Smartphone segment in India is growing at a rapid pace. We have a smartphone of each type in various price segments. There are smartphones with triple rear cameras, phones with whopping 8GB RAM and much more. While smartphones with photography and good design take the centre stage, gaming always takes a backstage for some reasons. We have only seen Honor taking about the gaming needs, thanks to its GPU Turbo Boost technology.
While brands don’t have to implement special gaming features since having capable hardware does the job more often than not for casual gaming. Yes, there are smartphones like Asus ROG phone, Xiaomi’s Black Shark and other specially designed smartphones for gaming with specific features, they are not always in the price range, especially, here in India. Either way, here in this article, we have jotted down a list of top 5 smartphones under Rs 30,000 that we think are perfect for gaming. Let’s get started.
Note: Among all the phones that are available in the sub Rs 30,000 price bracket, we have narrowed down five phones depending on chipset, display quality which is also important for gaming, and other features.
Here are our Top Five Gaming Smartphones in India under Rs 30,000
#1 Asus Zenfone 5Z
Without a doubt, the perfect phone for gaming in the sub Rs 30,000 is the Zenfone 5Z. It is powered by Snapdragon 845, 6GB of RAM and a 1080p Full HD+ display with Super IPS panel, 500 nits Brightness, 95.4% NTSC color gamut, DCI-P3, 1500:1 Contrast Ratio, Glove Touch support, and Corning Gorilla Glass protection. Nothing talks more than a flagship chipset, a full HD+ display and slim bezels, making the Zenfone 5Z a perfect gaming phone. However, the glass back results in slight warmth on continuous gaming, but this isn’t something that’s unbearable. For a price of Rs 29,999, the Zenfone 5Z is a perfect phone you can get.
#2 POCO F1
While Zenfone 5Z was ruling the market by being the only phone powered by the Snapdragon 845 under the Rs 30,000 price segment, Xiaomi went on to launch a sub-brand, POCO and even launched the smartphone POCO F1 that is also powered by Snapdragon 845, and coupled with 6GB of RAM at Rs. 20,999. This makes the POCO F1 the cheapest Snapdragon 845 phone in the market. Apart from the flagship processor, the POCO F1 comes with Liquid Cooling technology that rapidly dissipates the heat and keeps the phone cool at all times even when you are playing games for quite some time. It sports a 6.18-inch (2246 × 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 18.7:9 2.5D curved glass display with 1500:1 contrast ratio, 84% NTSC color gamut, Corning Gorilla Glass protection. While it may not be an AMOLED panel, the colors produced are close to accurate and this makes up for a perfect gaming setup. Overall, thanks to the flagship grade chipset, liquid cooling, and perfect display with narrow bezels, the POCO F1 is easily one of the best options for gaming. Price: Starts at Rs. 20,999.
#3 Nokia 7 Plus
Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC Octa-Core processor, 4GB RAM, the Nokia 7 Plus is yet another good option for gaming. Being an Android One phone, the company has already rolled out Android 9.0 Pie update making it a perfect gaming and up-to-date phone. It sports a 6-inch (2160 × 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 18:9 2.5D curved glass display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. While it doesn’t pack flagship grade chipset like the above-mentioned models, it surely can run games like PUBG, Asphalt 9, Nova Legacy and we never noticed frame drops or heating issues. Being a Qualcomm chipset, the Adreno GPU is capable of pulling top end games and Snapdragon 660 is well packed to run most of the games that are there. Price: Rs. 25,999.
#4 Vivo V11 Pro
The Vivo V11 Pro sports a 6.41-inch (1080 x 2340 pixels) Full HD+ Super AMOLED 19.5:9 display and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 14nm Mobile Platform SoC Octa-Core processor, along with 6GB RAM. Being a Super AMOLED panel, the Vivo V11 Pro offers perfect setup for gaming, The Snapdragon 660 as said above is a powerful chipset to pull off most games available on the Play Store without any lag or stutter. We played high-end games like PUBG, Asphalt 9, Shadowgun Legends and others, and never noticed any heating or slowing down issues. An in-display fingerprint sensor, and an IR face-unlock come as additional features in Vivo V11 Pro. Price: Rs. 25,990.
#5 Honor Play
Probably, the phone in this segment that comes with a dedicated GPU Turbo feature to boost gaming experience. It sports a 6.3-inch (2340 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ LCD 19:5:9 2.5D curved glass display and is powered by the HiSilicon Kirin 970 10nm Octa-Core processor with Mali-G72 MP12 GPU, NPU, GPU Turbo and 4/6GB of RAM. The GPU Turbo boosts the graphics efficiency of the smartphone for smoother and faster gameplay experience. Like with most phones we tested, we tried games like PUBG, Modern Combat 5, Nova Legacy, Asphalt 9 and as expected, the device came out with flying colors. The inclusion of GPU Turbo becomes evident once you start playing. At a starting price of Rs. 19,999, the Honor Play is a perfect combination for gaming and style.
Conclusion: These were our top 5 picks for gaming in the price segment of Rs 30,000 in India. Of all the phones we tested, these five came out with flying colors and didn’t show any lag or stutter at once instance, making them stand out from the competition. So, if you are looking for a perfect gaming device, you can blindly go ahead with any of the above-mentioned smartphones.
