Diwali 2016: Best online smartphone deals under Rs 20,000 from LeEco, Lenovo, Xiaomi and more

These days Rs 10,000 can get you some great hardware in smartphones. Thanks to the Chinese invasion, those price tags continue to drop, making way for the another segment of smartphones that pack in powerful hardware at less than half the price from competitors. While many would call this the mid-range, smartphones available in this range offer hardware that can easily compare to the flagship range. This festive season, online offers and discounts make those deals even sweeter. Add to this cashbacks and exhange offers that should help you get a bigger discount on your new smartphone purchase. Now that the sales are on, there’s no time to waste, so let us help you out with a list of the best deals on smartphones available online under Rs 20,000. 1. Lenovo Z2 Plus: Rs 19,999 ( Amazon)  At the moment, the Lenovo Z2 appears to be the chubby cousin of the Xiaomi Mi 5. But it packs in a bit more with 4GB RAM instead of the 3GB RAM on the Mi 5. You also get a slightly smaller 5-inch Full HD display and a larger 3500mAh battery. Add to this the fibreglass frame and you also end up with a light smartphone. Compared to the LeEco and Xiaomi flagships listed, you get a decent specifications sheet and 64GB of internal storage as well. However as our review of the Z2 Plus points out, its camera is its sore point. Xiaomi Mi 5: Rs 19,999 ( Flipkart)  Priced at just a rupee under Rs 20,000, the Xiaomi Mi 5 with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 and 3GB RAM makes for a really good deal. The Xiaomi flagship will appeal to power users who need the latest hardware and even to those who love to game. More importantly, it is one of the few Android smartphones out there that offers a 5.15-inch display. Our only grip with this device is that it does not offer expandable storage. So you need to keep your storage requirements in mind before you hit the ‘Buy’ button. LeEco Le Max 2: Rs 17,999 ( Flipkart, Amazon)  LeEco’s flagship smartphone packs in a flagship spec sheet with a jaw dropping price. While this  LeEco Le Max 2  may not pack in the monstrous 6GB RAM like on the high-end variant, 4GB of RAM should suffice for many. With a QuadHD display, a big content selection and LeEco’s patented CDLA audio technology, you will not be missing the good old headphone jack. But similar to the Xiaomi Mi 5, you have to deal with limited 32GB storage. The smartphone on discount is only available in the Rose Gold option. A point to keep in mind is that Amazon offers a better deal with its exchange offer. Xiaomi Mi Max Prime: Rs 19,000 ( Amazon)  We loved the Xiaomi Mi Max as it packed in the right specifications at the right price. Recently Xiaomi made the deal even sweeter by offering a Snapdragon 652 chipset inside with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage that is expandable as well. While the humongous 6.44-inch Full HD display may not appeal to everyone, it does make for an excellent portable media player. So if you are looking for a Max smartphone that goes big on specifications and battery life, look no further. Asus Zenfone 3: Rs 20,819 ( Flipkart)  We reviewed the 5.5-inch version of the Asus Zenfone 3 and found it to be a worthy successor to the older Zenfone range. The device packs in premium looks, solid build quality and a decent camera but lost to the OnePlus 3 when it came to the price tag. We concluded that the smaller version was priced better even though it included a smaller battery and 5.2-inch display. This one is strictly for the Zenfone fans, but it does pack in laser autofocus which results in better overall camera package compared to the rest in this lineup.