 "Best phones under Rs 60,000 (June 2025): OnePlus 13s, Realme GT 7 Pro to Apple iPhone 15")
With a budget of Rs 60,000 it is time to look at some flagship-grade phones from top brands. We have a good mix of last-gen flagship phones and some current flagships too. Our list this month is dominated by phones with Qualcomm’s top of the line Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC, barring the two elite brands, of course. Time to look at your best options under Rs 60,000 this month.
Best phones to buy under Rs 60,000 in India
OnePlus 13s
Let’s start with the first of the three phones with Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. The brand new OnePlus 13s that goes on sale today is the first attempt from the company, since the ill-fated OnePlus X, to bring a compact phone to the market. And while at it, they have thrown in the most powerful chip available in the market for Android phones. When we say compact, it is only a relative term with respect to the size of most phones today, but we have grown fond of what’s on offer here.
The phone feels great in hand and the design is extremely elegant, especially the Green Silk variant. It has an IP65 rated ingress protection. The Alert slider has now been replaced with a Plus button that can be customised to accomplish more tasks. The 13s is fitted with a sharp 6.32-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a resolution of 2640 x 1216 pixels and Crystal Shield Glass. The HDR10+ and Dolby Vision compliant screen supports 10-bit colour depth, 120 Hz refresh rate and 1600 nits peak brightness.
Other than Qualcomm’s powerhouse, you get 12 GB RAM and a choice of 256 GB or 512 GB UFS 4.0 storage. The phone runs the latest OxygenOS 15 based on Android 15, and OnePlus has promised four major OS updates and six years of security updates for this phone going ahead. Despite its compact footprint, it flaunts a sizable 5850 mAh battery that can last close to two days of moderate use. The bundled 80W fast charger can juice it up fully in about an hour.
The camera department on the OnePlus 13s is not its strongest suit but it is pretty good. You get two cameras at the back comprising a 50MP primary camera with OIS and a 50MP telephoto camera that offers a modest 2X optical zoom, which helps in portrait photography too. A notable absentee here is an ultrawide camera; a questionable decision on OnePlus’ part, but it is what it is. You get a quality 32MP selfie camera up front; supposedly the first from the company with auto-focus. All cameras do their respective jobs well.
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If you choose to take a leap of faith early, you can avail further Rs 5,000 off using SBI cards or by claiming an exchange bonus.
OnePlus 13s price in India: Rs 54,999 for 12 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage; Rs 59,999 for 12 GB RAM/ 512 GB storage
Realme GT 7 Pro
The current Realme flagship is also powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC and you can now get its top variant with 16 GB RAM + 512 GB storage comfortably in this budget. The Realme GT 7 Pro has a 6.78-inch QHD+ 10-bit LTPO AMOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate and up to 6500 nits of peak brightness. The HDR10+ and Dolby Vision compliant screen is protected against scratches by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 7i.
This rugged phone flaunts an IP69 rated ingress protection that allows you to do underwater photography as well. Speaking of photography, the camera department here consists of two 50MP cameras at the back (primary and telephoto with 3X optical zoom), both with OIS, and an 8MP ultra-wide shooter to cover the extra base. The phone lets you record videos at up to 8K resolution. The 16MP front camera does a decent job with selfies and video calls.
A large 5800 mAh battery keeps the phone running for close to two days of moderate use, and the bundled 120W fast charger juices it up fully in under 40 minutes. The Realme GT 7 Pro runs the latest Android 15 out of the box with Realme UI 6.0, and the company has promised at least 3 major OS and 4 years of security updates for this device.
Realme GT 7 Pro price in India: Rs 52,999 for 16 GB RAM/ 512 GB storage
iQOO 13 5G
The iQOO 13 5G is another loaded smartphone in this budget and the third Elite phone. Yes, it is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC, and you get to choose between its 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage variant or the 16 GB RAM and 512 GB storage variant in this budget. This phone has a 10-bit 6.82-inch HDR10+ compliant LTPO AMOLED display with a resolution of 3168 x 1440 pixels and 144 Hz refresh rate. It can get up to 4500 nits bright.
Rear camera department on the iQOO 13 5G flaunts three 50MP units, starting with a 50MP primary camera with OIS. It is accompanied by a 50MP ultra-wide camera with auto-focus that provides macro photography capabilities too and a 50MP telephoto lens with OIS that provides 2X optical zoom and is useful for portrait photography as well; a slight downgrade from the 64MP periscope telephoto camera on its predecessor. You have a superior 32MP unit up front that handles selfies and video calls quite well.
The iQOO 13 5G is fitted with a large 6000 mAh battery that can last up to two days of moderate use on a full charge. The bundled 120W fast charger promises to charge it fully in just 30 minutes. The phone runs Android 15 with FunTouch OS 15, with the company promising four major OS updates for this device going ahead.
iQOO 13 5G price in India: Rs 54,999 for 12 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage; Rs 59,999 for 16 GB RAM/ 512 GB storage
Samsung Galaxy S24+ 5G
You can now get Samsung’s previous generation flagship phone comfortably in this budget. The Samsung Galaxy S24+ is powered by the company’s Exynos 2400 chip, which is comparable to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC in terms of performance. You get 12 GB RAM and 256 GB internal storage to go with it. The phone has IP68 rated dust and water resistance and sports an Armor Aluminium 2 frame and a glass back with a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which also protects the screen.
Speaking of the screen, the Samsung Galaxy S24+ 5G has a 6.7-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X display with a resolution of 3120 x 1440 pixels, peak brightness of 2600 nits, HDR10+ compliance and 120 Hz refresh rate. The phone has a 4900 mAh battery with support for fast wired and wireless charging. The phone launched with Android 14 and Samsung’s One UI 6.1. The company has promised 7 major Android updates going ahead.
Photography department on the S24+ consists of a 50MP primary camera with dual pixel PDAF and OIS, a 12MP ultra-wide camera with Super Steady video support and a 10MP telephoto camera with OIS for 3X optical zoom. You also get a 12MP front camera with PDAF for selfies and video calls. The camera performance is best in class, and can also record videos in up to 8K resolution.
Samsung Galaxy S24+ 5G price in India: Rs 52,999 for 12 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage
Apple iPhone 15
You can now purchase the Apple iPhone 15 in this budget but with 128 GB storage. It brings a few new things to the table (new for Apple users) as compared to its predecessors like the USB-C charging port instead of the proprietary Lightning port. The iPhone 15 has a bright 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with a resolution of 2556 x 1179 pixels, 2000 nits peak brightness and HDR10 and Dolby Vision compliance.
It has the Dynamic Island too (Apple’s fancy notch) that was first introduced in the 14 Pro series. The phone feels great in hand due to its compact size and low weight, and has IP68 rated ingress protection. It has a modest 3349 mAh that can last a working day of moderate use and supports wired and wireless charging. The phone is powered by Apple’s A16 Bionic chip, which is still sufficiently powerful for most tasks.
The main camera sports 48 megapixels and offers dual-pixel PDAF and optical image stabilisation (OIS). You also get 12MP ultra-wide secondary and 12MP selfie cameras. The performance in photography and videography is excellent, as one expects from an iPhone. The Apple iPhone 15 launched with iOS 17 with more OS updates to follow for years to come.
Apple iPhone 15 price in India: Rs 59,300 for 128 GB storage
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