Budget 15-20K "Best" Android phone for under 20k?

iPwnz

iPwnz

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Can you guys give me some personal recommendations for the best phone under 20k? Regardless of the specs or brand or even what I want.
Please state your reasons for it if possible. I'm thinking of getting one during this Republic Day sale if possible.

I've also read the template and looked into my requirements and couldn't find a phone which I really like so I'll choose only the relevant info from the template (just for formality's sake).

1. Budget?
A: INR 20k max.

2. Preferred display size, type and resolution?
A: FHD. Super AMOLED would be great (M51)

3. Preferred connectivity options? (4G, 3G, 2G etc).
A: 4G. Don't need 5G.

4. Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them.
A: I like Moto for its stock Android. I used to hate Xiaomi phones for its MIUI interface and bloatwares. And Oppo, Vivo phones etc. I should mention that I don't know how to root phones.

5. What is your intended use for this phone (internet, camera, multimedia, mails etc.)?
A: Camera, video recording and light gaming. I need 60fps for 1080p. Don't need 4k.

6. Single SIM/ Dual SIM?
A: Dual SIM with dedicated MicroSD card slot

7. New or Used?
A: New is preferred. Old is fine if I get a good deal on phones less than 2 years old with good battery life. 2+ years is a big NO. Especially those users who play games a lot and charge a hundred times a day.

8. Any other requirements?
A: Need good battery backup. Nothing less than 5000mah battery if possible. Fewer options I know. Need SD730G chipset minimum.

9. If you have already considered a phone, then please mention the model
A: Samsung M51 has almost everything which I need. What it doesn't have are: 60fps video recording and stabilized video recording. Just these two
Moto Fusion Plus. But it doesn't have a dedicated MicroSD card slot. I want to add 128GB card. Also 5000mah battery. If it had 6000mah battery it would have been an instant pick.
Moto G9 Power. This was my first choice. But the the HD+ screen and lack of dedicated card slot hurt it.
I currently own a Moto G5+.

What do you guys think?
 
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I have my eye on the zenfone 8 (currently using 5z) because it's a compact phone.

Would be priced too much as usual though so I'll wait till it's old news...

One of my jeans has a hidden kind of side pocket going all the way to the knee, i guess even they know normal front pockets won't hold these monsters.

iPwnz said:
No man. I just hate carrying my phone around without a bag. I already lost one many years ago and I'm still traumatized by it lol.
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A friend of mine lost (stolen) one, maybe even two phones from his backpack in Bombay. One in a local train and once at a bar, NYE party or something.

Thing is, he used to carry in the bag because he was afraid of being pickpocketed from his trousers!

The last one was an OP5T iirc.
 
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@NotMyRealName if price is dissuading you from getting a zen 8(small form factor being a talking point here, no bells and whistles), you can have a look at pixel 4a. It is 5.8" screen, lightweight. It is available at 26k on FK.
Wished Google had launched pixel 5 in India. It would have been a future proof and a pretty good device if someone is not looking for fancy stuff.
 
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MkMkB said:
@NotMyRealName if price is dissuading you from getting a zen 8(small form factor being a talking point here, no bells and whistles), you can have a look at pixel 4a. It is 5.8" screen, lightweight. It is available at 26k on FK.
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When redmi etc is available for 10-12k, even 26k is exorbitant for me. I consider phones disposable devices and don't like spending so much on them even if i can easily afford it. I bought my 5z for 17k and even that was a hard decision but finally gave in because of the excellent specs. Pretty sad battery though.

Plus the pixel is single SIM, which is a bit of a problem. I might get something specced like the Zen 8 for max 20-25k, considering everything is expensive these days. I can wait, the 5z is doing fine, except for the pathetic battery.
 
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There's no good phones within 20k, end of story. Only Motorola G series but all they have is a massive display and really good battery life. Absolutely third class camera, insanely heavy, massively big. The Nokias i don't even follow anymore after hearing about their quality control issues (charging problem, Software problem etc.). 4a at 26k was an okay deal considering it has a really mediocre chipset but at least a great camera and software optimisation also should be Pixel level, i.e. fantastic. The 4a 5g is the real deal which didn't even launch in India.

Other than vanilla Android I could care less but there are Samsungs M series, which start lagging after few weeks (and please don't bother to mislead others by saying they don't lag), have average camera. All companies are cashing in big time by just putting a capable/ high end chipset in their phones alongside a big sized screen and battery and people line up like sheep to buy those because of specifications. They can do away with things like optimising the software for a polished user experience (like Pixels and iPhones), tuning the camera software for better photos (like Pixels), putting in good quality haptics (like iPhones), supporting a device in long term in terms of software (like Pixels and iPhones, even though 3 years for Pixels should really be on par like iPhones' minimum 5 years), a good build quality (usage of glass is both stupid and hilarious) and a size which human beings can comfortably use with their hands. These things complete a mobile phone but nobody cares about these anymore. All they need is latest and greatest chip which 95% don't even know how to utilise.
 
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sauravghosh said:
There's no good phones within 20k, end of story. Only Motorola G series but all they have is a massive display and really good battery life. Absolutely third class camera, insanely heavy, massively big. The Nokias i don't even follow anymore after hearing about their quality control issues (charging problem, Software problem etc.). 4a at 26k was an okay deal considering it has a really mediocre chipset but at least a great camera and software optimisation also should be Pixel level, i.e. fantastic. The 4a 5g is the real deal which didn't even launch in India.

Other than vanilla Android I could care less but there are Samsungs M series, which start lagging after few weeks (and please don't bother to mislead others by saying they don't lag), have average camera. All companies are cashing in big time by just putting a capable/ high end chipset in their phones alongside a big sized screen and battery and people line up like sheep to buy those because of specifications. They can do away with things like optimising the software for a polished user experience (like Pixels and iPhones), tuning the camera software for better photos (like Pixels), putting in good quality haptics (like iPhones), supporting a device in long term in terms of software (like Pixels and iPhones, even though 3 years for Pixels should really be on par like iPhones' minimum 5 years), a good build quality (usage of glass is both stupid and hilarious) and a size which human beings can comfortably use with their hands. These things complete a mobile phone but nobody cares about these anymore. All they need is latest and greatest chip which 95% don't even know how to utilise.
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My mother has been using m21 for a year. And yes it doesn't lag even after a year.
 
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sauravghosh said:
There's no good phones within 20k, end of story.
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sauravghosh said:
but there are Samsungs M series, which start lagging after few weeks (and please don't bother to mislead others by saying they don't lag)
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Sorry to burst your bubble or maybe you are smoking some good shit lately but I've had my M21 for over a year now and it's been working very well for me - thank you very much.

Or maybe you have unrealistically high expectations from a sub-20k phone to have so-called flagship specs (professional grade camera) and performance (4k gaming)?
iPwnz said:
Anyone got any info on new upcoming models? For sub 25k.
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Have you looked at the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max yet?

I'm toying with the idea of getting this even though I'm severely allergic to Chinese brands and the MIUI ads and what not.
 
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@iPwnz If you are talking about Miui 12.5 then those features are coming phase by phase. So you will probably see various versions like 12.5.1 and so on where they will provide those promised updates like removing system apps and others.
I think all the 10 series phones are on 12.5.
 
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goDofWar_skr said:
Just a single 5G band support. Spec wise a downgrade in some ways compared to previous nord phone.
At this point, OnePlus is just exploiting customers for the Oxygen OS popularity.
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3k cheaper, bigger battery, amoled screen, better main camera. OP (OP here stands for original poster and not One Plus) doesnt care about 5G.

CE AnTuTu: 318672 Nord original AnTuTu: 315641 (both numbers taken from gsmarena).

I think its a nice, buy it, put a sim in it, forget it phone. Or there's always the iPhone SE.
 
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