Best phones under Rs 20,000 (Nov 2024): OnePlus Nord CE 3 5G, Poco X6 5G to Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G

I must confess it was hard to find some real good deals on smartphones under 10K or 15K this month post the festive sales. But no such issues the moment you stretch your budget to 20K. There are a bunch of great options here, some of which used to sell for much higher not too long ago. You get phones with ample processing power and storage, high refresh rate AMOLED displays, competent cameras and all five of them with optical image stabilisation (OIS). Let’s dive into the action and meet the best smartphones under Rs 20,000 this month.

Best phones to buy under Rs 20,000 in India

Poco X6 5G

The Poco X6 5G not just holds on to its spot in this list but now also offers a 512GB variant in this budget. The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 SoC, which is great for this segment, and is accompanied by either 8GB RAM and 256 GB internal storage or 12GB RAM with 512GB storage. Photography is handled by a 64MP primary camera with OIS, an 8MP ultra-wide shooter and a 2MP macro camera. You get a 16MP front camera for selfies and video calls.

It has a vibrant 6.67-inch AMOLED screen with a higher than Full HD resolution, support for 12-bit colour, 120 Hz refresh rate and 1800 nits peak brightness. The HDR10+ and Dolby Vision compliant display is protected against scratches by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. Its 5100 mAh battery can last over a day and a half of moderate use, and the bundled 67W turbo charger promises to juice it up fully in less than 45 minutes. The Poco X6 5G launched with Android 13 with MIUI 14 and can be upgraded to Android 14 with Xiaomi’s HyperOS.

Poco X6 5G price in India: Rs 17,999 for 8GB RAM/256GB storage; Rs 19,999 for 12GB RAM/512GB storage

Motorola G85 5G

The Motorola G85 5G is another feature-rich phone you should strongly consider in this budget, especially if you like a clean UI. It has a 6.67-inch Full HD+ pOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate and 10-bit colour depth. This phone too has a 50MP primary camera with OIS and it has a Sony LYTIA 600 sensor for high quality captures. You also get an 8MP ultrawide camera with auto-focus, which can double up as a quality macro camera. Its 32MP front camera will have the selfie enthusiasts interested.

The phone has a water-repellent design and Gorilla Glass 5 protection for the screen. The Motorola G85 5G is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6s Gen 3 chip which is a good choice for the segment. You get 12GB RAM and 256GB internal (expandable) storage to go with it. A 5000 mAh battery keeps the phone running for close to a day and a half of moderate use, and a 33W fast charger is bundled along to juice it up quickly. It runs Android 14, and like most Motorola phones, the G85 has a near-stock Android user interface.

Motorola G85 5G price in India: Rs 19,999 for 12GB RAM/256GB storage

Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G

The Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G was a lot pricier at launch but can now be purchased under 20K and offers a great mix of features and performance. Just like the Poco X6 5G, this phone too is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chip, and you get 8 GB RAM with 256GB internal storage. The display is similar too with a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen with a higher than Full HD resolution, support for 12-bit colour, 120 Hz refresh rate, 1800 nits peak brightness, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision compliance and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection. The phone sports an IP54 rating for dust and splash resistance.

The rear camera department is where the Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G jumps ahead of its Poco cousin. It is helmed by a 200MP primary camera with OIS that is quite impressive for the segment, and accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide shooter and a 2MP macro camera. A 16MP selfie camera does its job well. Its 5100 mAh battery lasts over a day and a half of moderate use, and the company bundles a 67W fast charger to charge it briskly. The phone launched with Android 13 with MIUI and Xiaomi has promised three major Android updates for this device.

Redmi Note 13 5G price in India: Rs 19,940 for 8GB RAM/256GB storage

Realme Narzo 70 Pro 5G

Realme’s Narzo 70 Pro 5G is another phone that covers all the key bases in this budget. You get a 50MP primary camera with OIS that does a commendable job for the segment, and is accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide shooter and a 2MP macro camera. Add to that a competent 16MP selfie camera up front. This phone is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 7050 SoC, and you can get its top variant with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB internal storage comfortably in this budget with a few bucks to spare.

The Realme Narzo 70 Pro 5G has a 6.67-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ compliance and 2000 nits peak brightness. The phone’s 5000 mAh battery lasts over a day and a half of moderate use, and the bundled 67W SuperVOOC charger claims to charge 50% of it in just 19 minutes and fully in a little over 45 minutes. The Narzo 70 Pro 5G runs Android 14 with Realme UI 5.0.

Realme Narzo 70 Pro 5G price in India: Rs 16,998 for 8GB RAM/256GB storage

OnePlus Nord CE 3 5G

This was a pleasant surprise! The OnePlus Nord CE 3 5G may be a generation old but it is still better than anything with a Lite suffix from the company. You get a 6.7-inch Full HD+ Fluid AMOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ compliance. The photography department comprises a 50MP primary camera with OIS, an 8MP ultra-wide shooter and a 2MP macro camera. A 16MP front camera handles selfies and video calls pretty well.

This OnePlus Nord CE 3 5G is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 782G chip, which is much better than the Snapdragon 695 found on all the Lite variants. You get 8 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage to go with it, and there’s a microSD card slot to expand it further. A 5000 mAh battery keeps it powered for over a day and a half of moderate use and the bundled 80W fast charger juices it up fully in double quick time. The Nord CE 3 5G debuted with Android 13 with OxygenOS 13.1 and is upgradeable to Android 14 with OxygenOS 14.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 5G price in India: Rs 16,999 for 8GB RAM/128GB storage