Best phones under Rs 12,000 in India for February 2021
The budget smartphone segment has completely changed since April 2020 as the new GST rates were applied and an increase in import duties. Most of the budget phones are now moving into the mid-range segment.
Fast forward 2021, we have quite a few exciting phones between Rs 10,000 and Rs 12,000. We have listed half a dozen smartphones in the current list. The phones in this segment have gotten better thanks to some aggressive pricing and also some price cut on older phones from major brands.
These phones are best suited for light to moderate regular usage as they come with 4GB RAM. Some of the phones come with MediaTek HyperEngine suite which makes it a good gaming phone on a budget. The Poco M3 is currently on top of the list as it comes with 6GB of RAM and also offers clean software experience.
The Poco M3 is followed by Redmi, Motorola, Micromax, Realme and Samsung. One important thing that these phones offer is the big battery unit and some of them even offer fast charging. In the coming days, Poco will launch Poco M3 in India and more devices are expected to arrive in the coming months.
The Poco M3 is the latest and most affordable Poco device which offer 6GB RAM of RAM for under Rs 12,000. You get 6GB LPDDR4X RAM and up to 128GB UFS 2.2 internal storage. The key highlight of the device apart from the specs is the unique dual-tone finish with a rectangular block which sports the triple camera module and Poco branding.
You get the same 6.53-inch Full HD+ display with 90.34% screen-to-body ratio. Furthermore, it is also TÃœV Rheinland certified for low-light consumption and Widevine L1 certified to stream HD content on apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Under the hood, the Poco M3 is powered by a Qualcomm chipset. The device has the Snapdragon 662 processor.
The Poco M3 gets a big improvement in terms of cameras with its triple rear camera stack. There is a 48MP primary sensor with a 1/2" sensor size, a 2MP macro lens and a 2MP depth. Selfies are handled by an 8MP shooter. To keep the device running there is a massive 6000mAh battery unit with 18W fast charging support.
The Redmi Note 9 comes with a 6.53-inch FHD+ LCD panel. The device is powered by Mediatek’s Helio G85 SoC. You get 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The device is backed by a 5,020mAh battery along with 22.5W fast charging over the USB Type-C interface. It supports 9W reverse charging. The fingerprint scanner is located on the back, below the camera module.
Over to the optics, on the rear, there is a quad-camera setup with Samsung’s 48MP GM1 as the primary sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide lens, a 2MP depth and a 2MP macro shooter. And, on the front, you get a 13MP selfie snapper.
As the name suggests, the Power in the name stands for the battery that the device packs in. The Moto G9 Power is packed with a 6000mAh battery and to back that, the device also supports 20W fast charge. The big battery and fast charging combo is still a rarity in the segment and Moto has nailed it here.
On the inside, the Moto G9 Power sports Snapdragon 662 chipset and is paired with 4GB of RAM and 64 of onboard storage. On the front, you get a 6.78-inch HD+ Max Vision IPS display with 20.5:9 aspect ratio. As for the optics, the Moto G9 Power sports a triple rear camera setup with a 64 MP primary shooter with f/1.8, a 2MP macro lens and a 2MP depth sensor both with f/2.4 aperture. This is also one of the cheapest phones to offer a 64MP camera setup. To the front, there is a 16MP punch-hole selfie camera with f/2.2 aperture.
Micromax’s budget device, the In Note 1 offers a clean stock Android experience with zero bloats. The base variant with 4GB RAM and 64GB is priced Rs 10,999 while the 4+128GB is priced at Rs 12,499. You are looking at a 6.67-inch IPS display with Full HD+ resolution. It is a 20:9 aspect ratio screen and has a peak brightness of 450 nits.
Under the hood, the device is powered by the gaming-centric MediaTek Helio G85 chipset paired clocked at 2GHz and Mali G52 graphics will take care of gaming. For optics, the Micromax In Note 1 features a quad-camera stack with a primary 48MP shooter, a 5MP ultra-wide snapper, 2MP macro sensor, and a 2MP depth shooter. There is a 16MP selfie shooter for selfies. The device is backed by a 5,000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging as well as reverse charging via USB Type-C.
The Realme Nazro 20 is powered by MediaTek Helio G85 octa-core SoC and is backed by a massive 6,000mAh battery unit, the biggest on any Narzo phone yet. Realme is also providing an 18W USB fast charger(Type-C) in the box.
The Realme Narzo 20 offers a 6.5-inch HD+ screen. The device comes in two storage options with 4GB of RAM and 64/128GB storage. For optics, you get the Samsung GM1 48MP primary camera with f/1.8 aperture followed by an 8MP(f/2.3) ultra-wide-angle lens and a 2MP macro shooter with f/2.4 aperture. Selfies are handled by an 8MP shooter. The fingerprint scanner is located at the rear.
The Samsung Galaxy M11 features Snapdrafog 450 chipset, instead of the in-house Exynos chipset. You get 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage with microSD card support up to 512GB. The device houses a triple rear camera with a 13MP f/1.8 primary sensor followed by a 5MP f/2.2, 115-degree wide lens and a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor. To power the device, the handset will feature a 5,000mAh battery with 15W fast charger via Type-C interface.
The Galaxy M11 is flaunting a bigger 6.4-inch HD+ TFT LCD Infinity-O panel with a resolution of 1,560 x 720 pixels and 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The device will come with a punch-hole cutout at the top-left corner that houses an 8MP front-facing camera. There is also a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner.
Best phones under Rs 12000 in India
Product | Price |
---|---|
Poco M3 | Rs 0,999 | Rs 11,999 |
Redmi Note 9 | Rs 11,999 |
Moto G9 Power | Rs 11,999 |
Micromax In Note 1 | Rs 10,999 | Rs |
Realme Narzo 20 | Rs 10,999 | Rs 11,499 |
Samsung Galaxy M11 | Rs 11,999 |
- Best phones under Rs 25,000 in India
- Best phones in India for 2021
- Upcoming smartphone launches in 2021
Receive notifications from TechRadar?
![Moto G9 Power](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TfGrjapvDj8K5JFyVfssFC-320-80.jpg)