Best phones under Rs 40,000 (June 2025): Realme GT 7, Xiaomi 14 CIVI to iQOO Neo 10

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4 days ago

A budget of Rs 40,000 can fetch you some excellent smartphones in India. You can even score top variants of certain phones with 512 GB storage comfortably in this budget. These phones offer excellent all-round performance and features. Once again, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip dominates this segment, but this time, one can get even more powerful processors in this segment. Time to look at your best options under 40K at the moment
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Best phones to buy under Rs 40,000 in India
Realme GT 7 / Realme GT 6
The newly launched Realme GT 7 is a great option in this budget. Supposedly the first phone in India to be powered by a Dimensity 9400e SoC, this handset has some serious processing muscle. You can get its 8 GB LPDDR5X RAM variant with 256 GB UFS 4.0 internal storage under 40K. With the right credit cards, you can even get its 12 GB RAM variant in this budget. It has IP69 rated ingress protection, which makes it more than rain-proof.
Realme GT7
The phone features a 6.78-inch 1.5K 10-bit LTPO AMOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate and up to 6000 nits of peak brightness. The HDR10+ and Dolby Vision compliant display is protected against scratches by a layer of ArmorShell glass. The rear camera department features two 50MP cameras with the primary module sporting Sony's IMX 906 sensor and OIS, while the other is a telephoto unit that offers 2X optical zoom. You also have an 8MP ultra-wide camera to complete the pack. In addition, there's a 32MP front camera to appeal to the selfie enthusiasts.
A massive 7000 mAh battery keeps the phone powered for over two days of moderate use, and the bundled 120W fast charger promises to juice up half of it in less than 15 minutes. The Realme GT 7 runs Android 15 with Realme UI 6.0, with the company promising four major OS updates going ahead.
Realme GT 6
Now, while the GT 7 is a solid buy, you can also consider its predecessor, the Realme GT 6, in this budget, with a 'relatively' less powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 SoC and with most of the features similar to its successor. Even better, you can get double the RAM and storage and save a few thousand Rupees too.
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Realme GT 7 price in India: Rs 36,999 for 8 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage
Realme GT 6 price in India: Rs 36,999 for 16 GB RAM/ 512 GB storage
Honor 200 Pro 5G
The Honor 200 Pro 5G is arguably the best camera phone in this budget, and it looks good too. This phone has an attractive glass design and comes with IP65-rated ingress protection. It sports a 6.78-inch 10-bit OLED HDR display with higher than Full HD resolution, 120 Hz refresh rate and 4000 nits peak brightness. This phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 SoC with 12 GB RAM and 512 GB internal storage. It launched with MagicOS 8.0 based on Android 14 with more updates expected going ahead.
Honor 200 Pro 5G
The photography department is one of its key selling points. It flaunts three cameras at the back starting with a 50MP primary camera with OIS, a 12MP ultra-wide snapper with auto-focus and a 50MP telephoto camera with OIS that provides 2.5X optical zoom. And if that wasn't enough, you also get a 50MP + 2MP selfie camera combo up front to thrill the selfie crowd with some quality portrait shots. The Honor 200 Pro 5G has a 5200 mAh battery that keeps it going for a day and a half of moderate use and supports 100W fast charging as well as 66W fast wireless charging.
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Honor 200 Pro 5G price in India: Rs 35,998 for 12 GB RAM/ 512 GB storage
Xiaomi 14 CIVI
The Xiaomi 14 CIVI is another phone powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 SoC, and you can now get its 12 GB RAM and 512 GB UFS 4.0 storage variant in this budget. You can get a further Rs 4,000 discount using credit cards from various banks. It has a 6.55-inch AMOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate and a resolution of 2750 x 1236 pixels. The screen is HDR10+ and Dolby Vision compliant, with a peak brightness of 3000 nits and support for up to 68 billion colour shades. It is protected against scratches by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
Xiaomi 14 CIVI
The cameras on this phone have been designed in collaboration with Leica. You get three modules at the back comprising a 50MP primary camera with OIS, a 12MP ultra-wide shooter with 120-degrees FOV and a 50MP telephoto camera that provides a modest 2X optical zoom. This phone targets the selfie enthusiasts with two 32MP front cameras that are quite good at solo as well as group selfies.
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The phone's 4700 mAh battery lasts well over a day of moderate use, and the bundled 67W fast charger promises to juice it up fully in less than 45 minutes. The Xiaomi 14 CIVI launched with Android 14 and the company's HyperOS UI. One can expect a few more OS and security updates for this device.
Xiaomi 14 CIVI price in India: Rs 38,999 for 12 GB RAM/ 512 GB storage
iQOO Neo 10
We now move on to something even more powerful. The iQOO Neo 10 is powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 SoC with 12 GB LPDDR5X RAM and 256 GB UFS 4.1 internal storage. It is a great option for gamers as it claims to support 144 FPS in gaming and has a large vapour chamber cooling to keep things comfortable during the long gaming hours. The phone hosts a huge 7000 mAh battery that can power extended gaming sessions and last over two days of moderate use. A 120W fast charger is bundled along that claims to recharge half of it in just 19 minutes.
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iQOO Neo 10
The iQOO Neo 10 has a 6.78-inch 10-bit OLED HDR display with 1.5K resolution, 144 Hz refresh rate and 5500 nits peak brightness. Photography is handled by two rear cameras comprising a 50MP primary camera with OIS and an 8MP ultra-wide snapper. You also get a 32MP front camera for selfies and video calls. The phone runs Android 15 with the company committing to 3 major Android updates and 4 years of security updates for the device. The phone has IP65-rated ingress protection.
Pro Tip: With the right credit cards, you can even get its 16 GB RAM + 512 GB storage variant under 40K.
iQOO Neo 10 price in India: Rs 35,999 for 12 GB RAM/ 256 GB storage