The Rs 30,000-price-point is that step on the smartphone ladder that separates the premium mid-segment from the budget flagship one. It is the zone where people look for phones that have a number of premium features and while not busting benchmarks, are rock-solid performers, and have less than premium price points. It is a segment where the seemingly irreconcilable premium and value-for-money segments overlap, before going their separate ways. If you are looking to get a smartphone and have a budget in the vicinity of Rs 30,000, you will be flooded with phone pizzas with value-for-money bases and premium toppings, with options that have hints of both flagships as well as mid-segment and even some budget devices (the 3.5mm audio jack is alive and well here).
So if you are in the market for a phone and have about Rs 30,000 to spend, here are five phones worth considering in this premium-mid-segment Middle Earth:
Poco F5: Powerhouse In Premium Mid-Segment House
Price: Rs 29,999
Poco has been bossing the budget and mid-segment with devices that boast very good specs and yet come with relatively affordable price tags. The Poco F5 is a case in point. The phone comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 2 chip, which is perhaps the most powerful chip in this segment, and allied with a very good 6.67 inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate and very good stereo speakers as well as a 3.5 mm audio jack, makes it as close to a gaming beast as you can get in this segment.
Its 64-megapixel main camera with OIS takes decent snaps and the 8-megapixel ultrawide shooter is handy enough for landscapes, although the 2-megapixel macro camera is of little use. The phone comes with a 5,000mAh battery which comfortably gets through a day and a half of heavy use and changes quickly thanks to a 67W charger in the box. Its design with its plastic frame and back is a little plain, but this is perhaps the most powerful device in terms of performance in the segment.
Easily the best phone for those wanting good gaming on a tight-ish budget.
iQoo Neo 7: Bringing Premium Features To Mid-Segment 
Price: Rs 29,999
The iQoo Neo 7 ticks a lot of premium feature boxes — a brilliant 6.78-inch AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate, a very good 64-megapixel main camera with OIS, and a 5,000mAh battery with 120W fast charging support and a charger in the box as well. It runs on the powerful MediaTek Dimensity 8200 chip, which is capable of running even high-end games at high settings.
Although it lacks a 3.5mm audio jack, it comes with excellent stereo speakers and has Vivo’s feature-rich FunTouch OS on top of Android 13. Round this off with a very sleek design with a distinct square camera unit, and you have a phone that scores on appearance as well as performance.
Some might frown at the plastic frame and back (although it looks good) and we think that the double 2-megapixel cameras on the back accompanying that very good main sensor are of little value, but even so, this is one super deal at under Rs 30,000.
Nothing Phone (1): The (Still) Different Phone
Price: Rs 29,999 onwards
It might be more than a year old, but if you are looking at a phone that stands out in the crowd without any major spec compromises, then the first Nothing Phone is the (1) to go for. Pun intended. The Phone (1)’s transparent back with LEDs that light up in different patterns depending on notifications and alerts make it a very different proposition from any other device in this segment.
It comes with a glass front and back and a metal frame (rare even now in this price zone), and remains a rock-steady performer as well, running on the still-very-able Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ chip, and coming with a very good 6.55-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate.
The dual 50-megapixel cameras on the back have gotten better with time and timely updates, and the clean NothingOS interface on the device will delight those who prefer clean and uncluttered Android. The phone has very good stereo speakers but no 3.5mm audio jack, and rather unusually for its price, comes with support for 15W wireless charging and even 5W reverse wireless charging (you can charge devices by placing them on its back).
Its 4,500mAh battery is the smallest in this list and the 33W wired charging speed is the slowest here as well, and the absence of a charger in the box might surprise some, but this is a very differently crafted phone that works differently. Not everyone will like it, but almost everyone will look at it!
Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus: The Photographer’s Note
Price: Rs 27,999
If you are looking for great photography in the sub-Rs 30,000 zone, it is hard to look past the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus. The phone boasts a massive 200-megapixel main sensor with OIS that even gives the likes of the Pixel 7a a run for their money, especially in terms of details in still photographs.
The 8-megapixel ultrawide and 2-megapixel cameras accompanying it are nowhere near the same class, but honestly, are not even needed given how good that main sensor is — you can zoom and crop shots to suit yourself, and the phone also comes packed with a number of shooting options, allowing you to do more.
The rest of the phone is very good too — the 6.67-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate is bright and colourful, the phone has very good stereo speakers and a 3.5 mm audio jack, and its large 5000 mAh battery can not only last well past a day of heavy use but charges in a jiffy thanks to the 120W charger in the box. Yes, its design is a trifle plain in spite of a glass front and back and the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 chip powering it is not as powerful as the others in this list (although the phone works smoothly enough), but the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus remains a great all-rounder in best Redmi Note tradition. And a specialist in the camera zone as well!
OnePlus Nord CE 3: For The Never Settlers Wanting A Core Experience
Price: Rs 26,999 onwards
Its flagships and flagship killers might make more news, but OnePlus has been doing brilliantly in the mid-segment in recent times, thanks to its Nord series. And if you are looking for a typical OnePlus experience for under Rs 30,000, the Nord CE3 is the phone for you. The ‘CE’ is supposed to stand for ‘core experience’ and the Nord CE3 certainly serves that up in spades. You get the typically elegantly minimalist OnePlus design, and also clean OxygenOS under the hood.
The phone comes with a very good 6.7-inch FHD+ display with 120Hz refresh rate and has a flagship-level Sony IMX890 50-megapixel main sensor with OIS and a decent 8-megapixel utlrawide (although the 2-megapixel macro sensor does not do much).
The phone is powered by the very able Qualcomm Snapdragon 782G chip, which can handle even some high-end gaming, and runs on a large 5000 mAh battery with an 80W charger in the box. It might not boast the best chip or camera in this list, but the OnePlus Nord CE3 simply does everything well. We can see folks Never Settling for any other device.