Here are 6 smartphones across budgets made by non-Chinese companies
A survey in June found that a large number of Indians say they will boycott major Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, and OnePlus.
With India taking a stand by boycotting Chinese goods and services, many smartphone users are increasingly looking to buy a new phone which are not made by a Chinese company.
According to a survey conducted in June, a whopping 97 percent of Indians say they will boycott major Chinese brands such as , , Vivo, OnePlus, etc. The survey, conducted by social media firm LocalCircles, sampled 32,000 people across 235 districts of India.
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The Indian government also recently asked all the ecommerce companies operating in India to ensure the ‘country of origin’ of all products is clearly listed on their platforms.
The ministry’s regulatory demand comes on the back of the India-China standoff in Ladakh last month, which left 20 Indian soldiers dead and around 76 injured, leading to a call to ‘boycott Chinese goods’. The anti-China sentiment had started simmering even before the standoff, due to the coronavirus pandemic which originated in Wuhan, China.
So, with a growing demand for alternatives to Chinese products, we bring some phones across budgets which are made by non-Chinese companies:
Samsung Galaxy S20 from Rs 70,000 to Rs 1 lakh
Samsung’s Galaxy S20 Ultra – the new behemoth of the flagship smartphone from Samsung, launched its flagship series Galaxy S20, which starts at Rs 70,500. The two variants – Galaxy S20 Plus costs Rs 77,900, and the behemoth Galaxy S20 Ultra is priced at Rs 97,900 in India.
Galaxy S20 Ultra features a 6.9-inch QHD+ Infinity O display that comes with 3,200 x 1,444 pixels resolution. It houses a quad-camera setup at the back that includes a 108MP primary camera, 48MP telephoto camera, 12MP ultra-wide camera, and a ToF camera. The smartphone also supports 10X hybrid optical zoom, and a whopping 100X digital zoom called Space Zoom. For selfies, one will get a 40MP punch hole camera on the front.
Galaxy S20 Ultra is equipped with a 5,000 mAh battery. In terms of storage, both 5G and LTE variants offer 16GB and 12GB RAM options, and 128GB and 512GB storage options. The storage space is expandable up to 1TB via a microSD card. The Ultra implements a proper 5G mode that provides full support for mmWave radios that can hit speeds of several gigabytes per second when in the right regions.
Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite at Rs 39,999
If you do not want to spend more than half-a-lakh rupees on a premium Samsung phone, then Galaxy S10 Lite could be a good option for you. Powered with Snapdragon 855 processor in India, instead of an Exynos chipset, Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite is available for Rs 39,999 in India. The phone can be a great alternative to the likes of OnePlus 7, OnePlus 7T, Oppo Reno, and iPhone SE.
In terms of specs, Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite sports a 6.7-inch full HD+ AMOLED display, standard 8GB RAM+128GB storage (expandable to 512GB), 48MP rear camera, and a 32MP selfie camera. It is also equipped with a 4,500 mAh battery, and runs on latest Android 10 with customised UI.
Wireless charging, smaller screen – Apple’s cheapest iPhone SE at Rs 42,500
While many markets have shifted focus to the 5G smartphone race, Apple delivers one last shot at a mid-range 4G LTE with iPhone SE before finally shifting towards a 5G-heavy portfolio.
Launched in April, iPhone SE sports a smaller screen of 4.7-inch, Touch ID, and wireless charging. Recently, in its Q2 earnings calls, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the iPhone SE is Apple’s most affordable phone so far and has been well-received primarily for its smaller form and with the latest technology. In India, the iPhone SE is available at Rs 42,500. Along with handy design and premium user experience, Apple iPhone SE also supports wireless charging.
Samsung Galaxy M21 at Rs 13,999
Another great phone by Samsung is Galaxy M21. With a handy 6.4-inch screen, Exynos 9611 processor, 4GB/6GB RAM or 64GB/128GB storage, 48MP camera, and 6,000mAh battery, the phone starts at Rs 13,999. The highlight of this phone is its battery. On various ecommerce sites, phone buyers have put out reviews saying that this phone is perfect to browse the internet, watch videos, use social media, etc, but have cautioned not to run heavy apps such as PUBG. This phone too has the latest Android 10 and a layer of Samsung’s OneUI.
Jio’s ‘India Ka Smartphone’ at Rs 2,000
Jio’s feature phone offers a holistic smartphone for less than Rs 2,000. With the phone, you get unlimited voice and data, and this is the only feature phone which lets you use 4G VoLTE with HD voice calls, as well as video calling.
Photo: YS Design
The phone allows access to Jio apps which has categories such as music, movies, entertainment, edtech, news etc. In terms of camera, it has 2MP rear and 0.3MP front camera, and an expandable memory of upto 128GB, internal storage of 4GB, and a 2,000mAh battery.
Nokia’s feature phone at Rs 3,399
It is impossible to not talk about Nokia when it comes to mobile phones, and especially the feature phones. If you are someone looking to declutter your tech-infused life, then you can definitely look at Nokia’s newly-launched Nokia 5310, which is a modern feature phone and allows a limited Facebook scrolling as well. Nokia 5310 is a dual-sim phone featuring 2.4-inch QVGA (240x320 pixels) display, microSD card (up to 32GB), and has a claimed battery life of 20 days on a full charge. Users say that the phone offers excellent voice call quality and is great for listening to music and radio ‘without’ getting distracted by notifications. The phone is in the below Rs 5,000 category, however, one has to compromise on smartphone specs to own this one.
Edited by Kanishk Singh