Best Mobile Phones Under Rs. 40,000 in India

If you’re looking to upgrade from a mid-range smartphone, or simply crave a better camera and equally good value, then the lower end of the premium smartphone segment in India is where you’ll definitely find some good options. Smartphones in the sub-Rs. 40,000 segment have more than enough raw performance for everyday tasks and are good enough for some high-end gaming too. Designs are top-notch and are usually a big leap forward from mid-range smartphones, and things like an IP68 rating are definitely an added bonus.

Our newest entrants are the OnePlus 11R 5G and the Vivo V27 Pro 5G , both of which bring a solid set of premium features to the sub-Rs. 40,000 smartphone segment. There’s also the Motorola Edge 30 Fusion which recently got a price cut and makes it into this guide, offering good performance and value.

Here are the best smartphones under Rs. 40,000 in India as reviewed and rated by Gadgets 360, in no particular order.

OnePlus 11R 5G

The OnePlus 11R 5G will appeal to many OnePlus fans who have been waiting for something akin to the OnePlus 7T — a phone with a flagship SoC under Rs. 40,000. If you play a lot of demanding mobile games and need good battery life, the 11R 5G won’t disappoint. The primary camera is also quite capable, though everything else leaves a lot to be desired. I think what many will like most is that the 11R 5G looks just like the more expensive 11 5G, which shows its worth. The OnePlus 11R 5G could have been better in a few areas, but especially after last year’s offering, I think it’s a solid comeback.

Vivo V27 Pro 5G

The Vivo V27 Pro would be a good choice for those who want a phone that feels great in the hand. The color-changing trick is subjective, but the novelty of it may wear off quickly. The camera performance, especially the front-facing camera, is also pretty good for the price. However, it does get warm quickly due to the slim form factor. While the display itself offers a good experience and supports HDR10+ video playback, popular video streaming apps failed to detect the capability during our review. What’s an even bigger letdown is a single speaker setup in a phone at this price. If you’re someone who doesn’t care much about the phone’s shortcomings, you can give it a try.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is the successor to the all-rounder Galaxy S20 FE 5G. Upgrades to the S21 FE 5G are mostly incremental, so the difference is mostly in the slightly updated design and SoC. The Galaxy S21 FE 5G gets the Galaxy S22’s premium contour cutout camera design with flush-finished rear panels and cutouts for each camera lens. It’s also quite light and thin, making it good for one-handed use. The big upgrade here is the Exynos 2100 SoC from the Galaxy S21 series and it fares well with gaming. All the good things from the S20 FE 5G carry over to the S21 FE 5G, including wireless charging and an IP68 dust and water-resistance certification, which it now brings to the sub-Rs. 40,000 segment.

Motorola Edge 30 Pro

The Motorola Edge 30 Pro continues to offer excellent value for money, especially now after a recent price cut. The phone is available in a single 8GB RAM and 128GB storage configuration, but for a very competitive price. It’s no longer Motorola’s flagship, but it still has a 144Hz AMOLED display, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, dual 50MP cameras on the rear and a 60MP selfie camera. There’s a large 4,800mAh battery to alleviate your battery anxiety. The design may be a little chunky compared to the newer Edge 30 Fusion , but there’s an IP52 rating for basic dust and water resistance, which seems like the bare minimum, but it’s something. Motorola’s almost stock MyUX software experience that comes with only one pre-installed app is the icing on the cake.

Motorola Edge 30 merger

The Motorola Edge 30 Fusion turned out to be a mixed bag when it launched. While it looked sleek and modern with its curved display and premium feel, it arrived with a rather dated Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ processor in 2023. In our review, it performed as expected and still had enough power for everyday tasks and gaming, but its bewildering Rs. 42,999 price tag made little sense compared to the older generation, Motorola Edge 30 Pro, which offered better hardware such as a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC in a slightly thicker package.

After a couple of price cuts, the Edge 30 Fusion currently sells for a more reasonable price of Rs. 37,999. It has a slimmer design, has improved cameras compared to the Edge 30 Pro, and also doesn’t get as warm as the older model.

Xiaomi 11T Pro 5G

The Xiaomi 11T Pro doesn’t stand out in terms of cosmetic design, even though its polycarbonate midframe sandwiched between two glass panes feels premium. However, it delivers good raw performance thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC and is a good all-rounder.

The attractive price and features make it a good deal. The AMOLED display shows accurate colors and is also one of the few Android smartphones with Dolby Vision certification for streaming video. You get stereo sound with Dolby Atmos support, making for an immersive entertainment experience. The battery life is top notch, with this phone lasting up to two days of casual usage on a single charge. You also get a 120W fast charger in the box. The camera performance is pretty good, except for the low-light selfie quality.

Realme GT Neo 3

The Realme GT Neo 3 is all about speed. It certainly looks the part with the racing stripes on the back. And then there’s the large 6.7-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The phone comes with a MediaTek Dimensity 8100 SoC which is good enough for gaming. The major improvements over its predecessor (the Realme GT Neo 2) come in the form of improved cameras which also perform much better.

We did test the more expensive model of the GT Neo 3, which comes with a smaller 4,500mAh battery but supports faster 150W wired charging. The regular model isn’t bad either, though, with a larger 5,000mAh battery and support for 80W charging.