Best Phones to Buy Under Rs 80,000 in India 

If you’re looking for a top-tier smartphone without crossing the Rs 80,000 mark, you’ve come to the right place. Our expert Core Testing Team (CTT) evaluates every smartphone we receive, assessing its performance based on several key metrics. Today, we’ve curated a selection of the best options priced under Rs 80,000. These devices offer cutting-edge features and capabilities, so let’s dive into the details:

Best Phones Under Rs 80,000 in India: Specs at Glance

Before we dive deeper, let’s get a glimpse of what these phones have to offer.

	4.6 ★	4.6 ★	4.6 ★	4.6 ★
	Apple iPhone 15 Plus	Google Pixel 9	vivo X100	iQOO 12 5G
	₹ 72,900	₹ 74,999	₹ 53,950	₹ 41,999
Expert Score	8.6/10 by Expert	8.4/10 by Expert	8.2/10 by Expert	8.5/10 by Expert
Processor	Apple A16 Bionic	Google Tensor G4	MediaTek Dimensity 9300	Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Display	6.7″ (17.02 cm) 60Hz Display	6.3″ (16 cm) 120Hz Display	6.78″ (17.22 cm) 120Hz Display	6.78″ (17.22 cm) 144Hz Display
Rear Camera	48+12 MP Rear	50+48 MP Rear	50+50+64 MP Rear	50+50+64 MP Rear
Front Camera	12 MP Front	10.5 MP Front	32 MP Front	16 MP Front
RAM & Storage	6 GB RAM 128 GB Storage	12 GB RAM 256 GB Storage	12 GB RAM 256 GB Storage	12 GB RAM 256 GB Storage
Battery	4383 mAh 20W Charging	4700 mAh 27W Charging	5000 mAh 120W Charging	5000 mAh 120W Charging
OS	iOS v17	Android v14	Android v14	Android v14

Best Phones Under Rs 80,000 in India: AnTuTu Benchmark Comparison

Best Phones Under Rs 80,000 in India: Geekbench Benchmark Comparison

iPhone 15 Plus

With the iPhone 16 lineup on the horizon, the iPhone 15 Plus is currently the best iPhone you can get under Rs 80,000. It boasts several significant upgrades, including a USB Type-C port, a new 48MP camera, Dynamic Island, and more.

Powering the device is the A16 Bionic chipset, which is a powerhouse. Throughout our experience with it, we never encountered any lag, even when gaming with heavy titles or pushing it under intense workloads. While it does get slightly warm when using the camera app for extended periods, this device doesn’t know how to slow down. We also put it through the AnTuTu and Geekbench tests, and here’s how it fared:

The real standout feature of this device is its battery life. It’s almost impossible to drain the iPhone 15 Plus in two days on a full charge. Another impressive thing is that only a 40% charge can easily get you through a day with battery-saver mode enabled, which doesn’t significantly compromise performance or enjoyment.

The camera experience is just as impressive, delivering that classic iPhone quality. The device features three cameras—two on the back and one on the front—and all capture stunning images with accurate colours. While there’s no telephoto lens, the primary camera does a commendable job of cropping into frames without noticeable pixelation.

So, if you want the iPhone experience and an amazing battery life, pick the iPhone 15 Plus.

Google Pixel 9

This is the latest addition to the Pixel lineup, and besides the usual spec bump, it brings an impressive array of AI features. It’s now powered by the Tensor G4 chipset, uniquely designed to prioritise AI, unlike other flagship chipsets that often focus on dominating benchmarking charts.

When it comes to AI, Google has introduced several new features like Pixel Studio, Pixel Screenshots, Pixel Weather App, and more. The best part is that these aren’t just flashy additions meant to impress during the launch; they are genuinely useful in daily life. Our teammate Robin has already shared his first impressions of these features in detail, so you can check it out.

As always, cameras remain a strong suit for the Pixel series, and the Pixel 9 is no exception. While the main camera largely stays the same, the ultra-wide shooter sees a significant upgrade in the megapixel count. The 50MP primary camera features an f/1.68 aperture and offers Super Res Zoom up to 8x, similar to the Pixel 8.

You’ll also find no issues with the software. As always the Pixel 9 comes with one of the cleanest versions of Android 14. Google promises to keep the Pixel 9 up to date with software and security updates for the next seven years, which is the longest software support you will find on any smartphone.

Pick the Pixel 9 to experience a stock Android experience and all the cool AI features Google has to offer.

Vivo X100

Vivo’s latest flagship, the X100, excels in two key areas: stunning cameras and powerful performance. Photos taken with this device in broad daylight are sharp, crisp, and highly detailed, delivering the quality you’d expect from a flagship phone costing over a lakh.

The X100 series is also touted for its portrait photography and lives up to that promise. The ZEISS Bokeh flare adds a touch of cinematic flair to your pictures. Additionally, the dedicated telephoto camera allows for up to 100x zoom, though in reality, the quality is acceptable up to 10x, where we noticed a slight colour shift.

Performance-wise, the X100 doesn’t disappoint either. It’s powered by the Dimensity 9300 + V2 Chip, MediaTek’s flagship offering. We put the device through several benchmarking tests, and here’s how it performed:

On the software front, the X100 runs Android 14 with FunTouch OS right out of the box. Vivo is offering three years of Android updates and four years of security updates, which feels somewhat outdated compared to the Pixel’s seven-year software support commitment.

Pick the Vivo X100 if you want the best cameras without compromising core performance.

iQOO 12

iQOO has built a reputation for delivering pure performance, and the iQOO 12 is no exception. Launched in December 2023, it was the first smartphone in the country to feature the mighty Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC. Although it’s been around for a while, it remains a top-performing device. We ran the AnTuTu and Geekbench tests on it, and here’s how it scored:

When it comes to gaming, the iQOO 12 handles BGMI and Call of Duty: Mobile at the highest settings effortlessly. There were no noticeable lags or stutters, and the 60fps gameplay was consistently smooth.

The phone runs Android 14 with FunTouch OS, and a major plus is the absence of bloatware. There are plenty of customisation options, though the company is only offering three years of major updates, which is a bit disappointing given that Google and Samsung have set a higher standard.

As for battery life, we managed to get around 6 hours of screen-on time on a single charge—decent, but not outstanding. However, the real highlight here is the charging speed. Thanks to 120W wired charging, the iQOO 12 can go from 0 to 100% in 30 minutes.

Also Read

Google Tensor G4 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3: Specs and Benchmark Scores Compared

Google Tensor G4 vs MediaTek Dimensity 9300: Specs, Benchmark Scores Compared

MediaTek Dimensity 9200: AnTuTu and Geekbench Scores, Specifications, and More

Pick the iQOO 12 if you want the best performance-centric device.

And that’s a wrap on our list of the best smartphones you can buy under Rs 80,000 in India! We hope you found the perfect phone to suit your needs. But remember, tech giants are all geared up to unveil new premium devices, so keep an eye out for updates as we’ll be regularly refreshing this list with the latest and greatest phones under Rs 80,000.