The Best Mid-Range Smartphones To Buy In 2019 (Under Rs 20,000)

India has been a highly contested ‘battleground’ for phone makers in recent years. The extremely high rate of growth within India’s mobile market is a great incentive for brands - from the smallest to the biggest - to take note of the country. In the middle of all this, the mid-range smartphones are the ones that are being sold like hot cakes.

You no longer have to compromise or reach out to the most expensive smartphones to get quality features like triple-lens camera suite, or under-display fingerprint scanner. If you know how to pick, you can get a very good one for less than Rs 20,000.

Here’s a list of the smartphones under Rs 20,000 we have compiled of what we think are the best options available at the moment.

Huawei P30 Lite

Huawei launched the P30 Pro and P30 Lite in India just about a month ago. Though the price tag is hard to accept for the P30 Pro at Rs 60,000, you can get the Lite model for Rs 20,000 on Amazon India. If you think that the massive difference in price will give you a bad smartphone in return for picking the cheaper option, you’re wrong. With Rs 20,000, you will get the incredibly powerful Kirin 710 SoC, 4Gb of RAM, and 128GB of storage on the base model.

This device includes a triple-lens camera suite, a 24-megapixel main sensor, a secondary sensor capable of snapping 8-megapixel photos, and lastly, a 2-megapixel depth sensor. Additionally, it has a 32-megapixel sensor for selfies coupled with AI photography support.

Xiaomi Poco F1

Also in the list of best smartphones under Rs 20,000, the Poco F1 took the market by storm from all of the features it offers for the price. The flagship from Xiaomi is pre-packaged with a Snapdragon 845 SoC, 8Gb of RAM, and 256Gb of storage. It has a dual camera setup and you can find an IR sensor within the notch on the display that supports facial recognition. Although its facial recognition technology is not as good as Apple’s FaceID, the smart device can do the job pretty well.

You can get the base model phone equipped with 6Gb of RAM and 64Gb of storage for Rs 20,000. If you want all of the best options (8Gb of RAM and 256Gb of storage), it’s Rs 26,000.

Oppo K1

If you want a phone with an under-display fingerprint scanner, there is nothing on the market cheaper than the Oppo K1. For only Rs 16,990, you can get a dual camera setup, along with a Snapdragon 660 SoC, 4Gb of RAM, and 64Gb of storage. The gradient back-case looks stunning in every light conditions, so it’s not like you were compromising look for features: It is a stunner.

Realme 3 Pro

Realme is not a very well-known name compared to a series of other smartphones on the current market. Though the Chinese phone maker has recently released two new models under the form of the Realme C2 - an affordable phone - and the Realme 3 Pro. True to its name, the specs is pretty interesting: Snapdragon 710 SoC and 128Gb of storage. At the back, there is a dual camera suite and up front, a 25-megapixel sensor for a selfie. The device is pre-loaded with the latest flavor of Android Pie.

You can get the base version with 4Gb of RAM and 64Gb of storage for Rs 14,000. Though the best this line-up has to offer doesn’t really break the bank either at Rs 17,000 for 6Gb of RAM and 128Gb of storage.

Samsung Galaxy A50

The material design of the A50 is rather exotic: A laminated plastic body that looks and feels like glass. Getting this phone, you will have a triple lens camera setup, under-display fingerprint scanner, and an impressive 4,000mAh battery with fast charging supported for all day long activity. The phone has a notched display and runs out of the box on a modified version of Android Pie known as One UI: A Samsung exclusive skin.

You can get the phone both online and offline at Samsung’s official stores in the country. The base model of the phone starts from Rs 19,990 and working your way up the very top, there is a high-end version of the A50 selling for Rs 22,990.

Samsung Galaxy M30

From all of the recent buzzes and advertisements, everyone must be pretty familiar with the Samsung Galaxy S-series line-up already. In addition, there is a lesser-known series in the Galaxy family, that is the M-series. The base model of the Samsung Galaxy M30 starts at Rs 14,990 with 4Gb of RAM and 64Gb of storage. The higher-end model is priced at Rs 17,990 for 6Gb of RAM and 128Gb of storage.

Though it is cheaper and not as well known as the S10, the M30s aren’t sloppy in any way. Featuring a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display and an Exynos 7904 SoC as a chief processor. At the rear, you have a triple lens camera suite that includes a 13-megapixel main sensor, a secondary 5-megapixel sensor equipped with an ultra-wide lens, lastly, the third lens housed the 5-megapixel depth sensor. You can get all day performance out of the phone with the 5,000mAh battery.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro

The Redmi Note 7 Pro is the latest addition from Xiaomi to the Redmi 7 lineup. This one has a redesigned form factor in comparison to older generations, featuring a notched display and near bezel-less 6.3-inch display panel. For processing, it has a Snapdragon 675 SoC and 6Gb of RAM. It can probably last you pretty well into the day before demanding a recharge, running on a 4,000mAh battery. But the best thing about this phone has got to be the dual lens camera setup, this includes an impressive 48-megapixel primary sensor and a secondary 5-megapixel depth sensor.

The Redmi Note 7 Pro starts from Rs 14,000 for the base model with 4Gb of RAM and 64Gb of internal storage. The more premium model is Rs 17,000, equipped with 6Gb of RAM and 128Gb of storage out of the box.

Xiaomi Mi A2

Just like any other Xiaomi smartphones, the Mi A2 has pretty good hardware and an enticing price at that. The expansive 5.99-inch display is powered by a Snapdragon 660 AIE SoC and a 3,010mAh battery. There is a dual camera suite on the back of the phone for all of your photography needs. The best thing about this phone is that it runs the original Android Pie out of the box, meaning it doesn’t contain any bloatware or ads.

The Xiaomi Mi A2 is sold for Rs 12,000 along with 4Gb of RAM and 64Gb of storage.

Nokia 7.1

Though Nokia has been out of flavour for about a decade now, you can get a pretty decent Nokia-branded phone for about Rs 16,799. The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 636 SoC, 4Gb of RAM, and 64Gb of storage. The dual camera setup at the rear and a mediocre 8-megapixel front camera. The device is powered by a 3,060mAh battery.

Honor 10 Lite

Another name in this list of smartphones under Rs 20,000 comes from Honor. The Honor 10 Lite is the debut design of Honor - a sub-brand of Huawei. It is a pretty lucrative offer at only Rs 12,000 for 3Gb of RAM and 32Gb of internal storage. Though the brief specs look a little bit lackluster, don’t forget that it’s packed with a 6.21-inch display along with the powerful HiSilicon Kirin 710 SoC, 6Gb of RAM and 64Gb of internal storage. The device runs on a 3,400mAh battery.

As for the camera, the phone has a dual camera setup with a 13-megapixel primary sensor and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. At the front, you will find a 24-megapixel sensor for selfies.