BEST CAMERA MOBILE PHONES UNDER 20000 IN INDIA

The Realme 8s 5G looks nearly identical to the Realme 8 5G. It has a  6.5-inch display with thin bezels on the sides but a slightly thicker chin. The Realme 8s 5G has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner. The Realme 8s 5G has a triple camera module which protrudes enough to cause the device to rock when kept on a table.

Powering the Realme 8s 5G is the MediaTek Dimensity 810 5G processor, and is paired with  either 6GB or 8GB of RAM. Both variants have 128GB of storage which is expandable using the dedicated microSD card slot. Realme also has a Virtual RAM feature which lets you use 5GB of storage to extend RAM. You get a 5,000mAh battery and a 33W charger in the box. Battery life on the Realme 8s 5G was good, and it can last beyond a day quite easily. Charging the 5,000mAh battery with the supplied 33W Dart Charger got the phone to 94 percent in an hour.

Realme 8s 5G has a triple camera setup with a 64-megapixel primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture, a 2-megapixel B&W portrait camera, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. It managed good photos in daylight but the lack of an ultra-wide angle camera makes it less versatile than some of the competition. Lowlight camera performance was average though Night mode helped improve the output.

The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion sports a 6.7-inch OLED display with 90Hz refresh rate and a centred camera hole punch. It has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner,a dedicated Google Assistant button and is IP52 rated. You get a triple camera module at the back which protrudes significantly.

Powering the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion is the MediaTek Dimensity 800U processor and it’s paired with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM. Both variants get 128GB of storage. Motorola ships the Edge 20 Fusion with Android 11 and its lightly skinned MyUX interface on top. The UI feels like stock Android and is further customisable.

The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion sports a triple camera setup consisting of a 108-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. For selfies, this phone has a 32-megapixel front camera. Camera performance on the Moto Edge 20 Fusion was good for daylight and closeups. Lowlight camera performance appeared smoothened. The Edge 20 Fusion offer clean Stock Android and will appeal to purists on a budget.

While the iQoo Z3 does not follow in the footsteps of the gamer-centric iQoo 3, it succeeds as an affordable smartphone that not only looks good, but also offers a good processor considering its price. The iQoo Z3 uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 768G, a mid-range SoC that surprisingly makes it to this affordable smartphone. While the performance of this new SoC is noticeable, it’s not a gigantic leap over the competition. This is where the other interesting hardware bits of the iQoo Z3 come in. There’s a triple-camera setup that performs well in daylight but suffers in low light. The 4,400mAh battery charges to 100 percent in just 60 minutes using the included 55W charging adapter. The 120Hz LCD panel is useful for gamers thanks to its 180Hz touch sampling rate. Factor in that attractive price tag, and iQoo seems to have a solid contender.

Xiaomi is raising the profile of its mainstream Redmi Note series with specifications that are sure to grab attention. The Redmi Note 10 Pro Max has a 108-megapixel camera but is otherwise identical to the Redmi Note 10 Pro, and the price difference between the two might not be worth it. This phone has a fantastic 6.67-inch full-HD+ 120Hz HDR10 Super AMOLED display with an embedded front camera. It's bright, crisp, and vibrant. You get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G SoC and up to 8GB of RAM with 128GB of storage. There's a 5020mAh battery and you get a 33W charger in the box. The rear 108-megapixel camera takes good shots in the daytime but don't expect incredible detail in distant objects. The 5-megapixel telemacro camera is even more interesting and really does allow for some creative framing. Performance overall in everyday use is pretty good, and so is battery life. The phone heats up a bit when gaming. The body is slim and light, and this makes the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max easy to use and carry around. 

The Redmi Note series has always been about great features and specifications for less than Rs. 20,000, but the new Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G's price starts above that level. It has a 108-megapixel primary rear camera, 67W fast charging, Snapdragon 695 SoC, 5G, and 120Hz Super AMOLED panel. However, competition is tough and this balance at this price isn't really for everyone. The design is somewhat basic but there's a Mirage Blue option with a unique rear pattern that looks like waves of water. The display is sharp and punchy, but doesn't have HDR. General performance is great, and the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G ships with Android 11 at launch time. MIUI features lots of customisations. Gamers might find that other options at this price are more powerful. Photography was also just about average, with decent performance in the daytime but weak low-light results and no 4K video recording. Charging is super quick too.

The Moto G71 5G sports a 6.4-inch AMOLED display with a hole punch. The display has good viewing angles and was bright enough when outdoors. Motorola has managed to keep the weight in check and the relatively compact dimensions make the phone comfortable to use. It has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner while most of its competition offers a side-mounted fingerprint scanner. 

The Moto G71 5G is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 SoC and is paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It also gives you the option to use about 1.5GB of storage as RAM. The phone offered good performance and will suit casual as well as heavy users. The 5,000mAh battery also delivered very good battery life and easily lasted beyond a day of use. Motorola also bundles a 33W charger in the box.

The Moto G71 5G sports a triple camera setup consisting of a 50-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel ultrawide angle and a macro camera. The phone managed good shots during the day with the primary and the ultra-wide-angle camera. It managed good closeups, selfies, and portraits. Lowlight camera performance was average and Night mode was aggressive.

The Vivo T1 is the first smartphone in the T series. It is focused on Gen Z buyers who look for good specifications at attractive prices.  Ther Vivo T1 5G sports a 6.58-inch full-HD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate and panda glass for protection. However, it does have a dewdrop notch that looks dated.

Powering the Vivo T1 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 SoC, and the phone is offered in 4GB RAM, 6GB RAM and 8GB RAM options. All these variants offer 128GB of storage. You also have the option to expand storage further using a microSD card. The phone runs Android 12 with Vivo's Funtouch OS skin on top. It also has a few bloatware apps preinstalled. The Vivo T1 5G has a 5,000mAh battery which offered good battery life. It has support for 18W fast charging which is slower than the competition.

The triple camera system on the T1 5G consisted of a 50-megapixel primary camera, a 2-megapixel depth camera, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. Daylight photos were good and close-up shots in favourable light looked good. Low light camera performance was strictly average and video wasn't stabilised either.  

The iQoo Z5’s starting price is higher than that of the Z3 (which it will soon replace) but competing smartphones in the mid-range are generally more competitive in terms of features. Its design has been slightly improved and it offers better grip, but is still made of plastic.

There’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G processor that’s on par with the mid-range competition and performed well when gaming and even in our benchmark tests. There is a 6.67-inch LCD panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, which works well while playing games, but becomes a smudgy mess very easily. The Z5 finally gets stereo speakers, which worked well both while watching movies or playing games.

Camera performance is decent in daylight but not great in low light. This does not make the Z5 look good, since it has to compete with mid-range smartphones that offer better photo quality as well as performance.

Battery life is excellent, though you do lose out a bit in terms of charging speed. The Z5 certainly does not feel like a solid step up over its predecessor. It does offer minor improvements, but not enough to make it easy to recommend given that competition offers much better at only slightly higher prices.

Realme 8 Pro is the successor to the Realme 7 Pro and gets a bold design. It is slimmer than its predecessor and comes in flashy colours. The main change on the Realme 8 Pro is the quad-camera setup at the back which houses a 108-megapixel primary camera. The phone is light and easy to hold.

It sports a 6.4-inch AMOLED display with a hole punch for the selfie camera in the top left corner. The display has full-HD+ resolution and an in-display fingerprint scanner. It is also powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G processor, with 6GB or 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage. You get a 4,500mAh battery that is capable of fast charging at 50W.

The camera performance is a hit or miss with the Realme 8 Pro. Daylight photos were average and did not have as much detail. The phone does a good job with portrait shots and the macros too were sharp but limited to 2-megapixels in resolution. Camera performance in low light was decent with better details in nighmode. 

Realme 8 Pro managed to deliver good battery life and lasted for 26 hours and 14 minutes in our HD video loop test. The 50W bundled charger is quick to charge the phone up getting it to 75 percent in 30 minutes. 

The main selling point of the Poco X3 Pro is its Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 SoC, which is a slightly faster version of the erstwhile flagship Snapdragon 855. This makes the X3 Pro perform very well in benchmarks and even in real-world tasks, including high-end games. You should have more than enough power to get through all your day-to-day activities. Battery life is also quite good, but the large battery makes this phone heavy and bulky. You don't get 5G which might make this phone seem to lag behind some of its competitors. The full-HD+ screen has a 120Hz refresh rate. Its quality is serviceable but not as good as some others at this price level. Similarly, the cameras deliver acceptable performance but photo and video quality aren't strong points of the Poco X3 Pro. With its eye-catching design and prominent camera bump, the Poco X3 Pro will appeal to young buyers who want performance above all else.

The Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G is currently the least expensive 5G phone in India with a starting price of Rs. 16,999. The all-plastic body has held up well so far, ergonomics are good, and it doesn't feel very heavy even though it weighs about 194g. The side-mounted fingerprint sensor works very well. All that's needed is a quick tap to unlock the phone. The display is a 6.5-inch full-HD+ LCD panel with good levels of brightness and colour saturation.

The Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 800U SoC, which has a built-in 5G modem, and is quite powerful and power efficient. Software on the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G is a bit of a letdown since it's still Android 10 and not 11, which is what many others are offering. Performance of the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G has been pretty solid as the SoC handles multitasking or demanding tasks such as gaming, pretty easily. Battery life is equaly good. 

The cameras on the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G are your run-of-the-mill setup. There's a primary 48-megapixel camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. The cameras perform decently but low-light performance is weak. 

The bottom line is, if you're considering the Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G, I'd recommend sticking to the base variant.