 "Best phones under Rs 60,000 (June 2024): Samsung Galaxy S23 5G, Google Pixel 8 to Apple iPhone 14")
A budget of Rs 60,000 pretty much guarantees you a premium smartphone with flagship features like powerful processing hardware, high-quality displays and excellent cameras. But this month, we have some interesting additions that are seldom spotted under 60K. We have shortlisted half a dozen options for you to choose from, ranging from last-generation flagships to current ones. Time to meet them.
Best phones to buy under Rs 60,000 in India
Samsung Galaxy S23 5G
The first surprise of this bunch is Samsung’s previous flagship, the Galaxy S23 5G. The phone is powered by Qualcomm’s last-gen powerhouse, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, and you get 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage to go with it. This phone is fairly compact and has IP68-rated dust and fluid resistance. It sports an aluminium frame and a glass back with a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 at the front and back for defence against scratches and cracks.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 5G has a 6.1-inch FullHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a peak brightness of 1750 nits, HDR10+ compliance and 120Hz refresh rate. The phone launched with Android 13 and Samsung’s One UI 5.1 and can be updated to Android 14 with One UI 6.x. Expect more software updates in the future.
The photography department at the back consists of three cameras starting with a 50MP primary camera with dual pixel PDAF and optical image stabilisation (OIS), a 12MP ultra-wide camera with Super Steady video support and a 10MP telephoto camera with OIS for 3X optical zoom. One can record videos in up to 8K resolution on this phone. The camera performance is among the best, as you would expect from a Samsung S series phone.
Samsung Galaxy S23 5G price in India: Rs 51,999 for 8GB RAM/256GB storage
Google Pixel 8
The official price of the Google Pixel 8 has come down significantly since launch, but it’s still a shade above 60K. However, with the right credit card, you can get a whopping Rs 8,000 off on this phone, making it a very tempting deal. This compact phone is powered by Google’s latest flagship Tensor G3 processor that also powers the flagship Pixel 8 Pro, and you get 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. It sports a compact but sharp 6.2-inch OLED HDR10+ display with Full HD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and 2000 nits peak brightness.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe screen as well as its glass back are protected against scratches by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. The phone also sports an IP68 rating to keep it safe from dust and water ingress. As you expect from Pixel phones, you get the purest version of Android 14 with the Material You design language. Google promises an incredible 7 years of OS and security updates for this phone.
Other than speedy OS updates, the Pixel phones are known for their camera capabilities, and the Pixel 8 delivers admirably in that department courtesy of two cameras at the back. You get a 50MP primary camera with OIS and a 12MP ultra-wide camera with 126-degrees FOV and auto-focus that lets it capture some excellent macro shots too. It does a great job in different lighting and modes. The 10.5MP front camera clicks some neat selfies with a broad FOV.
Google Pixel 8 price in India: Rs 52,999 (effectively) for 8GB RAM/128GB storage
OnePlus 11 5G
The arrival of the OnePlus 12 has caused a significant drop in price of the OnePlus 11 5G. Thanks to that, you can score the top variant of the latter with 16GB RAM and faster 256GB UFS 4.0 storage easily within this budget. The phone is packed with impressive features, starting with Qualcomm’s previous flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, which is still highly potent.
The phone has an attractive design and feels sturdy courtesy of its aluminium frame and curved edges. It has a 6.7-inch curved LTPO3 AMOLED display with a resolution of 3216 x 1440 pixels and 1300 nits peak brightness. This HDR10+ and Dolby Vision-compliant screen supports 10-bit colour depth and up to 120Hz variable refresh rate. The phone’s 5000mAh battery easily lasts for a day and a half of moderate use, and the bundled 100W charger juices it up in under half an hour.
The camera department is quite versatile. You get a 50MP primary camera with OIS and Hasselblad’s colour tuning. The support cast is equally impressive with a 48MP ultrawide camera with auto-focus that also doubles up as a quality macro camera, and a 32MP telephoto camera with 2X optical zoom that’s great with portrait photography too. The OnePlus 11 5G debuted with OxygenOS 13 based on Android 13 and is upgradeable to Android 14 with OxygenOS 14, with more updates to follow over the next few years.
OnePlus 11 5G price in India: Rs 50,999 for 16GB RAM/256GB storage
iQOO 12 5G
The iQOO 12 5G is packed to the brim with impressive features and is also the most powerful of this lot. It is powered by Qualcomm’s current flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, and you can choose between its 12GB RAM and 256GB storage variant or the one with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage. Just like the OnePlus 11, you get the faster UFS 4.0 storage here too.
This phone has a 10-bit 6.78-inch HDR10+ compliant LTPO AMOLED display with a resolution of 2800 x 1260 pixels and 144Hz refresh rate. It can get up to 3000 nits bright. The phone runs the latest Android 14 with FunTouch OS 14. The phone’s 5000mAh battery lasts for a day and a half of moderate use, and the bundled 120W fast charger promises to charge it fully in less than 30 minutes.
Rear camera department on the iQOO 12 5G features a competent trio, starting with a 50MP primary camera with OIS, and accompanied by a 50MP ultra-wide camera with auto-focus that provides macro capabilities too. Lastly, you also get a 64MP periscope telephoto camera with OIS that provides 3X optical zoom and doubles up as a quality portrait camera. The 16MP front camera handles selfies and video calls quite well.
iQOO 12 5G price in India: Rs 52,999 for 16GB RAM/256GB storage; Rs 57,999 for 16GB RAM/512GB storage
Apple iPhone 14/Apple iPhone 13
Last but by no means least, we have the Apple duo for you. With the launch of the iPhone 15, its predecessors have become a lot more affordable (as expected), and it’s a good time to buy either the Apple iPhone 14 or the iPhone 13 now. Both phones are almost identical in design, features and specifications, with the exception of RAM. You can choose between the 128GB variant of the 14 or opt for double the storage with an iPhone 13 in this budget.
Both phones have 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED displays with a resolution of 2532 x 1170 pixels, and are compliant with HDR10 and Dolby Vision. The phones feel great in hand due to their compact size, and have an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. Both phones are powered by Apple’s former flagship A15 Bionic chip, with the iPhone 14 offering 2GB more RAM.
The processing hardware is still reasonably powerful for most tasks including gaming. There are two 12MP cameras at the back with the primary unit offering OIS, and the secondary capable of capturing ultra-wide shots. The performance in photography and videography is still very good, as one expects from an iPhone. Both phones now run iOS 17, with more OS updates to follow over the next three to four years.
Apple iPhone 14 price in India:
Rs 57,999 for 128GB storage
Apple iPhone 13 price in India:
Rs 59,999 for 256GB storage
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