motorola Signature, which offers seven years of software support.

Motorola has introduced a new cross-device AI experience called Qira with the Edge 70 Max. It brings together all of the company's moto AI features, including Chat Mode, Next Move, Creator Zone, Pay Attention, and Catch Me Up, under a single interface. Qira also enables contextual experiences across compatible Motorola and Lenovo devices, including laptops and tablets.

Unfortunately, Qira and all the AI features under it are currently exclusive to the 12GB RAM variant of the smartphone. Motorola says support for the 8GB RAM model will arrive through a future software update.

Battery

[pdp-expert-review]
The Motorola Edge 70 Max offers solid battery endurance, typically requiring a charge every other day with moderate use. However, its 16 per cent battery drain after an hour of streaming and gaming is relatively high for a gaming-focused phone. The 90W TurboPower wired charging helps offset this, fully charging the phone in about an hour, while 25W Qi2.2 wireless magnetic charging adds further convenience and supports MagSafe accessories.
[/pdp-expert-review]

The Motorola Edge 70 Max boasts a large 7,100mAh battery, which isn't the largest in the segment but does well to deliver an acceptable backup. On the PCMark battery test, the handset lasted for over 16.5 hours. Meanwhile, using the smartphone for an hour of YouTube video streaming and gaming tests showed its battery dropping by 16 percent. For a gaming-focused smartphone, the drop is on the higher side, meaning power users will end up charging the phone by the end of the day, if not then by the next morning.

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The battery life won't bother you considering the fast 90W Turbo wired charging support on the smartphone. A compatible charger is provided in the box, and it takes only an hour to juice up the device to 100 percent from nothing. The Motorola Edge 70 Max is also the first of its kind to come with 25W Qi2.2 wireless magnetic charging support. Users can also slap iPhones' MagSafe accessories, such as a wallet, stand, and more, to the phone. Motorola has promised to bring compatible accessories for the phone in India soon.

After using the smartphone for a week, I found myself charging it every other day. I'm not a heavy user by any means. Instead, I use it the way most people do, for browsing, streaming, social media scrolling, navigation, messaging, casual gaming, and other everyday tasks. To test the phone's performance, I also spent some time on extensive multitasking and gaming, but the impact on battery life was only marginal. Even the standby performance is impressive, with the battery dropping by just 2 per cent overnight.

Cameras

[pdp-expert-review]
The Motorola Edge 70 Max delivers surprisingly capable results for a performance-focused smartphone. Its 50MP primary camera captures crisp images with good colours, contrast, and dynamic range, while portraits offer decent edge detection and a pleasing bokeh effect. The 8MP ultrawide camera is less impressive, and video recording suffers from inconsistent quality between lenses, but overall, the camera system is more than capable for everyday photography.
[/pdp-expert-review]

The Motorola Edge 70 Max features a fairly ordinary camera setup, consisting of a mid-range 50MP Sony LYT-710 primary sensor with OIS and an 8MP ultrawide lens. On the front, it has a 32MP camera for selfies and video calls. The device supports 4K video recording, but the experience isn't entirely consistent. It also offers multi-focal-length portrait modes using the primary camera; however, the results fall short of what a dedicated telephoto lens can deliver.

The 8MP ultrawide lens also feels underwhelming for the price, but then again, this is not a camera-centric smartphone, and a hardcore gamer might not need high-resolution sensors or the most capable camera system. Even so, the camera setup on the Motorola Edge 70 Max does more than enough to stand out. The phone captures relatively crisp shots with decent colour reproduction, contrast levels, and dynamic range across lighting conditions. This is mostly consistent across the camera lenses.

Moreover, the portraits offer relatively clear edge detection with a nice bokeh effect and different focal points using computational photography. My only real qualms with the phone are the less natural-looking shots when the sun goes down and inconsistent video quality between lenses. For starters, there is no 4K video recording with the ultrawide lens, and a weird transition can be seen when switching to the ultrawide lens.

[smartslider3 slider=2161]

Nevertheless, for a performance-oriented device, the Motorola Edge 70 Max is surprisingly capable in the photography department. To assess its camera performance, we compared its results with those of the iQOO 15R across various lighting conditions. Here's how the two phones fared.

Daylight

[twenty20 img1="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Motorola-Edge-70-Max-daylight.jpg" img2="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/iQOO-15R-daylight.jpg" offset="0.5" before="Motorola Edge 70 Max" after="iQOO 15R"]

The Motorola Edge 70 Max produces a more contrasty and better-exposed image than the iQOO 15R. The latter struggles to control exposure, resulting in a weaker dynamic range and less detail.

Ultrawide

[twenty20 img1="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Motorola-Edge-70-Max-ultrawide.jpg" img2="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/IQOO-15R-ultrawide.jpg" offset="0.5" before="Motorola Edge 70 Max" after="iQOO 15R"]

The Motorola Edge 70 Max maintains the colour consistency when switched to its 8MP ultrawide lens from the primary camera. There is certainly a loss in detail and dynamic range, yet the Motorola smartphone outshines the iQOO 15R by keeping the scene closer to reality. It seems an update has degraded the iQOO 15R's colour consistency, which wasn't the case when we reviewed the device.

Portrait

[twenty20 img1="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Motorola-Edge-70-Max-portrait.jpg" img2="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/iQOO-15R-portrait.jpg" offset="0.5" before="Motorola Edge 70 Max" after="iQOO 15R"]

When it comes to portraits, the iQOO 15R's results look more artificial than those of the Edge 70 Max. Its processing takes away from the natural skin tones and colour consistency, while it also struggles to cleanly separate the subject from the background. The Motorola Edge 70 Max has a clear edge in this regard, although it fails to control exposure in harsh sunlight. Its skin tones and colours look close to accurate, but a dedicated telephoto lens would have done a better job with detailing.

Selfie

[twenty20 img1="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/Motorola-Edge-70-Max-selfie.jpg" img2="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/iQOO-15R-selfie.jpg" offset="0.5" before="Motorola Edge 70 Max" after="iQOO 15R"]

Despite capturing the scene at the same time, the two phones produce entirely different results. The iQOO 15R keeps things soft, with less dynamic range and slightly muted colours. The Motorola Edge 70 Max, on the other hand, prioritises a more realistic look, with vibrant colours, crisp detail, and well-preserved shadows.

Low light (night mode)

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In low light with night mode, the iQOO 15R keeps the visuals closer to reality. However, it fails to control the light exposure and flare as effectively as the Motorola Edge 70 Max, which also outshines with cleaner output and superior detailing.

Final verdict

The Edge 70 Max is an impressive beginning from Motorola in the gaming category. The handset has plenty going for it, starting with its core strength: performance. Its Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset, paired with fast RAM and storage, delivers smooth performance not just during everyday use but also under demanding workloads. We didn't encounter any noticeable slowdown, even with everything thrown at it.

Apart from performance, the Edge 70 Max also stands out with its 2K AMOLED display, which is among the sharpest in this segment. If only it held up better in terms of outdoor visibility, it would have been the best display in its price range. Moreover, the stock-like Hello UI is smooth and highly customisable, while the 7,100mAh battery provides reliable endurance. The addition of 25W Qi2.2 magnetic wireless charging is also a genuinely useful feature that most rivals in this price range do not offer. The camera system is another pleasant surprise, with the primary camera delivering better-than-expected results for a gaming-oriented smartphone.

Having said that, the 8MP ultrawide camera feels underpowered for the price, while the sheer number of pre-loaded apps, lack of AI features on the 8GB RAM variant, and limited software support give its competitors room to breathe. Both the iQOO 15R (review) and OnePlus 15R (review) offer longer software support, better display legibility, and AI features out of the box. Moreover, options such as the Vivo V70 Elite (review) and Motorola Signature (review) outshine the Edge 70 Max when it comes to cameras in the sub-Rs 60,000 segment.

The Motorola Edge 70 Max may not be the outright winner in every category, but it offers a more distinctive overall package than many of its rivals. If gaming performance, display sharpness, thermal management, battery life and a clean user experience are your priorities, the Edge 70 Max is an easy recommendation.

Editor's rating: 8.5/10

Reasons to buy

• The Edge 70 Max boasts an impressive build quality with an IP69 rating and military-grade durability.
• The phone boasts the sharpest 2K AMOLED display in its segment or beyond.
• Powerful performance and excellent thermal management.
• Cameras are surprisingly capable for a gaming-focused smartphone.

Reasons not to buy

• The display struggles with outdoor visibility under direct sunlight.
• The 3+5 years of software support is relatively limited compared to rivals.

With smartphone prices having climbed steadily in India over the past few months, finding a good option under Rs 30,000 takes a lot more effort than it used to. This list pulls together a few phones that still make a good case for themselves, whether you care most about overall balance, cameras, performance, battery life or software.

We've included quite a few older devices that launched last year and now offer a lot more value for their current prices. Each option stands out for doing one thing especially well, so you can match your budget to the priority that matters most to you. Check it out below:

This list should help make the buying process much easier if you're looking to purchase a new phone under Rs 30,000. Each phone here has a clear strength, so you can choose based on your priorities.

If you want a balanced phone, the Motorola Edge 60 Pro is the best all‑rounder; if performance matters most, the OPPO K13 Turbo Pro is the one to go for. Camera‑focused buyers should look at the Vivo T4 Pro, while anyone who wants the longest battery life will find the Realme P4 Power hard to beat. And if software support is your main concern, the Samsung Galaxy M47 is easily the best option at this price point. So the "best" phone really depends on what you care about most. 

Motorola Edge 60 Pro — Best overall

Current price: Starting at Rs 29,999 (8GB + 256GB variant)

Why we chose it 

The Motorola Edge 60 Pro (long-term review) is now a year old, but that actually works in its favour at the current price of Rs 29,999. It still sits at its initial launch price and offers excellent value for money.

Its core strengths have aged quite well, too: the Dimensity 8350 still delivers smooth day-to-day performance, the battery life remains one of its best traits, and the display is bright and immersive. It is also very durable, especially against water, and the clean software with useful AI features adds to the appeal. 

Key specifications

OPPO K13 Turbo Pro — Best performance 

Current price: Starting at Rs 31,999 (8GB + 256GB variant)

Why we chose it

The OPPO K13 Turbo Pro (review) is the best performance pick in this list because it brings near-flagship power at a price that still sits just around the Rs 30,000 mark after bank offers. Its Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, fast LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage give it the sort of hardware you'd usually see around Rs 45,000 currently. The active cooling fan and large vapour chamber also help it stay steady under heavy gaming loads.

[comparative-benchmark type="1" title="AnTuTu score" caption="AnTuTu assesses a smartphone's CPU, GPU, memory, and overall user experience (higher is better)" highlight="product_1" products="41255,40947,41340,41761," ][/comparative-benchmark]

What makes it special is not just the raw specs, but how well it holds performance when pushed. If you want a phone that outclasses anything at this price in terms of performance, this is the one to pick. 

If the phone is not deliverable to your location or you want to stay strictly under Rs 30,000, the OPPO K13 Turbo is also another great option at this price point, which is a great performer as well. 

Key specifications

Vivo T4 Pro — Best camera

Current price: Starting at Rs 29,999 (8GB + 256GB variant)

Why we chose it 

The Vivo T4 Pro (camera review) is easily the best camera phone at its price because it delivers a versatile setup with a useful 3x telephoto lens. It gives you punchy, vibrant photos with good detail and solid day-to-day reliability, which makes it easy to recommend for casual photographers.

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The telephoto camera is the real draw here, since it lets you zoom in without the usual loss in clarity. Given the current memory shortages, no new smartphone currently brings a telephoto lens under Rs 30,000, and the Vivo T4 Pro bridges that gap, which makes it the most flexible camera phone at its price. 

Key specifications

Realme P4 Power — Best battery

Current price: Starting at Rs 28,999 (8GB + 128GB variant)

Why we chose it 

The Realme P4 Power (review) earns the battery crown because it simply outlasts the rest. Its huge 10,001mAh cell gives it a clear advantage in endurance, and the testing backs that up across PCMark, streaming and longer gaming sessions. It is also faster to charge than a battery of this size might suggest, which helps reduce the pain of carrying such a bulky device.

[comparative-benchmark type="3" title="PCMark Battery score (in hours)" caption="PCMark battery test measures phone battery life from 100% to 20% (higher is better)" highlight="product_4" products="41255,40947,41340,41761," ][/comparative-benchmark]

Which brings me to its obvious trade-off: it is a thick, heavy phone, so you feel the bulk in daily use. But if battery life is your main priority and you want the phone that lasts the longest in the list, the Realme P4 Power is the easiest recommendation.

Key specifications

Samsung Galaxy M47 — Best software 

Current price: Starting at Rs 28,999 (6GB + 128GB variant)

Why we chose it 

The Samsung Galaxy M47 gets this spot because Samsung is doing something most mid-range phones still do not. It runs Android 16 with One UI 8.5 and comes with a rare 6-year OS and security update cycle, which makes it one of the safest long-term buys on this list. If you are someone who keeps a phone for years, support matters just as much as the hardware.

One UI has its usual polish, and Samsung's Galaxy AI features add more value to the overall experience. At its price, the Galaxy M47 offers software support usually reserved for much more expensive phones, and that alone makes it worthy of this list. 

Key specifications

FAQs

Is it wise to buy a 2025 phone under Rs 30,000 in 2026?
Yes, as long as the price reflects its age and the core hardware is still good enough. With prices rising, last year's phones that have dropped into the sub‑30k range often offer better value than many fresh launches at similar prices.

Should I prioritise specs or software updates under Rs 30,000?
If you upgrade every two years, you can think more along the lines of specs and features. If you plan to keep the phone for four to five years, long‑term software support, security patches and a clean UI matter just as much as the chipset and camera.

How long can I realistically use these phones?
All the phones in this list should realistically net you at least 3 to 5 years of updates and have batteries and storage that will age well. That way, you are not forced into an upgrade just because the software or hardware feels outdated too soon.

Are sale offers and bank discounts worth waiting for in this market?
Yes, but there's a catch. Predictable price drops are largely gone, especially in the mid‑range segment. If you already need a phone, it is better to buy when you find a good deal, bank or exchange offer rather than wait months hoping for a big cut that may never come.

Fitness trackers have seen quite a few changes in terms of popularity. We went from simple activity bands to full-blown smartwatches, and now we're circling back to screenless (or near-screenless) trackers again, this time with help from AI-based health scores. Whoop started much of this renewed interest, though its subscription-first model has kept quite a few potential buyers on the sidelines. The Pebble Qore View is targeting those very people, minus the recurring bill. Let's check it out a little more in detail.

Design and build

The Qore View keeps things simple on the wrist. You get a lightweight, wide nylon strap with a Velcro fastener, with a small window up top, behind which lives the tiny LCD display. The band is comfortable to wear through the day, though the grey band I have gets soiled with regular use, so you might want to check out the black and navy blue options. The core module housing the display is bigger than I expected, and doesn't curve along with the wrist, so it juts out slightly on both sides. There's a single button on the right, along with a small status light. Nothing fancy, but nothing offensive either. The strap is attached to the tracking module via quick-release pins, so you can use regular watch bands too, if you wish. 

Features

The Qore View covers the essentials you'd expect from a band in this segment: steps, heart rate, HRV, SpO2, sleep and stress tracking, along with the ability to log various sports and workouts. One thing worth mentioning, though, is that there's no auto workout detection, so you'll need to start a session if you want it logged accurately manually.


Notifications work through vibration for everything, but the display itself only shows time, steps and heart rate, cycling through these with a double press of the side button. Suffice it to say, if you want to actually read your messages on your wrist, this isn't the band for you. Possibly the only way the vibration notifications could prove to be useful is for you to enable them just for a single app, say your work email or WhatsApp, because otherwise there's no way to tell which notifications need your attention. 

UI and app connectivity

The Qore View pairs with the Pebble Halo app, available on both Android and iOS, and I found the app itself clean and intuitive to navigate. It's divided into sections for Health, Activity, Sleep, and a fourth one simply called "Me" for settings and configuration.


The Health tab is the one you'll probably spend the most time in, laying out captured metrics in an easy-to-read, card-style format. There's also an AI-generated health score out of 100, crunching numbers from your steps, sleep and heart rate into a single figure, and a one-key measurement feature that captures heart rate and blood oxygen with a single tap. The Activity and Sleep tabs do a nice job of showing detailed trends over time, while the Me tab lets you check battery level, customise which apps you want notifications from, and even use the band's button as a remote shutter for your phone's camera. Overall, the app experience is smooth and clean.

Usage, performance and battery

Here's where the Qore View's affordable positioning shows through a little. The tiny display doesn't support brightness adjustment, so legibility depends heavily on your surroundings — it can feel too dim outdoors under harsh sunlight, and a touch too bright when checking the time at night. That's the trade-off you sign up for at this price, and it's worth going in with eyes open.


On the data front, though, the numbers being captured line up well enough with what I'd expect -- the heart rate it captured seemed similar to when I compared with the numbers captured by the Pixel Watch 4, but the step count seemed lower by about 10-15%. I wouldn't really call that a deal breaker since more wearable provide indicative data anyway. Battery life is where the Qore View really impresses — it dropped by around 40 percent over 10 days of regular use, making Pebble's claim of 30-day battery life quite believable. 

Verdict

Priced at Rs 4,499, the Pebble Qore View lands in an interesting spot. Whoop may have created much of the buzz around screenless fitness tracking, but its subscription model keeps the ongoing cost fairly steep. Google's Fitbit Air is also generating buzz and comes without a subscription. At around Rs 10,000-11,000 in the US, it hasn't launched in India yet, and could cost more here whenever it does.


Against that backdrop, the Qore View's comfortable fit, lack of any subscription, and the ability to glance at your wrist for the time and step count, all add up to decent value for money. The small, low-resolution display and the somewhat blocky design of the tracker module are the cons, and I wouldn't blame you for wanting something sleeker. But if you're looking to board the screenless fitness tracker bandwagon without spending much, and the idea of checking the time and your steps without reaching for your phone appeals to you, the Pebble Qore View is worth a look.

Editor's rating: 7.5 / 10

Pros:

• Comfortable to wear
• Affordable, no subscription required
• Solid battery life
• Can check time and steps at a glance

Cons:

• Small, dim/bright display depending on lighting, with no brightness control
• Blocky module design that doesn't hug the wrist
• No auto workout detection

Over the last few months, the sub-Rs 20,000 smartphone segment has seen drastic changes in terms of pricing and overall value offered. This particular category, which once flourished with bright AMOLED panels, flexible camera setups, and capable performance hardware, has been forced by the memory chip crisis to cut down on all of these aspects.

That said, the market continues to see smartphones that suffice for everyday use. With so many options offering similar performance, LCD displays, and large batteries, choosing the right one can be overwhelming. To help you decide, we've handpicked the best devices this month based on different needs and use cases. Among them, the Realme P4R stands out as the best all-rounder, the Moto G37 Power impresses with its cameras, and the Tecno Spark 50 excels in battery endurance. On the other hand, the OPPO K14 is a strong pick for gaming, while the Samsung Galaxy M17e and Galaxy F70e shine with their excellent software support.

*Phones and prices as on 17 July, 2026

Realme P4R - Best overall phone

Current price: Rs 18,999 (4GB + 128GB), Rs 20,999 (6GB + 128GB), Rs 22,999 (6GB + 256GB)

Why we chose it

The Realme P4R may not excel in every department, but it's our go-to pick under Rs 20,000 for the month of July. While it shares many specifications with the Moto G37 Power, OPPO K14, and Realme C83, what separates the Realme P4R from others is the massive 8,000mAh battery and inclusion of two OS upgrades. While the OPPO K14 is also set to receive the same number of Android updates, it was launched with Android 15, while the P4R runs on Android 16 out of the box.

Speaking of which, Realme UI 7 running on the P4R offers a swift and snappy software experience, which is quite crucial for an entry-to-midrange smartphone, especially in the long run. The device also offers a certain sense of premiun-ness by being equipped with an aluminium camera housing and MIL-STD-810H certification for enhanced durability.

Key specifications

Best cameras - Moto G37 Power

Current price: Rs 15,999 (4GB + 64GB), Rs 16,999 (4GB + 128GB), Rs 21,999 (8GB + 128GB)

Why we chose it

Like many others, the Moto G37 Power (review) features a 50MP primary camera. Having said that, what sets it apart from others is the ability to capture natural-looking tones. While this type of colour science can sometimes result in dull images, there's always the freedom to adjust the tones to your preference without sacrificing extra vibrancy.

Moving on, the Moto G37 Power holds its own in this price range by delivering decent detail and clarity in good lighting. Low-light shots tend to come out soft, but switching to Night Vision mode makes a noticeable difference, producing better-exposed images with improved control over highlights and shadows. As noted in our review, the Moto G37 Power certainly edges out the Realme C83 in camera performance by delivering contrasty photos, especially in portrait mode.

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Key specifications

Best battery - Tecno Spark 50 5G

Current price: Rs 19,999 (4GB + 128GB)

Why we chose it

Even though the Tecno Spark 50 (review) is equipped with a smaller battery capacity than its close competitors, the 6,500mAh cell's endurance left us impressed. In our in-house PCMark Battery Drain test, the handset delivered 17 hours and 27 minutes of runtime from 100 to 20 percent, the highest among the phones released under Rs 20,000 this year.

[comparative-benchmark type="3" title="PCMark Battery score (in hours)" caption="PCMark battery test measures phone battery life from 100% to 20% (higher is better)" highlight="product_1" products="41851,42105,41754,," ][/comparative-benchmark]

To further assess the battery's performance, we ran YouTube in 4K resolution at 50 percent brightness for an hour, and the phone dropped by just 6 percent. Besides that, playing BGMI and CODM on the Spark 50 for 30 minutes each resulted in a battery drain of up to 9 percent, which is a suitable decrease for a phone with a 6,500mAh battery. Alternatively, running on an 8,000mAh battery, the Realme P4R stands as a great alternative to the Tecno Spark 50, though it clocked a lower PCMark score at 15 hours and 55 minutes.

Key specifications

Best performance - OPPO K14

Current price: Rs 19,999 (6GB + 128GB)

Why we chose it

Per our testing, the OPPO K14 (review) delivers one of the highest benchmark scores under the Rs 20,000 segment. Shipping with the MediaTek Dimensity 6300, like others, the OPPO K14 yields better gaming and thermal efficiency performance over its close rivals. For instance, when running Call of Duty: Mobile in the 'Very high' frame rate and 'Max' graphics settings, the phone delivered an average frame rate of 55.8, while the temperatures rose by 5.9 degrees Celsius after 30 minutes. In the same scenarios and duration, the Moto G37 Power and Realme P4R saw a temperature increase of 7 and 6.5 degrees, respectively.

[comparative-benchmark type="1" title="AnTuTu score" caption="AnTuTu assesses a smartphone's CPU, GPU, memory, and overall user experience (higher is better)" highlight="product_1" products="41839,42105,41851,42191," ][/comparative-benchmark]

[comparative-benchmark type="11" title="Geekbench multi-core score" caption="Geekbench assesses the efficiency of the CPU's single and multiple cores (higher is better)" highlight="product_1" products="41839,42105,41851,42191," ][/comparative-benchmark]

CODM stats

*Stats recorded after playing CODM for 30 minutes straight in 'Medium' frame rate and 'Max' graphics.

These results show that the OPPO K14 not only delivers average frame rates close to 60FPS, but also remains cooler after a gaming session compared to others. While users seeking even better gaming and raw performance may stretch their budget to get the Dimensity 7400-powered Infinix GT 30 at Rs 21,999, the OPPO K14 stands as a reliable choice under Rs 20,000 for a workable gaming experience.

Key specifications

Best software - Samsung Galaxy M17e and Galaxy F70e

Current price:

Galaxy M17e: Rs 13,999 (4GB + 128GB), Rs 15,999 (6GB + 128GB)
Galaxy F70e: Rs 16,499 (4GB + 128GB), Rs 18,499 (6GB + 128GB)

Why we chose them

The Samsung Galaxy M17e and Galaxy F70e are our top picks when it comes to delivering a feature-rich and mature software experience. Running on One UI 8 based on Android 16, the interface not only looks and feels distinct from others, but also packs some noteworthy additions, such as the Now Bar to view real-time updates right from the status bar. These include checking food delivery, the stopwatch, and the timer status.

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One UI 8 also lets you rearrange the positions of the toggles in the quick settings panel, giving users full freedom to personalise the look. Then there's the 90:10 split-screen mode that keeps only the main app in focus while you're in a task. Coming to customisation, One UI 8 brought the functionality to resize the homescreen icons, while offering immense lockscreen clock options with tons of font styles to choose from.

That said, the biggest software highlight of the Galaxy M17e and Galaxy F70e is their impressive update promise: six major OS upgrades and six years of security patches. This is currently the best in their price segment, making the phones an excellent choice for users who want long-term support, new features, and strong security for years to come. Meanwhile, other phones under Rs 20,000 are limited to just two OS upgrades.

Key specifications

Conclusion

You may have noticed that while all the listed smartphones share similar specifications, each of our picks stands out in its own way. Depending on your priorities and use cases, there's a suitable option for you under Rs 20,000. Extending your budget slightly into 2026 will naturally deliver a better overall experience, but the sub-Rs 20,000 segment has become highly competitive lately, offering buyers plenty of suitable choices.

[also-read urls="https://www.91mobiles.com/reviews/best-smartphones-under-50000/,https://www.91mobiles.com/reviews/best-gaming-phones-in-india/,https://www.91mobiles.com/reviews/best-phones-under-25000/"] [/also-read]

FAQs

Which is the best smartphone for gaming under Rs 20,000?

The OPPO K14 delivers one of the highest AnTuTu benchmark scores in the budget segment, crossing 600,000 points, which reflects strong raw performance. It also maintains excellent thermal efficiency during gaming, as observed in our testing. However, if you seek an even better gaming experience, it's worth spending a bit extra for the Infinix GT 30, which gains the MediaTek Dimensity 7400 chipset, along with shoulder triggers for precise input.

Which smartphone under Rs 20,000 offers the best camera performance?

The Moto G37 Power is well-suited for users looking for a smartphone that captures natural-looking images consistently. While detail levels may not be on par with its higher-priced counterparts, it delivers decent dynamic range and contrasty tones.

Which phone offers the best software experience under or around Rs 20,000 in India?

The Samsung Galaxy M17e currently stands out for its excellent software support, promising six years of OS upgrades and six years of security patches. On top of that, the Android 16-based One UI 8 offers an impressive array of productivity features and customisation options. Alternatively, the Realme P4R, which promises two OS upgrades, delivers a fast, smooth, and AI-rich software experience.

Zotac is a popular name when it comes to Nvidia desktop graphics cards, but the company has also ventured into prebuilts, mini PCs, and even handheld consoles. The company has now entered a new category in the DIY PC segment with the new Zotac Gaming Alloy. It is the first-ever PC case from the company and, interestingly, rather than debuting a conventional ATX mid-tower, it is a micro-ATX chassis.

This seems to be a timely move considering the rapid shift towards smaller, more space-efficient builds. That said, the Alloy has plenty to prove as there is tough competition from established brands that are offering cases with excellent airflow, unique orientations, cable management, and builder-friendly features. Let's take an in-depth look to see whether this case is worthy of your next PC build.

Specs at a glance

• Form Factor: Micro-ATX Tower
• Motherboard Support: Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX
• Dimensions (L × W × H): 459 × 222 × 433mm
• Colours: White/Silver, Black/Bronze
• Power Supply Support: ATX up to 180mm
• CPU Cooler Clearance: Up to 170mm
• Graphics Card Clearance: Up to 412mm
• Drive Bays: 1 × 3.5-inch, 1 × 2.5-inch
• Pre-installed Fans: 2 × 120 mm (Front), 1 × 120 mm (Rear)
• Maximum Fan Support: Up to 10 fans
• Radiator Support Top: 240 / 280 / 360mm
• Dust Filters: Front, Bottom (PSU)
• Front I/O: 1 × USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (10Gbps), 1 × USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A (5Gbps), 3.5 mm Audio Combo Jack, Power Button

Built like a mid-tower, designed for micro-ATX

The Alloy isn't the smallest micro-ATX case I've come across. In fact, it measures at 458 x 222 x 433 mm, which is only marginally smaller than most standard mid-tower chassis. The case can accommodate mini-ITX or micro-ATX motherboards, large power supply units up to 180mm, GPUs up to 412mm in length, and CPU cooler clearance of 170mm. Zotac has clearly taken the safer route here by prioritising hardware compatibility and ease of building over minimising its footprint.

However, I do appreciate the effort that has gone into the design, with the dual-tone finish and subtle geometric lines giving it a distinct identity that's clearly inspired by the company's GeForce RTX 50-series graphics cards. Apart from the white-and-silver variant, the Alloy is also available in a black-and-bronze finish.

Sticking to a conventional tower layout, the case features a tempered glass side panel on the left, while the top and right panels are made of steel. The front panel is constructed entirely from plastic, which is split into two sections – the outer frame and a removable insert that includes a built-in dust filter. I particularly like this approach, as it allows you to clean the filter without having to remove the entire front panel.

All of the panels have a tool-less design and are secured using either ball studs or clips, making them quick to remove during the build process or when troubleshooting. The front outer frame could probably use more tolerance as it personally felt a bit loose, although this could be an isolated issue with my sample.

The front I/O, placed at the top, includes the power button, a 3.5mm audio combo jack, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port, and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port. It would have been nice to see a second USB Type-A port. The case also includes three 120mm PWM (non-ARGB) fans pre-installed, two at the front and one at the rear. Those should be sufficient if you are building a PC for office work paired with some casual gaming, but if you have a serious gaming rig, the case can accommodate a total of 10 fans.

There is just enough wiggle room at the front to fit three 120mm fans, along with two 120mm on the side next to the motherboard, three 120mm or two 140mm at the top, and one 120mm each at the rear and above the perforated PSU shroud. The top can also accommodate radiators of up to 360mm in length or a 120mm at the rear. Potentially you could mount a 240mm radiator at the front, though it isn't officially mentioned on Zotac's website.

To promote airflow, the top and right side panels include perforated mesh sections while the curved PSU shroud helps in guiding air from the front fans to the GPU. The case also includes some Velcro straps at the back to tidy down cables and a removable mounting bracket to install a 3.5-inch HDD or a 2.5-inch SSD.

A practical chassis for first-time and seasoned builders

One of the Alloy's biggest strengths is how easy it is to build in. Despite supporting only micro-ATX and mini-ITX motherboards, the chassis feels much closer to a conventional mid-tower than a compact case. That extra space makes a noticeable difference during assembly, with plenty of room to install components.

For this review, I went with a fairly high-end system comprising Intel's Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, Gigabyte's Z890M Aorus Elite Ice micro-ATX motherboard, DeepCool Assassin VC Elite WH air cooler, 32GB of G.Skill Trident Z5 DDR5-6000 memory, Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4080 Super Founders Edition, and an Asus ROG Strix 850W Gold power supply. Storage consisted of a 500GB Seagate FireCuda 530 PCIe Gen 4 SSD and a 2TB Kingston NV1-E PCIe Gen 3 SSD. Even with a 304mm-long GPU, the Alloy still offered a generous amount of clearance towards the front of the chassis. It never felt cramped, and there's ample room for considerably larger flagship GPUs measuring over 400mm in length.

Cable management is equally well thought out. Zotac has included generous routing cut-outs around the motherboard tray, making it easy to route the 24-pin, EPS, PCIe, and front-panel cables cleanly. The pre-installed Velcro straps do an excellent job of keeping thicker cable bundles organised, while additional tie-down points offer flexibility for the remaining wiring. There's also a decent amount of clearance behind the motherboard tray, along with plenty of space beneath and beside the PSU shroud to tuck away excess cable length. The end result is a clean-looking build with minimal effort.

To test the airflow, I moved all three pre-installed 120mm PWM fans to the front as intake. With this configuration, the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus idled at ~48°C, while the RTX 4080 Super settled at 40°C. Under sustained CPU workloads, the processor peaked at roughly 90°C but never exhibited any signs of thermal throttling, while the GPU topped out at 68°C during gaming. Acoustics were also well controlled, with the stock fans remaining pleasantly quiet during idle and everyday office workloads.

Final words

For its first attempt, Zotac has done a commendable job. The Alloy offers a straightforward building experience, generous hardware compatibility, and good airflow, making it an easy case to recommend for first-time builders and enthusiasts alike. However, beyond its clean aesthetics and practical layout, it doesn't introduce anything particularly new to a segment already packed with excellent options.

At its launch price of Rs 5,999, the Alloy is competitively positioned. The problem is that this price bracket is already crowded with excellent options such as the Lian Li Dan A3, NZXT H3 Flow, and Deepcool CH260, all of which bring their own strengths and benefits. As such, the Zotac Gaming Alloy is a solid debut that checks the essentials, but it stops short of being a class leader.

Editor's rating: 7.5 / 10

Pros

• Spacious interior
• Excellent hardware compatibility
• Good airflow potential with up to 10 fans
• Tool-less panels
• Easy to remove front dust filter

Cons

• Larger than most mATX cases
• Plastic front panel feels less premium
• No standout features

If you've ever wondered what it'd be like to have a full-fledged amp stack at your parties, the Marshall Bromley 750 is as close as you're going to get without actually squeezing a guitarist's entire rig into your living room. I used it as my daily driver at home for listening to music, but it really proved its mettle when I put it to use at a house party. As it turned out, the Bromley 750 got a fair share of the limelight and grabbed a lot of attention at the party, and deservedly so. 

Design and build

Sporting the classic Marshall aesthetic and signature design language, the Bromley 750 gives off retro guitar amp vibes. But this isn't a speaker you can tuck discreetly into a corner. We're talking massive, heavy-duty construction designed as a proper party centrepiece. Think of it less like a portable speaker and more like a piece of audio furniture.



There's a large Marshall logo dominating the mesh grille on the front, and integrated strobe lights that flash and sync to music. They're not just a gimmick; they actually set the party mood. You can change the light patterns via a button on the front panel or turn them off entirely if you prefer. A row of knobs placed on the top of the front grille controls volume, bass, treble, and input controls — each ringed with LED indicators showing your set levels. Additional LEDs display battery status at a glance.


Practical touches matter here. There's a retractable handle and wheels at the bottom, so you can move it around like a large luggage bag. There are two side carry handles as well for when you need to manoeuvre it differently or lift it up for loading onto a vehicle for transportation. The back houses a rubber flap covering the I/O panel (USB-C output, RCA, aux in and out, two inputs), and another flap hiding the removable battery. The latter charges either in-dock or via USB-C externally. Everything feels solid, built to withstand the rigours of party life.


Weight-wise, you're looking at 23.9kg. That's not lightweight, and the sheer bulk means this does require space. Not ideal if you're constantly moving it between rooms or venues, but if it's your designated party speaker living in one spot, the heft translates to stability and presence. Without the wheels and retractable handle, it would be quite tough to move it around. 

Features and connectivity

Here's a look at the key features and specs:

• 360-degree stereophonic sound — side-firing woofers, upfiring tweeters, front and rear-firing drivers
• Sound Character control knob
• Integrated strobe lights
• IP54 dirt and splash resistance
• Bluetooth 5.3 with Auracast support
• Aux 3.5mm in and out, USB-C, RCA, and a combo mic/instrument jack
• Codec support covers SBC, AAC-MPEG-2, and LC3
• Multipoint connectivity
• USB-C charge-out at 5V/3A
• 200W Class D for the woofers, 250W Class D for mid-range, and 450W Class D for the tweeters
• 40+ hours of battery life
• Quick charge gets you five hours of playback from just twenty minutes of charging
• Full charge takes three and a half hours

Sound quality and battery

The sound is powerful and punchy. At a house party with ten to twelve people, I couldn't push the volume above thirty percent without it becoming overwhelming. The bass is earth-shaking and tuned to emphasise low end, but here's where that Sound Character knob earns its place. It makes a tangible difference, and you can adjust it so vocals stay clear and present even at high volumes, without muddying. The overall balance, despite the bass emphasis, is genuinely impressive.

The soundstage is wide and well-engineered. The Bromley 750 can even double up as a portable sound system for events and large gatherings. It could be overkill for small groups but it works well for medium-to-large crowds.


The battery life lives up to the promise. 40+ hours means you're not going to run out mid-party. And because the battery is removable, you can keep a spare charged and ready, giving you effectively unlimited runtime if you're serious about all-nighters.

One feature worth highlighting: you can daisy-chain multiple Bromley 750s together for even better sound and coverage. If you're running a proper venue or event, that's a serious advantage over smaller speakers.

Verdict

The party speaker scene is crowded, so to speak, and there are quite a few options at different price points. The Klipsch Miami party speaker (review) is a decent alternative at Rs 58,990 — literally half the price — and delivers balanced sound overall. The tradeoff is that the app experience is still pretty average, and it doesn't quite match the Bromley's raw power or iconic design language.

For those on a tighter budget, the LG XBoom XL7S at around Rs 40k gets surprisingly loud from a party perspective, making it viable for smaller gatherings without breaking the bank. Sony and JBL have offerings too, though they don't quite command the same presence or power output.

If you're seriously considering the Bromley 750, you might also want to look at Marshall's newer sibling, the Bromley 450, launched very recently at Rs 79,999. It's smaller, carries the same iconic design and retro guitar amp aesthetic, and delivers 40+ hours of battery life, complete with strobe lights. For smaller gatherings, the 450 could be the more practical choice. But the 750's size and pricing position it for bigger gatherings and proper events, where you actually need that raw power and presence. On the flip side, the companion app feels barebones and doesn't offer much beyond basic control. It's also pricey, and quite big and heavy too. 

All said and done, the Marshall Bromley 750 is a seriously capable party speaker backed by excellent engineering. The sound quality is great and powerful, the bass is solid and punchy, and the features are genuinely useful. Battery life is a huge positive, the design is iconic and looks fantastic, and those strobe lights really do get the party going and add to the vibe. If you're throwing regular parties, hosting events, or running a small venue, and you want a speaker that handles itself with real authority and style, the Bromley 750 delivers. 

Editor's rating: 8.5 / 10

Pros

• Powerful, punchy sound
• Excellent battery life
• Iconic, striking design
• Strobe lights add a real party atmosphere
• Solid build quality

Cons

• Barebones companion app
• High price tag
• Heavy and bulky
• Overkill for smaller gatherings
  
  
  
  

Gaming laptops and dark, muted colours feel a natural match, and people have accepted it. Acer is trying to make a dent and break this ideology with the Acer Nitro Lite 16, especially the Pearl White colourway. It is eye candy and surely an attention grabber, or better, I call it a conversation starter. In terms of specs, it packs an Intel i5-13th Gen Raptor Lake CPU, an Nvidia RTX 3050, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 512GB SSD, all under Rs. 80,000. Sounds like a perfect deal, doesn't it? Acer must have cut some corners; that's what we'll be breaking down in this review of the Acer Nitro Lite 16 (NL16-71G) gaming laptop.

Design that stands out

This beautiful white chassis is constructed entirely from plastic, but we were pleasantly surprised by its stability; for a super-budget machine, the main body feels remarkably sturdy. The lid exhibits slight flex, but overall it's more robust than we expected. There's Nitro branding in grey accents on the lid and bottom right corner of the keyboard, which instantly catches attention.

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For a budget-friendly 16-inch gaming laptop, the Nitro Lite 16 is reasonably portable. It measures 362.2 (W) x 248.47 (D) x 22.9 mm (H) (14.26 x 9.78 x 0.9 inches), including the LAN port, and weighs in at a fairly light 1.95 kg with the 2-cell battery. The screen hinge opens to a maximum angle of about 130 degrees. Opening the lid past 100 degrees slightly lifts the rear of the laptop, so during normal use, the machine will have a bit of extra clearance underneath for better airflow. A clever design move from Acer.

The display is framed by relatively thin bezels on the sides and top. This top bezel houses a 2MP FHD camera and two built-in digital microphones. Kudos to Acer for including a physical privacy shutter. The Acer Nitro Lite 16 does not support Windows Hello because it lacks a fingerprint reader and an IR camera.

One area where Acer could have done better is the placement of the heat sink. Currently, it sits directly under the display, which is not a good idea, especially given its all-plastic construction. Over time, heat will melt the adhesive through the plastic, and with barely a month of use, I can already see a minor gap in the frame. So, a better practice will be to keep the lid extended back to 110 or 120 degrees for better airflow and to protect the display.

Ports and Connectivity

The Acer Nitro Lite 16 (NL16-71G) offers a connectivity layout that requires some strategic planning. On the left side are an HDMI 2.1 port and a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port featuring power-off charging. It's the USB-C port that you need to pay attention to. While it boasts high-end specifications such as Thunderbolt 4 support, USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds (10 Gbps), and DisplayPort capabilities, it also serves as the laptop's sole charging input. This design choice creates a bottleneck: when the laptop is plugged into power, you lose access to your only USB-C port.

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The right side of the chassis houses a Kensington lock slot, a second USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port, and a standard 3.5mm combo audio jack. A highlight here is the inclusion of a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45) port, offering wired network speeds significantly faster than standard Gigabit connections.

The rear of the laptop is reserved entirely for cooling vents. Wireless connectivity is handled by a Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) module with dual-band support, paired with Bluetooth 5.1.

Massive Display: 16:10 Goodness! But is it good enough?

The Acer Nitro Lite 16 packs a massive 16-inch IPS display; the good is that it's an anti-reflective 16:10 aspect ratio, 165Hz refresh rate display, an absolute rarity in this price bracket. This is highly beneficial for productivity, as it allows you to see more lines of code, browse more rows in a spreadsheet, or view more lines of text while scrolling through a document.

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The viewing angles are pretty good, too, at 170 degrees. The only caveat is the mediocre 45% NTSC colour gamut. So while it does pack in a massive display for creative work, like Photoshop or editing, the colour accuracy is a concern for professionals. So you need to use a color-accurate monitor to go with it, which adds to the cost.

Audio

There are two bottom-firing speakers on either end. The sound quality of the Acer Nitro Lite 16 (NL16-71G) is relatively good. For solo gaming, it's fine, but with background noise in your area, I recommend headphones or external speakers for an immersive experience.

Large comfy Keyboard

Given it's a 16-inch laptop, it packs a full-size keyboard with a dedicated numpad, and the WASD keys have a blue accent that complements the white aesthetic while still instantly signalling their purpose. Additionally, Acer could have utilized the space left on the sides of the keyboard to either space out the arrow keys, instead of cramming them, but that's not really a deal breaker.

Another aspect Acer could have paid attention to is the backlit keyboard, which comes with a two-stage white LED that can be activated via the F11 key. It comes in handy in low-light situations, but the lack of pass-through light from the keys is a bit annoying when working or gaming in pitch darkness, as I ended up pressing the wrong key most of the time until my muscle memory adjusted to the layout.

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As for the typing experience, the keys are soft, have subtle tactile feedback, and are silent compared to most gaming laptops in the segment. You can compete in boss fights without disturbing the person next to you, per se; you pair it with a silent mouse or controller.

The touchpad is medium in size and sits slightly left of the centre, perfect for typing and responsive enough for daily use, and it works well with Windows gestures. The clicks register easily. Most gamers and creators will use a mouse, so the size is not an issue.

Performance

At its core is the Intel Core i5-13420H (Raptor Lake), with 8 cores and 12 threads, where the cluster consists of 4 performance cores clocked at 2.1 GHz with a boost of up to 4.6 GHz and 4 efficiency cores. In the real world, the Acer Nitro Lite 16 can handle any task you throw at it with a breeze, like blazing-fast app launches, web browsing, and quick Photoshop or Lightroom edits.

Here's a look at the synthetic benchmarks. On Geekbench 6, the Acer Nitro Lite 16 scored 2420 points on single-core and 10311 points on multi-core tests. In Geekbench AI, it scored 7924 quantized points. Moreover, the laptop scored 10037 points in the Cinebench R23 multi-score, 526 points in Cinebench 2024, and 2035 points in Cinebench 2026.

The Intel Raptor Lake H-series processor, paired with 16GB of DDR5 memory, packs enough raw power to handle heavy tasks. However, these scores could have been better, as Acer has apparently capped the TDP on the Nitro Lite 16. While the Intel silicon has a maximum turbo power of 115W, in our testing, the laptop peaked at just 65W, and during less intensive tasks, it hovers around 25W. Unfortunately, you can't tweak the TDP manually, as the "Acer Nitro Sense" app isn't available for Nitro Lite 16.

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Given the increasing integration of AI capabilities in laptops, apart from the Copilot key, the Nitro Lite 16 comes with apps such as:

• Acer AI Engine - It automatically sets the scenario profile and optimizes the system based on the active apps. Those looking for a MUX switch are out of luck.
• Acer Intelligence Space - It hosts a suite of AI features for productivity, creativity, and gaming.

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But things just don't stop here. Let's have a look at its gaming performance.

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Though the Nitro Lite 16 packs the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050, with 6GB of GDDR6 VRAM, the story is the same here. It can handle pretty much all AAA titles at medium settings, but if you switch to "High" settings, the capped TGP of 55W becomes a bottleneck, especially in demanding titles like Cyberpunk, Black Myth, and other modern titles.

RT* Ray Tracing, FG* Frame Generation

If you prefer to game on "High" settings, competitors such as the Lenovo LOQ offer the same 6GB RTX 3050 with a max TGP of 95W, which will deliver better gaming performance.

Updragability

Removing the bottom plate is easy: just unscrew the 10 screws, and you'll be greeted by a small battery that occupies some of the lower half, while the cooling hardware and main board occupy the top side, keeping the serviceable parts easy to spot.

The battery is a 3-cell Li-ion unit rated at 53.99 Wh (11.55 V), and is a completely replaceable part, which can come in handy for long-term ownership. Still, there is a lot of unused space around it; Acer could have used it to provide a larger battery pack. There's a single M.2 2280 NVMe slot, though there's space on the board for what looks like a second SSD slot, but the connector isn't installed on the motherboard, so you shouldn't count on dual-drive upgrades. If you need to upgrade capacity, the existing 512GB SSD must be replaced entirely.

As for the RAM, it is hidden under a protective metal shield and can be upgraded to 32GB. Overall, maintenance is fairly friendly: you get easy access to the battery, SSD, RAM slot, and Wi-Fi card after removing the bottom cover, with the main limitation being the single SSD slot.

Battery life

Battery life is an area where I have mixed feelings about the Acer Nitro Lite 16. I began working at 9:30 AM, and by 1 PM, the 53-watt-hour battery had dropped to 5 per cent, with the keyboard light off, brightness at 50 per cent, and no audio usage. It's not a machine you can expect long battery life from. However, in the PCMark Modern Office benchmark, it lasted for 7 hours and 27 minutes, which is decent enough for this laptop.

Gaming depletes the battery even faster. To avoid the battery dying in the middle of a boss fight, it's better to follow the healthy practice of keeping it plugged in. This will also give you the maximum possible performance. For the record, though, the 100W PD adaptor takes 1 hour and 50 minutes to juice up this 53-watt-hour battery.

Verdict

The Acer Nitro Lite 16 (NL16-71G) is an entry-level gaming laptop that delivers a decent experience without breaking the bank. It offers a solid foundation for students and casual gamers, delivering a large 16-inch display, decent build quality, and essential features in a relatively lightweight and portable package. It's a good machine to get you into gaming, designed to prioritise core functionality over premium extras.

However, with limited upgradeability, an underwhelming display, and capped raw power output, users must accept certain compromises in exchange for its affordable price point. If you can shell out a little more money, better look for options like the Lenovo LOQ or Acer's full-fledged Nitro series. If your budget is strictly under 80,000, the Acer ALG with an i5-12450H and RTX3050 (review) will be a better option.

Acer's experiment with a "Lite Nitro" gaming laptop feels like a confused attempt, as its limited power and missing Nitro-centric features make it neither a gaming laptop nor a thin-and-light laptop.

Editor's rating: 7.5 / 10

Pros:

• Stand-out design for a gaming laptop
• Lightweight and portable 16-inch machine
• 16:10 165Hz Antiglare display
• Thunderbolt 4 and 2.5G Ethernet ports

• Poor colour accuracy (45% NTSC)
• The only Type C / Thunderbolt port is reserved for charging
• Limited upgradeability (1x M.2 slot)
• Restrained CPU and GPU performance compared to the competition

I was genuinely surprised to learn that the OPPO Bubble is launching in India. Even a year ago, a product like this would have felt unlikely. But smartphone brands here seem to be gradually becoming more willing to experiment, embracing the kind of playful, "cute" culture that's typically reserved for other markets.

The OPPO Bubble itself isn't overtly cute, but the concept certainly is. And in a smart move, OPPO has tapped into one of the biggest Gen Z and Millennial trends: bag charms. So instead of being just a camera accessory, the Bubble also doubles as a stylish bag charm that you can hang alongside your favourite trinkets.

But beyond the aesthetics, how well does it work as a camera accessory? We spent some time with the OPPO Bubble to find out.

OPPO Bubble key specs

Before diving into the experience, here's a quick look at the specifications. The OPPO Bubble features a circular 1.73-inch AMOLED display with a peak brightness of 600 nits. It packs a 560mAh battery, comes with an IP54 rating for dust and splash resistance, and supports Bluetooth 5.2 and 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. Charging is handled via a USB Type-C port.

The design: Cute or not?

The OPPO Bubble is a compact, lightweight circular display that resembles a pocket mirror. It's easy to carry around and offers two ways to use it: you can either attach it to the back of your phone or use the included star-shaped hanging clip to turn it into a bag charm. Since the Reno 16 series doesn't support MagSafe, OPPO includes a magnetic sticker that needs to be attached to the back of your phone or case. We found this a little inconvenient because it's essentially a one-time application. If you frequently switch phone cases, you'll have to choose one to dedicate to the sticker.

Another issue is that if you stick the magnetic ring directly onto your phone and then put a case over it, the Bubble doesn't attach securely. The more practical approach is to apply the sticker to your phone case instead, which is what we ended up doing. If you're using a MagSafe-compatible device like an iPhone, however, things are much simpler. The Bubble snaps on magnetically without requiring the included sticker. And yes, it works with an iPhone too, which we'll get into later.

How does the OPPO Bubble work?

The OPPO Bubble is a companion accessory designed to work with the Reno 16's cameras. Its primary purpose is to act as a wireless viewfinder for the rear cameras, allowing you to take higher-quality selfies using the main camera system instead of the front camera.

The Bubble connects to the Reno 16 (review) via Bluetooth, and the setup process is seamless. Since the Reno 16 comes with the Bubble companion app pre-installed, pairing takes only a few moments. OPPO has also announced an Android app for compatibility with other smartphones, which seems to have started rolling out. Once connected, simply unlock the Bubble and swipe up on its screen to launch the Reno 16's camera. Impressively, this works even when the phone is locked, making it quick and convenient to capture photos or record videos remotely (within the Bluetooth range).

Beyond camera controls, the Bubble also functions as a customisable smart accessory. You can choose from built-in wallpapers or set your own through the companion app. Double-pressing the Bubble's screen lets you switch between the default wallpapers, while custom images need to be added from the app. The device also includes interactive pet wallpapers, with playful options such as Meow, Popo, and Rara. You can keep the display always on, schedule it to turn off after one, two, or three hours, or simply lock it instantly using the power button.

Experience with the OPPO Bubble

We spent some time using the OPPO Bubble with the Reno 16, and the overall experience was straightforward. While the Bubble snaps onto the Reno 16 securely enough with the magnetic sticker, you'll still need to handle it with some care, as it can slide off if the phone is moved abruptly. On an iPhone, however, the attachment feels noticeably more secure thanks to the built-in MagSafe magnets.

UI, display, and battery life

Using the Bubble is intuitive. After launching the camera from the Bubble, you can immediately start capturing photos or swipe right to switch to video recording. The shutter can be triggered either by the on-screen capture button or the physical side button. In practice, the on-screen button is the better option, as pressing the side button tends to shift the Bubble slightly, making it less ergonomic.

The display remains legible even outdoors under direct sunlight. However, it lacks auto-brightness support; you will have to adjust the brightness manually according to the environment. The Bubble promises close to 10 hours of usage between charges at medium screen brightness and uses a Type-C charger to juice up.

Camera controls, features

The Bubble also offers quick controls for switching between the Reno 16's fixed focal lengths (0.6x, 1x, 2x, and 3.5x), enabling the rear camera mirror, and activating the countdown timer. Portrait mode and OPPO's Pop Camera filters are supported as well, although these still need to be selected manually on the phone before shooting.

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Capturing photos is quick and responsive. Unsurprisingly, the results are noticeably better than those from the front camera, thanks to the superior rear camera hardware. As the camera samples above demonstrate, images captured with the 50MP primary camera offer finer detail, better exposure, and improved contrast than those taken with the front camera. You can read more about the OPPO Reno16's camera performance in our full review.

Room for improvement

However, the OPPO Bubble isn't without its compromises. During our testing, we noticed a few minor glitches when switching control between the phone and the Bubble. Since our device was a review unit, these issues may be resolved in retail software.

We also tested the OPPO Bubble with the iPhone 17 Pro Max using the companion app available on the App Store. While the accessory does work with the iPhone, the setup process isn't nearly as seamless. It requires connecting to the Bubble's local network and granting screen-syncing permissions before it can function. Although we were able to get it working, the experience wasn't as polished as it is with the Reno 16. Given that this is OPPO's first attempt at such a product, there's room for refinement, and future software updates could improve cross-platform compatibility.

Should you get the OPPO Bubble?

At Rs 7,999, the OPPO Bubble is more of a fun, novelty accessory than an essential purchase. Its biggest advantage is letting you use the Reno 16's rear cameras for selfies and group shots, resulting in better image quality. That said, the Reno 16 already features an impressive 50MP selfie camera, complete with ultra-wide and close-up shooting options, so many users may not feel the need for an external viewfinder.

The Bubble could make more sense to content creators looking to capture smooth, stable footage for their vlogs. The accessory also has its own charm. Its compact design makes it easy to clip onto a bag or carry around as a stylish accessory, and it adds a unique, playful element to mobile photography. Since there aren't any direct competitors, comparisons are difficult. If the concept appeals to you and you enjoy experimenting with smartphone photography, the OPPO Bubble can be an enjoyable addition to your setup.

If there's one brand that knows how to bridge the gap between studio sound and consumer preference, it's JBL. The Live 780NC, JBL's new mid-range over-ear, walks into the Listening Lab with a fair bit to prove, and after a few weeks running it through an iPhone 17 Pro Max, a MacBook Pro and a Luxsin X9 DAC/amp on the side, I can say JBL has actually done the homework this time.

Design & Features: 8 / 10

Our orange review sample certainly does not subscribe to the anonymous-black-headphone school of industrial design, and we like it that way. The colour is bold without looking toy-like, thanks to the different textures and finishes, only exemplified by the attention to detail. Even the storage pouch and bundled cable share the colourway and give the Live 780NC considerably more personality than most rivals. If subtlety is your thing, JBL offers several calmer alternatives, but if your headphones routinely disappear into a black backpack, orange suddenly begins to look rather sensible.

Compared to the competition from Sony, the Live 780NC is in the same ballpark at 260g, which is reasonably light for a full-sized wireless headphone. The silicone-covered headband is easy to maintain and should age better than fabric finishes, although it does not feel particularly luxurious. The ear cushions, on the other hand, are supple and great for blocking out noise passively, even before you dig into the ANC levels. The earcups surround the ears rather than sitting on them, and the clamping force is a bit on the snug side, but that's almost a prerequisite for effective noise cancellation performance. If you wear glasses, you may want to try one before you buy to avoid any post-purchase discomfort.

Both physical controls and a touch panel on the right earcup handle most of the on-device features. The touch interface is responsive and can be customised through the JBL Headphones app. Expect no IP rating there, much like most other headphones, and oddly, there's no charging cable included in the box, too, just the USB-C to 3.5mm for a wired connection.

Connectivity: 9.5 / 10

If you want energy, bass, convenience and enough intelligence to survive a working day involving music, calls, laptops and multiple devices, this JBL ticks all the boxes without wandering into flagship territory. It now gets the newest Bluetooth 6.0 receiver along with multipoint pairing, LE Audio support and Auracast compatibility, all helped by an enormous battery life of up to 80 hours. For the keen sticker-spotters, there's also Hi-Res Audio certification in both wired and wireless operation.

Sound: 7.5 / 10

Using 40mm drivers, straight off the bat, the 780NC sounds big, bold and definitely bass-heavy, but not to the unbearable extent of a Sony ULT. Its 98dB sensitivity and 32-ohm impedance make it a doodle to drive with any smartphone or DMP without the need for an external headphone amp or DAC, but we did have the Luxsin X9 on hand to give it a little jolt. Rated out to 40kHz for Hi-Res Wireless certification, plugged into the Luxsin, the 780NC gained even more composure and control over the mildly spiked low-end and added a finer edge to the instruments and their separation within the soundstage. Through the JBL Headphones app, you can toggle Spatial audio even for stereo sources, and it does go a long way in creating a more speaker-like spaciousness to the presentation, putting a few feet in between you and the musicians without taking away any of the detail or changing the tonal balance.

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But even wirelessly paired to an iPhone 17 Pro Max, the JBL Live 780NC proved to be an entertaining listen, if not the last word in resolution and bass definition. At least it didn't sound fatiguing over longer durations, but the tight hold that the earcups have around your ears may want you to come up for air every now and then. Mind you, on iOS, though, even a 96/24 Hi-Res track will be delivered in 44/16 CD-quality. The JBL Headphones app is where the 780NC earns its keep. Personi-Fi 3.0 builds a hearing-profile EQ from an in-app test, there's a proper 10-band manual EQ, and buried in there are ambient soundscapes (campfire, rain, etc.) that have nothing to do with music playback but could calm your edgy nerves if you ever need it. There's also an underused party trick in the form of Auracast, which will let you beam audio from if you own a current JBL Bluetooth speaker like the Flip 7 or Go 5, straight to the 780NC in sync.

ANC and call quality both fare well enough with the 4+2 microphone set-up, and the app even allows you to tweak the caller's (or your own) voice to sound either "powerful" or "bright". Ambient Aware, Talk Thru and Auto play/pause are quality of life features that everyone will appreciate. Probably the most appreciated feature will be its battery life, and during the week of testing, after topping it up to full charge, I was still blasting music on day six with 28% left in the tank, and I used it for 3-4 hours every day. It's the kind of headphone you'd charge once or twice a month if your usage is basically during commutes. A 5-minute top-up buys 4 more hours, and only Sennheiser's pricier Momentum 5 Wireless and HDB 630 beat those numbers.

Verdict: 8.5 / 10

It isn't a class leader. But it's a far more capable product than its predecessor, and in India, at an introductory price of Rs 15,999 (against an MRP of Rs 18,999), it's arguably the most complete package. Just don't expect it to behave like a passive audiophile can when you plug it into serious desktop gear. It's JBL's best Live yet, but it's no giant-slayer.

Motorola has expanded its Edge 70 lineup rapidly this year, launching the Edge 70, Edge 70 Fusion, Edge 70 Pro, Edge 70 Pro+, and now the Edge 70 Max. While each model targets a different segment, the Edge 70 Max appears to be the company's most ambitious offering yet. The handset shifts the spotlight from lifestyle-centric offerings to performance.

The Motorola Edge 70 Max is the OEM's first gaming-focussed smartphone, packing flagship-grade hardware, support for high-frame-rate gaming, and a dedicated cooling system to sustain performance during extended gaming sessions. Beyond gaming, the smartphone also brings a handful of noteworthy features that help it stand out in the premium segment.

After spending some time with the device, here are my first impressions of the Motorola Edge 70 Max, which is priced in India starting at Rs 54,999.

Design: prioritising premium instead of gaming-aesthetics

The Edge 70 Max brings subtle refinements to Motorola's design language. Instead of the curved edges seen on previous Edge smartphones, the handset adopts flat sides, improving ergonomics while reducing accidental touches during gaming. Importantly, this change doesn't come at the expense of the premium look and feel the Edge series is known for. Rather than embracing the flashy RGB lights and aggressive styling commonly associated with gaming phones, the Edge 70 Max opts for a clean, understated design that should appeal to a wider audience.

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The phone features an aluminium frame with Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protection on both the front and back, lending it a premium in-hand feel while adding to its durability. It is also IP69-rated for dust and water resistance, offering protection against the elements. Additionally, the handset carries MIL-STD-810H certification, which means it has been tested to withstand minor drops and harsh environmental conditions.

While all that is fine, the Motorola Edge 70 Max may feel bulky to some users. The handset weighs over 221 grams, which isn't unusual for a performance-focused smartphone, and is also thicker (8.29mm) than other models in the Edge lineup, making it slightly less comfortable to handle. If you're upgrading from an older Motorola smartphone, the added weight and thickness are likely to be among the first things you'll notice.

Other aspects of the phone include a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer, sandwiched between the speaker grille and the SIM tray. The Edge 70 Max also features a secondary speaker at the top, hidden behind the earpiece, which contributes to a stereo speaker setup. The handset features an in-display fingerprint scanner for security and a physical key, separate from the volume rocker and power button, on the left spine for motoAI features.

We received the smartphone in Aqua Gray, though it is also available in two other colour options: Dark Shadow and Ice Melt.

Specifications: not just gaming hardware

While the Motorola Edge 70 Max is a gaming-focused smartphone, it is not just limited to that. The handset features several interesting specifications that might make it an appealing buy for a wide range of users.

Display

On the front, the Edge 70 Max sports a 6.8-inch 10-bit AMOLED display with the segment's first QHD+ (1,440 x 3,168p) resolution for sharp and vibrant visuals and up to 7,000 nits to improve legibility outdoors in harsh sunlight. Whether you're streaming videos, browsing social media, or editing photos, the high-resolution panel should deliver a pleasing viewing experience both indoors and outdoors. The display also delivers up to a 144Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support, a 360Hz touch sampling rate, water touch, and razor-thin bezels. It is said to have a screen-to-body ratio of 96.80 percent.

Performance

The Motorola Edge 70 Max is powered by Qualcomm's sub-flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 SoC, paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.1 storage. The handset also features Motorola's ArcticMesh cooling system with a 5,500mm2 vapour chamber, designed to keep thermals in check and minimise performance throttling.

For gamers, the Edge 70 Max supports up to 120fps gameplay in BGMI and Call of Duty: Mobile, promising a smooth gaming experience. It will be interesting to see how consistently the phone can sustain these frame rates under prolonged workloads. On paper, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 appears more than capable, as demonstrated by devices such as the OnePlus 15R and iQOO 15R. Ultimately, it will come down to how well Motorola has optimised the Edge 70 Max to deliver sustained performance under demanding loads.

Software

Software-wise, the Motorola Edge 70 Max runs Android 16-based HelloUI out of the box. There are plenty of motoAI features to offer; however, the support seems limited to just 3 major OS upgrades and 5 years of security updates. Rival Android smartphones in this segment now offer up to 6 years of software updates. Motorola's Signature smartphone, which is selling at Rs 59,999, promises seven years of major OS and security updates.

Battery

The Motorola Edge 70 Max is backed by a 7,100mAh battery, which is claimed to offer up to 58 hours of usage. This is backed by 90W TurboPower fast wired charging and 5W reverse wired charging. In addition, you get 25W magnetic wireless charging with Qi 2.2. It is perhaps the most interesting addition to the smartphone, making it one of the very few Android smartphones to offer the feature in India. Beyond wireless charging, users can attach compatible magnetic accessories, bringing an iPhone-like ecosystem experience to Android.

Cameras

In the camera department, the Edge 70 Max features a 50MP Sony LYTIA 710 primary sensor with OIS, accompanied by an 8MP ultrawide lens. However, it misses out on a dedicated telephoto camera for optical zoom, a feature offered by its sibling, the Edge 70 Pro+. That said, since the Edge 70 Max is a gaming-focused smartphone, the absence of a telephoto sensor seems intentional.

For selfies and video calls, the Edge 70 Max features a 32MP front-facing camera. We will be putting its cameras, along with every other aspect of the smartphone, through their paces in our full review, so stay tuned.

Final thoughts

The Motorola Edge 70 Max appears to be more than just another smartphone. With gaming-focused features, a refined design, a high-quality display, and magnetic wireless charging, it stands out in a crowded premium smartphone market. Whether these additions translate into a better overall experience is something we'll evaluate in our full review, including detailed gaming, camera, battery, and performance testing.

The Samsung Galaxy A27 5G does not try to win on every front. It is the entry point into Samsung's new A-series lineup for 2026, priced below the Galaxy A37 and A57, and it makes very deliberate choices about where to put the money. A Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chip, a 120Hz Super AMOLED display, and six years of OS and security updates are the three pillars the A27 5G is built around. After spending a significant amount of time with the phone, including running it through our full suite of in-house tests, here is a complete verdict on whether those choices add up to a phone worth buying at around Rs 30,000.

Design: durable and comfortable in hand

[pdp-expert-review]
The Samsung Galaxy A27 5G has a clean, minimalistic design language with a glossy back and flat sides. Its IP64 rating isn't as durable as the IP68 and IP69-rated phones in the segment, but the Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection on the display is a nice touch.
[/pdp-expert-review]

The Galaxy A27 5G follows Samsung's established mid-range design language: flat sides, a centred punch-hole camera, and a clean rear panel. At 7.8mm thin and 200 grams, it is slimmer and lighter than the OnePlus Nord CE 6. The Light Green variant we tested is subtle and pleasant. Light Pink and Black are the other options.

Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the front is a meaningful durability upgrade over what most phones in this segment offer, and Samsung has tested the A27 against a 2-metre drop, which is a specific and confidence-inspiring claim. The IP64 rating covers dust and splash resistance. It is worth noting that phones like the OnePlus Nord CE 6 and Realme 16 come with IP68 and IP69K at a similar price, which offer better dust and water protection. For most everyday use, however, IP64 is more than adequate, but it is worth knowing if you regularly expose your phone to water.

Display: bright and smooth

[pdp-expert-review]
The 6.7-inch Infinity-O Super AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate is one of the strongest aspects of the Galaxy A27 5G. Colours are vivid, blacks are deep, and scrolling feels smooth in a way that 60Hz mid-rangers simply cannot replicate.
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The 6.7-inch Infinity-O Super AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate is one of the strongest aspects of the Galaxy A27 5G. Colours are vivid, blacks are deep, and scrolling feels smooth in a way that 60Hz mid-rangers simply cannot replicate. The 1,400 nits of peak brightness is sufficient for most indoor and outdoor conditions, and the 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage means content looks accurate and well-saturated.

The Super AMOLED panel on the Samsung delivers a consistently superior viewing experience in everyday use. For content consumption, the A27 5G's large and vivid display is genuinely impressive.

Cameras: capable primary, limited at the edges

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Photos captured in daylight are crisp, bright and saturated, as one would expect from Samsung's cameras. The absence of a telephoto is the most obvious gap in the camera system, and Samsung's rationale that the macro, ultrawide, and digital zoom cover the main use cases is fair up to a point.

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The triple rear camera system on the Galaxy A27 5G consists of a 50MP wide camera with OIS, a 5MP ultrawide, and a macro lens. The primary camera with OIS is the highlight. Photos captured in daylight are crisp, bright and saturated, as one would expect from Samsung's cameras. The 10x digital zoom is usable in good light, though results at extreme zoom will naturally vary. In low light, the main camera tends to overexpose images slightly, resulting in brighter, rather than true-to-life, captures.

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The absence of a telephoto is the most obvious gap in the camera system, and Samsung's rationale that the macro, ultrawide, and digital zoom cover the main use cases is fair up to a point. In practice, a dedicated 2x or 3x optical telephoto would have been a more versatile addition than the macro, which has limited everyday utility. That said, the OIS on the primary camera and the 4K video capability on the rear cameras make this a more capable imaging package than the hardware count alone suggests.

The 12MP HDR front camera is decent as far as sharpness is concerned, but colours, especially skin tones, look a bit washed out. Video shooters should note that 4K is available only on the rear cameras, not the front.

Performance: gets the job done

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The Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, paired with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 3.1 storage, is a capable hardware combination in this price segment. That said, the Galaxy A27 5G isn't the fastest phone in its class. The OnePlus Nord CE 6 and Infinix Note 60 Pro both get a faster Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chip, which delivers superior performance, both in benchmarks and real-world use.
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The Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, paired with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 3.1 storage, is a capable hardware combination in this price segment, and the benchmarks against the Realme 16 show as much.

The Galaxy A27 5G scored 845,601 on AnTuTu, compared to 611,679 on the Realme 16, a gap of nearly 38 percent. The Geekbench single-core score of 989 and multi-core score of 2,989 are similarly ahead of the Realme 16's 812 and 2,068, respectively. GPU performance is where the difference is most dramatic: the 3D Mark Wild Life Extreme score of 948 is more than double the Realme 16's 382, which translates to a tangible advantage in graphically demanding games.

[comparative-benchmark type="1" title="AnTuTu score" caption="AnTuTu assesses a smartphone's CPU, GPU, memory, and overall user experience (higher is better)" highlight="product_1" products="42009,41770,,," ][/comparative-benchmark]

[comparative-benchmark type="11" title="Geekbench multi-core score" caption="Geekbench assesses the efficiency of the CPU's single and multiple cores (higher is better)" highlight="product_1" products="42009,41770,,," ][/comparative-benchmark]

That said, the Galaxy A27 5G isn't the fastest phone in its class. The OnePlus Nord CE 6 and Infinix Note 60 Pro both get a faster Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chip, which delivers superior performance, both in benchmarks and real-world use.

Storage speed is another area where the UFS 3.1 on the A27 5G pulls ahead. Sequential read and write speeds of 618MB/s and 572MB/s, respectively, are significantly faster than the Realme 16's 276MB/s and 246MB/s and on par with the likes of the Nord CE 6. In daily use, this means apps install faster, large files transfer more quickly, and the phone feels more responsive when switching between demanding tasks.

In gaming, the Galaxy A27 5G ran Call of Duty at Very High graphics with Max frame rate, averaging 57.8 FPS. In BGMI, it averaged around 38-40 FPS at maximum settings, though the A27 5G ran notably cooler, a 3.9-degree temperature rise versus 5.8 degrees on the Realme 16 after 30 minutes.

Software and AI: the strongest argument for buying this phone

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The Galaxy A27 5G ships with One UI 8.5 based on Android 16, and the six OS updates plus six years of security patches are the most important specifications on this phone's sheet. The AI feature set is also more comprehensive than you would expect at this price.

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The Galaxy A27 5G ships with One UI 8.5 based on Android 16, and the six OS updates plus six years of security patches are the most important specifications on this phone's sheet. No other phone in this segment offers a 6+6 software commitment. This means the Galaxy A27 5G will remain current and secure long after its direct rivals have been left behind.

The pre-installed app count of 48 is higher than ideal, with 7 third-party apps out of the box, though it is lower than the Realme 16 and Redmi 5 Turbo's 60+ pre-installed apps. Samsung has trimmed the bloatware compared to older One UI versions, and the overall experience is clean and well-organised. The best thing about Samsung's UI is its age-friendly and user-friendly experience, making it familiar and easy for any demographic to get used to quickly.

[comparative-benchmark type="3000" products="42009,42000,41770,," pias="48,54,60,,"][/comparative-benchmark]

The AI feature set is more comprehensive than you would expect at this price. Circle to Search now supports multi-object search within a single circle, which is a practical upgrade. The photo editing tools, including a faster eraser, My Filter, and nine AI-suggested edits, are all native, meaning photos do not leave the device for processing. AI call features, including live transcription, voice focus, and call captions, are useful for accessibility and productivity. On-device Gemini, Bixby, and Perplexity round out the AI suite.

Battery: adequate endurance, slow charging

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The 5,000mAh battery on the Galaxy A27 5G delivered 11 hours and 24 minutes in our PCMark battery test, which is a solid result for everyday use. The 25W wired charging is where the A27 5G falls behind most clearly. In our testing, charging from 20 to 100 percent took 73 minutes. If you regularly need to top up quickly, charging speed can be a bit of a limitation.

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The 5,000mAh battery on the Galaxy A27 5G delivered 11 hours and 24 minutes in our PCMark battery test, which is a solid result for everyday use. In our YouTube loop test, the phone dropped just 5 percent battery over 60 minutes at 50 percent brightness and volume, which puts it in line with the Realme 16's 4 percent drop. For moderate users, the A27 5G will comfortably last a full day.

The 25W wired charging is where the A27 5G falls behind most clearly. In our testing, charging from 20 to 100 percent took 73 minutes, similar to the Realme 16's 71 minutes at 60W, but it's worth noting that the Realme phone has a substantially larger 7,000mAh battery. If you are someone who regularly needs to top up quickly, the charging speed can be a bit of a limitation. A 45W charger would have made the A27 5G a more complete package. As it stands, overnight charging is the most practical approach.

Final verdict

The Samsung Galaxy A27 5G is a capable all-round phone in the sub-Rs 35,000 segment on the strength of its processor, display, and software support. The Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 is a reliable performer for day-to-day tasks, though there are faster alternatives in the segment. The 120Hz Super AMOLED is among the best displays you can get at this price, and six years of OS updates is a commitment that makes this phone a genuinely long-term buy. The 25W charging and IP64 rating are the two areas where phones like the Realme 16 and OnePlus Nord CE 6 have a clear advantage, and they are legitimate trade-offs worth considering. But for most buyers who prioritise software longevity and display quality, the Galaxy A27 5G makes a compelling case at its price.

Editor's rating: 8.4/10

Reasons to buy:

• Six years of OS updates and six years of security patches make this one of the most future-proof mid-rangers available in India.
• 120Hz Super AMOLED display with Gorilla Glass Victus+ and 1,400 nits peak brightness is excellent at this price.
• Comprehensive on-device AI features powered by a strong NPU advantage over the competition.

Reasons to think twice:

• 25W charging is slow compared to current mid-range standards.
• IP64 rating is adequate but falls behind the IP68/IP69K offered by rivals.
• No telephoto camera; the macro lens is a limited substitute for a dedicated zoom.

Every year, a flood of affordable laptops arrives with one goal: to become the perfect student companion. Unfortunately, most of them end up cutting corners somewhere, whether it's a sluggish processor, a dull display, or a keyboard that feels like it belongs on a toy. The ASUS Chromebook CM32 Detachable takes a completely different route.

Instead of trying to be another budget Windows laptop, ASUS has built something that feels more like a digital notebook that just happens to double as a laptop. It packs a vibrant 12.1-inch touchscreen, a detachable keyboard, a bundled stylus, and ChromeOS into an incredibly portable package. It won't replace a powerful Windows machine, but for students and anyone whose work revolves around the web, it makes a surprisingly strong case.

Design: Built for classrooms, not coffee-shop laps

The first thing that stands out about the CM32 Detachable is just how premium it feels. At roughly 610g as a tablet, it's light enough to carry around all day without becoming a burden, while the aluminium chassis feels reassuringly sturdy. ASUS has also certified it to MIL-STD 810H military-grade durability standards, which means it should have no trouble surviving the occasional bump inside a backpack.

Even better, ASUS bundles both the detachable keyboard and the USI 2.0 stylus in the box. That's a huge advantage because many competing detachable devices ask users to spend extra on these accessories. The keyboard offers an impressive 1.35mm key travel, making it feel surprisingly similar to typing on a traditional ASUS laptop rather than a flimsy detachable accessory. The stylus is equally convenient, magnetically attaching to the tablet while charging wirelessly, so it's always ready for taking notes or sketching ideas.

The kickstand, however, isn't quite as intuitive. It's fairly rigid, and opening it requires applying pressure in just the right spot. More often than not, the first few attempts ended with the entire back cover detaching from the Chromebook instead of the kickstand unfolding. It definitely takes a little practice before muscle memory kicks in. Once set up, it's perfectly stable on a desk, but using it on your lap is still awkward due to the detachable design.

Port selection is equally minimal. There's just a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port alongside a 3.5mm headphone jack, so plugging in accessories while charging will likely require a USB-C hub. Unfortunately, there's no fingerprint scanner, meaning unlocking the device still relies on entering a PIN or password every time.

Display: Easily the highlight of the experience

If there's one reason to buy the CM32 Detachable, it's the display. ASUS has equipped it with a stunning 12.1-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600) IPS touchscreen featuring a taller 16:10 aspect ratio, a buttery-smooth 120Hz refresh rate, and up to 600 nits of brightness. Whether it's reading lecture notes, editing documents, or simply scrolling through websites, everything looks incredibly crisp and fluid.

The panel also covers 98% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, making videos, photos, and even presentations look far more vibrant than what you'd normally expect in this price range. Gorilla Glass 3 protection and an anti-fingerprint coating help keep the display looking clean despite constant touch input, while the extra vertical screen space means fewer scrolls when reading PDFs or writing assignments.

The dual Dolby Atmos speakers do a respectable job as well. They're clear enough for YouTube, podcasts, online lectures, and Netflix sessions, although bass lovers will still want a good pair of headphones.

Webcam: Genuinely good

One surprise, however, is the webcam. The 5MP front camera is easily one of the best you'll find on a laptop around this price. Video quality is impressively sharp, HDR works brilliantly when sitting in front of bright windows, and there's very little visible grain, even indoors.

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Pair that with equally excellent microphones that capture voices naturally without sounding muffled, and the CM32 becomes a fantastic companion for online classes, group discussions, or video meetings.

The rear 5MP camera is more functional than impressive, but that's perfectly fine. It's ideal for quickly scanning notes and documents, though it's not something you'd want to use for photographing people.

Software: ChromeOS finally feels at home

Choosing between the CM32 and a similarly priced Windows laptop really comes down to software. ChromeOS has matured significantly over the years, offering a lightweight, cloud-first experience that feels fast, responsive, and refreshingly hassle-free. It boots within seconds, stays responsive over time, and integrates seamlessly with Google Workspace, making it perfect for writing assignments, collaborating on projects, or attending lectures through Google Meet.

Tablet mode is another area where ChromeOS genuinely shines. Detach the keyboard, and the interface automatically transforms into a touch-friendly experience that feels natural to navigate. The bundled ASUS Pen only makes things better. With 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity, magnetic attachment, and wireless charging, it turns the CM32 into an excellent digital notebook for annotating PDFs, jotting down lecture notes, or sketching diagrams during class.

ChromeOS isn't without its compromises, though. While Android app support has improved considerably, some apps still refuse to scale properly for larger displays and end up looking like oversized phone apps. Likewise, students who rely on desktop Photoshop, CAD software, advanced programming tools, or other specialised Windows applications will still be better served by a traditional Windows laptop.

Performance and battery: Efficient where it matters

Our review unit comes with 8GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 128GB of eMMC storage, while the base variant ships with just 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. If the budget allows, we'd strongly recommend opting for the higher-end model. The additional storage isn't a huge concern since ASUS bundles a Google AI Pro promo featuring 5TB of cloud storage with the Chromebook. Keep in mind that this is only a 3-month trial, but the extra 4GB of physical RAM on the higher tier makes a permanent, meaningful difference when juggling multiple Chrome tabs, Android apps, and documents.

The MediaTek Kompanio 540 also deserves more credit than it usually gets. It's clearly designed with efficiency rather than raw horsepower in mind, and for a Chromebook, that's exactly the right approach. Everyday tasks like browsing, writing assignments, streaming lectures, attending video calls, and multitasking across several tabs feel smooth throughout. Better yet, the chipset sips power when idle, so simply closing the lid between classes barely dents the battery percentage by the time you return.

What about real-world usage, though?

Of course, this isn't a machine built for heavy workloads. Push it with demanding Android games, dozens of browser tabs, or Linux-based development, and you'll eventually notice slowdowns. But for the audience this Chromebook is meant for, the balance between performance, silence, and battery efficiency feels just right.

Speaking of battery life, the 42Wh battery comfortably lasts around nine to ten hours with a mix of web browsing, note-taking, video calls, and streaming. That's more than enough to survive an entire day of lectures without carrying the charger everywhere. And when you finally do need to top up, the included 45W USB-C charger gets you back up and running fairly quickly.

Verdict: Not Your Typical Rs 50K Student Laptop

Priced at Rs 48,990 (with the base variant starting lower), the ASUS Chromebook CM32 Detachable isn't trying to be everything for everyone, and that's exactly why it works. It focuses on the things students genuinely care about: a gorgeous display, a comfortable keyboard, an excellent bundled stylus, dependable battery life, and one of the best webcams you'll find at this price point. The fact that ASUS includes both the keyboard and stylus in the box only sweetens the deal, especially when several competing detachable devices ask users to spend extra for those essentials.

If the budget allows, we'd still recommend picking up the 8GB RAM variant over the base model. And while there's no denying that the sub-Rs. 50,000 segment is packed with capable Windows laptops, which are worth considering only if the workflow depends on Windows-exclusive software or demands extra processing power. For everyone else, especially students, the CM32 Detachable makes a compelling case for itself with its premium design, gorgeous display, excellent portability, dependable battery life, and the added value of a bundled keyboard and stylus. It may not replace every laptop, but as a classroom companion, it's easily one of the most well-rounded options currently available.

Editor's Rating: 8.3 / 10

Pros:

• Gorgeous 12.1-inch 2.5K 120Hz display
• Lightweight, premium detachable design with bundled keyboard and stylus
• Fantastic webcam and microphones
• Great battery life with efficient MediaTek chipset

Cons:

• Kickstand has a learning curve and isn't great on the lap
• Only one USB-C port
• No fingerprint scanner
• Base model's 4GB RAM feels limiting

I've reviewed a lot of gadgets over the years, and as a professional tech reviewer, almost every gadget I come across these days has started to feel like something I've tried out previously. The novelty wears off quickly, and almost every new iteration comes with just a handful of new features at best. However, every now and then, there comes a new product that reminds me why I fell in love with tech in the first place. Looki L1 is a product that belongs to this category.

In theory, this is a simple wearable camera that lets you record your days in a convenient manner. However, the execution is what makes this wearable a game-changer in a true sense. Unlike Ray-Ban Meta Glasses, where you have to manually trigger the recording (either physically or via voice command), the Looki L1 allows you an option where you can just put it on as a locket around your neck and forget about it. The camera will record videos either at regular intervals or via AI in select moments, and create a video montage for you that feels truly wholesome. I've been testing Looki L1 for more than a month at this point, and here are my uninhibited thoughts about it.

Compact and functional design

Let's get the nitty-gritty out of the way first. The Looki L1 measures 1.89"x1.99"x0.66" (Length x Width x Depth) and weighs just 32 grams. When we're talking about a gadget that has to be worn through the day and as a locket, it needs to get certain things right:

1. It cannot be heavy or bulky.
2. It needs to be easy to wear and offer wearing versatility (depending on your clothing).
3. It cannot look tacky or suspicious.
4. It needs to have some sort of protection (against hard bumps or occasional drops).
5. It should have intuitive controls.

Looki L1 doesn't just ensure that all of these bases are covered, but excels in these departments. First, it is compact and lightweight (due to a plastic build). It comes with magnetic pogo pins at the back that allow it to be used with a string accessory that connects it at the back and turns it into a locket.

I wore the camera through the day on most days and forgot about it after wearing it in the morning. The lightweight design is quite encouraging, and the convenience ensures that you end up wearing the L1 without much resistance.

As far as wearing versatility is concerned, the magnetic pins allow you to attach the neck string with the L1 even when you have the gadget over your shirt and the string below it.

Coming to the third point. Wearing a camera around your neck can feel like an albatross if it looks like a spy camera or something intrusive. This is where the Jigglypuff-like design of the Looki L1 comes into play. Especially as a locket, the camera looks and feels harmless to an extent where everyone around you forgets about it right away or does not even notice it (although I do recommend you do declare to everyone that you have a recording camera on you).

Notably, the companion app for L1 allows you the option to completely switch off all light indicators while recording, which creates obvious privacy concerns. Having said that, I would say that the recording lights often end up altering people's natural reactions, as it often happens with some other wearables that offer recording functionality. If you do want to capture someone's natural reactions, this feature is a must. Also, this is not a spy camera by any means, it is clearly visible when worn around your neck, so I'll give the brand a pass for this one.

Next up, let's talk about protection. You can buy a protective case for the camera that provides sufficient protection on a daily basis. Thankfully, it doesn't add much weight to the camera either.

Finally, there are two physical buttons on the Looki L1 and finger-swipe recognition. While the top button can be used to start/stop video recording, holding down the lower button switches on the 'Story/AI mode'. Just a single press of the lower button also lets you take pictures. As there are just two buttons, it took me almost no time to get used to the device's functionality.

App and features - AI unlocks true potential

If you just consider its basic functionalities, Looki L1, as a product, could have existed in some shape or form long time back. Maybe the camera quality would have been inferior, the battery life could have been shorter, and maybe its size would have been larger, but it could have been possible. However, what elevates this from an average product to a genuinely useful gadget is the use of AI.

Before jumping into the AI aspect, let's go over the fundamental aspects of the gadget and the app. Once you've set up the Looki L1 app and paired it with your device using Bluetooth 5.0, you can choose either 'Story' or 'AI' mode. In 'Story' mode, you manually choose the duration of the clips recorded by the device and the time interval after which it starts recording each time. Following are the intervals and durations you can choose:

• 5-second clip every 1 min
• 7-second clip every 1 min 30s
• 9-second clip every 2 mins
• 11-second clip every 3 mins
• 15-second clip every 5 mins

Now this is the fundamental use case of the product and works well as the videos recorded on the device are first stored locally (32GB built-in storage) and then transferred to cloud storage (up to 1TB) and deleted from local storage 12 hours later.

However, what AI enables is that it creates a summary of your day in both video and comic-strip formats. This takes away the pain of manually curating video footage from the day and editing. After using it for a month, I must admit that it does an amazing job of picking out the highlights from the day and an even better job of stitching together the clips to create the final highlight video, which is less than a minute long and perfect for sharing on social media. You can even choose to get this highlight video in vertical or horizontal aspect ratio (as per your requirement).

Coming to the 'AI mode', I found it to be a hit-and-miss. Theoretically, this mode uses AI to automatically capture interesting moments throughout the day. However, in my testing, it sometimes missed some crucial moments and captured some random, mundane moments instead. While this mode has a lot of scope and it can be drastically improved with software updates, in its current state, I would opt to use the reliable Story mode on a consistent basis instead.

The smart wearable comes with support for an AI assistant, with which you communicate via its 1W speaker (audio boosted by a smart amplifier). In order to access the AI assistant (Ask Looki), you can simply press the device from the front and hold for a couple of seconds. In my limited testing of the device, the L1 managed to get most answers right.

The Looki L1 also has some neat tricks up its sleeves. For example, it can help you with nutritional tracking without manual logging. In the company's own words - "By using multimodal AI, the L1 'sees' your meals and can provide nutritional estimates and food identification in your daily summary, eliminating the need to type out everything you eat."

Similarly, the L1 provides real-time feedback during a workout when in Fitness Mode. The device uses its 109-degree FoV and motion-tracking AI to monitor your form and rhythm to provide proactive haptic or voice cues to help you achieve your fitness goals.

However, I found it to be a bit unintuitive to use this voice assistant as my phone is already capable of doing these things (and that too silently!). In a crowd, I wouldn't prefer a device on my neck to shout out answers at me, but someone who is not carrying a phone and still in need of accessing a digital assistant for answers will find this to be a useful inclusion.

One of the most useful AI features that I found to be truly amazing was Vlog Agent, which allowed me to make AI edits from the video dump that I had on the device. Apart from the daily summary, in case I wanted a video that only focused on the parts where I was having food, family time, or just driving, I could make a vlog from only those moments with just a tap of a button. All I needed to do in this process was confirm the selection of videos. This quality-of-life feature itself is reason enough for me to recommend this to anyone who wants to get into the world of content creation.

There is a feature called Looki PIE within the app, which constantly gives you recommendations for a particular day. For example, cutting down your screen time before going to bed, weather updates, dimming down your dashboard screen, and so on.

Looki L1 comes with support for dual-band 2.4GHz / 5GHz Wi-Fi, which is not the latest, but gets the job done.

Camera quality and battery life - exceeds expectations on both fronts

As we're talking about a wearable camera with size and an appealing price tag, I was sceptical regarding the camera quality and battery life offered by the Looki L1. I also factored in that this is a first-generation product. However, I was surprised when I started testing the product. The 1080p (30fps) videos recorded by the camera with a 109-degree field-of-view, and the 4K pictures clicked by it, even in less-than-ideal lighting, turned out to be pretty impressive. Not just that, even the stabilisation on offer was much better than what I expected. Even while on the move, the L1 recorded videos effortlessly.

With 3 microphones and noise reduction, the videos captured by the camera were of good quality, both in terms of visuals and audio.

One thing that you need to keep in mind is that the videos recorded by the Ray-Ban Meta glasses and Looki L1 would be different in terms of perspective. While the Meta glasses sit at your eye-level, the L1 is most likely placed around the top portion of your chest area. You can certainly adjust the neck string to a higher position (which I personally preferred), but if you want to record something you are doing with your hands, a slightly lower position is even better than what the Meta glasses would manage.

Powered by a 4nm Qualcomm chipset, the Looki L1 has been claimed to offer a battery life of around 12 hours. If you change the duration of clips recorded or the interval after which clips are recorded, it can vary anywhere from 6 hours to 12 hours.

Unlike other gadgets, the battery life of this product is easy to test as usage doesn't vary a lot from one user to another. So it is hardly surprising that the claimed figures are, in fact, quite accurate.

Verdict

Usually, I do not give away my thoughts about a gadget early on in the review but Looki L1 turned out to be an exception. Don't get me wrong, this is not a perfect device by any means. Its 'AI mode' needs improvement, its battery life could be better so that you don't have to charge it during the day, and camera quality can also be improved. However, despite these complaints, there is no denying the fact that this ambitious product is currently the best gadget for creating your daily journal.

Personally, as someone who has a young kid growing up at home, journaling days via this gadget felt wholesome, and I'll definitely cherish several videos recorded by the L1 that I definitely wouldn't have captured using my phone. 

While this product would be ideal for content creators, for recording footage in the most convenient manner, I'd say that this product is perfect for anyone who wants to capture their average daily day routine for their journaling needs. Although AI still has some way to go before it can match manual editing, for those of you who dread the idea of video editing, this can be your most convenient entry to the world of vlogs.

Priced at $249, the Looki L1 is currently not available in India, but this is one product you must ask your friends and family to bring along when they come from one of the countries where the brand is currently shipping. I'm telling you, this one's worth it.

Editor's Rating: 8.5 / 10

Pros:

• Compact lightweight design
• AI summary in both text and video formats
• Seamless cloud upload
• Good battery life

Cons:

• AI mode is inconsistent
• Potential privacy concerns

It's been over four months since the Nothing Phone (4a) made its global debut at Rs 31,999. Amid the worsening memory chip crisis in the tech industry, the phone has received several price hikes and now sits at Rs 39,999. Given this steep increase, does the Phone (4a) still make sense compared to the competition, especially with the more affordably priced Phone (4b) at Rs 34,999? Also, how have the software updates fared since our original review? Find out in this long-term review.

Design still stands out

Even after four months of its launch, the Nothing Phone (4a) continues to distinguish itself with its signature 'Nothing aesthetics'. Featuring multiple intricate elements, such as an oval coil, plates, screws, and, of course, the Glyph Bar under a transparent rear panel, the Phone (4a) maintains its identity in a world of phones with bland and minimalist designs. While such designs may not favour everyone, it certainly gives the device an identity of its own, worthy of making a statement.

Our Black colour variant of the Nothing Phone (4a) sports an understated look, but the White and Pink versions make the phone stand out even more. Coming to ergonomics, the Phone (4a)'s boxy build weighs 204.5g and measures 8.6mm, making it a tad heavier and thicker than newer releases under Rs 40,000, such as the Moto Edge 70 Pro (review) and Redmi Turbo 5 (review). Furthermore, both the said smartphones carry at least an IP68 rating, while the Phone (4a) is limited to IP64, meaning it can be exposed to water only for short durations.

[comparative-benchmark type="1000" products="41523,42052,41180,," ][/comparative-benchmark]

In practical use, it won't take long to get used to the Phone (4a)'s boxy build; however, if you're seeking something more comfortable, the Moto Edge 70 Pro's subtly curved display and back panel is likely to sit in more comfortably in your hands, while the Redmi Turbo 5's shorter height makes it ideal for people who wish to wield compact phones.

Is the Glyph Bar better than the Glyph Interface?

Compared to the Nothing Phone (3a), the biggest design and functionality change on the Phone (4a) is ditching the circular Glyph Interface in favour of the Glyph Bar, a strip comprising six square LED lights. Just like the previous LED implementations, the strip lights up when receiving notifications or calls, adjusting the volume, running a timer, or showing the status of a delivery or order.

While it does all of this reliably well, I somewhat missed the 'Music visualisation' feature found on the Phone (3a) series, Phone (2), and Phone (1). This synced the LEDs to the media played on the phone, be it songs or movies. On the other hand, the Phone (4a) also misses the option to use the Glyph Bar as a torch in the camera app for obvious reasons, since it's placed on the side and doesn't provide enough lighting to the whole frame, which wasn't the case with the Glyph Interface, thanks to its near-symmetrical layout.

That said, I frequently used the Glyph Bar's Essential Notifications feature to check for WhatsApp messages when the phone was face down. Similarly, enabling the 'Volume indicator' feature lets you view the volume level by how many LEDs are lit when you press either volume button.

Sharp and bright display

The 6.78-inch 1.5K AMOLED display of the Nothing Phone (4a) continues to offer an excellent display experience. As stated in our initial review, the display outputs punchy and vibrant tones by default in the 'Alive' profile, while the 1,600 nits outdoor brightness ensures easy legibility outdoors under direct sunlight. The 120Hz refresh rate is open to all apps and interfaces, providing a seamless and smooth scrolling experience.

For HDR content, the display reaches up to 4,500 nits, while HDR 10+ support tags along. After watching tons of YouTube content, The Boys S5, and Invincible S4 on Prime Video, the display's output is impressive as it gets even after the price hikes. It delivers sharp details, sufficiently saturated colours, and excellent contrast tones. My only major gripe with the panel is the relatively chunky bezels. While they don't hamper the viewing experience, they do take away from the phone's modern look.

Coming to the speakers, the Phone (4a) features a stereo setup that delivers reasonably loud sound. While there is slight muddiness at maximum volume, it doesn't significantly affect the overall listening experience.

Software experience gets better over time

The Nothing Phone (4a) and Phone (4a) Pro were the first smartphones to debut with Nothing OS 4.1, bringing some much-needed additions, such as the depth wallpaper effect on the lockscreen, AI Eraser in the Gallery app, Android 16's Live Update integration for Google Maps, and much more.

[gallery link="file" columns="6" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" ids="694106,694105,694110,694108,694109,687560"]

While we've already covered the above-mentioned aspects in detail in our Nothing OS 4/4.1 update guide and CMF Phone 2 Pro long-term review, I'd like to point out that Nothing has frequently rolled out updates to the Phone (4a) since its release, resulting in improved stability and feature set over time. At the time of drafting this long-term review, the Phone (4a) was running on the May 2026 security patch, which may not be the latest, but the next update shouldn't take long to arrive given the track record.

In terms of software experience, the Phone (4a) is extremely smooth to use. Despite a not-so-high-end processor, it has been tuned well to deliver a fluid experience. Pair that with 120Hz refresh rates, and I didn't notice any lags or jitters during my use. The phone will receive three OS upgrades, which is quite standard for a device priced under Rs 40,000.

Telephoto lens still makes it a solid camera phone

The cameras of the Nothing Phone (4a) clearly remain the highlight of the device, especially in a segment where telephoto lenses have become non-existent. To recall, the handset sports a 50MP 1/1.57-inch Samsung GN9 primary camera with OIS, a 50MP 1/2.75-inch JN5 telephoto lens with 3.5x optical zoom, an 8MP Sony IMX355 ultrawide lens with a 120-degree FoV, and a 32MP selfie camera.

As stated in our original review, the main camera continues to output tones that are true to the scene, without adding extra vibrancy, at least outdoors. While this holds for indoor scenarios as well, the shots may often carry grain when you zoom into the image. Similarly, while low light results are well-exposed with balanced colour tones, the dark or shadow areas may at times contain grain, especially in telephoto and ultrawide shots.

Coming to the star of the show, the telephoto lens, which captures images at 80mm focal length, is a noteworthy addition that turns the tide in favour of the Phone (4a) for being the only phone under Rs 40,000 this year to be equipped with this lens. Just like the primary camera, it outputs true-to-life colours and prominently separates the subject from the background, resulting in a natural-looking bokeh effect.

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Reliable performance even after four months

Now that the Phone (4a)'s price has been raised significantly, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 powering the device is one of its least impressive aspects, at least on paper, given that phones like the Redmi Turbo 5 and Moto Edge 70 Pro rock the much superior MediaTek Dimensity 8500 chipset.

As you can see, the AnTuTu and Geekbench multi-core benchmark scores of other smartphones under Rs 40,000 fare significantly better than the Phone (4a).

[comparative-benchmark type="1" title="AnTuTu score" caption="AnTuTu assesses a smartphone's CPU, GPU, memory, and overall user experience (higher is better)" highlight="product_1" products="41523,41180,42052,," ][/comparative-benchmark]

[comparative-benchmark type="11" title="Geekbench multi-core score" caption="Geekbench assesses the efficiency of the CPU's single and multiple cores (higher is better)" highlight="product_1" products="41523,41180,42052,," ][/comparative-benchmark]

But does that stop the Phone (4a) from delivering a reliable everyday experience? Absolutely not, as users with casual and professional workflows will find the phone's performance more than sufficient for everyday tasks. In my case, I used the Phone (4a) for doomscrolling Instagram, reading articles, clicking pictures, chatting, and checking emails; it handled it all without any fuss.

For users prioritising mobile gaming, you're better off with the likes of the Redmi Turbo 5, OPPO K13 Turbo, and even the Motorola Edge 70 Pro for gaining sustained performance, especially at 120 FPS on popular titles like BGMI and CODM.

Battery life could have been better

Just like the performance, the battery is another department where the Nothing Phone (4a) isn't chasing big numbers. The nominal-sized 5,400mAh cell offered a runtime of 14 hours and 42 minutes in our PCMark Battery drain test from 100 to 20 percent when we tested it during launch.

While these are impressive numbers, it's no match for phones priced lower or on par with the Phone (4a), such as the OnePlus Nord CE 6 and Redmi Turbo 5, as you can see in the chart below.

[comparative-benchmark type="3" title="PCMark Battery score (in hours)" caption="PCMark battery test measures phone battery life from 100% to 20% (higher is better)" highlight="product_1" products="41523,41180,42000,," ][/comparative-benchmark]

In real-world use, the Phone (4a) comfortably offered me screen on time of anywhere between six and nine hours on a full charge. As noted in the performance section, my usage involved watching YouTube videos, streaming shows on Prime Video, using Instagram, reading articles, clicking pictures, chatting, and checking emails.

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While this level of battery backup is impressive for a phone with a 5,400mAh battery, devices featuring cells over 6,500mAh are sure to deliver even better endurance under similar usage.

Is Nothing Phone (4a) still worth buying?

Despite not leading the charts in key aspects, such as performance, battery, and ingress protection, the Nothing Phone (4a) has a lot going for it in terms of software, design, and cameras, the core key differentiators of Nothing smartphones.

If you're into mobile photography, the Phone (4a) is still your best bet under Rs 40,000 for its flexible camera setup, thanks to the inclusion of a telephoto lens, which can take detailed portrait and long-range zoom shots. The software has frequently received valuable updates since its release, resulting in a refined and smooth experience over time, while the signature semi-transparent design paired with the Glyph Bar makes the Phone (4a) completely stand out.

As for what's the right choice between the Phone (4a) and Phone (4b), which is priced at Rs 34,99, by paying an extra Rs 5,000, you achieve a far superior camera setup, a premium build with a glass back, and faster performance on the (4a). Overall, the Phone (4a) still makes sense for those who value minimalist software, reliable day-to-day performance, and strong, versatile cameras.

Under the heavily sculpted bonnet of the Tekton lie a lot of Nissan dreams. The iconic brand has been in search of an aspirational model for quite a few years in the Indian market, and the Tekton's World Premier in Mumbai shows how important it is for both Nissan and its alliance with Renault. While it does share the same CMF-B platform as the Renault Duster, Nissan's differentiation is not superficial, with distinctive design and tech details that may appeal to a different subset of consumers. Pitched as a "Baby Patrol," it will be exported to nearly 50 markets across the Middle East, Africa, and Oceania.

Dusting off the similarities

Look closely, from certain angles, and the C-shaped LED lighting, double chrome strip on the front grille, and the inserts on the fenders do give it a Patrol-like presence. The 18-inch wheels fill out the arches nicely, and Nissan even dropped a "Infiniti-inspired" slide to talk up the tri-tone cabin in beige, burgundy, and rose gold. What really sets Tekton apart is its digital architecture with deep Google integration. It isn't just standard Android Auto mirroring, but a complete suite of services running natively, powered by an embedded SIM. The 10.1-inch touchscreen displays colourful graphics and a lot of info, which is paired with a 10.25-inch instrument cluster that is capable of displaying native native Google Maps directly into your digital instrument cluster, complete with live traffic data.

Superpowers by Google

Nissan's system also folds in Gemini alongside Google Maps, Assistant, and Play, all accessible without tethering a phone. In our demos, it was evident that Gemini drops the rigid command-response pattern of older voice assistants for genuine conversation. Just ask it to find a highway dhaba with parking, narrow it down mid-sentence, and it holds context. It can also operate the climate control, summarise a message, or answer a car-specific question pulled from the owner's manual.

In a segment where every other car still relies on scripted voice prompts, a conversational assistant that drives the car's own functions is a genuine differentiator. It will easily pull off a complex conversational query like "Hey Google, it's getting a bit stuffy in here, and by the way, find me a good seafood place on our route that I haven't been to yet" without stuttering. It'll lower the AC temperature and give you a list of restaurants and wait for you to select one to map you there!

Essentials for 2027

Nissan backs this with 55+ connected features via the MyNISSAN app and OTA updates to keep everything ticking in the newest version. The infotainment system also hides two drive-specific toggles that pair your chosen setting with matching ambient lighting, and Dual-Mode Steering, switching effort between light-for-the-city and weighted-for-the-highway.

Sonic duties are handled by a non-branded, 6-speaker Arkamys 3D surround system. While audiophiles might shrug at the lack of a prominent audio badge, Nissan claims a dedicated audio-tuning app is dropping soon to let users calibrate sound profiles to their exact personal taste. Safety runs to 17+ ADAS functions, including adaptive cruise with stop-and-go, AEB, and blind spot warning, with individual functions switchable rather than a binary on-off. Six airbags, a 62% high-strength steel shell, and a 5-star Bharat NCAP score round it out, alongside ventilated front seats, a panoramic sunroof, dual-zone climate, and an ioniser.

No hybrid power to the people

No hybrid is planned anytime soon, which for now shall remain a Renault exclusive slated to arrive in the festive season. Instead, Nissan is going all-in on forced induction with a 100% turbocharged lineup featuring the entry-level Turbo T160 (starting at an aggressive introductory price of Rs 10.49 lakh) and the flagship Turbo T280 (topping out at Rs 18.49 lakh). The T280 is a 1.3-litre unit pumping out 163PS and a segment-best 280Nm of torque, mated to either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed wet-clutch DCT.

Verdict

Luxury cars sitting several segments above the Tekton have attempted to integrate AI voice assistants, but they sit behind the manufacturer's own OS and eventually hit a roadblock before becoming truly frictionless. Nissan is the first to democratize this tech on a vehicle that, depending on the variant, could start from Rs 15 lakh. It's true, cloud-connected generative AI assistant makes the proprietary connected-car tech of its rivals feel instantly outdated.

The OPPO Reno 16 is the new premium mid-ranger in town, offering a compact form factor, sizeable battery, and versatile 50MP camera stack. That said, at a starting price of Rs 61,999, the Reno 16 (review) competes with tough rivals, especially in terms of camera performance. Take the Xiaomi 17T (review), for one; it's a popular pick for photography in this segment. Both phones offer a triple camera setup with a primary, ultra-wide, and telephoto lens. The Xiaomi 17T even boasts a 5x optical zoom, the only one in the segment. But does that result in better portraits? Let's find out in this detailed camera comparison between the OPPO Reno 16 and Xiaomi 17T. 

Verdict

Both phones deliver strong camera performance, but they take different approaches. The Xiaomi 17T offers sharper images, a longer 5x telephoto lens, and punchier colours that are ready for social media. The OPPO Reno 16, meanwhile, produces more natural colours, better skin tones, stronger dynamic range, and more consistent detail. 

OPPO Reno 16 vs Xiaomi 17T camera specifications

The OPPO Reno 16 has a 50MP Sony LYT-600 primary sensor, a 50MP ultra-wide sensor, and a 50MP Samsung JN5 telephoto lens with 3.5x optical zoom (85mm). Up front, it's a 50MP front camera for selfies and video calls. In addition to capable hardware, the Reno 16 also comes with features such as ‘Dual Flash System' for brighter shots in low-light conditions, AI Remix Collage, Pop Cam, Popout 2.0, and Dual-View Video 2.0. 

With the Xiaomi 17T, you get a 50MP Light Fusion 800 primary sensor with OIS, a 50MP periscope telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom (115mm), and a 12MP ultra-wide lens with a 120-degree field of view. For selfies, you get a 32MP front camera. These are Leica-tuned cameras with two dedicated photographic styles: Leica Authentic look and Leica Vibrant look, along with Leica filters. 

In terms of hardware, the Xiaomi 17T has an edge with its telephoto lens, which offers up to 5x optical zoom. This gives it an advantage when capturing detailed zoom shots. The Reno 16, on the other hand, pulls ahead with a stronger selfie camera and ultra-wide lens. Although the 17T offers a wider field of view, the Reno 16 should be better at retaining details. 

Camera performance

We tested the cameras of both the OPPO Reno 16 and Xiaomi 17T together in different lighting scenarios. These are basic but common scenarios like daylight, ultra-wide, portrait, and low-light, which help us understand how each phone performs and where its strengths lie. 

Daylight

For daylight shots, we used the primary camera on both phones. While both the Reno 16 and Xiaomi 17T use a 50MP camera, the sensors are different. The Reno 16 uses the Sony LYT-600 (1/1.95-inch), while the 17T uses the Light Fusion 800 (1/1.55-inch), which is a larger sensor. This typically means better low-light photography, dynamic range, and details on the Xiaomi 17T. 

[twenty20 img1="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/reno-16-daylight-scaled.jpg" img2="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/xiaomi-17t-daylight-scaled.jpg" offset="0.5" before="OPPO Reno 16" after="Xiaomi 17T"]

Based on the results, the Xiaomi 17T has a slight edge over the Reno 16 when it comes to detail retention and overall sharpness. While the difference may not be immediately noticeable, a closer look reveals that Xiaomi captures finer details more consistently. The Reno 16, however, produces more natural-looking images with better colour accuracy and more balanced contrast.

[box-highlights]The Reno 16 offers more natural colours, better dynamic range, and more balanced exposure, resulting in more realistic photos. The Xiaomi 17T delivers slightly sharper images with better detail retention, but its colours tend to be oversaturated.
[/box-highlights]

In comparison, the Xiaomi 17T tends to oversaturate colours, making photos appear a bit too punchy, even when using the Leica Authentic photographic style rather than the more vibrant profile. When it comes to dynamic range and exposure, the Reno 16 once again comes out ahead, doing a better job of preserving highlights and shadow detail in challenging scenes.

Ultra-wide

In terms of hardware, the Reno 16 has a superior 50MP ultra-wide camera, but with a slightly smaller 116-degree field of view. The Xiaomi 17T uses a 12MP ultra-wide lens but with a wider 120-degree field of view. The results are interesting here. 

[twenty20 img1="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/reno-16-uw-scaled.jpg" img2="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/xiaomi-17t-uw-scaled.jpg" offset="0.5" before="OPPO Reno 16" after="Xiaomi 17T"]

Despite having a weaker camera on paper, the Xiaomi 17T's ultra-wide camera produces sharper images with noticeably better detail across the frame, which should result in making landscapes and architectural shots appear crisper.

[box-highlights]The Reno 16 stands out for its more natural colour reproduction, even if it trails slightly in sharpness. The Xiaomi 17T delivers a better ultra-wide experience with sharper detail, improved edge correction, and slightly stronger dynamic range. [/box-highlights]

It also does a slightly better job of controlling edge distortion and preserving highlight and shadow detail, giving it a small advantage in dynamic range. The OPPO Reno 16, on the other hand, maintains more natural and accurate colours, resulting in images that look more true to life despite being slightly softer.

Portrait

Both the Reno 16 and Xiaomi 17T are equipped with dedicated 50MP telephoto cameras, which is what we used to capture portrait shots. The 17T offers up to a 5x optical zoom, giving it the advantage in capturing more detailed zoom shots. The Reno 16, on the other hand, caps at 3.5x optical zoom. 

[twenty20 img1="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/reno_16_portrait_10000-scaled.jpg" img2="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/xiaomi_17t_portrait_10000-scaled.jpg" offset="0.5" before="OPPO Reno 16" after="Xiaomi 17T"]

Despite the shorter zoom range, the Reno 16 manages to capture more natural-looking portraits, thanks to its more precise colour science. If you're aiming for more accurate skin tones and colours, and details, the Reno 16 is the phone to choose.

[box-highlights]The Reno 16 excels at producing natural-looking portraits by not messing up the skin tone and colours. It also captures details better, while both phones excel at edge detection and bokeh. [/box-highlights]

The Xiaomi 17T's portrait shot turns out to include a bit of smoothing on the facial details, which isn't necessarily bad, but not true to the subject. When it comes to edge detection and background, both phones do an impressive job. The only highlight is the Reno 16 doing a slightly better job at capturing tricky areas like hair strands.

Selfies

Not only does the Reno 16 boast a superior 50MP front-facing camera, but it also lets you shoot in wide-angle and close-up modes, adding more versatility over the 32MP snapper on the Xiaomi 17T. 

[twenty20 img1="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/reno-16-selfie-scaled.jpg" img2="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/xiaomi-17t-selfie-scaled.jpg" offset="0.5" before="OPPO Reno 16" after="Xiaomi 17T"]

In the Reno 16's selfie, we found that it's beating the Xiaomi 17T again, in terms of skin tone accuracy, colour reproduction, and facial details. With dynamic range too, the Reno 16 does a slightly better job. This isn't to say that the Xiaomi 17T's selfie isn't good, but it uses a subtle beautification that may not appeal to everyone.

[box-highlights]For more natural-looking selfies with accurate colours and skin tone, the Reno 16 is the better choice here. But if you prefer visually appealing selfies, especially for social media, the Xiaomi 17T excels in that.[/box-highlights]

Personally, though, the Xiaomi 17T's selfie looks more visually appealing, as the smoothing looks quite natural, and it's something more social media-friendly. 

Low-light (night mode)

For low-light photography, the two phones take slightly different approaches. The Xiaomi 17T automatically detects low-light scenes and switches to Night mode on its own, allowing users to simply point and shoot. The OPPO Reno 16, meanwhile, has a dedicated Night mode that users can select manually, giving them more control over when the enhanced low-light processing is applied.

[twenty20 img1="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/reno-16-night-scaled.jpg" img2="https://static.hub.91mobiles.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2026/07/xiaomi-17t-night-scaled.jpg" offset="0.5" before="OPPO Reno 16" after="Xiaomi 17T"]

In low light, both phones do a commendable job of controlling light flares and maintaining balanced exposure, ensuring highlights from streetlights and other artificial sources don't overwhelm the scene. However, the Reno 16 gets ahead with tighter overall exposure control, preserving a more consistent balance between bright and dark areas. The handset also captures marginally better detail with lower noise levels, resulting in sharper night shots.

[box-highlights]If you prefer a dramatic, high-contrast night shot that looks more cinematic, the Xiaomi 17T delivers. But for pure technical accuracy, cleaner details, and authentic colour reproduction, the OPPO Reno 16 takes the win. [/box-highlights]

Colour reproduction follows the same trend seen in daylight, as the Xiaomi 17T opts for a punchier, higher-contrast look that makes images appear more vibrant at first glance. In contrast, the Reno 16 delivers colours that are closer to real life, making its low-light images appear more natural and visually pleasing for those who prefer an accurate representation of the scene.

Video performance

The OPPO Reno 16 offers a versatile video recording experience on both its front and rear cameras. The handset supports 4K recording at up to 60fps, along with slow-motion capture, Dual-View Video for recording with the front and rear cameras simultaneously, and 4K time-lapse. The Xiaomi 17T matches the Reno 16 with 4K video recording at up to 60fps on the rear camera, while adding HDR10+ recording for improved colour and contrast. The front camera supports 4K HDR10+ video at 30fps, Dolby Vision recording, and Dual Video mode.

In real-world use, however, the Xiaomi 17T has the edge. Its rear camera delivers noticeably more stable footage, and even at 10x digital zoom, videos retain better quality with steadier stabilisation. The Reno 16, by comparison, shows a more noticeable drop in detail when zooming in, and footage becomes shakier at higher zoom levels, making the Xiaomi 17T the stronger choice for handheld video recording.

Camera app UI

Both phones use their own native camera apps, which can be quickly accessed using the camera shortcut on the lock screen. In terms of usability, the experience is largely similar, with both offering a clean, feature-rich interface and easy access to key shooting modes, zoom levels, and controls such as flash, filters, and beauty effects.

Additional camera tools are tucked behind a swipe-up gesture on both devices. The Xiaomi 17T makes this easier to discover with a visible on-screen indicator. On the OPPO Reno 16, the same menu can be accessed either by swiping up or by tapping the six-dot icon in the top-right corner, making the feature easier to find once you know where it is. Overall, both camera apps are intuitive, responsive, and offer a comprehensive set of tools for everyday photography.

Verdict

Overall, both smartphones offer capable and versatile camera systems, but they cater to different photography styles. The Xiaomi 17T stands out with sharper image processing, a more capable 5x telephoto camera, and vibrant colours that make photos look striking straight out of the camera. It also has the edge for video recording, delivering more stable footage and better quality when zooming in, making it a better option for users who frequently shoot videos or like sharing content on social media with minimal editing.

The OPPO Reno 16, on the other hand, takes a more balanced approach. Its cameras consistently produce natural-looking colours, more accurate skin tones, stronger dynamic range, and better detail retention across different lighting conditions. Whether shooting portraits, landscapes, or low-light scenes, the Reno 16 delivers results that are closer to what the eye sees, making it a more dependable camera for everyday photography.

Ultimately, neither phone is objectively better as they simply prioritise different strengths. If you value realistic images with consistent colour science and reliable performance across a variety of scenarios, you should go for the Reno 16. However, if you prefer sharper, punchier images, a longer optical zoom, and stronger video performance, the Xiaomi 17T is the better fit.