It’s that time of the year again – when Amazon kicks off its Prime Day sale and when there are some great deals on smartphones. We expect the same in the Prime Day sale that begins on July 20. Now, there will be sales across all price segments but the sweet spot, as always, is going to be between Rs 35,000 and Rs 40,000. This is the spot where you can find a phone that is a great mix of high-end features and a value-for-money package. And this year, among others, we believe the OnePlus 12R – along with Realme, iQOO, and Google – will be one of the most sought-after phones.

We believe the OnePlus 12R will be a highlight of the Prime Day sale. And if you ask why, let us share a few lines from our review of the phone:

“At Rs 39,999 or Rs 45,999 – all things considered – there is no better general-purpose phone than the OnePlus 12R. In fact, it’s better than many phones that cost thousands more.”

Nonetheless, let’s take a closer look at our recommendations for the best smartphones under Rs 40,000.

Best Alternative: OnePlus 12R

Launched a few months ago, the OnePlus 12R remains the most affordable flagship phone in the market. It has a great blend of capable hardware and versatile software. The smartphone sports a 6.7-inch AMOLED ProXDR display with a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate. It features 4th generation LTPO technology, which enables the device to automatically adjust the refresh rate of the screen from 1Hz to 120Hz.

The OnePlus 12R is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and comes with up to 16GB of RAM. For photography, the OnePlus 12R features a triple-camera setup at the back that includes a 50-megapixel main sensor, a 08-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and a 2-megapixel macro lens. The OnePlus 12R packs a 5500mAh battery and supports a 100W charger. Currently, the smartphone comes in two colour options: Cool Blue and Iron Gray.

Now this is all quite fun, but this time the OnePlus 12R has another trick up its sleeve. A new colour variant. The OnePlus 12R Sunset Dune is set to launch soon and will be available on Prime Day. With the OnePlus 12R Sunset Dune, users can also get the OnePlus Buds 3 at no additional cost.

other options

iQOO Neo 9 Pro: The iQOO Neo 9 Pro 5G is another good option you can consider during the Prime Day sale. Its price starts at Rs 35,999 and goes up to Rs 39,999 for the 12GB RAM variant, which makes its price similar to the OnePlus 12R. The iQOO Neo 9 Pro 5G sports a 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED display with 3,000 nits of peak brightness. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset paired with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

For photography, the iQOO Neo 9 Pro 5G features a dual camera setup, which includes a 50-megapixel IMX 920 night vision sensor and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera. The first sensor is the same as seen on the flagship Vivo X100 Pro. The smartphone packs a 5,160 mAh battery that supports 120 W fast charging. The iQOO Neo 9 Pro price starts at Rs 34,999.

Google Pixel 7a: The Google Pixel 7a is still a good phone and is available for much cheaper than its original price during the Prime Day sale. It can be bought starting at Rs 36,999. This is a good deal provided you are happy with a smartphone model that is a little over a year old.

The Pixel 7a sports a 6.1-inch OLED display with a Full HD+ resolution and refreshes at 90Hz. It features a dual-camera setup with a 64-megapixel main camera and a 13-megapixel ultra-wide sensor. On the front, it has a 13-megapixel camera for selfies. It is powered by Google’s home-brewed Tensor G2 chipset and is backed by 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It is backed by a 4,385mAh battery that supports 18W fast charging technology.

Now an important thing to note here is that the Pixel 7A is officially sold on Flipkart and not Amazon. But we are listing it here because: one, the phone is worth its price. And two, along with the Prime sale, we are sure that Flipkart will have its own deals on its website. The Pixel 7A price starts at Rs 34,999.

Realme GT 6: The Realme GT6 is the company’s first “AI phone”. With this device, the company is trying to make AI more accessible. The Realme GT 6 is powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 SoC, which supports up to 16GB of RAM. It features a 6.78-inch full-HD+ LTPO AMOLED display that supports a 120Hz refresh rate, 6,000nits of peak brightness, and HDR 10+.

In terms of photography, it has a triple rear camera setup consisting of a 50-megapixel Sony sensor with OIS, a 50-megapixel telephoto lens, and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera. For selfies, there will be a 32-megapixel front camera. The Realme GT 6 uses a 5,500mAh battery with 120W UltraDart fast charging. The company claims that the bundled charger can deliver a zero to 50 percent charge in ten minutes. The Realme GT6 is currently priced around Rs 38,000, depending on which variant you want to get and what deal you can get.