Best phones under Rs 50,000 (Dec 2024): Samsung Galaxy S23 5G, Xiaomi 14 to Motorola Edge 50 Ultra

Our list of phones under Rs 50,000 this month is packed with some excellent camera phones, with a couple of them being current or last-generation flagships of their respective brands. Needless to say, they have top-of-the-line processing hardware with ample RAM and storage (barring one). Here are our top smartphone picks under Rs 50,000 in India this month for you to choose from.

Best phones to buy under Rs 50,000 in India

Samsung Galaxy S23 5G

Samsung’s previous flagship, the Galaxy S23 5G can be purchased comfortably in this budget with a few bucks to spare. The phone is powered by Qualcomm’s last-gen powerhouse, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, and you can now get its 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage variant under 50K. This phone is fairly compact and has IP68 rated dust and water resistance. It sports an aluminium frame and a glass back with a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 at the front and back for protection against scratches and cracks.  

The photography department comprises three rear cameras starting with a 50MP primary camera with dual pixel PDAF and optical image stabilisation (OIS), a 12MP ultra-wide camera with Super Steady video support and a 10MP telephoto camera with OIS for 3X optical zoom. One can record videos in up to 8K resolution on this phone. The camera performance is among the best, as you would expect from a Samsung S series phone.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 5G has a 6.1-inch Full HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a peak brightness of 1750 nits, HDR10+ compliance and 120Hz refresh rate. The phone launched with Android 13 and Samsung’s One UI 5.1 and can be updated to Android 14 with One UI 6.x. More software updates are expected in the future.

Samsung Galaxy S23 5G price in India: Rs 43,999 for 8GB RAM/256GB storage

Xiaomi 14

This was a pleasant surprise to spot a Xiaomi 14 under 50K. It packs true flagship-grade features and also has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. You get a 6.36-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz and a resolution of 2670 x 1200 pixels. The Pro HDR display is HDR10+ and Dolby Vision compliant, with a peak brightness of 3000 nits and supports up to 68 billion colour shades. It is protected against scratches by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus.  

This phone is powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC and accompanied by 12GB RAM and 512GB UFS 4.0 storage. The cameras on this phone have been designed in collaboration with Leica. You get three 50MP units at the back, with the primary camera flaunting a Light Fusion 900 image sensor, Leica Summilux optics and OIS. Giving it company are an ultra-wide shooter with 115-degrees FOV and a 75 mm floating telephoto camera with OIS that provides 3.2X optical zoom.  

The telephoto camera is competent at macro and portrait photography as well. The 32MP front camera is quite good for selfies and video calls. The phone’s 4610mAh battery comfortably lasts over a day of moderate use, and the bundled 90W fast charger promises to juice it up fully in a little over half an hour. The phone also supports 50W fast wireless charging. The Xiaomi 14 runs the latest Android 14 with the company’s new HyperOS UI.

Xiaomi 14 price in India: Rs 49,999 for 12GB RAM/512GB storage

Motorola Edge 50 Ultra

This is another fully loaded device for those who prefer a near-stock Android UI. The Motorola Edge 50 Ultra looks cool thanks to some interesting back panel options and sports an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. This phone has a curved 10-bit 6.7-inch P-OLED display, with higher than Full HD resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, 2500 nits peak brightness and HDR10+ compliance. It gets Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection against scratches.  

This phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 SoC with 12GB RAM and 512GB internal storage. You get three cameras at the back that are quite versatile and cover all the key bases. It has a 50MP primary camera with OIS, a 64MP periscope telephoto camera with OIS that offers 3X optical zoom and a 50MP ultra-wide camera with auto-focus, which doubles up as a quality macro camera. And not to forget the 50MP front camera with auto-focus to thrill the selfie enthusiasts.  

A 4500mAh battery can power the phone for well over a day of moderate use and the bundled 125W turbo charger promises to juice it up in double quick time. The Motorola Edge 50 Ultra runs Android 14, and the company has promised at least three more major Android updates for this device.

Motorola Edge 50 Ultra price in India: Rs 49,999 for 12GB RAM/512GB storage

Vivo V40 Pro 5G

The Vivo V40 Pro 5G is another solid camera phone that does not lag behind in other departments either. At its core is a powerful and flagship-grade Mediatek Dimensity 9200+ chip, and you can get its 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage variant in this budget. This phone has a 10-bit 6.78-inch HDR10+ compliant AMOLED display with a resolution of 2800 x 1260 pixels and 120Hz refresh rate. It can get up to 4500 nits bright. The phone runs Android 14 with FunTouch OS 14.  

The Vivo V40 Pro 5G is studded with four 50MP cameras with Zeiss optics, starting with the primary camera with OIS, along with a telephoto camera with OIS for 2X optical zoom and an ultra-wide camera with auto-focus that provides macro capabilities too. Lastly, let’s not forget the 50 MP selfie camera that does a commendable job. The phone’s 5500mAh battery lasts over a day and a half of moderate use, and supports 80W fast wired charging.

Vivo V40 Pro 5G price in India: Rs 49,999 for 8GB RAM/256GB storage

Apple iPhone 13

If you prefer a bite of the Apple, that’s an option too in this budget. Though you will need to go back a few generations, the Apple iPhone 13 is still not a bad option around 45K. However, you will have to make do with its 128GB variant; well, the festive sales are over. It is pretty much identical in design, features and specifications to the iPhone 14, with the exception of RAM.  

It has a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with a resolution of 2532 x 1170 pixels and compliance with HDR10 and Dolby Vision. The phone feels great in hand due to its compact size, and this too has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. The iPhone 13 is powered by Apple’s former flagship A15 Bionic chip, which is still potent enough for most tasks.  

There are two 12MP cameras at the back with the primary unit offering OIS, and the secondary capable of capturing ultra-wide shots. The performance in photography and videography is still very good, as one expects from an iPhone. The Apple iPhone 13 now runs iOS 18, with more OS updates to follow over the next few years.  

Apple iPhone 13 price in India: Rs 45,490 for 128GB storage

Honourable mentions: Here are a few more phones you can consider in this budget. The 512GB storage variants of Realme GT 6, Xiaomi 14 CIVI, Honor 200 Pro are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 Soc and have excellent cameras.