Best phones under Rs 40,000 (Nov 2023): Realme GT 2 Pro, OnePlus 11R 5G to Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G

The festive sales are over but the hangover still remains. While the prices of several phones are back to their usual number, there are still some interesting deals available for you to choose from. We found a couple such deals under 40K this time. Discounts or no discounts, we have chosen phones with premium features like flagship-grade processors, high-quality cameras with OIS, high refresh rate AMOLED displays and more. Here are the best smartphones you can buy under Rs 40,000 at this moment. Best phones to buy under Rs 40,000 in India Realme GT 2 Pro The Realme GT 2 Pro is selling for probably its lowest price ever. The Realme flagship offers some great features and performance, and can be purchased under 35K at the moment, and that too its top variant. This phone is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC and is accompanied by 12 GB RAM and 256 GB internal storage. The design is quite soothing, thanks to its paper-like biopolymer back. Another striking feature of this phone is its 6.7-inch QHD+ 10-bit LTPO 2.0 AMOLED display with an adaptive refresh rate ranging between 1 to 120 Hz and 1400 nits peak brightness. The HDR10+ compliant display is protected against scratches by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. The Realme GT 2 Pro launched with Android 12 and Realme UI 3.0, and an Android 13 update is now available with Realme UI 4.0. [caption id=“attachment_13426292” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Image Credit: Firstpost | Ameya Dalvi[/caption] The rear camera department here flaunts two 50MP cameras – the primary with OIS and an ultra-wide camera, that do an excellent job in different modes and lighting. A 3MP micro camera is quite unique and provides 20X to 40X magnification. The 32MP front camera will certainly impress the selfie enthusiasts. A 5000 mAh battery keeps the phone running for a day and a half of moderate use, and the bundled 65W SuperDart charger juices it fully in just 37 minutes. Realme GT 2 Pro price in India: Rs 34,999 for 12GB RAM/256GB storage OnePlus 11R 5G We now move on to the OnePlus duo that managed to retain their place in our lineup. The OnePlus 11R 5G may not have all the frills of the more premium OnePlus 11 5G, but borrows a lot of goodness from it including the design, at a lot more affordable price point. This stylish phone has a 6.74-inch curved Fluid AMOLED display with a higher than Full HD resolution of 2772 x 1240 pixels. The HDR10+ compliant screen supports 10-bit colour depth, 120 Hz refresh rate and can get up to 1450 nits bright. [caption id=“attachment_13426302” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Image Credit: OnePlus[/caption] This phone is powered by Qualcomm’s previous generation flagship Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, and you get its 8 GB RAM and 128 GB UFS 3.1 storage variant in this budget. The 50MP primary camera with OIS, despite the lack of Hasselblad’s colour tuning, does a very good job. The support cast is modest with an 8MP ultrawide camera and a 2MP macro camera. There’s a 16MP front camera for selfies and video calls. Its 5000 mAh battery lasts for a day and a half of moderate use, and the bundled 100W charger promises to juice it up fully in just 25 minutes. The phone runs OxygenOS 13 based on Android 13 and one can expect several OS and security updates going ahead. OnePlus 11R 5G price in India: Rs 39,999 for 8GB RAM/128GB storage OnePlus Nord 3 5G The OnePlus Nord 3 5G may not necessarily be better than the 11R 5G but doesn’t lag far behind either. More importantly, you can get double the RAM and internal storage as compared to the 11R 5G and for a good Rs 2,000 less. Yes, that’s 16 GB RAM and 256 GB UFS 3.1 internal storage. The phone is powered by a Mediatek Dimensity 9000 SoC that is about 10% less powerful than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip in benchmarks. You get a similar-sized display here but a flat one instead of curved one. It has the exact resolution, refresh rate, peak brightness figures as well as HDR10+ compliance. It is protected against scratches by Dragontrail Glass and the phone’s glass back has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. This phone too runs Android 13 with OxygenOS 13.1, and one can expect more OS updates for a couple more years at least. [caption id=“attachment_13426342” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Image Credit: OnePlus[/caption] The camera department on the Nord 3 5G is also quite similar to the 11R. It consists of a 50MP primary camera with OIS that does a good job in different lighting, along with an 8MP ultra-wide shooter and a 2MP macro camera. You get a 16MP selfie camera located in a punch-hole up front. The OnePlus Nord 3 5G has a 5000 mAh battery that lasts over a day and a half of moderate use, and the bundled 80W fast charger juices it up fully in just 37 minutes. OnePlus Nord 3 5G price in India: Rs 37,999 for 16GB RAM/256GB storage iQOO Neo 7 Pro 5G The iQOO Neo 7 Pro 5G is another powerful phone with a solid camera and ample storage that will appeal to the gamers too. It is powered by Qualcomm’s former flagship Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, and you can get its 12 GB RAM and 256 GB UFS 3.1 internal storage variant well under 40K. Its 6.78-inch HDR10+ compliant Full HD+ AMOLED display has 120 Hz refresh rate, 1300 nits peak brightness and can display a billion colour shades. The phone runs Android 13 with FunTouch OS 13. [caption id=“attachment_13426352” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Image Credit: iQOO[/caption] The rear camera department here is similar to that of the OnePlus phones with a 50MP primary camera with OIS, accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide shooter and a 13MP macro camera. The 16MP front camera is more than decent for selfies and video calls. The iQOO Neo 7 Pro 5G has a 5000 mAh battery that can last close to a day and a half of moderate use, and the bundled 120W fast charger claims to charge half of it in just 8 minutes and fully in 25 minutes. iQOO Neo 7 Pro 5G price in India: Rs 35,999 for 12GB RAM/256GB storage Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G holds on to its spot again, and is now available for an even better price; probably its lowest ever. This phone has a sleek design and also flaunts an IP68 rating for dust and fluid resistance. It has a 6.4-inch Full HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with HDR10+ compliance, 120 Hz refresh rate and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection against scratches. It is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 2100 chip which is still fairly powerful. You can get its 8 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage variant under 32K currently. The phone launched with Android 12, and is upgradeable to Android 13 with Samsung’s One UI 5.x. A 4500 mAh battery keeps the phone running for close to a day and a half of moderate use and supports wireless charging as well. [caption id=“attachment_13426362” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Image Credit: Samsung[/caption] Photography department on the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is handled by three cameras at the back starting with a 12MP primary camera with OIS, a 12MP ultra-wide snapper with 123 degrees FOV and an 8MP telephoto camera with OIS that provides 3X optical zoom. The camera performance is impressive with excellent detail and wide dynamic range, and a commendable low light performance as well. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G price in India: Rs 31,999 for 8GB RAM/128GB storage