The smartphone market in India has grown not only in units sold but also in terms of pricing. Today, you can find flagship phones priced above Rs. 1 lakh. But at the same time, some models seem to have a list of advanced features below the the Rs. 50,000 price segment. These phones can be called “high-value flagship phones”. But are they worth choosing against the premium phones – the iPhone 13 and the Galaxy S series – available in the country? We’re trying to find out.
On this week’s Gadgets 360 podcast Orbital episode, host Akhil Arora speaks with Senior Reviewers Aditya Shenoy and Sheldon Pinto to discuss high-priced flagship phones – the best under Rs. 50,000.
Valuable flagship phones are available between Rs. 40,000-50,000 price range and carry a flagship processor, improved build quality, satisfying camera experience, and comparable battery, and support for fast charging. We can say that they should be the ones who can give you the maximum value for your money spent.
In the past few months, companies including Motorola, OnePlus, Realme, and Samsung have released phones that offer flagship-like experiences under Rs. 50,000 price segment.
One of the good options is the Motorola Edge 30 Pro which brings the top-of-the-range Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC for a price of Rs. 49,999. In addition to the premium processing unit, the Motorola phone has a 144Hz pOLED display, a triple rear camera with a 50MP primary sensor, and a 4,800mAh battery with support for 68W fast charging. It also comes with wireless charging and reverses wireless charging support.
Motorola Edge 30 Pro Review
Samsung also has the Galaxy S21 FE 5G in the same segment. It offers features closer to the regular Galaxy S21, including the same Exynos 2100 SoC and even a larger 6.4-inch full-HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 120Hz refresh rate. While the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G launched in India for Rs. 54,999, it is currently available for Rs. 47,990. This brings it to the flagship segment with value.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Review
It brought the OnePlus 10R 5G and the Realme GT Neo 3 as two models designed to take on the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G and Motorola Edge 30 Pro. Both phones support 150W fast charging and are powered by MediaTek Dimensity 8100 SoC. The OnePlus model even has some tweaks on top of the vanilla MediaTek chip and is called the MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Max. Chinese behemoth BBK Electronics has also started seeing the under Rs. 50,000 price segment as the sweet spot.
Realme GT Neo 3 (150W) First Impressions
While the Realme GT Neo 3 (150W) is priced at Rs. 42,999, the OnePlus 10R Endurance Edition has a price tag of Rs. 43,999. Both phones have 12GB RAM + 256GB storage configuration.
OnePlus 10R 5G (150W Endurance Edition) Review
In addition to the Android options, the market has the iPhone SE (2022) for those looking for a brand-new iPhone model under Rs. 50,000 price segment.
Officially starting at Rs. 43,900, the iPhone SE (2022) comes with the A15 Bionic chip available on the iPhone 13 models. It also runs on the latest iOS 15 version and supports wireless charging. However, the design of the iPhone SE (2022) is identical to the dated iPhone 8. It also doesn’t include features like Face ID and multiple rear cameras that you get on most other iPhone models. Hard to call it “flagship”.
You’d better consider the iPhone 11, selling for under Rs. 50,000, or the iPhone 12, which falls below Rs. 50,000 during the sale. Of course, both phones are years old. The iPhone 13, the latest version, is currently nine months old. Add a year or more for those before it. By contrast, most Android phones we mentioned earlier will be launched in 2022.
Apple iPhone SE (2022) Review
In the podcast, we also discuss the top things to look for when choosing a budget flagship phone and the downsides, such as inferior camera performance in low light compared to premium models. We’ll also discuss all the features you’d get if you’re willing to expand your budget — by a little or a lot.
You can listen to all this and more in our half-hour episode by hitting the play button on the Spotify player embedded above.
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