When I saw that The new Samsung Galaxy S21 series pricing in Unpacked event, I thought that Samsung learned from their Note 20 mistakes and decided to price their flagship phones the right way. Then, I came to know the pricing of S21 and S21+ in India and I understood that Samsung India division did not learn anything at all. Priced at 70k and 83k respectively, Samsung Galaxy S21 and S21 Plus are one of the least VFM phones that you can buy in India.
Why is the Samsung Galaxy S21 and S21 plus pricing so bad in India? When Samsung Galaxy S20 came out in India last year, the starting price was 60,000/- INR. It has QHD resolution display, came with fast charger and AKG headset in the box. Also, it came with microSD card slot if you wanted to expand storage. This year, the launch price of S21 is 10k more, came with a plastic back (vs premium metal and glass finish of S20), has lower resolution FullHD display (for the first time since S5 that came in 2015). Yes, this is the first time in 6 years that Samsung has put a FullHD display on a flagship device (barring overpriced non prime S series phones). On top of this, Samsung stopped bundling wall charger and headphones, the included Type-C cable cannot be used with traditional USB fast chargers that usually come with Type-A port. Also, there is no microSD card slot for those who prefer option to expand storage. The worst point of all is the existence of Samsung Exynos chipset in India variant. Exynos chips are notorious for inferior battery life and buyers across the globe prefer Qualcomm Snapdragon 8xx series chips.
So, here is a list of five phones that costs less than Samsung Galaxy S21 and S21+ but these five phones offer much better value for your hard earned money and they perform better as well.
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
This was Samsung’s best phone from 2020. to drag for a year or two till 5G hits stability in India, this would be the best phone to get. You can easily get this under 38k and if you can wait just a bit for Flipkart/Amazon offers, you can get this for less than 35k.
Money saved by opting out of S21 series : 32k-35k
Features lost by opting for S20 FE : slightly weaker camera, nothing else.
| The Good | The Bad |
|---|---|
| 6.7″ 1080×2400 FullHD Super AMOLED Infinity-O display is gorgeous. | No IP rating, no wireless charging for a 42k phone. |
| Price. | 60Hz refresh rate. |
| 8GB of RAM. 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage. Up to 1TB microSD card expansion. | No headphone jack, power key is mapped to Bixby. |
| Plastic back is more durable than glass. | |
| In-Display optical fingerprint sensor. | Exynos 990 is inferior to Snapdragon 855/865 chips. |
| 12mp prime + 8mp telephoto + 12mp ultrawide rear camera setup. | |
| 32mp front camera can do 1440p videos. | |
| 4500mAh battery, supports 25W fast charging and USB-PD., 15W fast wireless charging. |
OnePlus 8T
If you are not hell bent on buying a Samsung phone, OnePlus 8T, for 42k INR is one of the best phones you can buy. The 8T comes with 5G, has gorgeous AMOLED display, has super clean Android experience and it has long battery life. What more would you want?
Money saved by opting out of S21 series : At least 28k.
Features lost by opting for OnePlus 8T : None in particular.
| The Good | The Bad |
|---|---|
| 6.55″ FullHD AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ support. | Camera performance is still not up to competing phone’s level. |
| Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 is the best chipset available right now. | Do not buy this for 5G alone as we are at the least a year away from 5G. |
| Blazing fast 65W fast charger, charges from 0-100 in 39%, | OnePlus still won’t provide headset |
| In-display fingerprint reader. | New camera arrangement looks odd. |
| 128GB or 256GB UFS 3.1 storage, 8GB or 12GB RAM. | No rated water resistance |
| Rear camera : 48mp Sony IMX 586 prime sensor + 5mp macro lens + 16mp wide angle lens + 2mp monochrome lens. | |
| 16mp front selfie camera. | |
| Oxygen OS provides clean Android experience, has better update cycle. | |
| 4300mAh battery gives great life. | |
| Dual stereo speakers. | |
| Excellent haptic feedback, really loud stereo speakers. |
ASUS RoG Phone 3
If you game a lot, like really a lot, then this is the best gaming phone you can buy, even in 2021.
Money saved by opting out of S21 series : At least 23k.
Features lost by opting for RoG Phone 3 : camera performance, sleek design.
| Pricing details | |
|---|---|
| Flipkart | ₹46,999 |
| The Good | The Bad |
|---|---|
| The best phone that a gamer can buy. | |
| 6.59” 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution, 144Hz refresh rate AMOLED display with 1ms response time, | Weighs 240 grams. |
| 113.3% DCI-P3, 108.8% NTSC, 153.7% sRGB color gamut coverage, Delta-E < 1, HDR10+ for display is the best you can get on phone. | No rated water/dust resistance. |
| Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ is the best chip out there, nothing can beat this monster. | |
| Dual front facing speakers. | |
| Ultrasonic touch sensors on right side of phone and motion sensors enable wide range of gestures. | |
| Up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, up to 512GB storage. | |
| 64mp Sony IMX686 prime + 13mp ultra wide + 5mp macro | |
| Rear camera can record videos at 8K resolution. | |
| 24mp front camera setup. | |
| Dual Type-C ports (one bottom and one on left side). | |
| Wi-Fi 6 to offer super fast speeds. | |
| microSD card slot, up to 512GB. | |
| Humongous 6000mAh battery, supports USB PD 3.0 fast charging. | |
| Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is under the display. | |
| AeroActive Cooler 3 clip-on external cooling fan for increased cooling helps with extended gaming sessions. | |
| Aura RGB lighting support. |
Samsung Galaxy S20
The Mighty S20 still has enough much to topple S21. This one comes with better display, better in-box accessories, memory expansion and if you want to get it, you can get it for just 48k at Reliance Digital. This is throwaway price for a true flagship phone.
Money saved by opting out of S21 series : At least 25k.
Features lost by opting for S20 : No 5G (not really a matter), nothing else.
| The Good | The Bad |
|---|---|
| 6.2” 3040 x 1440 pixel Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O display. | Cannot have higher storage variant, should rely on SD card. |
| Samsung Exynos 990 or Snapdragon 865 top of the line chipsets. | Exynos chipsets have notorious battery life. |
| Fast Wireless Charging, phone can charge other devices via wireless charging. | |
| 8GB of RAM, 128GB storage. 12mp wide + 64mp periscope/telephoto + 12mp ultra wide triple rear camera setup. | |
| 10mp front camera setup. | |
| IP68 Dust and water resistance. | |
| Wi-Fi 6 to offer super fast speeds. | |
| microSD card slot, up to 512GB. | |
| Massive 4000mAh battery, supports USB PD 3.0 fast charging. | |
| Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is under the display. | |
| Heart-rate sensor, barometer, SpO2. |
Mi 10T
Though this one comes with an IPS panel, the Mi 10T is one hell of a performer and the display can stand out on its own. MIUI 12 looks very good, 10T is super fast, thanks to top end chip and you get a 5G ready phone.
Money saved by opting out of S21 series : At least 35k.
| The Good | The Bad |
|---|---|
| 6.67″ FullHD IPS display with 144Hz refresh rate. | Display cannot compete with the others phones in price range that have AMOLED panel. |
| Built in IR blaster can turn this phone into a remote. | Brittle glass back should be protected with a case. |
| Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 is blazing fast. | No water resistance. |
| 128GB UFS 3.0 storage, 6GB | 8GB RAM. | MIUI12’s AMOLED features will not work. |
| 5000mAh battery with 33W fast charger. | |
| Rear camera : 64mp prime sensor + 13mp ultra wide lens + 5mp macro lens. Very good camera quality, better than OnePlus phones. | |
| 20mp front selfie camera. | |
| 5G ready. |
