Budget Friendly Premium Smartphones in 2019

• Posted By Amritesh
• On July 31st, 2019
• Comments: one response

Year 2019 has been exciting in many ways as we witness more and more premium features being pushed to the midrange smartphones. The flagship features like Amoled display, in-display fingerprint scanner, pop-up front facing camera, powerful processors, fast charging support, multiple camera setup, etc is now common on midrange and upper midrange smartphones. Thereby, Customers do not necessarily have to dig into their savings to get a phone with premium features.

Technology Advancements: Budget Friendly Premium Smartphones in 2019

Innovation is at the forefront of technology advancements. The continuous journey to develop something better has driven the brands to innovate something “new” which would keep them ahead of the competition. When, Apple launched the “notch display” on iPhones in 2017 it became a trend and other brands quickly worked on the same to come up with their version of “modified notch” designs. However, in 2019 this has been replaced by pop-up camera and full screen display. The trend has quickly spread to mid range devices as well.

Furthermore, the efforts are on to introduce under display camera and foldable phones at the earliest in the market. However, for the time being let’s restrict ourselves to the current generation smartphones.

Ultra Budget Smartphones

Redmi 7A & Realme C2

Available in the price range below Rs 6,000/-. These are ultra budget phones which is decent enough for basic tasks. Realme C2 looks more stylish with 6.1 inch dew drop notch display & Mediatek SoC. C2 comes with rear dual camera setup with dedicated slot for storage expansion. Whereas, Redmi 7A sports conventional design with smaller 5.45 inch screen but with 32 GB storage and 2 years warranty. Redmi 7A uses Snapdragon 439 processor and 2GB Ram. Both are decent smartphones in the tight budget and do offer good value for money.

Budget Friendly Premium Smartphones under Rs 10,000/-

Realme 3

Starts from Rs 8,999/- and is powered by the Mediatek Helio P70 SoC (System on Chip) which is fairly powerful chipset for a budget phone. The 6.22 inch 720p display coupled with Arm Mali-G72 GPU provides decent multimedia experience. The Fingerprint sensor along with basic sensors is available on the device. The phone runs on latest Android Pie with ColorOS user interface. The RealMe 3 comes with 4230 mah battery which is good enough to last a complete day on single charge. The rear dual camera setup and front camera is pretty good for a budget phone. The phone is available in 2 variants, 3 GB Ram/32 GB & 4 GB Ram/ 64 GB Storage.

Redmi Note 7S

Currently retailing at Rs 10,999/- for base variant (3 GB/32 GB) is another excellent phone in the budget segment. The device is offered at a discount during mega sale on e-commerce portals bringing the price below Rs 10,000/-. Redmi Note 7S uses the Snapdragon 660 SoC which is a powerful midrange processor. The dual rear (48mp + 5 mp) and front (13 mp) camera provided on the phone is also very impressive. The 4000 mah battery is also expected to last for the full day on single charge. Fingerprint sensor, IR Blaster along with basic sensors is available on the phone. The higher end variant (4GB Ram/64 GB Storage) is priced at Rs 12,999/-. This is a decent budget phone for the price.

Budget Friendly Premium Smartphones under Rs 15,000/-

Redmi Note 7 Pro

Starts from Rs 13,999/- and offers great value for the price. Premium glass back build along with impressive camera, new Snapdragon 675 SoC makes it an excellent handset in this price range. The design is similar to Redmi Note 7S but it has the newer & powerful processor along with the Sony IMX 586 primary rear Camera sensor which is also being used in many of the flagship handsets released this year. The P2i nano-coating makes the phone splash resistant. The phone also comes with Quick Charge 4.0 support. The 4000 mah battery along with energy efficient SoC ensures good battery life on this phone. The custom MiUi runs on top of Android Pie. Redmi Note 7 Pro is available in two variants 4GB & 6GB/64 GB and 6GB/128 GB.

Realme 3 Pro

Priced same as Redmi Note 7 Pro but is powered by Snapdragon 710 SoC with slightly higher battery capacity of 4045 mah along with VOOC Flash Charge (Quick charge support). The dual rear camera has Sony IMX 519 as primary sensor and 25 mp front AI Camera. The phone runs on Android Pie with custom ColorOS user interface. The phone is also available in 4GB & 6GB/64 GB and 6GB/128 GB variants. However, the back of the phone is made up of plastic with gradient finish which lends a premium feel to it.

Vivo Z1 Pro

Priced aggressively from Rs 14,990/- and comes with in display camera (punch hole), similar to one found on Samsung Galaxy S10 series. The phone houses the latest Snapdragon 712 SoC along with massive 5000 mah camera. This in my opinion offers the best value for money as it comes with fairly powerful SoC, larger battery & 6.53 inch display. The rear camera as well as the front camera is good on this device. Z1 Pro also runs on Android Pie with custom Funtouch OS interface.

Budget Friendly Premium Smartphones under Rs 20,000/-

Oppo K3

Starts at Rs 16,990/- is an impressive phone steered by Snapdragon 710 SoC. Amoled 6.5 inch display along with dual rear and pop-up front camera, in-display fingerprint scanner empowers the phone with flagship features in midrange price. The camera comes with Ultra Night mode which is expected to do well under low light, the battery provided is of 3765 mah with fast charging support. In terms of software, it runs on latest Android OS with custom UI on top. The base variant comes with 6GB Ram and 64 GB storage, one more variant with 8 GB Ram and 128 GB storage is also available for Rs 19,990/-. The phone is priced quite aggressively and provides great value for money.

Realme X

Sports a flagship type features in the affordable price range. The phone retails from Rs 16,999/- for 4 GB/128 GB variant. Snapdragon 710 SoC used on the phone is powerful enough to  provide lag free end user experience. Realme X comes with premium specifications such as Amoled display, Sony IMX 471 pop-up selfie camera along with in-display fingerprint scanner and fast charge support. The 6.53 inch amoled display makes for immersive multimedia experience while 3765 mah battery is sufficient to last for a full day on single charge for most users.

Samsung Galaxy M40

Targeted at the Millennials. Coming from a top-tier brand, M40 is priced pretty competitively at Rs 19,990/-. The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 675 SoC coupled with 6 GB Ram & 128 GB storage. The phone is comes with triple rear camera setup which is impressive. The 6.3 inch screen features in-display (punch hole) camera is similar to the one observed on the Galaxy S10 series. The phone is provided with 3,500 mah battery. However, M40 comes with TFT LCD screen instead of Amoled or IPS LCD which will go unnoticed if the phone is not compared side by side with other phones.

Sensible Pricing for the hardware along with decent camera makes it a popular pick in this price segment.

Redmi K20 Pro

One of the most affordable flagship phones currently available in the market with the price starting from Rs 27,999/- for the 6GB/128 GB variant. Phone comes with flagship Snapdragon 855 chipset along with triple rear camera setup and pop-up selfie camera. The premium build design, features, amoled display, decent camera along with attractive price makes it a strong contender among affordable flagship phones.

Asus 6Z

Flagship phone by Asus in this price segment which comes with flagship features at affordable price point of Rs 31,999/-. 6Z features a flip camera. The rear camera flips to the top to function as front camera, fairly a new and cool concept. The phone has dual rear camera setup along with Full HD+ Plus NanoEdge display. The user interface is close to stock android. The massive 5000 mah battery promises good battery life even under heavy use.

Latest flagship by One Plus which is a “popular brand” in the affordable flagship segment. The stock android experience along with the flagship hardware specifications and fluid performance has enabled One Plus to grab considerable market share in the Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000/- price segment. One Plus 7 sports the dated dew drop notch design but stellar overall performance, impressive camera topped with Vanilla Android experience makes a strong case for itself. The One Plus 7 6GB/128 GB variant is selling for Rs 32,999/-.

All the phones mentioned above are my top Budget Friendly Premium Smartphones in 2019 in the respective price segments. During the festive season these phones may be available for additional discounts, so interested buyers may get a very good deal on their purchase.

The Information shared is just for information purpose. Same should considered as recommendations. Readers need to do their own research to have more clarity about the product before taking any decision.