Mid-range phones steal the brand show

Cutting-edge features have become the calling card of smartphones lower down the pecking order, fuelling demand and consumer interest

Saurav Bhatia is facing a problem of plenty. “My dad promised me a new smartphone,” he says. “He’s set me a budget of Rs 30,000. But I’m confused,” adds the 19-year-old from Delhi as he scans blogs and websites for the best within this range.

Bhatia is not alone to feel this way. The mid-range phone segment — handsets which cost between Rs 12,000 and Rs 35,000 — have seen the most action in terms of launches in the last few years. So Bhatia does have a lot to choose from brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus and Samsung among