BEST MOBILE PHONES UNDER 25000 IN INDIA

Poco X7 Pro is the all-new mid-range smartphone that's priced under Rs. 30,000. This is the first phone to debut with MediaTek 8400 Ultra processor and packs the largest battery at this price. Poco's new X7 Pro is also the company's first with HyperOS 2.0, based on Android 15. The dual camera setup is decent, and the phone weighs under 200 grams. At its price, the X7 Pro is a great value proposition and is a perfect choice for anyone eyeing anything around this price segment.

The Motorola Edge 70 Fusion has a brand-new design which sticks to polycarbonate for its frame and rear panel. There are three finishes to choose from and all of them are IP68 and IP69-rated for dust and water resistance. Motorola even throws in a MIL-STD 810H certification for use in extreme environments.

Its display has been upgraded to a quad-curved panel. The AMOLED panel gets sufficiently bright outdoors and displays natural colours. However, we found the HDR10+ support lacking or missing when using third-party apps.

Performance isn’t best in class, but is good enough for casual users. It is also possible to play 3D games provided you don’t max out the graphics settings. Camera performance of the primary camera is quite good but the ultrawide isn’t the best even though it has macro capability.

Battery life is quite good and can easily last two days on a single charge. Charging speeds are equally good and can top up the high-capacity battery within an hour.

The Nothing Phone 3a Lite bridges the gap between the CMF and the Nothing mid-range 'a' series. The latest smartphone draws heavily from both lineups. While the design and software experience are more aligned with the Nothing mid-range lineup, the hardware is more aligned with the CMF series. The smartphone still offers a premium design in this price segment, and you get a Glyph interface, though it is basic. The display is good and vivid, and the performance is decent for the price. The camera is a bit of a hit-or-miss, and the lack of a telephoto lens sure makes a difference. The battery life is decent, while the software experience is still minimal. If you are looking for a unique smartphone that delivers decent performance, consider this one.

OnePlus Nord CE 5 is a mid-range smartphone that offers some notable upgrades over its predecessor, the Nord CE 4. These include a more powerful processor and a larger battery. The phone has a plastic rear panel and edges, a dual rear camera setup, a single bottom-firing speaker, and a USB Type-C port. 

The 6.77-inch AMOLED screen on the OnePlus Nord CE 5 has slim bezels and a hole punch cutout for the selfie camera. It runs on Android 15 with OxygenOS 15, and promised four years of OS upgrades and six years of security updates. The handset also supports some OnePlus AI software features.

Performance is driven by the MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Apex SoC, offering improved CPU performance over the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chip in the Nord CE 4. It can handle demanding tasks like 4K video editing and games. The 6.77-inch OLED display has a refresh rate between 60Hz and 120Hz and is Widevine L1 certified for HD and HDR video streaming.

The Oneplus Nord CE 5 has a 50-megapixel primary rear camera (Sony LYT-600) with OIS, an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera (OV08D10), and a 16-megapixel selfie camera (Sony IMX480) with EIS.

You get a large 7,100mAh battery on the Nord CE 5, and it provides at least two days of battery life on a single charge. It also supports 80W SuperVOOC wired charging, which can fully charge the phone in just over an hour.

The Vivo T4 has a slim and stylish design that is inspired by premium models in the company’s lineup of smartphones. Its frame and rear panel are made of polycarbonate, but the phone still manages an IP65 rating for dust and water resistance.

Performance is not a problem with the Vivo T4 as the phone handles applications and multitasking without breaking sweat. 3D games also work well with the phone maintaining its cool.

The phone only offers one user-accessible rear facing camera which offers good daylight and low light performance provided you don’t zoom in. Video recordings come out well and also pack in good detail in all lighting conditions.

The phone’s high-capacity battery can easily last days with light usage. With heavy usage it can still easily last over a day. It is also surprisingly quick while charging with the bundled charger.
 

The iQOO Neo 10R has a frame and rear panel made of polycarbonate but still manages an IP65 rating for dust and water resistance. The phone’s design and choice of materials do feel basic and this also makes it a smudge and dust magnet.

Its display is a contrast to its rear panel. It offers a high refresh rate and works well for consuming content outdoors and for gaming. The bright display also supports HDR10 for video streaming.

The device is a performance powerhouse given its price and so multitasking is a breeze. Also included are some AI tools some of which perform as expected.

Imaging is not this phone’s strong point. Video quality in daylight is impressive but we cannot say the same about low light shooting. The phone’s massive battery and fast charging make it a solid road warrior and great for those who are constantly streaming video or playing games on the move. 

The Nothing Phone 3a has a unique design which sets it apart from any other smartphone at its price point. The phone’s rear panel is made of glass, which also allows for a better IP64 rating for dust and water resistance. The Glyph interface present on all Nothing phones remains the same as before in terms of form and function.

Software performance with everyday use is quite solid. It works smoothly without any hiccups and contains no bloatware either. Everything from wallpapers to fonts to themes is very tastefully accomplished. And the same applies to the AI feature called Essential Space.

Camera performance is a bit of a mixed bag. The main camera performs well, but the newly introduced telephoto camera works best in daylight. Low-light video recording needs work and is strictly average.

Despite its standard battery, Nothing has managed to optimise it well with Nothing OS. It can easily handle a whole day of heavy usage. Charging speeds are relatively a bit slow.

The Redmi Note 14 Pro+ is a leap forward in design and battery. The performance is also great, and the feature list is long - which is good. It gets an IP68 rating, which should give consumers peace of mind and additional brownie points for durability tests. The Redmi Note 14 Pro+ is a game changer for the Note series and a solid contender under Rs. 40,000. It also packs some AI features. However, there are a few areas where Redmi Note 14 Pro+ could have been better, like the software support window. Overall, it is a phone you can easily recommend under Rs. 40,000.

The iQOO Z9s Pro brings a lot of improvement to the Z-series. The latest smartphone from the brand offers a sleeker design language and is available in different finishes. The handset also packs a punch in terms of performance and gives you a good value-for-money proposition under Rs 30,000. The cameras have also improved from its predecessors, and the phone is capable of clicking some good photos in different lighting conditions. The iQOO Z9s Pro also brings a good battery life, lasting one full day with moderate to heavy usage. That said, if you are looking for an all-around package, then consider this smartphone. 

The Nothing Phone 2a Plus is carved out from the skin as Nothing Phone 2a. The device offers the same Glyph interface, which is interesting to use and offers a transparent back panel for a unique design element. The handset also has an updated processor that performs well at this price segment. The Nothing Phone 2a Plus also brings a clean user interface that definitely stands out from the rest of the competition. The camera capabilities are good, and you also get some good battery life. That said, the cameras offer better performance as compared to the Nothing Phone 2a, but it still needs some improvements. So, if you are looking for a mid-range Nothing phone with some improvements, you can consider Nothing Phone 2a Plus.

The Realme 15T has a design made primarily from polycarbonate, but it does have an aluminium insert for the camera deco. The design is slim and durable but its display bezels are a bit thick.

The phone has a bright AMOLED panel, but offers no support for HDR video streaming. It’s good for playing games but most games don’t support its high-refresh rate due to hardware limitations.

The cameras are just about passable for a low-end mid-range smartphone, which is a problem as this phone competes with some heavy hitters both above and below its price point. The upgraded selfie camera does a fine job in daylight but not so much in low-light conditions.

Battery life is pretty good, but not as good as we expected it to be. It will last beyond a day with heavy use, but won’t go the extra mile as is expected from its higher than usual capacity.

The iQOO Z10R has a slim IP69-rated design that uses a polycarbonate frame and rear panel. The matte finished panel does gather fingerprints despite having a matte finish. Given its regular-sized battery the phone isn’t too thick, but it does not last as long as some competing devices.

Performance is good enough to sustain a smooth software experience. You can play casual games on it as well, but heavy games will start to lag once the phone heats up internally as it lacks a proper cooling mechanism.

Camera performance is not good overall. While the photos look passable from afar, they lack detail when zoomed in even by a bit. Its video recording capabilities aren’t too great either. While the software experience is smooth, we wished that its commitment to future updates was better.

Battery life is good, but you can get better performance from other smartphones at this price point. Charging speeds are average.
 

Samsung’s Galaxy A26 has a familiar-looking design made from polycarbonate and glass. It appears slim and modern until you view the display, which has thick borders and a dated display notch. The phone gets an IP67 rating this time.

Its display offers rich colours and deep blacks but does not get sufficiently bright outdoors. The home-grown Exynos silicon is capable enough to handle daily tasks and some mid-level gaming as well. Heat is well managed both when using the camera and when playing games. There’s only one speaker and it does not sound good.

Camera performance is subpar and despite having three cameras and optical images stabilisation (OIS), all three fail to impress. Selfies are fine, and the same can be said about video recordings.

Battery life is far from impressive keeping the competition in mind. It definitely is not meant for power users. Wired charging is slow as well.

The Vivo T3 Ultra brings a lot of improvement to the T series. The latest smartphone from the brand offers a sleeker design language and is available in different finishes. The handset also packs a punch in terms of performance and gives you a good value-for-money proposition under Rs 36,000. The cameras are capable of clicking some good photos in good lighting conditions. The Vivo T3 Ultra also brings a good battery life, lasting one full day with moderate to heavy usage. That said, if you are looking for an all-round package, consider this smartphone. 

The Samsung Galaxy F55 5G features a sleek vegan leather finish that stands out from the crowd. The display also delivers good results with deep blacks and good viewing angles.  

On the performance front, the handset delivers almost all the tasks that you throw at it whether it be gaming or scrolling your Instagram feed. The major upgrade has to be the 45W fast charging support that allows it to be fully charged in one hour. The interface is user-friendly and offers some interesting set of customisations. The in-display fingerprint sensor works fast and the Always-On Display is a cherry on top.

The cameras are decent, though the low-light performance could have been better. That said, if you are looking for a stylish mid-ranger that offers a decent mix of performance and premium design, then the smartphone sure seems to be an interesting choice.

The Realme GT 6T is the first T-branded smartphone from Realme. It has a plastic back and a polycarbonate frame, but manages an IP65 rating for dust and water resistance. However, it is a proper smudge and dust magnet.

Performance is handled by a capable mid-range processor which offers enough power for both daily use and high-end gaming. The capable software also helps balance out battery life and also gets some AI-enabled features.

Camera performance is decent for its price tag. The phone struggles a bit in low light and we weren’t impressed by the ultra-wide camera, which produced passable results in daylight. The Realme GT 6T’s video recording capabilities are far from impressive.

Its dual-cell battery easily lasts over a day and can be used for two days with casual (non-gaming) usage thanks to its large capacity. Wired charging is very fast as well.