This week’s Orbital episode has a discussion of the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G, OnePlus Nord 2T, and other midrange phones.
With so many smartphone models available from major manufacturers such as Samsung, Oppo, Xiaomi, and OnePlus, purchasing a smartphone on a medium-sized budget might be a difficult process. These phones usually have one or two features available on more costly flagship phones, such as quicker charging, high-end chipsets, or camera sensors. While it might be argued that buying a smartphone in this price range gives you more bang for your buck, you may have to make some sacrifices.
On this week’s edition of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, presenter Akhil Arora speaks with Reviewer Pranav Hegde and Consultant Sub Editor Siddhant Chandra about the best smartphones around Rs. 30,000.
It’s been a while since we addressed the best phones under Rs. 30,000, and brands, according to Pranav, have showed a lot of interest in the Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 30,000 market. Consumers have begun to spend more in order to gain more value from their cellphones, supported by buy now pay later (BNPL) or cheap EMI deals. He claims that they aren’t phones with many compromises and that they provide excellent value for money.
Because of the pandemic and the current worldwide supply shortage, smartphones priced under Rs. 20,000 no longer provide the same value that they did until last year, according to Pranav, who adds that there are a few smartphones making their debut under Rs. 10,000, but they do not provide enough value.
When Akhil asks if there are any “flagship” phone features that you simply won’t find on smartphones priced under Rs. 30,000, Pranav responds that while you will get high-end features like a 108-megapixel camera or support for 120W fast charging, you will usually get one outstanding feature that may compete with a flagship phone, but the rest of the specifications will not be as good as a premium handset.
He uses the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge as an example, a smartphone with an AMOLED display and capability for 120W fast charging that provides an excellent multimedia experience as well as the ability to charge your phone rapidly. However, he discovered that the Xiaomi handset’s camera performance was inferior to that of other phones in the same price range.
Siddhant requests that Pranav identify the top characteristics that a customer might anticipate for less than Rs. 30,000. He claims that smartphones with a strong Snapdragon 870 processor or a MediaTek Dimensity 1300 chipset are available, thus performance is not a problem. Very few phones in this price range will have a great build quality, but he recommends the Poco F4 5G or the Oppo Reno 8 5G.
According to Pranav, while shopping for a phone under Rs. 30,000, you should look for one with an AMOLED display. Many phones in this price range lack a 3.5mm headphone jack, so you should also look for handsets that have dual stereo speakers, he explains.
Akhil wonders whether it matters if your smartphone’s display supports a refresh rate of 90Hz or 120Hz. While the difference between 90Hz and 120Hz isn’t noticeable, Pranav thinks there will be a difference if you upgrade from an older smartphone with a 60Hz display.
Pranav recommends the Samsung M53 5G if you seek a feature-rich experience. While the CPU isn’t the most powerful in this price range, you do get Samsung’s One UI 4.0 shell running on top of Android 12, as well as two years of operating system upgrades and four years of security patches, like with the company’s M-series phones. It has a 108-megapixel quad camera system.
Pranav believes that software upgrades at this price range may be spotty. While no timeframes have been announced, the normal standard for phones costing under Rs. 30,000 is two years of software support. The Xiaomi 11i Hypercharge, for example, debuted with Android 11 out of the box, despite Google’s announcement of Android 13 development. The phone was ultimately updated to Android 12, bringing it up to speed with rival phones from Samsung and OnePlus.
You can hear all of this and more in our episode by pressing play on the Spotify stream attached above. Don’t forget to read our guide to the best phones under Rs. 30,000, which is linked above.
Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, is now available on your preferred platform — Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Gaana, JioSaavn, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts from.
pic by – gadgets360