 "CMF Phone 2 Pro bears the unique design language of its predecessor")
We have a great collection of phones under Rs 20,000 this time thanks to the ongoing festive sales. Be it premium aesthetics or ample storage or a superior camera with optical image stabilisation (OIS), you can have it all. Sufficient processing power, high refresh rate AMOLED displays and 5G compliance is a given. What’s more, we have made sure each chosen handset this time has 256 GB onboard storage. Time to look at the best smartphone options you should target if you have a budget of 20K.
Best phones to buy under Rs 20,000 in India
Realme P3 Ultra 5G
The Realme P3 Ultra 5G is a surprise entry in this segment this time, and its 256 GB variant at that. It is a stylish phone with less than 7.5 mm in thickness and also boasts of IP69-rated ingress protection. It is probably the most powerful too under 20K courtesy of a Mediatek Dimensity 8350 Ultra SoC and 8 GB RAM. It has a large 6.83-inch 10-bit AMOLED display with 1.5K resolution and 120 Hz refresh rate. The HDR compliant display is protected against scratches by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 7i.
The camera department here comprises a 50MP primary camera with OIS and an 8MP ultrawide camera with 112 degrees FOV. Its 16MP front camera is pretty good at handling selfies and video calls. Despite its slim profile, it has a large 6000 mAh battery that keeps the phone running for close to two days of moderate use, and the bundled 80W fast charger promises to juice it up fully in a little over 45 minutes. The Realme P3 Ultra 5G runs Android 15 with Realme UI 6.0 with more OS and security updates expected.
Realme P3 Ultra 5G price in India: Rs 19,999 for 8 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage
Motorola G96 5G
The stylish Motorola G96 5G remains a great option in this budget, and even more so if you like a stock Android UI. It has a 6.67-inch Full HD+ curved pOLED display with 144 Hz refresh rate, 10-bit colour depth and Gorilla Glass 5 protection. This phone has a 50MP primary camera with OIS and a Sony LYTIA 700C sensor for high quality captures. You also get an 8MP ultrawide camera with auto-focus, which can double up as a quality macro camera. Its 32MP front camera is bound to appeal to the selfie enthusiasts.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe phone has an IP68 rating to protect it from dust and water ingression. The Motorola G96 5G is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chip and you get 8 GB RAM and 256 GB internal storage to go with it. A 5500 mAh battery keeps the phone powered for over a day and a half of moderate use, and the bundled 33W fast charger juices it up briskly. The phone runs Android 15, and like most Motorola phones, the G96 has a near-stock Android user interface. At least one major Android update can be expected for this phone.
Motorola G96 5G price in India: Rs 17,999 for 8 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage
CMF (by Nothing) Phone 2 Pro
The CMF Phone 2 Pro is still the slimmest and lightest smartphone from Nothing to date. Its 7.8 mm thickness and 185 grams weight give it a good hand feel. It has a unique industrial design with aluminium highlights around the cameras and stainless steel screws. Speaking of cameras, the main 50MP unit claims to have the largest sensor in this segment. Giving it company is a second 50MP telephoto camera that offers 2X optical zoom (something quite rare in the sub-20K segment), an 8MP ultra-wide camera and a 16MP selfie camera.
The CMF Phone 2 Pro has a large 6.77-inch 10-bit Full HD+ flexible AMOLED display with a peak brightness of 3000 nits, 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate and 1000 Hz touch sampling rate. The phone is fitted with a 5000 mAh battery that supports 33W fast wired charging with the necessary charger bundled along for a change. The Phone 2 Pro is powered by a Mediatek Dimensity 7300 Pro chip with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB internal (expandable) storage. The phone runs Nothing OS 3.2 based on Android 15 and the company has promised 3 major OS updates and a whopping 6 years of security updates for this device, which is impressive.
CMF (by Nothing) Phone 2 Pro price in India: Rs 18,999 for 8 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage
Poco X7 5G
The Poco X7 5G is another premium looking phone in this budget with some impressive features too. This phone is powered by a Mediatek Dimensity 7300 Ultra chip with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB internal storage. It has a 6.67-inch curved AMOLED display with 1.5K resolution, 120 Hz refresh rate and 3000 nits peak brightness. The screen is HDR10+ and Dolby Vision compliant and protected against scratches by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2. Just like the Realme P3 Ultra, this phone too boasts of IP69 ingress protection.
The rear camera department on this phone is helmed by a 50MP primary camera with OIS and accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide shooter and a 2MP macro camera. The 20MP front camera handles selfies and video calls quite well. A 5500 mAh battery keeps it powered for over a day and a half of moderate use, and the company bundles a 45W fast charger to juice it up within an hour. The Poco X7 5G launched with Android 14 with Xiaomi’s HyperOS. The company has promised 3 major OS updates and 4 years of security updates for this phone.
Poco X7 5G price in India: Rs 16,999 for 8 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage
Samsung Galaxy M36/ F36 5G
The Samsung Galaxy M36 5G and the F36 5G are pretty much the same phones, one sold on Amazon and the other on Flipkart. These too are quite slim, measuring 7.7 mm in thickness. They have a sharp 6.7-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate, protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+. These phones offer a 50MP primary camera with OIS, an 8MP ultra-wide shooter and a 2MP macro camera. The 13MP selfie camera does its job well.
The Samsung Galaxy F36/ M36 5G are powered by an Exynos 1380 SoC with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB internal (expandable) storage. Their 5000 mAh battery keeps them running for close to a day and a half of moderate use and supports 25W fast charging. However, Samsung doesn’t bundle a charger along with either and needs to be purchased separately, unless you already have one. The phones run Android 15 with Samsung’s One UI 7, with an impressive 6 major Android updates promised going forward.
Samsung Galaxy M36/ F36 5G price in India: Rs 17,499 for 8 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage