OnePlus 7T, Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite to iQOO 3: Best phones under Rs 40,000 (July 2020)

It is time to move on to flagship phones this month. And with a budget of Rs 40,000, there are plenty of options out there with fancy camera combinations, excellent displays and top of the line processing power. We have shortlisted five such handsets for your consideration that we feel are the best phones under Rs 40,000 this month. Let’s meet them.

Best phones to buy under Rs 40,000 in India

OnePlus 7T

The top variant of the OnePlus 7T (Review) with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage can be comfortably purchased in this budget. Despite the arrival of OnePlus 8, this phone is still a solid option. In fact, the unusually high pricing of OnePlus 8 makes the 7T an even better deal as it doesn’t miss out on any of the key features of its successor and can be picked for several thousand Rupees lower. 

It has a stylish design with a metal frame and glass body protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 at the front and back. You get a 6.55-inch Full HD+ Fluid AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate for a smooth flicker-free visual experience. The OnePlus 7T is powered by Qualcomm’s previous flagship Snapdragon 855+ SoC and has a 3,800 mAh battery that keeps it powered throughout the day under moderate usage. The popular fast charger is also bundled.

You get a triple camera setup at the back that comprises of a 48 MP primary camera with optical image stabilisation (OIS) and pixel binning, a 16 MP ultrawide camera and a 12 MP telephoto lens that provides 2X optical zoom. The cameras manage to shoot some impressive images in various modes and lighting conditions. A tiny drop notch at the top of the screen hosts a 16 MP camera for selfies and video calls. It runs Oxygen OS on top of Android 10, which is one of the best UI around.

OnePlus 7T price in India: Rs 37,999 for 8 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite

Samsung too has a highly competent handset in this budget. The Galaxy Note 10 Lite (Review) has a large 6.7-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED Plus Infinity-O display that supports HDR. It is powered by a potent Exynos 9810 chip and is accompanied by either 6 GB or 8 GB RAM and 128 GB of internal (expandable) storage.  Another key aspect of this phone is its 4500 mAh battery that lasts well over a day of moderate usage, and the bundled fast charger does a good job of juicing it up quickly.

Camera department is quite interesting here. While other companies and handsets are looking to bump up the megapixel count, Samsung has opted for three 12 MP cameras on the Note 10 Lite. The primary camera supports dual pixel PDAF and OIS, while the second 12 MP shooter facilitates 2X optical zoom, and that too has OIS. The third 12 MP camera lets you shoot in ultrawide mode. You also get a 32 MP camera at the front to woo the selfie enthusiasts. The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite runs Android 10 with One UI on top.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite price in India: Rs 37,999 for 6 GB RAM/ 128 GB storage; Rs 39,999 for 8 GB RAM/ 128 GB storage

iQOO 3

The Vivo sub-brand has quite a powerful device in its stable too. The iQOO 3 (Review) flaunts an impressive set of specifications and features, starting with the latest Qualcomm flagship Snapdragon 865 SoC. You get 8 GB RAM variant of this phone with either 128 GB or 256 GB of internal storage. Its 4,400 mAh battery does a good job of supplying it with sufficient juice to last over a day of moderate usage. And if that wasn’t good enough, the company also bundles a 55W fast charger to recharge it quickly.

The iQOO 3 comes with a 6.44-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 6 on top and HDR10+ support. There’s a versatile quad camera setup at the back with a combination of 48 MP primary camera, 13 MP ultrawide camera, 13 MP telephoto camera for 2X optical zoom and a 2 MP depth sensor. You also get a 16 MP selfie camera located in a tiny punch-hole at the right of the screen. The phone runs Android 10 with their custom UI on top.

iQOO 3 price in India: Rs 34,990 for 8 GB RAM/ 128 GB storage; 37,990 for 8 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage

Realme X2 Pro

The Realme X2 Pro (Review) is another phone with an impressive spec-sheet in this segment. Just like the OnePlus 7T, it is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset with 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage. If that wasn’t enough, you also get a 12 GB RAM variant of this phone with 256 GB storage in this budget. However, we would suggest you stick to the 8 GB variant itself. It doesn’t try to take on the OnePlus 7T just in terms of processing power, but you also get a 6.5-inch 90Hz Full HD+ Super AMOLED display to go with it. 

The rear camera department has four cameras that include a 64 MP primary shooter, 13 MP ultrawide camera, 8 MP telephoto camera for 2X optical zoom and a 2 MP depth sensor. A 4,000 mAh battery may be standard fare these days but the bundled 50W Super VOOC charger juices it up insanely fast. It charges 50 percent of the battery in just over 11 minutes and the entire battery from 0 to 100 percent in under 34 minutes. The Realme X2 Pro runs Android 10 with Realme UI on top.

Realme X2 Pro price in India: Rs 31,999 for 8 GB RAM/128 GB storage; Rs 35,999 for 12 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage

Oppo Reno 10x Zoom

Oppo Reno 10X Zoom (Review) is the phone with the fancy shark fin pop-up camera, if you remember. Currently, Amazon India is offering a Rs 9,500 instant discount on the top end variant of this handset with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB internal storage, thus dropping its price under Rs 33,000. This phone is powered by a Snapdragon 855 chip and has a big 6.6-inch Full HD+ full-screen AMOLED display without a notch or a hole. The 16 MP front camera is hosted on the aforementioned shark fin type mechanism.

The rear triple camera setup has a combination of 48 MP primary sensor with OIS, 8 MP ultrawide camera and its USP - a 13 MP telephoto lens that can do 5X optical zoom and 10X hybrid zoom. It manages to capture some high quality images in varied lighting conditions and in different shooting modes. The Oppo Reno 10X Zoom has an in-display fingerprint scanner. Its 4,065 mAh battery goes beyond a day of moderate usage and can be charged briskly using the bundled VOOC 3.0 charger. An Android 10 update for this phone with ColorOS 7 released not too long ago. 

Oppo Reno 10X Zoom price in India: Rs 32,490 for 8 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage