So you’re looking for the best mobile phone under Rs 30,000? Great, since we’ve compiled a list of best phones under Rs 30,000 in India for July 2016. Most of these are flagships from last year and offer solid performance. Also, many phones in this budget are 32GB versions of phones, which have their 16GB versions available for Rs 20,000-24,000, so we are excluding them from the list. Instead, you can check them in the list of best phones under Rs 25,000. Also check this list of top phones under Rs 35,000 on our sister site.
Most of these handsets are 4G compatible. Of course, these phones will be able to handle your gaming needs smoothly and should offer decent camera performance. So, here goes the list of best smartphones under Rs 30,000.Best mobile phones under Rs 30,000 in India | July 2016
LG G4
- OS: Android 5.1
- Display: 1440 x 2560 pixels, 5.5 inch
- Memory: 32GB expandable, 3GB RAM
- Processor: Snapdragon 808 Quad-core 1.44 GHz Cortex-A53 & dual-core 1.82 GHz Cortex-A57
- GPU: Adreno 418
- Camera: 16MP, 8MP secondary
- Battery: 3,000mAh
- Connectivity: Single SIM, 4G
- Weight: 155g
- Pros
- Front camera
- Display
Cons
OnePlus 3
Amazon: Rs 27,990
- OS: Android 6.0
- Display: 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.5 inch
- Memory: 64GB non-expandable, 6GB RAM
- Processor: Snapdragon 820 Dual-core 2.15 GHz Kryo & dual-core 1.6 GHz Kryo
- GPU: Adreno 530
- Camera: 16MP, 8MP secondary
- Battery: 3,000mAh
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, 4G
- Weight: 158g
Pros
- Processor
- Internal storage
- RAM
- Front camera
Cons
Xiaomi Mi 5
- OS: Android 6.0 – Marshmallow
- Display: 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.15 inch
- Memory: 32GB non-expandable, 3GB RAM
- Processor: Snapdragon 820 Dual-core 1.8 GHz Kryo & dual-core 1.36 GHz Kryo
- GPU: Adreno 530
- Camera: 16MP, 4MP secondary
- Battery: 3,000mAh
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, 4G
- Weight: 129g
Pros
- Processor
- Internal storage
Cons
- Non expandable memory
Moto X Style
Flipkart: Rs 22,990 (32GB)
- OS: Android 5.1
- Display: 1440 x 2560 pixels, 5.7 inch
- Memory: 16GB expandable, 3GB RAM
- Processor: Snapdragon 808 Dual-core 1.8GHz Cortex-A57 & quad-core 1.4GHz Cortex-A53
- GPU: Adreno 418
- Camera: 21MP, 5MP secondary with flash
- Battery: 3,000mAh
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, 4G
- Weight: 179g
Pros
- Display
Cons
Sony Xperia Z3+
- OS: Android 6.0 – Marshmallow
- Display: 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.2 inch
- Memory: 32GB expandable, 3GB RAM
- Processor: Snapdragon 810 Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 2 GHz Cortex-A57
- GPU: Adreno 430
- Camera: 20.7MP, 5.1MP secondary
- Battery: 3,000mAh
- Connectivity: Single SIM, 4G
- Weight: 144g
Pros
- Waterproof
- Processor
Cons
Lumia 950
- OS: Windows Phone 10
- Display: 1440 x 2560 pixels, 5.2 inch
- Memory: 32GB non expandable, 3GB RAM
- Processor: Snapdragon 808 quad-core 1.4GHz Cortex-A53 & dual-core 1.8GHz Cortex-A57
- GPU: Adreno 418
- Camera: 20MP, 5MP secondary
- Battery: 3,000mAh
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, 4G
- Weight: 150g
Pros
- Dual SIM
- Display
Cons
Samsung Galaxy A7 2016
- OS: Android 5.0.2
- Display: 1920 x 1080 pixels, 5.5 inch
- Memory: 16GB non expandable, 3GB RAM
- Processor: Exynos 7580 Octa 1.6GHz Cortex-A53
- GPU: Mali-T720MP2
- Camera: 13MP, 5MP secondary
- Battery: 3,300mAh
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, 4G
- Weight: 169g
Pros
- Battery
Cons
- Processor could have been better
Nexus 5X
- OS: Android 6.0 – Marshmallow
- Display: 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.2 inch
- Memory: 32GB non expandable, 2GB RAM
- Processor: Snapdragon 808 quad-core 1.4GHz Cortex-A53 & dual-core 1.8GHz Cortex-A57
- GPU: Adreno 418
- Camera: 12MP, 5MP secondary
- Battery: 2,700mAh
- Connectivity: Single SIM, 4G
- Weight: 136g
Pros
- Android 6.0
Cons
- Non expandable memory
HTC One ME
- OS: Android 5.0.2
- Display: 1440 x 2560 pixels, 5.2 inch
- Memory: 32GB expandable, 3GB RAM
- Processor: Mediatek MT6795 2.2GHz Octa Core
- GPU: PowerVR G6200
- Camera: 20MP, 4MP Ultrapixel secondary
- Battery: 2,890mAh
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, 4G
- Weight: 155g
Pros
- Display
- Dual SIM
Cons
Samsung Galaxy Note 4
- OS: Android 6.0 – Marshmallow
- Display: 1440 x 2560 pixels, 5.7 inch
- Memory: 32GB expandable, 3GB RAM
- Processor: Snapdragon 805 Quad-core 2.7 GHz Krait 450
- GPU: Adreno 430
- Camera: 16MP, 3.7MP secondary
- Battery: 3,220mAh
- Connectivity: Single SIM, 4G
- Weight: 176g
Pros
- Display
Cons
- Overpriced
- Old
OnePlus 2
- OS: Android 5.1 (Android 6.0 incoming)
- Display: 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.5 inch IPS
- Memory: 64GB non expandable, 4GB RAM
- Processor: Octa-core Snapdragon 810
- GPU: Adreno 430
- Camera: 13MP, 5MP secondary
- Battery: 3,300 mAh
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, 4G
- Weight: 175g
Pros
- Every feature for this price
Cons
- Non expandable memory
Samsung Galaxy A8
- OS: Android 6.0
- Display: 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.7 inches AMOLED
- Memory: 16GB expandable, 2GB RAM
- Processor: Snapdragon 615 quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & quad-core 1.0 GHz Cortex-A53
- GPU: Adreno 405
- Camera: 16MP, 5MP secondary
- Battery: 3,050 mAh
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, 4G
- Weight: 151g
Pros
- Dual SIM
Cons
- Processor
- Overprice
Features to expect in the best phones under Rs 30,000:
Here’s what to expect from the best smartphones under Rs 30,000. In terms of display, 1080p should be the bare minimum on Android phones, while you can easily get smartphones with QHD (2K) display in this budget. As for the processor, in the Qualcomm camp, Snapdragon 820 is the best processor in this budget, followed by the Snapdragon 810 and Snapdragon 808. Snapdragon 6xx series doesn’t seem like a right fit in this budget and you should avoid phones with those processors.
Speaking about the camera, look for phones that support 4K video recording, have a large aperture and pixel size. Again, megapixels don’t matter beyond a point (which has been crossed already). 3GB RAM is pretty much the norm for smartphones around Rs 30,000, while you might even find some handsets with 4GB RAM. Lastly, look for something that is scheduled to be upgraded to Android 6.0 at least (better, if it is already upgraded). Happy shopping.