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Smartphone industry is exploding like anything over the past couple of years which results in underrated smartphones at least in India though in western sides smartphone shipments are falling. Gone are the days when you really needed to differentiate between phones when purchasing and if chosen the wrong device it would be a painful experience to use it until you buy a new one again. But now, the scenario is completely different. No matter what phone you pick will give a nominal experience according to the budget obviously. There’s no differentiating factor left and tons and tons of devices are available in the same range to with minimal differentiating factors. With the due course of time, some devices are overlooked and overshadowed by other devices and these are know as underrated smartphones. Underrated smartphones are indeed good but just that not much interest is shown in them .We’ll take a look at some them today. Note that these aren’t in any specific order but just a random list.

1. Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1

This phone was launched way back in May 2018 and with specifications to give competitors a run for their money. This phone might be the best value phone from Asus to ever launch in India back then. The best thing they implemented is powering the device by then latest and greatest midrange SoC i.e. Snapdragon 636 and a massive 5000mAh whereas Mi continued to use a 4000mAh battery in their phones. It was perfect for gaming and entertainment. The disappointment was in the camera department but that has gradually improved over the updates. It was launched for Rs. 11,999.

Now fast forward to today, it is being sold for as low as Rs. 7,499 for the 3GB RAM & 32GB ROM variant. The Rs. 5000-10,000 range is being bombarded by Realme and Redmi though Xiaomi’s been selling phones forever in this price range. Let’s take a look at latest offerings from Redmi and Realme in the Rs. 7,000-9,000 range.

Redmi 7 is seling for Rs.8,699 approx. and comes with Snapdragon 632 and a 4000mAh battery. Realme 3i is selling for Rs.7,999 and comes with Helio P60 and 4230mAh battery. Do note that these are also 3GB RAM & 32GB ROM variants. In performance department, the Zenfone Max Pro M1 has an edge over both and also the battery is still unbeatable in today’s standards. Stock Android is also liked by many rather then custom skins on top of Android. Altough Redmi 7 and Realme 3i looks great with gradient finishes but are made of entirely polytcarbonate which doesn’t stand a chance against the Metal build of Zenfone Max Pro M1. We think the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 is still one of the best in the Rs. 7,000 – 10,000 range thus one of the underrated smartphones of 2019.

Buy the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 here

2. Asus Zenfone 5z

This is a flagship from the house of Asus which was launched in 2018 as well. It made it’s debut in India in July and at a price never expected from Asus. It is a direct contender to the OnePlus 6 which also launched around the same time frame. Being a flagship or atleast flagship killer it has the high end specs like metal glass body, the then flagship SoC i.e. Snapdragon 845 and a valuable price.

Over the past months the price of Asus Zenfone 5z has gradually come down since it was launched for Rs, 30,000 and therefore the price which it is currently selling for makes it a worthy device but no one is talking about it. Even when the Android Pie update was launched for it, the coverage wasn’t much. It is currently selling for Rs. 23,999 for the 8GB RAM & 256GB ROM variant! and at that price it is definitely better then the current mid-range phones in this price range. The Snapdragon 845 equipped in the Zenfone 5z is still the 2nd most power SoC from Qualcomm which means comes just under the Snapdragon 855. This phone was also one of the best low liight cameras out there and if you could use the Pro mode then really amazing shots can be click. Low light pics are very useful in parties, concerts etc which bring colours to life even at night time. Also it is scheduled for Android 10 as well and a beta programme is running for the same. The sheer value that the Zenfone 5z provides seems to be not find elsewhere in this price range therefore in our opinion Asus Zenfone 5z is one of the underrated smartphones of 2019.

Update: Android 10 (Beta)

This underrated smartphone of 2019 as well as of 2018 is now receiving Android 10 beta update which means that official Android 10 roll out is not far off. This means that already great phone will be more better. Android 10 will be based on ZenUI 6 which is almost like stock Android and the same is being shipped with Asus 6z aka Zenfone 6 but that’s on top of Android 10. Also during Diwali sales Zenfone 5z is being sold at dirt cheap rates.

Update: Android 10 (Official roll out)

Zenfone 5z commenced the Android 10 Beta on 22nd October 2019 and now on 27th Novemeber, Asus is finally rolling out the stable build of Android 10 on top of ZenUI 6. The OTA will take a few days to reach all the users till then you can manually install the update.

Buy the Zenfone 5z here

3. Nokia 8.1

Since HMD Global has entered in the market as Nokia, it is being pumping phones into the market quiet often. Nokia 8.1 launched just last year in December has been s strong contender in the underrated smartphone list. It is indeed a very good built and premium phone to match with flagship phone standards. An aluminium and glass sandwich design makes it feel and look elegant. With the devices launched before it, they were very aggressively priced and same was expected from Nokia 8.1 but that didn’t seem to happen.

The hype around this phone was real but this didn’t last long till people lost interest in this phone. It was announced for Rs. 28,000 for the 4GB RAM & 64GB ROM variant which didn’t please everyone because of the likes of Poco F1 and Asus Zenfone 5z selling for around Rs. 25,000 with Snapdragon 845 and Nokia 8.1 having Snapdragon 710. People were expecting it to be around Rs. 22,000 – 25,000. Though it was very good in other aspects then the SoC but in a market like India people want best in class performance at a valuable price. This phone may sell for that price in USA and other markets but not in price aggressive market like India in-spite of the Nokia branding.

Now, less then 1 year since its launch, Nokia 8.1 is selling for as low as Rs. 15,000 and it seems a steal deal for that price. At that price, it has on par SoC with most mid-rangers these days as Realme, Vivo, Oppo are launching way more phones with Snapdragon 710/712 these days. Let’s not forget the update track of Nokia phones, that it’ll receive monthly updates and Nokia 8.1 is only the few phones which have been officially listed by Nokia to receive Android 10 update in November though tons of other devices will also get by end of the year but an exact time frame isn’t provided by others yet. So, at Rs. 15,000 it looks like a absolute steal before it was an underrated smartphone by it’s pricing but now the phone has just got more valuable.

Checkout the specifications and buy here

Update

Nokia 8.1 is now receiving Android 10 and it was expected as it is an Android One device and a new iteration to the Nokia smartphones portfolio therefore preference for updates is being given to it. Again, as stated above this phone is still worth for the price it is now being sold at if you don’t mind the huge notch and a lack of a wide angle camera.

4. Honor 20

Huawei is been going through lot of struggles recently with its smartphone business and therefore this brand is looked down since the controversies with the US. But this hasn’t stopped Honor (sub-brand of Huawei) to push some phones into the market. The good news is that this Honor 20 series will receive all Android updates including the Android 10 so no worries on the updates and software front as opposed to recently launched Huwei mobiles like the Mate 30 series. With that out of the way, this is also an amazing phone but not since initial launch but now with the price dipping hugely in just a couple of months.

Honor 20 was launched in India at a price of Rs. 32,999 which is good pricing but competition being competition, it wasn’t that great. Honor 20 has 4 camera set-up which is its unique feature and has lot of advantage of over other phones in this range. The display has a punch-hole similar to the Galaxy S10 series but the display here is a IPS LCD panel and that wasn’t justified for the price. The phone has the flagship grade Kirin 980 SoC which is very much equivalent to Snapdragon 855 & Snapdragon 845 or rather between them.

As months passed by, gradually the price decreased and now is available for Rs. 24,999 on Flipkart for the 6GB RAM & 128GB ROM. This seems like a great deal considering the dynamic cameras for any situation and the full screen display with a punch-hole. People who aren’t brand conscious may look into this phone rest will by Redmi, Asus or OnePlus at more or less the same price.

Update

Honor 20 also joins the band wagon of phones receiving the Android 10 update. It comes with the all new EMUI 10 update which includes complete overhaul of the notification panel and revamped settings to find the specific settings easily along with other improvements and Android 10 goodies. Most importantly (yes it is very important these days) is the dark mode which even force darks 3rd party apps. The EMUI 10 dark mode is kind of different from others as it makes the font greyish and more subtle instead of turning the font to white. Camera UI is also revamped but performance wise it is yet to be seen what’s changed.

This underrated smartphones still bags the title and will most probably do so till it gets more into limelight which obviously won’t happen as its already 3-4 months old and nobody talks about this old topics in this fast paced ever changing tech world.

Checkout full specs and buy here

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