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Have you saved enough money to buy a top-end smartphone? Then you have reached the right place. Before you make an abrupt decision, we would like to help you with a buying guide that explains everything you should look for in a smartphone. Find out about Apple's A13 Bionic chipset, OnePlus Warp Charge 30, and more.
Read through to know more about choosing the right processor model to features like fast charging and pop up selfie cameras. Following our buying guide is the Top 10 section with recommendations to the ten best smartphones under 50,000 in India.
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Table of Contents
When your budget is about half a lakh, you shouldn't go easy on the features. Keep reading to know the best-in-class features available on smartphones and make sure that your choice offers them or something even better.
Whether you want a smartphone for gaming or watching Netflix, a full HD or 1080p display is a must-have. Pictures and videos will have more clarity and contrast when viewed on a full HD screen. Considering the technology of a screen, check if the phone features an AMOLED display, a better version of OLED displays that can produce brighter colors.
They are known for their superior color reproduction and clarity compared to regular LCDs. You may also come across Super AMOLED displays by Samsung, which are better versions of AMOLEDs with less power consumption and better clarity. Apple's marketing terms for LCD screens are retina and super retina displays.
The latter tend to have more resolution and better visibility under direct sunlight, but consumes more power. If you are a gamer, consider the refresh rate of the screen. Get one with a refresh rate of 90Hz or more for a smoother gaming experience. Higher refresh rates also make app scrolling and animations smoother, giving you a premium user experience.
Have you ever felt like your game is lagging while a download is going on in the background? Or the movie you are watching start getting stuck when you get a WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger notification? Getting a phone with a faster processor will prevent such situations.
You can watch movies or play games without any lag when multiple downloads and app updates are going on in the background. If you are a professional gamer who competes in tournaments, you should never overlook the processor specifications. You can google for "Smartphone processor ranking list" and compare various processors to find out the fastest one for your needs.
You may also consider the number of cores in a processor; more cores mean better performance since each core performs a different task simultaneously. But remember that that's not always the case. For example, Apple's A13 Bionic chipset with six cores performs much better than Samsung's Exynos 990 with eight cores because the former has more advanced technology.
A RAM's duty is to store data temporarily for running applications. Your smartphone's OS, background apps, your media player—everything utilizes this temporary storage. When you are watching a movie and want to switch quickly to a messaging app, you don't have to load it again if it is running in the background.
But if there is not enough memory, your phone automatically shuts down the background apps, and you will need to load them again. You may even lose the work you were doing if certain word processor apps, sketching apps, or photo editors shut down in the background.
Your phone can perform smoothly with just 4 GB of RAM, but people running heavy apps for gaming, 3D modeling and sketching may go for 6 GB or more. Thus you can prevent device lagging normally seen in phones that used for a long time.
You may find high-end smartphones having the same battery capacity as the low-end ones, maybe even lesser. Since the processor, display, and software are more advanced, their power consumption goes down too. So, even if you find one with a 4000mAH battery, that would be more than enough to last an entire day.
But if you are an extreme user, for example, several hours of 4K video recording or full HD gaming, you may experience a faster battery drain. So, we recommend a battery capacity of at least 4000mAH. Try to find out what the company promises. For example, the Mi 10T Pro offers 26 hours of talk time and 535 hours of standby on a fully charged 5000mAH battery.
Keep in mind that high-end smartphones offer fast charging too. And it varies from one model to another. But on average, 30 minutes of fast charging can get your phone up to 50%. Use fast charging only in case of emergencies, as frequent use can reduce your battery's overall life.
One of the most important features to look for in a smartphone is its camera setup. Almost all high-end smartphones offer 4K video recording at various fps (frames per second denotes the number of frames captured in a second; more frames, smoother video). Quad camera and triple-camera setups are quite common too. Here is how you can compare the camera setup of various phones.
Find out the resolution of the main camera. A 48 MP camera can capture more details than a 32 MP camera, which reduces the loss of details or blurring when you crop your photos. You can also look for dedicated cameras like telephoto, macro, and wide-angle for clicking stunning pictures of nature, people, or vehicles.
High-end devices may also feature superior sensors from reputable companies. The Vivo X50 Pro has a 48 MP Sony sensor, while the Mi 10T Pro captures 8K video using the 108 MP HMX sensor from Samsung. So, find out if the sensor is from companies like Zeiss, Sony, or Samsung as they can capture images with lifelike colors and clarity.
Smartphones are replacing laptops and desktop computers as a device for entertainment. The streaming service Netflix offers a mobile-only plan for watching TV shows, stand-ups, and movies on mobile devices. If you have ample storage space on your phone, you can download everything you want to watch in advance and store it. You don't need a Wi-Fi connection 24/7.
If you are a gamer, you would know that some games take up almost 2 GB of storage for installation. The pictures and videos you capture, especially if they are 4K, fill up the storage really fast. You will usually find phones with 128 GB or 256 GB of internal storage in the under-50,000 segment. If that's not sufficient, check the maximum external memory it supports.
Normally, phones allow you to expand up to 512 GB. But look out for the type of SIM slot. If the phone has a hybrid SIM slot, it means you can use two SIM cards or one SIM and a memory card. This may be an inconvenience for people who have one number for personal use and another for work. You either have to sacrifice one for the other or go for a different smartphone.
2021 will see India upgrading the network infrastructure to support 5G to catch up with the world. You can switch over to the 5G network when the telecommunications companies make it available in your city and enjoy better voice clarity, faster internet, and more network coverage.
For leveraging the benefits of a 5G, you need a phone that supports it. If you plan to use the phone for more than two years, it is wise to buy one that supports 5G.
You don't have to worry about slowing down your phone from running or installing multiple apps. The OnePlus 6T Mclaren Edition comes with an astonishing 10 GB of RAM to keep your phone running smoothly. You can play games like Asphalt, Mortal Combat X, and PUBG on extreme graphics with zero lag.
It features the powerful Snapdragon 845 octa-core processor for smoothly handling simultaneous operations like downloads, full HD video editing, and messaging. You don't have to worry about lagging while using the split-screen mode too.
The Warp charge 30 feature fast charges this phone to 50% in just 20 minutes, and the dual-camera setup with Sony sensors allows 4K video recording up to 60 fps.
Apple phones have always been popular for their spectacular camera quality and super-fast processors. The iPhone 11 hasn't gone back on that legacy. Featuring Apple's own A13 Bionic chipset, the phone can handle multiple simultaneous processor-intensive operations like full HD gaming, 3D modeling, and video editing.
The dual-camera setup allows 4K video recording at 24, 25, 30, or 60 fps, allowing you to capture cinematic footages and slow-motion videos. With an IP68 rating, the phone is dust, dirt, and water-resistant up to 2 meters for 30 minutes.
You can fast charge your iPhone 11 to 50% in just 30 minutes, and Face ID lets you unlock your phone more securely than Touch ID.
The key feature of the Mi 10T Pro is its ability to record 8K videos. You can zoom in or crop videos with no noticeable reduction in clarity. The triple rear camera setup has a 108 MP main camera with a 13 MP ultra-wide camera and a 5MP macro camera. For smoother and faster operations, the phone has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 and 8GB of RAM.
For uninterrupted entertainment and shooting videos in 8K, Mi 10T Pro has a 5000mAH battery that allows you to fast charge to 100% in 59 minutes. You can watch Netflix and movies on the big 6.67 inches full HD screen, and playing games is smoother on high-quality settings since the refresh rate is 144 Hz.
The Vivo X50 Pro offers 256 GB of internal storage for all your songs, Netflix downloads, and apps. This flagship model of Vivo comes with a gimbal camera stabilizer, a type of mechanical stabilization that allows you to capture stunningly smooth and shake-free videos.
The rear quad camera setup has a 48 MP main camera with a Sony sensor, professional portrait camera, super wide-angle, macro camera, and a telephoto camera that support 5X optical zoom. You can watch videos, browse the internet and shoot 4K videos longer with the 4315mAH battery.
Since it supports 5G, you will be ready for the super-fast, reliable network connectivity when the infrastructure is ready in India.
OnePlus 8 has dual 56 support. That means both SIMs can connect to a 5G network at the same time, giving you super-fast internet and voice clarity on calls on both networks. The phone allows you to shoot 4K videos in 30 and 60 fps and super slow-motion videos up to 240 fps in HD.
You will get a Warp Charge 30 Power adaptor, a fast-charging technology of OnePlus, allowing you to charge the 4300mAH battery to 50% in 30 minutes. The screen supports HDR10+ that can play videos with more color and contrast. Futureproof your smartphone investment with this product that offers 5G support for super-fast network connectivity.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (Fan Edition) lets you expand your external storage up to a whopping 1TB. You don't have to worry about running out of space, ever. It features an Exynos 990 octa-core processor with 8 GB of RAM for faster boot-up and app loading.
The phone has an IP68 rating, making it dust, dirt, and water-resistant up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes. You can go an entire day with the 4500mAH battery that intelligently manages apps in the background to reduce power wastage.
Watch videos in full HD on the Super AMOLED display that produces superior clarity and contrast, and shoot super slow-motion videos up to 960fps in HD.
The Oppo Reno4 Pro features the industry-leading 65W Super VOOC 2.0 flash charging. You can charge up to 30% in just 5 minutes, 49% in 10, and 100% in 36 minutes. The curved screen gives the phone a sleek and borderless look, while the 90Hz refresh rate gives you graphical smoothness while gaming.
You get 30 hours of talk time and 350 hours of standby time from the 4000mAH battery. The quad-camera setup features a 48 MP Sony sensor and a 2 MP monochrome camera that enhances the image details. Customer reviews show that the smartphone has a premium look, and the sound quality is great for watching movies and listening to music.
Usually, the front camera in smartphones takes up some space of the screen. The Oppo Reno2 comes with a 6.5-inch screen and a popup shark fin selfie camera that maximizes the viewing screen. You will get enough space for your apps and downloads with the 256 GB internal memory and lag-free performance with 8 GB of RAM.
The Bokeh Video effect of the selfie camera puts you in focus by blurring the background, giving the video a professional and creative look. You can last an entire day with a 4000mAH battery that can fast-charge up to 51% in 30 minutes.
One drawback may be the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G octa-core processor, which has a below-par performance score compared to other models in the same price range.
When it comes to the quality of the components, Google smartphones have always been at the forefront, and the Pixel 4a is no different. It has 6 GB of RAM with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G octa-core processor, enabling the device to run high-intensity apps lag-free.
You can capture crystal clear, shake-free videos and photos using the 12 MP dual pixel camera setup with optical and electronic stabilization. A key feature of the Google Pixel 4a is the adaptive battery. It prolongs battery life up to 24 hours by reducing the power consumption of the apps that you rarely use.
The downsides may be the single-camera setup, smaller display, absence of 4K recording capability, and inferior processor compared to others in the same price range.
Vivo pays extra attention to the camera setup of its smartphones. The V15 Pro doesn't disappoint in that segment with the 12 MP rear camera that uses the Quad Pixel technology, allowing you to click crisp photos even in low light.
For gamers, the 8GB of RAM suffices to run games in HD quality, and the Dual-Turbo mode further tweaks your phone to allocate more resources to run heavy games like Asphalt, Need For Speed, and Call of Duty. In case of emergencies, you can fast charge your phone up to 24% in 15 minutes.
One downside of the Vivo V15 Pro is its 128 GB storage that may not be enough for storing all your apps and movies, and it supports expandable memory only up to 256 GB.
Some accessories are a necessity for convenience rather than a luxury. If you want to experience the freedom offered by wireless devices, click on the links below to read our articles on Bluetooth earbuds and wireless chargers.
Even though top-end smartphones are much more power-efficient, you may need a power bank while you are traveling. We have a dedicated article for that too. Don't forget to check out the products in the Top 10 section in every article.
Smartphones have also become a part of the luxury lifestyle. You may need one to capture crystal clear images of the fun times with your family and friends or a faster processor and bigger RAM for rigorous gaming. Smartphones can offer all that and more. Always check the screen size, camera setup and resolution, inbuilt storage, RAM, and processor type, and compare it with other models in the market, so you get the most value for money.
Author - Arun F Xaviour
When you purchase products mentioned in the article, part of the sales may be returned to mybest.
The descriptions of each product is referenced from the content available from the manufacturer, e-commerce sites etc.
PC and Cameras
Home Appliances and Electronics
Cosmetics and skincare
Health
Food and drinks
Kitchen supplies
Clothing
Shoes
Accessories
Kids and baby
Household goods
Interior and furniture
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Outdoor
Sports and fitness
Pets
Books, CDs, DVDs
Games
Cars and motorcycles
Gifts
Smartphones and mobile phones
Investment and asset management
Music
Smartphone applications