Best Mobile Phones Under 7000: April 2019 Edition

Finding a good smartphone under Rs. 7,000 used to be an impossible task just a couple of years ago but thanks to the aggressively priced mobile phones from Chinese and Taiwanese smartphone makers the market has significantly changed. The consumers no longer have to struggle with sub-standard smartphones as they can go to stores or online to purchase a decent smartphone with a price tag below Rs. 7,000. Although we haven't seen a lot of interesting launches in the segment over the last few months, but a slew of price cuts has brought a couple of good phones to this list of best phones under Rs. 7,000.

Xiaomi still dominates the price segment but the likes of Asus and Realme are bringing good phones that are capable of competing with the Redmi phones. In this article, we have compiled our top picks among the phones priced under Rs. 7,000. Like always, every smartphone listed below has gone through our rigorous review process. If you have a budget over Rs. 7,000, don't forget to check out our guides on best phones below Rs. 10,000 and best phones under Rs. 15,000.

Here's a look at our top picks for best mobiles under Rs. 7,000.

Best mobile phones under 7,000

Redmi 6

It would come as no surprise to anyone that Xiaomi knows how to make great value-for-money smartphones and the same remains true for under Rs. 7,000 price bracket. The company's Redmi 6, which was launched back in September last year, is great option for any looking to buy in this segment. In our review, we found the phone to be sporting a good build quality with a decent screen that has good viewing angles.

The MediaTek Helio P22 SoC, which is powering the Redmi 6, is good performer and we didn't see any noticeable lag or stuttering. However, being a low-end processor, it has its limitations and the processor can be found slightly struggling with the heavy apps. The phone's battery life is another positive and the phone lasted 14 hours and 34 minutes in our HD video loop test.

The camera capabilities of the Redmi 6 leave a little to be desired. Although the photos taken with the Redmi 6 in favourable light were good, we saw a drop in quality in low light. The phone is also plagued with the trademark Xiaomi advertisements and bloatware.

Xiaomi is offering two variants of the Redmi 6 in the country – 3GB + 32GB and 3GB + 64GB, however only the 3GB variant is available in this price category, making it one of our picks in this list of best mobile phones under Rs. 7,000.

Realme C1

Despite being a relatively new entrant in the Indian smartphone market, Realme has carved a place for itself. The company has released some great phones over the past one year and the Realme C1 is no different. Originally launched in 2018, the phone got a refresh in 2019 with added RAM and onboard storage.

In our review, we found the Realme C1 featuring a large bright display with pleasing, saturated colours. The battery life is the phone's biggest strength. The onboard 4,230mAh battery lasted for 20 hours and 23 minutes in our HD video loop test. The support for dual 4G VoLTE is another positive.

The Realme C1 camera captures a decent amount of detail in distant objects but we did notice some chromatic aberration. The phone also handles noise well in low light conditions.

The phone's performance was a bit of a downer in our review unit, however that can be blamed on the amount of the RAM in the original Realme C1.

Realme is selling three variants of the Realme C1 in the country, including the 2019 version - 2GB + 16GB, 2GB + 32GB, and 3GB + 32GB - however officially, only the 2GB + 16GB model is available under Rs. 7,000. 

Redmi 6A

Launched alongside the Redmi 6, Redmi 6A is a good option for anyone who doesn't have the budget to go for Redmi 6. While it shares a number of features with the Redmi 6, the Redmi 6A comes with a different camera setup, different processor, and lower amount of RAM and onboard storage. While the inferior specifications help with the pricing, they do take a toll on the performance.

In our review, we found the Redmi 6A to be a decent performer, that said we did spot some lag while exiting applications or while using the task switcher. The ads in MIUI are a big issue with the Redmi 6A as well. The camera capabilities of the phone are also acceptable, but don't expect to be wowed.

The Xiaomi Redmi 6A ran for 13 hours and 22 minutes in our HD video loop test. The company is selling two versions of the Redmi 6A in the country – 2GB + 16GB and 2GB + 32GB, however we will recommend you go for the 32GB storage variant.

Infinix Hot S3X

Infinix Hot S3X was originally launched in the country with a price tag of Rs. 9,999, which made the phone hard to recommend. However, with a recent price cut, the Infinix Hot S3X has become more enticing and finds a place in this list of best phones under Rs. 7,000. The phone scored decent in our review and we found the phone's screen to be capable of good colour reproduction and decent viewing angles.

Camera performance is one of the highlights of the Infinix Hot S3X and the dual rear camera setup took above average daylight shots with good clarity. The phone also impressed us with its low-light camera performance in this budget. The Infinix Hot S3X's battery, however, was average and it clocked 11 hours and 5 minutes in our HD video loop test.

The onboard Hummingbird XOS 3.3 Lite skin was a disappointment and so was the underwhelming performance of the phone. Heavy apps took a lot of time to open and there was noticeable stutter while scrolling through Facebook and Twitter.

Infinix is offering only one model of the Hot S3X with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage.

Asus ZenFone Lite L1

The ZenFone Lite L1 (Review) from Asus is another nice budget offering that can be considered by the consumers with a limited budget. The phone's display offers decent viewing angles, and the relatively smaller size of the screen makes one-hand operation easier. Given the limited amount of RAM in the Asus ZenFone Lite L1, the phone suffers from longer load times and random slowdowns. The phone's user interface is smooth; however, it does slow down when there are multiple apps running in the background.

The camera performance and the battery life of the ZenFone Lite L1 are average. The phone ran for just nine hours and 10 minutes in our HD video loop test.

Asus sells just one variant of the ZenFone Lite L1 in India with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of inbuilt storage, which finds a place in our list of best phones under Rs. 7,000.

Redmi Go

After bringing two Android One smartphones in the form of Mi A1 and Mi A2, Xiaomi also jumped in the Android Go edition arena with the launch of the Redmi Go this year. This budget smartphone is a decent option for people really tight on budget. In our review, we found the phone's hardware just about enough for basic smartphone usage. The onboard processor is decent but the presence of just 1GB of RAM becomes a bottleneck. We saw occasional pauses even while doing everyday tasks.

The Redmi Go's screen is sharp and viewing angles are good, but colours appear a little muted. The cameras are also reasonable for the phone's price, however, don't expect to see any great images. The low-light images were grainy and filled with noise, however the shots were bright enough for the subjects to be legible.

The battery life of the Redmi Go is enough of a day's worth of usage, but not more than that. It lasted just nine hours and fifty minutes in our HD video loop test. While the phone finds a spot in out list of best mobiles under Rs. 7,000, it's only for those who are on a very tight budget and can't spend a bit more to get some of the other picks in this list.