Poco M3 Pro, Realme 8s, Redmi Note 11T, and more – our top picks for best budget 5G smartphones of 2021.

5G isn’t here, yet, but that’s not stopping brands from launching phones that would seemingly be ready to support and work with the next gen connectivity standard as and when it arrives in India. Hopefully soon, it will. What’s new with “5G” (versus 4g) is that, more and more brands have been coming out with budget 5G phones earlier than what was expected (of them). Now, that doesn’t mean you should pick one right away. Ideally, you should wait.

Also Read | The A-list: Best tech gadgets of 2021

There are multiple reasons why you should think twice before investing in a seemingly affordable 5G phone, today. The biggest red flag is the “5G tax” which is to say, these phones don’t end up being as value for money as other 4G phones. Any 5G chip calls for a premium, at least at this point in time, and brands tend to compromise in other areas in order to keep prices low. That’s not to say, all 5G budget phones are bad. Some are good, too. More importantly, they’re getting better.

Here’s a look back at some of the best budget 5G smartphones launched this year.

Poco M3 Pro 5G

(Photo credit: Poco)

This is the cheapest “viable” 5G phone in the market, at the time of writing. The design is a little unorthodox so to say – though still appealing – but the rest of the hardware is pretty nice. There is a 6.5-inch 1080p LCD display with a 90Hz dynamic refresh rate and centrally aligned hole punch cut-out. This is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. Biometrics are handles by a side-mounted fingerprint reader. Under the hood, there is a 7nm MediaTek Dimensity 700 chip paired with fast UFS2.2 storage. There is a triple camera setup on the rear with a 48MP main and two 2MP cameras, one for depth and another for macros. On the front, there is an 8MP camera. Rounding off the package is a 5,000mAh battery with 18W fast charging.

Street price: Rs 14,499 (starting)

Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G

(Photo credit: Realme)

The Narzo 30 Pro is the most powerful 5G phone under Rs 20,000 in the market, today. Even though it was launched in the first half of 2021, no other phone has come close to taking this crown from it to this day. At its heart lies the 7nm MediaTek Dimensity 800U chip. This is paired with UFS2.1 storage. Rest of the package is, also, very solid. There is a 6.5-inch 1080p LCD display with 120Hz refresh rate and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The phone has a triple camera setup on the rear with a 48MP main, 8MP ultrawide angle, and another 2MP shooter. On the front, it has a 16MP camera. The 5,000mAh battery inside the phone supports 30W fast charging. If you can somehow get it, this is the budget 5G phone to get.

Street price: Rs 16,999 (starting)

Realme 8s 5G

(Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

The Realme 8s 5G is the second-best budget 5G Realme phone in the market, this year. It’s not as powerful, also, it misses out on a ultrawide angle camera and has a relatively slower display, but rest of the spec sheet is either better or competitive. …….

Source: https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/technology/best-budget-5g-smartphones-of-2021-xiaomi-11-lite-ne-realme-8s-and-more/2391034/

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