Gaming on smartphones has come a long way. Earlier, Snake and Bounce on Nokia phones were considered some of the biggest technological advances in handheld phones. As the years passed by, we saw improvements in the graphical abilities of some of the phones. Technology changed, and so did the craving for entertainment.
Recently, titles such as BGMI, Apex Legends Mobile, Asphalt 9: Legends, PES 2023, Call of Duty: Mobile, and more have shown us what the gaming world has in store for us. If you are in the market for a smartphone to play the games mentioned above, we at MySmartPrice have trimmed down the options available across categories so you can make a better purchase decision.
We’ll be listing some of the best smartphones you can buy all the way from Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000. But, of course, the list is not numbered by any means, so there’s no winner or loser here. Also, we haven’t included premium smartphones in this piece, as there’s no point in comparing the McLarens and Ferraris with the Bentleys and Rolls Royces of the smartphone world.
Gaming Smartphone Under Rs 20,000
Poco X4 Pro 5G
The Poco X4 Pro 5G (Review) is a successor to the Poco X3 Pro — a smartphone most budget gamers were happy to see. Partially because of the gaming legacy the company introduced with its Poco F1 back in 2018. The Poco X4 Pro 5G has a lot going on for itself, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 chipset paired with either 6GB of RAM or 8GB of RAM. The Poco X4 Pro 5G is one of the most promising devices under the Rs 20,000 price segment. It also has a triple camera setup at the back led by a 64-megapixel sensor. Besides that, you can find an 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera. Talking about the battery capacity of the device, it comes with a 5,000mAh battery that can be charged up with an included 67W charger.
Now that the specifications are out of the way let’s focus on its gaming abilities. The Poco X4 Pro 5G can run Apex Legends Mobile at HD graphic settings and High frame rates without any major hiccups. We flew onto the battleground quite a few times, with the frames slightly dropping to 33-35fps while the assets around the map were loading. Besides that, throughout our gameplay, the Poco X4 Pro 5G was able to maintain constant 40fps even during brutal squad fights. As for Call of Duty: Mobile, we managed to jump into a couple of death-match rounds with the graphics and frame rates set at ‘Very High’.
The device did not cause any issues or stutters throughout the game, and we could win a bunch of rounds easily — though that speaks more about our skills than the device’s capabilities (haha). During our gameplay sessions, we did not notice any heating issues with the phone, this is probably thanks to the integrated Liquid Cooling System.
Overall, the Poco X4 Pro 5G should fulfil your gaming desires and playing intensive games such as the ones mentioned above at medium or low graphic settings should give you the best possible performance for this price. Alternatives in this price range include the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G, Realme 9SE 5G, Moto G62 5G, and more. We also have a video consisting of the best smartphones under the Rs 20,000 price segment. You can check that out here.
Gaming Smartphone Under Rs 30,000
Redmi K50i
Redmi and its ‘K’ series of devices have enjoyed a dedicated fan following, starting all the way with the Redmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro back in 2019. The two phones stood out with their flashy pop-up selfie camera and a unique take on the back panel design. Jump to 2022, the Redmi K50i (Review) has a lot in store — especially for gamers. The device comes with Dimensity 8100 SoC paired with either 6GB of RAM or 8GB of RAM and an ample amount of storage options.
The Redmi K50i starts somewhere around Rs 23,999 for the base variant and goes all the way up to Rs 26,999 for its top variant. The Redmi K50i features triple cameras in which a 64-megapixel sensor leads the way with an 8-megapixel ultrawide and 2-megapixel macro accompanying it. The smartphone comes with a chunky 5,080mAh battery inside, which lasted well during our review period.
With the specifications and boring parts out of the way, let’s dive deep into the Redmi K50i’s gaming abilities. During our testing period, Battlegrounds Mobile India, aka BGMI, was still live in India. Furthermore, the Dimensity 8100 SoC was also able to unlock the 90fps option in BGMI. So, naturally, we played a bunch of rounds on the most beloved Erangel map.
For the first 10-15 minutes, the device was able to push out 85-90fps. However, post that, the Redmi K50i started to run the game at 70fps. This was probably due to the heat generated by the device. The gaming experience was still top-notch, though we noticed the smoothness slowly fade away with the frame drop, which was natural.
Switching to Call of Duty: Mobile at ‘Max’ settings, the device gave us 60fps throughout the game, except for some random and unnecessary frame drops in certain situations. Apex Legends Mobile was able to churn out about 38fps-40fps on HD graphic settings and High frame rates. We have rigorously tested the Redmi K50i in our Extreme Gaming Test (video above), watch that to find out if it’s worth the price.
Gaming Smartphone Under Rs 30,000
iQOO Neo 6
For us, the iQOO Neo 6 (Review) is easily the best performer under the Rs 30,000 price segment. This crown was tough to hand over because of close competition from the Realme GT Neo 3T and Poco F4 5G. All of the devices mentioned above share the same chipset — the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 — which might be an old processor, but for gaming, it’s still quite capable of doing wonders.
The Neo 6 is available in 8GB RAM and 12GB RAM variants. As of today, the device can be grabbed for a starting price of Rs 29,999. At the back, the Neo 6 has a triple camera module comprising a 64-megapixel shooter, an 8-megapixel ultrawide and a 2-megapixel macro. It comes with a 4700mAh battery and ships with an 80W charger in the box.
The iQOO Neo 6 was able to churn out good numbers in our benchmark tests; you can watch the video above to find out how the device fares against its Dimensity competitors. As for gaming, the iQOO Neo 6 was able to run Apex Legends Mobile at HD graphics and High frame rate settings. It was easily able to churn out 40fps throughout the game, and multiple squad fights were also not an issue for the device.
Call of Duty: Mobile on high settings was also performing well, though recording the screen in-game caused a few hiccups. For best performance, we would recommend playing on ‘Low’ graphic settings and ‘Max’ frame rates. We also put the Neo 6 through a BGMI test with the game running on HDR graphic settings and Extreme framerates. Our experience with these settings was quite good, and the touch response felt great. If you wish to know more about the gaming performance of the iQOO Neo 6, do not miss our Extreme Gaming Test of the same.
Gaming Smartphone Under Rs 40,000
Realme GT Neo 3
The Realme GT Neo 3 (First Impressions) is available in two variants, amongst which one has a 150W fast charging capability. The device comes with a MediaTek Dimensity 8100 processor and is available in 8GB RAM and 12GB RAM variants. It follows the traditional Realme ‘GT’ design, which incorporates elements of motorsports. The Realme GT Neo 3 packs triple cameras featuring a 50-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. The device packs in a 5,000mAh battery with 80W and 150W charging options, with the latter adding to the price.
The Realme GT Neo 3 and OnePlus 10R are neck-to-neck in terms of on-paper specifications. We’ve made a detailed comparison of the two, you can watch that video for more information. Anyways, coming to the gaming abilities of the Realme GT Neo 3. The device was able to handle Apex Legends Mobile at HD graphic settings and a Very High frame rate. The GT Neo 3 churned out constant 50fps throughout our time in the game with very minor frame drops during squad fights which did not hamper our experience.
Switching the graphics to Smooth and the frame rate to Ultra rendered 60fps throughout the gameplay. As for Call of Duty: Mobile, the device was able to give us 58-59 fps at Low graphic settings and Max frame rate. We noticed a couple of random frame drops while roaming around the map, but it wasn’t consistent.
OnePlus 10R
The OnePlus 10R, much like the Realme GT Neo 3, comes with a 150W fast-charging variant. One difference between the two devices lies in their internals. The OnePlus 10R comes with the MediaTek Dimensity 8100-MAX chipset, whereas the Realme GT Neo 3 comes with the vanilla variant of the processor. The OnePlus 10R comes with a triple camera setup at the back consisting of a 50-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera, and a 2-megapixel macro shooter. The device is backed by a 5,000mAh battery in the 80W variant, while the faster 150W charging variant comes with a smaller 4,500mAh battery.
Setting Call of Duty: Mobile at Low graphic settings and Max frame rates rendered constant 60fps without any major hiccups throughout the gameplay. Playing for a couple of minutes caused the device to warm up slightly, but it did not affect the gameplay. Apex Legends Mobile ran at HD graphics and Very High frame rates without any frame drops during multiple squad fights.
It stuck to 50fps throughout the game, except for some drops during landing, which is expected. If you are looking for alternatives in this price bracket, the Motorola Edge 30 Pro and Realme GT 2 are good options with Snapdragon processors. If you can stretch your budget by a bit, the Motorola Edge 30 Fusion and OPPO Reno 8 are some other options you can consider in this price segment.
Gaming Smartphone Under Rs 50,000
iQOO 9T
The iQOO 9T (Review) entered the Rs 50,000 price segment with some promises that were riding on the back of the most powerful chipset from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. You can deck it up with up to 12GB of RAM, and clearly, this is a performance-centric device, given how it shatters benchmarks, with an AnTuTu score of almost 1.1 million! It also packs a vapour chamber cooling system and gets a helping hand from the V1+ chip for some frame interpolation magic. On the back, it sports a triple-camera setup with a 50-megapixel primary, a 12-megapixel telephoto, and 13-megapixel ultra-wide angle sensors. As for the battery, the device is backed by a 4,700mAh battery paired with a 120W fast charger.
iQOO 9T ran amazingly well while playing Apex Legends Mobile with a bunch of frame drops only during landing. In addition, the entire gameplay was not disturbed even once, and we were able to get constant 50fps throughout the game easily. Even during multiple squad fights in hot drop zones, the phone did not lose its cool and maintained its performance. Call of Duty: Mobile was running smoothly at 60fps without a single hiccup throughout the gameplay.
We also tried BGMI on HDR graphic settings and Extreme frame rate. A couple of death-match rounds were able to render 59-60fps. Jumping onto Battle Royale mode on the same settings caused the frames to drop during landing. The rest of the game ran well without any issues. We have a dedicated Extreme Gaming Test for all gamers — if you are planning to buy the iQOO 9T, we recommend watching that video.
OnePlus 10T
The OnePlus 10T (Review) falls in the same price category as the iQOO 9T and is powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. But it stands out with 16GB of RAM and 150W charging, two features that make anybody question their life. At the rear, it features a triple-camera setup consisting of 50-megapixel primary, 8-megapixel ultra-wide and 2-megapiel macro shooters. Keeping the phone alive is a 4,800mAh battery pack.
Coming to the gaming abilities of the OnePlus 10T, the device was able to run Apex Legends Mobile at HD graphic settings and Very High frame rates. When landing, the frames dropped to 24fps, and there were a few times when the frames dropped to 45fps in combat. Otherwise, the phone was able to churn out a consistent 50fps during normal gameplay. The results in Call of Duty: Mobile were slightly surprising, as the OnePlus 10T is supposed to run at a constant 60 fps at Max graphics.
But, we noticed the frame drops to 47 fps during squad fights. We also tested PUBG New State on the OnePlus 10T, although we faced a couple of issues. If you want to find out more about the OnePlus 10T’s gaming performance, we suggest watching our Extreme Gaming Test.
This was our take on some of the best gaming smartphones you can buy between the price bracket of Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000. So which smartphone has awed you the most this year? Let us know.
