Here’s our list of best phones under Rs 20,000 in India for September 2018. We’ve excluded some really outdated models or the ones that are extremely overpriced.
You can also check the lists of best smartphones around Rs 15,000 and best smartphones around Rs 25,000 in case you decide to change your budget a little. At this price, at least Snapdragon 8xx/66x series on an Android device is desirable since it is the best processor series in this budget. As for gaming, these phones should be able to handle your gaming needs well and some of these should be running the latest games at max settings. We also expect many of these models to get updated to Android 8.0 Oreo. Expect camera performance to be top notch too. Lastly, we’ve covered all of the best 4G LTE phones in this budget in the list as well that are compatible with Airtel and other 4G networks such as those from Vodafone and Reliance Jio. Of course, you can expect good overall performance from these mobiles.
Best mobile phones under Rs 20,000 in India for September 2018:
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Honor Play
- OS: Android 8.0
- Display: 1080 x 2340 pixels, 6.3 inch
- Memory: 64GB expandable, 4GB RAM
- Processor: Kirin 970 Octa-core (4×2.4GHz A73 & 4×1.8GHzA53)
- GPU: Mali-G72 MP12
- Camera: 16MP + 2MP dual cameras, 16MP secondary
- Battery: 3,750mAh
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, 4G
- Weight: 176g
Pros- Processor
- Battery
Cons -
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1
3GB RAM, 32GB memory4GB RAM, 64GB memory
6GB RAM, 64GB memory
- OS: Android 8.1
- Display: 1080 x 2160 pixels, 6 inches
- Memory: 64GB expandable, 4GB RAM
- Processor: Snapdragon 636 octa-core 1.8GHz (A53)
- GPU: Adreno 509
- Camera: 13MP+5MP, 8MP secondary
- Battery: 5,000mAh
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, 4G
- Weight: 180g
Pros- Battery
- Processor
- RAM
- Internal memory
Cons -
Mi A2
- OS: Android 8.1
- Display: 1080 x 2160 pixels, 6 inches
- Memory: 64GB non-expandable, 4GB RAM
- Processor: Snapdragon 660 octa-core 2.2GHz x 4 + 1.8GHz x 4
- GPU: Adreno 512
- Camera: 12MP+20MP, 20MP secondary
- Battery: 3,010mAh
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, 4G
- Weight: 166g
Pros- Processor
Cons- Non-expandable memory
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Nokia 6.1 Plus
- OS: Android 8.1
- Display: 2280 x 1080 pixels, 5.8 inches
- Memory: 64GB expandable, 4GB RAM
- Processor: Snapdragon 636 Octa-core 1.8 GHz, Adreno 509
- Camera: 16MP+5MP, 16MP secondary
- Battery: 3,060mAh
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, 4G
- Weight: 151g
Pros- Android One – timely updates
- Processor
Cons -
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro
4GB RAM6GB RAM
- OS: Android 7.1
- Display: 1080 x 2160 pixels, 6 inches
- Memory: 64GB expandable, 4GB RAM
- Processor: Snapdragon 636 octa-core 1.8GHz (A53)
- GPU: Adreno 509
- Camera: 12MP+5MP, 20MP secondary
- Battery: 4,000mAh
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, 4G
- Weight: 181g
Pros- Battery
- Processor
- RAM
Cons- Android 7.1
-
Honor P20 Lite
- OS: Android 8.o
- Display: 1080 x 2280 pixels, 5.8 inch
- Memory: 64GB expandable, 4GB RAM
- Processor: Kirin 659 Cortex-A53 Octa Core 2.4GHz
- GPU: Mali-T830MP2
- Camera: 16MP+2MP dual camera, 24 MP secondary
- Battery: 3,000mAh
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, 4G
- Weight: 143g
Pros- Front camera
Cons -
Oppo F7
4GB RAM, 64GB6GB RAM, 128GB
- OS: Android 8.0
- Display: 1920 x 2280 pixels, 6.23 inch
- Memory: 64GB expandable, 4GB RAM
- Processor: MediaTek P60 Octa-core (4×2.0GHz A73 & 4×2.0GHz A53)
- GPU: Mali-G72 MP3
- Camera: 16MP, 25MP secondary
- Battery: 3,400mAh
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, 4G
- Weight: 158g
Pros- Front camera
- Processor
Cons -
Vivo V9 Youth
- OS: Android 8.0
- Display: 1920 x 2280 pixels, 6.23 inch
- Memory: 32GB expandable, 4GB RAM
- Processor: Snapdragon 450 Octa-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A53>
- GPU: Adreno 506
- Camera: 16MP+5MP, 16MP secondary
- Battery: 3,260mAh
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, 4G
- Weight: 150g
ProsCons- Internal memory
- Processor
-
Moto G6
- OS: Android 8.0
- Display: 2160 x 1080 pixels, 5.7 inches
- Memory: 64GB expandable, 4GB RAM
- Processor: Snapdragon 450 Octa-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A53, Adreno 506
- Camera: 12+5MP, 8MP secondary
- Battery: 3,000mAh
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, 4G
- Weight: 167g
ProsCons- Processor
-
Moto X4
64GB/4GB RAM64GB/4GB RAM
64GB/6GB RAM
- OS: Android 8.0
- Display: 1920 x 1080 pixels, 5.2 inch
- Memory: 32GB/64GB expandable, 3GB/4GB RAM
- Processor: Snapdragon 630 2.2GHz octa core
- GPU: Adreno 508
- Camera: 12MP+8MP, 16MP secondary
- Battery: 3,000mAh
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, 4G
- Weight: 163g
ProsCons- 3GB RAM (on the 32GB variant)
-
Apple iPhone SE
- OS: iOS 11
- Display: 640 x 1136 pixels, 4.0 inch
- Memory: 32GB non expandable, 2GB RAM
- Processor: Apple A9 Dual-core 1.84 GHz
- GPU: PowerVR GT7600
- Camera: 12MP, 1.2MP secondary
- Battery: 1,624mAh
- Connectivity: Single SIM, 4G
- Weight: 113g
ProsCons- Non expandable memory
- Screen resolution
- Internal memory
- Front camera
Features to expect in the best phones under Rs 20,000:
At this budget, you should be looking at at least a full HD display (1080p), along with 1080p/4K video recording capabilities on the phone. Megapixels on the camera don’t really matter as much as you’d think they do. Also, the best phones under Rs 20,000 come with Snapdragon 8xx/63x series of processors.
Also, 4GB RAM has become the norm in the smartphones around Rs 20,000. In terms of battery size, anything over 3,000mAh should be good enough. As for the software, get something with at least Android 8.0.