 "A budget of Rs 40,000 can get you some excellent phones this month.")
If you are looking for a smartphone under Rs 40,000 in India, you are in luck. This month, other than the usual suspects, you also have a couple of surprise entrants that probably haven’t been spotted in this price bracket before. Without prolonging the suspense, let’s cut to the chase and look at your top 5 smartphone options under 40K in India at the moment.
Best phones to buy under Rs 40,000 in India
Realme GT 7
The Realme GT 7 remains a great all-round option in this budget, and now for a few thousands less. Powered by a flagship grade Mediatek Dimensity 9400e SoC, this handset has some serious processing muscle. You can get its 12 GB LPDDR5X RAM variant with 256 GB UFS 4.0 internal storage under 40K. You can get further Rs 3,000 off using most credit cards on Amazon India.
The phone features a 6.78-inch 1.5K 10-bit LTPO AMOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate and 6000 nits peak brightness. The HDR10+ and Dolby Vision compliant screen is protected against scratches by a layer of ArmorShell glass. The rear camera department features two 50MP cameras with the primary module sporting Sony’s IMX 906 sensor and OIS, while the other is a telephoto unit that offers 2X optical zoom. You also have an 8MP ultra-wide camera to complete the pack. In addition, there’s a 32MP front camera to appeal to the selfie enthusiasts.
A large 7000 mAh battery keeps the phone powered for over two days of moderate use, and the bundled 120W fast charger promises to juice up half of it in less than 15 minutes. The Realme GT 7 runs Android 15 with Realme UI 6.0, with the company promising four major OS updates going ahead. The phone has IP69-rated ingress protection for extra durability.
Realme GT 7 price in India: Rs 36,999 (effectively) for 12 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage
Poco F7 5G
If you want comparable processing power and double the storage for a lot less money, the Poco F7 5G is a great option. This phone, primarily targeted at gamers, is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 SoC with 12 GB RAM and 512 GB UFS 4.1 storage. The photography department here comprises a 50MP primary camera with OIS and an 8MP ultra-wide shooter at the back, with a 20MP front camera taking care of selfies and video calls. The phone runs Android 15 with Xiaomi’s HyperOS 2 and boasts of IP68-rated ingress protection.
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View AllThe Poco F7 5G has a vibrant 6.83-inch AMOLED screen with 1.5K resolution and support for 12-bit colour, 120 Hz refresh rate, 3200 nits peak brightness and HDR10+ and Dolby Vision compliance. The display is protected against scratches by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 7i. The phone has a massive 7550 mAh battery that keeps it running for well over two days of moderate use, and the bundled 90W turbo charger promises to juice it up briskly. The phone also supports reverse wired charging and can be used as a powerbank to charge smaller devices like wireless earphones.
Poco F7 5G price in India: Rs 32,999 for 12 GB RAM/ 512 GB storage
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE 5G
The 256 GB variant of the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE 5G can be comfortably purchased for less than Rs 40,000 at the moment on Flipkart. The phone has a 6.7-inch Full HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a peak brightness of 1900 nits, HDR10+ compliance and 120 Hz refresh rate. Despite being 8 mm thin, the phone is quite sturdy with an aluminium frame and IP68-rated dust and water resistance. You get Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection for the screen as well as its glass back.
The S24 FE is powered by Samsung’s potent 10-core Exynos 2400e chip, and you get 8 GB RAM and 256 GB internal storage to go with it. A 4700 mAh battery keeps the phone running for more than a day of moderate use. It supports wireless charging too. The phone launched with Android 14 and Samsung’s One UI 6.1, and the company has promised a whopping 7 years of software updates for this device from its date of release.
The photography department on the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE consists of three cameras at the back starting with a 50MP primary camera with dual pixel PDAF and OIS, a 12MP ultra-wide shooter with 123 degrees FOV and an 8MP telephoto camera with OIS for 3X optical zoom. You also get a 10MP front camera for selfies and video calls. The camera performance is among the best in the segment, and one can also record videos in up to 8K resolution.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE 5G price in India: Rs 35,999 for 8 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage
OnePlus 13R
We don’t remember seeing a OnePlus 13R in this budget before, certainly not outside of festive sales. It is powered by Qualcomm’s previous flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, and you can get its 12 GB RAM and 256 GB UFS 4.0 storage variant in this budget. The phone runs OxygenOS 15 based on Android 15, and OnePlus has promised four major OS updates for this phone going ahead.
The OnePlus 13R has a sharp 6.78-inch 1.5K LTPO4 AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protection. The HDR10+ and Dolby Vision compliant screen supports 10-bit colour depth, 120 Hz refresh rate and 4500 nits peak brightness. Battery capacity sees a jump to 6000 mAh despite the phone being slimmer than its predecessor, which is quite impressive. It keeps the phone powered for almost two days of moderate use. The bundled 100W charger juices it up fully in under an hour.
The photography department on the OnePlus 13R also sees a noticeable upgrade in the form of a 50MP telephoto camera in place of the redundant 2MP macro shooter. Though modest, the 2X optical zoom is more than handy and helps in portrait photography too. Other than that, you get a quality 50MP primary camera with OIS that does a good job in varied lighting. An 8MP ultrawide camera and a 16MP selfie camera are handy to say the least.
OnePlus 13R price in India: Rs 39,999 for 12 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage
iQOO Neo 10
The iQOO Neo 10 is another solid option in this budget. Like the Poco F7, this phone too is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 SoC, and you get 12 GB LPDDR5X RAM and 256 GB UFS 4.1 internal storage with it. It is a great option for gamers as it claims to support 144 FPS in gaming and has a large vapour chamber cooling to keep things comfortable during long gaming sessions. The phone hosts a huge 7000 mAh battery that can power extended hours of gaming and last well over two days of moderate use. The bundled 120W fast charger claims to recharge half of it in just 19 minutes.
The iQOO Neo 10 has a 6.78-inch 10-bit OLED HDR display with 1.5K resolution, 144 Hz refresh rate and 5500 nits peak brightness. Photography is handled by two rear cameras consisting of a 50MP primary camera with OIS and an 8MP ultra-wide snapper. You also get a 32MP front camera for selfies and video calls. The phone runs Android 15 with the company committing to 3 major Android updates and 4 years of security updates for the device. The phone has IP65-rated ingress protection.
Pro Tip: With the right credit cards, you can even get its 16 GB RAM + 512 GB storage variant under 40K.
iQOO Neo 10 price in India: Rs 35,998 for 12 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage