5 Best phones under Rs 35,000 in 2026: Which should you buy?

Every time I post a phone review, every other person has only one question to ask me — which is the best phone that I should buy under Rs 35,000? For starters, it is one of the most crowded price brackets in India right now, with four or five new phones landing in it every single month, so the honest answer keeps changing. This time around, I’ve picked five of the phones actually worth considering right now: the Samsung Galaxy A27, the Redmi Note 17 Pro, the Realme P4s, the iQOO Z11, and the Motorola Edge 70, and spent proper time with each before ranking them. So, here are the top 5 phones under Rs 35,000 that are worth checking out.

Samsung Galaxy A27

Starting with the Samsung Galaxy A27, because it is the phone most people stick to when they want Samsung’s software experience without paying flagship money. It is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset. On the front, you get a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display that supports a 120Hz refresh rate. The camera setup is a 50MP main sensor with OIS, a 5MP ultrawide sensor, a 2MP macro sensor, and a 12MP front camera for selfies.

The battery is decent, sitting at 5,000mAh. It is enough to get through a full day of regular use without looking for a charger by the end of the day. Now, none of these specs is impressive on their own, but Samsung’s One UI is still one of the smoothest and easiest-to-use Android interfaces at this price. Samsung backs the phone by promising 6 years of Android updates and 6 years of Security patches, which many other phones here can’t match. And if you already have a Galaxy tablet or Galaxy Watch, the phone works seamlessly with them.

Redmi Note 17 Pro

If you can extend your budget by Rs 2,000 more, the Redmi Note 17 Pro is worth considering. It comes with a Snapdragon 6s Gen 4 processor, a 6.83-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, and a massive 9,000mAh battery with 67W fast charging. Most phones in this price range have batteries of around 7,000mAh, so the extra 2,000mAh will give you more endurance. You can easily get through a busy day of calls, videos, heavy gaming, and social media without worrying about your charger.

On the camera side, you get a 50MP main sensor, an 8MP ultrawide sensor, and a 16MP selfie camera. If battery anxiety is what makes your phone-buying decision, then this should be one of the first phones on your list.

Realme P4s

The Realme P4s is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Ultra SoC. It has a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate, which is the highest on this list. On the back, you get a 50MP main sensor, an 8MP ultrawide sensor, and a 16MP selfie shooter. What sets the Realme P4s apart is the huge 8,000mAh battery with 80W fast charging. This means you get plenty of battery life, while the fast charging lets you quickly top it up when needed.

With its higher refresh rate display, the big battery, and quick charging, this is one of the more complete all-rounders at this price, built for people who spend a lot of time gaming without constantly watching the battery percentage drop.

iQOO Z11

iQOO has gone with the MediaTek Dimensity 7500 Turbo here inside the Z11, along with a 1.5K 6.83-inch AMOLED display running at 144Hz. The camera setup includes a 50MP main sensor, an 8MP ultrawide lens, and a 32MP front camera; it is one of the strongest selfie cameras on this list.

The iQOO Z11 packs a 7,050mAh battery, which sits between the Samsung Galaxy A27’s 5,000mAh battery and the Redmi’s huge 9,000mAh unit. But where the iQOO Z11 really stands out is performance. The MediaTek Dimensity 7500 Turbo handles day-to-day tasks without any lag, and it holds up well through longer gaming sessions too. So, if performance and a responsive experience are your top priorities, the iQOO Z11 is worth considering.

Motorola Edge 70

Finally, there’s the Motorola Edge 70, powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chipset and featuring a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The camera setup on this phone is also quite impressive, with a 50MP main camera, a 50MP ultra-wide camera and a 50MP selfie camera. Having 50MP sensors across all three cameras is quite unusual at this price, and it means you can expect good results whether you’re using the main, ultrawide or front camera.

The Edge 70 packs a 5,000mAh battery with 68W Turbo Charging. The battery capacity isn’t the biggest here, but the fast charging means you can quickly top it up when you’re running low. Motorola also keeps things simple with a clean version of Android, without too many unnecessary apps. Put all of this together, and the Edge 70 feels like a very complete package for the price.