Five best smartphones under Rs 25,000 to look forward to this festive season

The festive season seems like just another reason to indulge in some gadget shopping. If you’re looking to buy a new smartphone, especially in the mid-range segment, then now’s the right time. We’ve seen some cool mid-rangers being launched lately in the sub-Rs 25k brackets, but going through multiple price cuts over the months. Here’s a look at the top 5 smartphones under Rs 25,000.

OnePlus 2

OnePlus 2 tops the chart if you’re looking for an option under Rs 25,000. The superior specs sheet at a comparatively lower price gives it an edge over flagships from other leading manufacturers. It is available in 16GB and 64GB variants priced at Rs 22,999 and Rs 24,999, respectively, and seems like a perfect blend of elegance and solid specs.

Design-wise, the metal-frame design makes it look premium. It sports a 5.5-inch 1080p display. As promised, the smartphone also comes with a fingerprint scanner and USB Type-C port. The fingerprint scanner is faster than the iPhone TouchID and lets you save up to five fingerprints, says OnePlus. On the camera front, it comes with a 13-megapixel snapper. It also gets a new camera and a new solution that allows you to take 50MP photos and there’s also the slow motion mode. It comes powered by Snapdragon 810 coupled with 4GB of RAM and houses a 3,300mAh battery.

Moto X (2nd generation)

Moto X (2nd generation) is another great option that falls under Rs 25,000 bracket, especially for those looking at pure form of Android. Moto X second generation 16GB model starts at Rs 21,999 online, while the 32GB model starts at Rs 22,999. The prices vary depending upon your choice of black leather, bamboo or other type of backs for the device.

The Moto X (2nd generation) comes with upgrades not just in terms of build quality, but also the system-on-chip powering the device. In terms of performance, the Moto X (2nd generation) came at par with most of the flagship phones out there during its launch such as LG G3, Sony Xperia Z3 and so on. It comes with a good display and the call quality is impressive.

Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe ZE551ML

Next in line is the Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe ZE551ML. This Asus phone is a steal at Rs 22,999, especially considering the 64GB storage and 4GB of RAM. Sporting a 5.5-inch display and a 13MP rear snapper, it comes powered by a 2.3GHz Intel Atom Z3580 quad-core processor. It also comes equipped with a 5MP front-facing camera. It features chameleon colour coating and the connectivity options include 4G LTE, 3G and Wi-Fi with support for ‘ac’ draft. Though we haven’t reviewed the device, it seems pretty solid, at least on paper.

Samsung Galaxy A7

The Galaxy A7 with all the apps.

The Galaxy A7 launched for Rs 30,499, is now available online around Rs 23,990. The Samsung Galaxy A7 has a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a full-HD 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution and a 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor coupled with 2GB RAM.
Other specs include 13MP auto-focus rear camera, 5MP front facing camera, 16GB onboard storage. The features a slim form factor and the metal body gives it a stunning design. Add to that Samsung has given this one a great screen and a camera resolution that will appeal to the selfie-lovers.

Huawei Honor 7

Huawei Honor 7 is another great option priced at Rs 22,999. It comes with a 5.2-inch full HD display and comes powered by a Kirin 935 SoC which has an octa-core processor along with 3GB of RAM. The phone runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop along with the Emotion UI 3.1 skin atop the Android OS. The phone features a unibody metal design. The phone is also expected to get the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update by February 2016.

One of the unique features of the Honor 7 is that it comes with a fingerprint scanner on the rear side just below the camera. It sports a 20MP rear camera along with an 8MP front-facing camera. While the rear camera has a dual-tone LED flash unit, Huawei has added a front-facing flash as well.

When looking for options under Rs 25,000, you can also check out the Galaxy S5, an older Samsung flagship that is now available online for as low as Rs 21,999. Another good option to consider is the HTC 826 that is now available for Rs 24,500 after a price drop.  The above mentioned prices are as we write this article, and could change in the future.