We have a bunch of popular phones for you to choose from if you are looking to buy one under Rs 50,000. These handsets have a classy design, flagship-grade hardware and top-notch camera performance. We had a tough time shortlisting them. Hopefully, it will be easier for you to make up your mind from here.
Best phones to buy under Rs 50,000 in India
Asus ROG Phone 3
Asus ROG Phone 3 (Review) is a performance powerhouse, and hence, a great phone for gamers and power users. This phone is powered by the fastest SoC around, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865+ and is accompanied by either 8 GB or 12 GB of RAM and 128 GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage. The ROG Phone 3 ups the refresh rate game further with a 144 Hz 6.6-inch Full HD+ AMOLED screen that also has a 270 Hz touch sampling rate. It also supports a true 10-bit colour gamut with HDR10+ compliance and a rated maximum brightness of 650 nits. The phone runs Android 10 with ROG UI.
The 5G-compliant ROG Phone 3 boasts of a mammoth 6000 mAh battery for long, uninterrupted gaming sessions. The bundled 30W fast charger with QuickCharge 4.0 support doesn’t take too long to juice up the battery. The phone also has a pair of stereo speakers with dedicated amplifiers along with a plethora of gaming features and optimisations. The camera department is more than decent with a 64MP primary camera, 13MP ultra-wide camera and a 5MP macro camera. Though this is more of a gaming phone than one for photography enthusiasts, it can capture some impressive shots and record videos up to 8K resolution. When it comes to gaming, there’s hardly anything that comes close to this Republic of Gamers handset.
Asus ROG Phone 3 price in India: Rs 44,999 for 8 GB RAM/ 128 GB storage; Rs 47,999 for 12 GB RAM/ 128 GB storage
OnePlus 8T
Unlike the OnePlus 8 (Review), which didn’t seem like much of an upgrade over the 7T, the OnePlus 8T offers a lot of novelty overall. Though the changes are not massive, the sum of all the enhancements feels sufficient for a well-earned recommendation from us. The pricing is a lot more sensible than the OnePlus 8 as well. The top variant of OnePlus 8T with 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage can be comfortably purchased in this budget. You get a 6.55-inch Full HD+ Fluid AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ support. There’s a 16MP selfie camera located in a tiny punch-hole at the top. The phone has an elegant design with a metal frame and a glass body protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 at the front and back.
You get a quad camera setup at the back with a combination of a 48MP primary camera with OIS, a 16MP ultrawide camera, a 5MP macro camera and a 2MP depth sensor. The cameras manage to shoot some impressive images in different lighting, and the main camera is smartly used to capture zoomed shots too. The 5G-enabled OnePlus 8T is powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 865 chip. Its 4500 mAh battery lasts for over a day of moderate usage comfortably, and the bundled 65W Warp charger recharges it insanely fast in just 39 minutes. It runs OxygenOS 11 based on Android 11 out of the box.
OnePlus 8T price in India: Rs 45,999 for 12 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
Samsung’s budget flagship, Galaxy S20 FE (Review) is another excellent option in this budget. This phone too has a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate and is HDR10+ compliant. The stylish phone is IP68 dust and water-resistant and is powered by Samsung's powerful Exynos 990 chip that also powers other phones in the S20 series. It is accompanied by 8 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage, which can be expanded further up to 1 TB using a microSD card.
The photography department consists of a 12MP primary camera with dual-pixel PDAF and OIS, a 12MP ultra-wide camera and an 8MP telephoto camera with autofocus and OIS for up to 3X optical zoom. As is expected from Samsung's S series of phones, the camera quality is one of the best around. There’s a 32MP camera at the front for selfie enthusiasts. The battery life is impressive too thanks to a 4500 mAh battery that can last for close to a day and a half of moderate usage. The phone launched with Android 10 with Samsung’s One UI on top, and one can expect an Android 11 update soon.
Note: The Samsung Galaxy S20+ (Review) with 8 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage is currently selling for Rs 49,999 on Flipkart at the time of writing. That is another great option to consider if it is still available for that price when you plan to purchase it.
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE price in India: Rs 40,999 for 8 GB RAM/ 128 GB storage
Samsung Galaxy S20+ price in India: Rs 49,999 for 8 GB RAM/ 128 GB storage
iQOO 3 (5G)
Here’s another 5G phone powered by the Snapdragon 865 chip. You get the top variant of iQOO 3 (5G) (Review) from the Vivo sub-brand in this budget. Just like the OnePlus 8T, you get a massive 12 GB RAM with 256 GB of internal storage. The phone packs a sharp 6.44-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED screen with HDR10+ support and Corning Gorilla Glass 6 on top. It lacks the high refresh rate feature though; you have to settle for a standard 60 Hz refresh rate.
The camera department is quite stacked here with a quad camera setup at the back helmed by a 48MP primary camera with PDAF, a 13MP ultrawide camera with autofocus, a 13MP telephoto camera that provides 2X optical zoom, and a 2MP depth sensor. It has a 16MP punch-hole selfie camera too. Its 4440 mAh battery does a good job of keeping it running for over a day of moderate usage, and the company also bundles a 55W fast charger to replenish it in double-quick time. The iQOO 3 (5G) runs Android 10 with their custom UI on top. It is currently selling for a good 10k lower than its usual price.
iQOO 3 (5G) price in India: Rs 34,990 for 12 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage
Apple iPhone SE (2020) / Apple iPhone XR
You can now buy the top variant of the Apple iPhone SE (2020) (Review) with 256 GB storage in this budget. The new Apple iPhone SE borrows its design and a bulk of the features from the iPhone 8, but has a much more powerful processor at its core. It is powered by Apple's recent A13 Bionic chip that you get on all iPhone 11 series phones. This is also a great option for those who like the older iPhone design but with upgraded hardware.
It has a 4.7-inch Retina LCD display with the typical 326 PPI pixel density that you get on most iPhones. You get Apple’s reliable 12MP camera at the back with OIS and a 7MP selfie camera up front. The IP67 rated dust and water resistant phone runs iOS 13, and is upgradable to the new iOS 14. Interestingly, that’s not the only worthwhile iPhone available under 50K this month. The 128 GB variant of the Apple iPhone XR is currently going for Rs 43,999. If you prefer a bigger screen, more modern looks, and are fine with a generation old processor, you should strongly consider the XR.
Apple iPhone SE (2020) price in India: Rs 47,999 for 256 GB storage
Apple iPhone XR price in India: Rs 43,999 for 128 GB storage
source https://www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/oneplus-8t-samsung-galaxy-s20-fe-to-asus-rog-phone-3-best-phones-under-rs-50000-dec-2020-9131291.html
