There are so many options in this segment of the market, that we wouldn’t blame anyone for being confused. We too had a tough time selecting just five phones in the Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 price bracket.
Before you go further we want you to know that we have not considered the Motorola Nexus 6 here despite its price tag of Rs 24,999 as it is only available on Flipkart. Even we had to leave out the LG G3 and Sony Xperia Z2 as they cost couple of hundreds more than the upper price range, i.e. Rs 25,000.
Apple iPhone 5s (16 GB) – Rs 20,498
The iPhone 5s, which is two years old, couldn’t have made it to this list just on the basis of its features but its brand value is irresistible and many do want to own an iPhone and that’s why we have included it in this list.
Thankfully, the Apple iPhone 5S can be upgraded to the latest iOS 9. The Apple iPhone 5S is armed with a 4 inch IPS display, with Apple Touch ID (fingerprint sensor) on the home key. It has a dual-core processor clocked at 1.3 GHz, 1 GB RAM and a quad-core graphics processor. The iPhone 5S has an 8 megapixel primary camera with autofocus, HDR, video recording at 1080p at 30 fps, and a host of other features. In its front there is a 1.2 megapixel selfie taker. The Apple iPhone 5S comes with a single SIM slot and offers 4G, GPS (A-GPS and GLONASS), Bluetooth, WiFi, and a USB 2.0 port. It has a non-removable 1560 mAh battery that can provide up to 10 hours of Talk time or 250 hours of standby time.
The latest in this segment is the Yu Yutopia which is armed with a 5.2 inch quad-HD display with 1440 x 2560 pixels (Quad HD) resolution. It too offers a fingerprint sensor for extra security. The phone runs on Android Lollipop based Cyanogen 12.1 with the help of 64 bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor that is clocked at 2.0 GHz. It has huge 4 GB of RAM.
The Yutopia offers internal memory of 32 GB to which you can add another 128 GB via a microSD card. The smartphone has a 21 megapixel primary camera that has blue glass filter, phase detection autofocus, f/2.2 aperture, HD video recording, flash, and optical image stabilisation features. For selfies, the phone offers an 8 megapixel front camera. Besides, dual-SIM Yu Yutopia offers 4G, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth and a 3000 mAh battery, that can provide up to 8 hours of talk time or 300 hours of standby.
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The OnePlus 2 has several things in its favour, more so because you no longer require an invite to purchase it. The OnePlus 2 offer a superb package at a very reasonable price. It fared well in our review, and offers great value for money, just as the OnePlus One was when it was launched. It is armed with a 5.5 inch full HD LTPS display, with a fingerprint sensor right under the display on the home key.
This Android Lollipop based (Oxygen UI) phone runs on a 1.8 GHz octa-core processor and 4 GB RAM combination. It has 64 GB of inbuilt storage but has no expandable storage. The OnePlus 2 offers a 13 megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilisation and a host of other features, while in its front lies a 5 megapixel selfie taker. The dual SIM OnePlus 2 offers 4G, GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, and USB Type C port. It has a 3300 mAh battery.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 makes it to this list thanks to its great features and specs. It has a 5.1 inch Super AMOLED full HD screen and it also offer a fingerprint sensor. Also note that it is a water and dust proof smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy S5 has the 2.5 GHz Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor that runs the phone with the help of 2 GB RAM. It ships with the Android KitKat operating system but is upgradable to Android Lollipop. New reports also indicated the S5 may even get the Android Marshmallow update in coming times.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 offers 16 GB of built in storage, and it can be expanded by another 128 GB via a microSD card. Its 16 megapixel primary camera is equipped with flash, phase detection, auto-focus, geo-tagging, HDR, selective focus, video stabilisation, UHD recording at 30 fps, etc. In the front, it boasts a 2 megapixel wide-angle selfie taker which can be used for video calls too. The 3G enabled Samsung Galaxy S5 also has GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi, MHL (Mobile HD Link), and NFC. Its 2800 mAh battery claims to offer 21 hours of talk time or 390 hours of standby.
To read its review, click here.
The Huawei Honor 7 is another great phone that you can buy for just Rs 22,999. It just has been promoted to Android Marshmallow. It has a 5.2 inch full HD IPS display and runs on an octa-core 2.2 GHz processor with 3 GB of RAM. This phone’s internal memory stands at 16 GB, to which you can add another 128 GB via a microSD card. 
The Honor 7 offers a 20 megapixel rear camera with an Aperture of f/2.0, phase detection autofocus, geo-tagging, touch focus, HDR, panorama, face detection, video recording, and flash. For selfies, you have an 8 megapixel shooter that too comes with a flash light support. The dual-SIM Honor 7 offers 4G, GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, and NFC too. It has a 3100 mAh battery that can provide up to 16 hours of talk time.
To read its review, click here.