Five best smartphones under Rs 35,000
Even though the most fiercely contested space in the smartphone market is the budget segment, it's the under Rs 35k mid-range flagship segment which is grabbing the most eyeballs for the sheer amount of action being seen in the space.
The segment currently boasts of phones that bring with them impressive hardware that can, at times, even rival top-of-the-line flagships.
Here's our pick of the top five phones the segment has to offer.
Asus Zenfone 5z
One of the more impressive devices in the segment, the Asus Zenfone 5z comes with a design that is heavily inspired by the iPhone X. At the front, the phone's display sports an iPhone X-like notch that, along with the slim bezels around the 6.2-inch FullHD+ panel, helps the phone achieve a screen to body ratio of 83.6 per cent, making the Zenfone 5Z look really sleek.
In terms of the hardware it packs, the Asus Zenfone 5Z is one of the best out there. Running the show here is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa-core SoC which Asus has paired with upto 8GB of RAM and 256GB onboard storage which can be upgraded using a microSD card.
Because of the hardware on offer, the phone easily handles any and everything you throw at it.
Talking about the optics, the phone features a 12-megapixel primary sensor (f/1.8 aperture lens), and an 8-megapixel secondary sensor (f/2.2 aperture wide-angle lens) with a field of view of 120 degrees. Up front, you have an 8-megapixel sensor for selfies and video calling.
Overall, it is a very well-rounded phone, one that ticks all the right boxes and, starting at Rs 29,999 for 6GB/64GB RAM+storage, it is definitely a device that should be considered while looking for a phone in this segment.
OnePlus 6
The OnePlus 6, in terms of design, is a stark departure from the previous generation OnePlus phones. It comes with a new design scheme that brings with it an iPhone-style notch at the top and minimal bezel at the bottom which makes the phone look very different from the OnePlus devices of the past.
At the front, there's a 6.28-inch FHD+ AMOLED panel — offering 90 per cent screen-to-body-ratio, making it the biggest screen on a OnePlus phone yet. Another big change is that unlike the metal unibody frames of the previous phones, the OnePlus 6 sports an all-glass design, affording it the looks and curves of an ultra-premium device.
The Chinese smartphone maker has packed the OnePlus 6 with the fastest hardware that 2018 has to offer. Powered by 2.7GHz Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor that is paired with 6/8GB of RAM, the phone offers 10-20 per cent bump in performance and up to 30 per cent boost in efficiency over the OnePlus 5T.
For clicking pictures, there is an OIS supported 16 Megapixel+20 Megapixel dual camera set-up at the back, while at the front, there is a 16-Megapixel camera.
Thus, at 34,999, the entry-level 6GB/64GB RAM+ storage variant of the phone makes a compelling argument for itself.
Honor View 10
A strong contender for the mid-segment flagship crown, the Honor View 10, was officially launched in India at a price of Rs 29,999. At this price, the device brings with it enough to become a hit. Being marketed as an AI-centric device, the Honor View 10 brings with it a Full HD+ 5.99-inch display, 6GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage.
The SoC on board is Huawei's own Kirin 970 processor, featuring a built-in AI processor, which is capable of performing complex AI functions. The Neural Processing Unit (NPU) inside the 970 enables AI features to occur locally, instead of over the cloud. Huawei claims this enables the V10 to not only process all AI features faster but also without compromising users' privacy.
In terms of the cameras, the View 10 comes with a dual camera set-up at the back – a 16-Megapixel primary RGB (colour) sensor paired with a 20-Megapixel monochrome (black and white) sensor. Both sensors have an aperture of f/1.8 and are accompanied by an LED flash. On the front, the V10 comes with a single 13-Megapixel camera capable of shooting bokeh shots via software algorithms.
Powering the package is a 3750mAh battery that's rated to deliver up to 23 hours of talk-time on 3G, and 22 days of standby time with - it is complete with 5V/ 4.5A fast charging support.
Nokia 8
HMD Global's flagship device for 2017 was initially launched in India on September 26, 2017, at the extremely aggressive price of Rs 36,999. However, over time, the device got a number of price cuts and is currently retailing on e-commerce portal Amazon for a little over Rs 27,000, making it a stupendous deal.
For the price, Nokia gives you a device that runs a close-to-stock Android skin with no bloatware – as seen with Google's Pixel and Pixel XL. At the front, there is a 5.3-inch Glance Screen Quad HD display with an impressive pixel density of 544ppi.
Under the hood, the phone comes packing Qualcomm's flagship from 2017, the 835 SoC paired with 4GB RAM and an impressive 3,090mAh battery with QuickCharge 3.0 support that can charge the phone fully in just 30 minutes.
It also brings with it 64GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 256GB. Additionally, there is a fingerprint sensor embedded into the home button up front.
The device comes with a dual camera set-up at the rear with ZEISS optics – a 13MP primary RGB (color) sensor paired with a 13MP monochrome (black and white) sensor, which allows for capturing depth and aids low-light photography. At the front, there's another 13MP RGB shooter – same as the one on the back.
Mi Mix 2
The successor to the phone that kicked off the bezel-less trend, the Mi Mix 2, uses premium materials such as ceramic and a display that occupies almost the entirety of the phone’s front and quite frankly is stunning to look at.
The phone comes with a display that is slightly smaller at 5.99-inch but is Full HD+ with an 18:9 aspect ratio.
The move to the smaller display was made to make the phone more manageable for one-handed usage. However, when we reviewed the phone, we saw single-handed use still remains an issue. As was the case with its predecessors, reaching corners while using the phone with one hand is a problem.
Apart from that, the display looks great and performs as it should when used indoors or in bright sunlight.
In terms of specs, the phone comes with Qualcomm's 835 processor and Adreno 540 GPU coupled with 6GB of RAM and built-in 128 storage. The device currently retails for a little over Rs 30,000 – down from its original price of Rs 35,999, making it a nice choice in the segment.