Best Smartphones Under 20,000 (July): Vivo Z1 Pro, Galaxy M40, Moto One Vision, Vivo V15, Poco F1

The current list of the smartphones under Rs 20,000 is again led by Poco F1, the cheapest Snapdragon 845 smartphone in the country. But the upcoming Redmi K20 and Realme X under 20,000 rupees will change the present market dynamics completely.

The mid-range stalwarts, Redmi Note 7 Pro and Realme 3 Pro also feature in the list.

This month we have three punch-hole display smartphones in the list: Galaxy M40, Moto One Vision and Vivo Z1 Pro, a trend taken over from water drop notches. Up next it will be pop-up selfie sensors and full-screen displays under 20,000 rupees with K20 and Realme X.

Here’s goes our list of the top 10 smartphones under Rs 20,000 for July 2019 with the best-sellers from Xiaomi, Realme, Samsung, Vivo, Nokia and Asus.

These devices are ranked based on camera performance, gaming experience, multitasking optimisation, display quality and battery performance.

Poco F1

After the recent price cut, Poco F1 is now available starting at Rs 17,999 in India. Poco F1 is currently the best smartphone you can buy at under 20,000 rupees. Poco F1 comes with a 6.18-inch Full HD+ display offering a resolution of 1080 x 2246 pixels in an 18.7:9 aspect ratio. Under the hood, Poco F1 runs on the previous Qualcomm flagship Snapdragon 845 SoC coupled with Adreno 630 GPU.

The Xiaomi flagship is backed by 6GB or 8GB RAM and 64GB, 128GB and 256GB storage respectively. The memory can be further expanded up to 256GB via an additional microSD card.

In terms of optics, Poco F1 comes with a dual rear camera setup offering a combination of 12-megapixel and 5-megapixel secondary camera and a 20-megapixel selfie camera. It’s backed by a non-removable Li-Po 4,000 mah battery running on Android 8.1 Oreo with a special Poco customised MIUI 9.6 skin on top.

Motorola One Vision

The just-launched Motorola One Vision is takes the second spot to join the top smartphones under 20,000 list in the country. Available at Rs 19,999, the new Moto device runs on Google’s Android One program offering Pixel-like seamless user interface. The device comes with a 48-megapixel primary camera along with a 5-megapixel secondary sensor on the back.

Moto One Vision flaunts a 6.3-inch Full HD+ display with 21:9 aspect taller display ratio and 3D Corning Gorilla Glass on the back. Up front, Motorola One Vision has a 25-megapixel selfie camera.

Motorola One Vision is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 9609 processor with 4GB RAM and 128GB built-in storage. The storage can be further expanded with an external microSD card. The device runs on Android 9.0 Pie with guaranteed upgrade till the next two versions, Android Q and Android R. It houses a 3,500mAh battery supporting 15W fast charging technology.

Redmi Note 7 Pro

Up next we have the popular mid-ranger from Xiaomi, Redmi Note 7 Pro. Being one of the current best mid-budget smartphones in the country rupees, it pack in some top flagship-level features with a premium glass design body on the out sandwiched between Corning Gorilla Glass 5 body. Redmi Note 7 Pro comes with a 6.3-inch Full HD+ dot notch display running on Snapdragon 675 processor.

The device comes with the latest MIUI 10 UI on top based on Android 9 Pie, backed by a 4,000mAh battery supporting 18W fast charge (doesn’t ship with a fast charger).

At the back, Redmi Note 7 Pro comes with a dual camera setup comprising of the 48MP Sony IMX 586 sensor as its primary lens coupled with a 5MP secondary depth sensor. The smartphone is available starting at just Rs 13,999 (for the base model with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage) via Flipkart and Mi.com.

Vivo Z1 Pro

Vivo will launch its all new Z series smartphone in the country this July. Vivo Z1 Pro goes live in India on July 3, becoming a new contender under 20,000 rupees. Vivo Z1 Pro will come with an in-display camera on the front as the newly launched Samsung Galaxy M40 and Moto One Vision to offer a higher screen-to-body ratio. Vivo Z1 Pro is also the first Vivo phone in India to come with a punch-hole display. At the back, the smartphone features a three camera setup.

As per the rumours, Vivo Z5x will launch in India as a rebranded Z1 Pro, though the official confirmation is yet to come.

The China edition comes with the same punch hole camera design. The new Vivo Z1 Pro will be the first to come with a Snapdragon 712 processor. The three rear camera system will come with a wide-angle lens apart from a primary lens and a secondary depth shooter. The smartphone starts at Rs 14,990.

Samsung Galaxy M40

The newly launched Samsung smartphone comes with a punch-hole display, an Infinity-O Display panel. It’s was the first smartphone to be launched under 20,000 rupees with a hole-punch camera design. The smartphone packs in a fingerprint sensor at the back with a triple rear camera setup. On top, Samsung Galaxy M40 comes with a 6.3-inch Full HD+ display with a screen resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels with the Infinity-O cut.

In terms of optics, Galaxy M40 packs in a triple camera system featuring a 32-megapixel primary sensor with an f/1.7 aperture.

Additionally there’s a 5-megapixel secondary depth sensor with an f/2.2 aperture and finally a 8-megapixel tertiary sensory with an ultra-wide-angle lens with an f/2.2 aperture and 123 degree wide angle view with AI supported features.

Upfront, the smartphone has a 16-megapixel selfie camera. Samsung Galaxy M40 runs on an octa-core Snapdragon 675 SoC coupled with 6GB of RAM, 128GB storage on Android 9 Pie with company’s own One UI on top, backed by a 3,500mAh battery supporting 15W wired fast charging technology.

Vivo V15

After the latest price cut, Vivo V15 is now available at under Rs 20,000 in India starting at Rs 19,990. The smartphone comes with a rear triple-camera system with a full-screen display and a pop-up selfie camera. It’s the only smartphone at under 20,000 rupees to come with a pop-up selfie sensor and a rear triple camera system. The fingerprint sensor sits perfectly at the back.

Vivo V15 comes with a 6.53-inch Full HD+ display with a bit of a chin at the bottom protected by Gorilla Glass 5. The smartphone runs on the much-dependable 12nm MediaTek Helio P70 paired upto 6GB of RAM.

The three camera system of the Vivo V15 features a 12-megapixel main sensor with f/1.78 aperture, 8-megapixel ultra-wide sensor with f/2.2 aperture and the last 5-megapixel shooter with f/2.2 aperture.

The pop-up selfie camera up front houses a 32-megapixel f/2.2 aperture sensor. The system is backed by a 4,000mAh battery, which can run a little over a day on average. Vivo V15 delivers a decent performance on a budget with some premium features at under 20,000 bucks. Of all, the camera performance is well above average offering some great photography experience.

Realme 3 Pro

Up next we have the popular mid-ranger from the ex-Oppo sub-brand, Realme 3 Pro. The new smartphone from Realme passes all the top requirements with flying colours. Realme 3 Pro comes with a high polycarbonate body on the featuring a 6.3-inch full HD+ water drop notched display on top. It has added Gorilla Glass 5 with a gradient design at the back.

At the back, the smartphone has a dual camera setup featuring a 16MP Sony IMX 519 sensor with an f/1.7 aperture coupled with a 5MP depth sensor with an f/2.4 aperture. The main sensor is the same lens used in OnePlus 6T.

Up front, Realme 3 Pro sports a 25MP selfie shooter with an f/2.0 aperture, HDR support and AI powered Facial Unlock.

Being powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor, both variants of Realme 3 Pro is available in India at under Rs 20,000: 4GB/6GB RAM with 64GB/128GB of storage (expandable upto 256GB) running on ColorOS 6.0 based on Android 9 Pie. Realme 3 Pro backed by a 4,045 mAh battery supporting VOOC 3.0 fast charging (20W) with a Micro USB powered brick inside the box.

Samsung Galaxy A50

Samsung Galaxy A50 is currently available starting at Rs 19,990. The A series maestro from Samsung packs in a three camera system at the back, a super AMOLED display and an in-display fingerprint sensor. Galaxy A50 comes with a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display running on in-house Exynos 9610 SoC chip with an in-display fingerprint sensor, backed by a 4,000mAh battery with support for 15W fast charging.

The highlighting feature is the triple camera setup at the back. The Galaxy A50 packs a 25-megapixel sensor with f/1.7 aperture, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide lens with f/2.2 aperture and a 5-megapixel sensor with an f/2.2 aperture.

The smartphone can capture some great shots irrespective of lighting conditions. Upfront, the Galaxy A50 features a 25-megapixel camera with f/2.0 aperture.

Samsung Galaxy A50 in all does a good job, making it a great option at under 20,000 rupees. The smartphone boasts a top-quality screen, big battery, an ultrasonic under-display sensor, three cameras at the back, a much-premium design, all at an affordable price.

Samsung Galaxy M30

In our list, Samsung Galaxy M30 is one of the few smartphones to offer triple cameras at a budget pricing at around 15,000 rupees. Samsung Galaxy M30 dons a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED Full HD+ display featuring a water drop notch on top called the Infinity-V display. The smartphone runs on Samsung’s own in-house Exynos 7904 SoC octa-core chip coupled with 4GB or 6GB of RAM.

Galaxy M30 at the back features a rear triple camera setup comprising of a 13-megapixel f/1.9 primary shooter coupled with a 5-megapixel ultra-wide lens and a third 5-megapixel depth lens. Galaxy M30 runs on Android 8.1 Oreo with One UI on top backed by a massive 5,000mAh battery with support for 15W fast charging (ships with the adapter in the box).

Nokia 7.1

Coming to our last device, Nokia 7.1 made to the list because of its sleek performance with Android One on top. The smartphone packs in a crisp HDR supported 5.84 Full HD+ display in a solid chassis. Android One offers a stock Android Pixel-like experience on a budget with ease functioning of apps.

Nokia 7.1 runs on the much-dated Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage. It’s available in a single variant in India, now at Rs 15,999.

It’s a dual camera system powered by ZEISS Optics featuring a primary 12MP shooter and a 5MP depth camera. The dual rear camera comes with EIS. Upfront, it comes with a MP shooter with f/2.0 aperture. The system is backed by a 3,060 mAh battery supporting 18W fast charging technology.

Nokia 7.1 offers some decent performance at under 20,000 bucks with the camera doing justice with a good amount of detail and over-sharpen images at times. The colour reproduction is quite okay and the battery backup is average