The sub-Rs. 60,000 smartphone segment is where the ‘flagship' action begins for buyers in India. Whether you are picking your first premium smartphone or simply upgrading to a newer model, the choices are plentiful and come in all shapes and sizes. The smartphones at this price point will get you plenty for your money's worth. There are compact flagships like the OnePlus 13S and some phones that are laser-focused on imaging, like the Vivo X200 FE. What's more interesting is that Rs. 60,000 also gets you access to previous generations of high-end flagships, so even if you cannot get the latest Motorola Razr 60 Ultra, you can surprisingly pick Motorola's Razr 50 Ultra instead, which looks quite similar.
We have come up with a short list of choices in no particular order. These are highly-rated smartphones, which offer excellent value for money, top-notch performance and quality cameras.
| Phones under Rs. 60,000 | Gadgets 360 rating (out of 10) | Price in India (as recommended) |
|---|---|---|
| Vivo X200 FE | 8 | Rs. 54,999 |
| OnePlus 13s | 9 | Rs. 54,999 |
| Apple iPhone 16e | 8 | Rs. 59,900 |
| iQOO 13 | 9 | Rs. 54,999 |
| Vivo X100 Pro | 9 | Rs. 59,999 |
| Motorola Razr 50 Ultra | 9 | Rs. 58,999 |
The Vivo X200 FE is the latest smartphone on our list. With compact flagships making a comeback in the market, it's also not the only one on our list. It features a modern, compact design that's ideal for one-handed use, especially if you are tired of bulky premium flagships. We are also big fans of the two-tone Amber Yellow finish, which looks unique and different, given its contrasting mix of a yellow glass back and a grey metal frame.
IP69-rated design aside, there is some substance under the hood as well. You get a 120Hz, 1.5K, LTPO AMOLED panel, which offers bright and punchy visuals. There's also a MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ SoC, bringing plenty of performance both for daily multitasking and some high-end gaming. But the cameras are where the action is, and the triple-rear camera (which includes an optically-stabilised 3X telephoto) delivers in all types of lighting conditions. And if that's not enough, Vivo threw in the kitchen sink with a 6,500mAh battery. So, you don't have to compromise on battery life despite the phone's smaller footprint.
If the OnePlus 13 is out of your budget, the OnePlus 13s, despite its compact dimensions, still offers plenty of imaging and raw performance at a reasonable price tag. The phone's design feels a bit out of place when compared to other OnePlus smartphones, but it still looks pretty stylish and feels premium. Unlike the bigger OnePlus 13R, the OnePlus 13s goes all guns blazing. It has a compact design minus the usual battery inconveniences that older compact flagships were limited to.
What it loses with the ultrawide camera compared to the Vivo X200 FE, it gains with a top-end processor. This means you can get all the premium performance the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite can deliver with one-handed usability. The 5,850mAh battery ensures enough battery to last up to two days with casual use. There's 80W fast-charging as well, so it won't take much time to charge up even when that large battery does drain out.
While Apple's iPhone 15 would have been an ideal contender on this list, the launch of the iPhone 17 has now made it two generations old, making it hard to recommend. While most first-time iPhone buyers with big pockets will reach for an iPhone 16 or an iPhone 17, the humble iPhone 16e is not a bad purchase, as it offers the basics without much fuss.
It has a recycled design, which comes from the notched-era of the iPhone 14. But the rest of it feels both compact and slim, given its small form factor. In fact, the iPhone 16e is indeed the lightest smartphone in this guide at just 165 grams and a thickness of 7.8mm. While its cameras deliver good day and night performance, it is not as good as the better hardware available on the iPhone 15 and up. Despite its compact size, battery life was never a problem thanks to its standard 60Hz OLED display, Apple A18 chipset and the C1 modem.
Racing into our list is another top-end flagship from iQOO called the iQOO 13. One of the earlier smartphones to be equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC, the iQOO 13 is mainly known for its cool and premium-looking BMW Racing-inspired design, which is also IP68 and IP69 rated for dust and water resistance. Adding to the race or gamer-inspired aesthetics is an RGB LED light strip wrapped around the camera module called the Monster Halo, which can be used for notifications.
The phone is more about raw performance, and thanks to its massive vapour-chamber cooling system, it is ideally suited for powering demanding mobile gaming titles. In our testing, the phone ran all of these without any hiccups and without getting noticeably hot. The iQOO 13 also comes with a triple rear 50-megapixel camera setup, but these don't pack in the best performance we have seen at this price point.
Once a high-end premium imaging flagship, the Vivo X100 Pro has aged well a year later. Now available at a discounted price of Rs. 59,999 online, the phone is a solid flagship given the few upgrades the newer Vivo X200 Pro has received this year.
It may not have the 200-megapixel telephoto camera of its successor, but in our testing, the 50-megapixel, 4.3X floating telephoto camera (for zoom and close-ups) managed impressive zoom quality till 10X, which is more than its money's worth in 2025. As for the rest, it has a tapered and slim IP68-rated design with a curved-edge display (not present on the new model), a slightly smaller battery compared to the new model, which will still easily deliver more than a day's battery life, along with fast wireless charging as well.
Surprise! Surprise! You can still grab an “ultra”-premium foldable at a low price while it's still available. Motorola's Razr 50 Ultra is available at around Rs. 59,999 online, and the package even includes the Moto Buds+ TWS earphones.
Despite being a year old, it's still got plenty of oomph when it comes to performance with its Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 SoC. There's a massive 4-inch cover display on the front, which literally works like a second phone, reducing the need to open up the tall 6.9-inch foldable main display. You also get IPX8 water resistance with this one. Its camera performance is not as good as the new model, but if you want something flashy and tech-savvy, nothing beats the Razr 50 Ultra at this price.