The Top 5 Phones You Can Buy Under Rs. 35,000 in Pakistan in 2017

2017 is drawing to a close and it’s been an interesting year for smartphones. The top end phones breached the $1000 mark, bezelless designs became common, dual cameras made their way to even lower end phones and 18:9 aspect ratio became mainstream.

If you’re on a budget, it’s never been a better time to buy a smartphone. Today, we’ll be listing down what we consider are the best smartphones you can buy in 2017 for under Rs. 35,000. While making this list, our main factors to decide the top smartphones were performance, battery life, camera performance and the display itself.

It’s been a dominant year for Chinese smartphone makers and it’s apparent from this list as well, which only features Chinese manufacturers. It seems like Samsung and others will have to offer higher value for money to remain competitive in 2018.

Without further ado, here are the top 5 smartphones under Rs. 35,000 in Pakistan.

Xiaomi Mi A1

“Vanilla Android” is like catnip for techies and that’s why the Xiaomi Mi A1 is an important phone. For under Rs. 30,000, you can get a pure software experience and guaranteed updates for years to come. Features like a 5.5 inch display, the popular and efficient Snapdragon 625 chipset and a dual camera setup that can make use of Google Camera (Pixel app) make it a very attractive package.

Xiaomi uses the same flagship dual camera sensors in the A1 which were used in the Mi 6. The only difference is that the Mi 6 boasts a wider aperture and Optical Image Stabilization.

Unfortunately, the price of the Mi A1 is higher in Pakistan compared to India or Dubai where it costs much less. Despite that, it’s a great option if you’re looking for a phone with no compromises.

Xiaomi Mi A1 Specifications:

• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 625, 2.0 GHz octa-core
• Weight: 165 g
• RAM: 4 GB
• Internal Storage: 64GB
• Card Slot: yes, expandable by upto 128GB (uses SIM 2 slot)
• OS: Android 7.1.2 Nougat, planned upgrade to Oreo
• Display: 5.5-inch LTPS IPS LCD, Full HD (1920 x 1080), 403ppi
• Cameras:
  • Back: Dual 12 MP IMX 386 (26mm, f/2.2; 50mm, f/2.6), phase detection autofocus, 2x optical zoom, dual-LED (dual tone) flash
  • Front: 5 MP
• Battery: 3,080mAh with fast charging
• Price: Rs. 29,000

Infinix Zero 5

Infinix has been present in the Pakistani market for a while but its popularity remains higher in the lower end of the market. With the Zero 5, it’s looking to change that and we’re positive they’re going to be successful in that endeavor.

The Infinix Zero 5 offers a large display, best in class battery capacity with fast charging, an excellent dual camera setup at the back as well as the front and the guarantee of a major OS update. This phone seems to check all the requirements for a normal as well as a power user. While pricing isn’t confirmed, we expect it to cost around Rs. 33,000.

You can also check out the full review of the Infinix Zero 5 by ProPakistani here.

Infinix Zero 5 Specifications:

• CPU: Octa-core 2.6 GHz Cortex-A53
• GPU: Mali-T880 MP2
• Chipset: MediaTek Helio P25
• OS: Android 7.0 Nougat with XOS
• Display: 5.98” LTPS IPS LCD Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution
• RAM: 6 GB
• Internal: 64 GB
• Card slot: Yes
• Camera:
  • Primary: Dual 12+13 MP, Sony IMX386 f/2.0 (Wide Angle), Samsung S5K3M3 f/2.6 (Telephoto), autofocus, LED flash, 2X optical zoom.
  • Secondary: 16 MP, f/2.0
• Battery: 4,350 mAh, 18W fast charging
• Expected Price: Rs. 33,000

Huawei Mate 10 Lite

Huawei surprised everyone when they priced the Mate 10 Lite at Rs. 30,000. Many of our readers thought we had made a mistake when we revealed how much it’d cost and for good reason. First, it costs up to $100 more in other markets.

Secondly, it’s the only phone in this price range that comes with the trendy 18:9 aspect ratio. Not only that, it has a gorgeous 5.9 inch display with Full HD+ resolution, a decent processor and 4 cameras (2 are for depth sensing). With this combination of design, performance and features, the Mate 10 Lite is one of the best phones you can buy under Rs. 35,000 in Pakistan.

You can check out the complete review of the Huawei Mate 10 Lite by ProPakistani here.

Huawei Mate 10 Lite Specifications:

• CPU: 4x 2.36 GHz + 4x 1.7 GHz Cortex-A53
• Chipset: Huawei Kirin 659
• OS: Android 7.0 Nougat with EMUI 5.1
• Display:
  • 5.9″ IPS with Full HD+ 2160 x 1080 (18:9) resolution
• RAM: 4 GB
• Internal: 64 GB
• Card slot: yes via microSD
• Camera:
  • Primary: 16 MP + 2 MP, LED, f/2.0
  • Secondary: 13 MP + 2 MP
• Battery: 3340 mAh
• Price: Rs. 29,999

Meizu MX6

Meizu is a dark horse of sorts. They’ve been quietly launching great smartphones and even give competition to Xiaomi in the value for money department. One such impressive phone is the Meizu MX6. It comes with a processor with 10 cores, a 5.5 inch Sharp display and the best fast charging capabilities in this price segment.

The headlining feature is the flagship grade camera. Its performance is significantly better than anything the competition has to offer and compels us to place the Meizu MX6 in the list of smartphones you should consider if you’re looking to spend less than Rs. 35,000.

Oh and with their official launch in Pakistan, expect Meizu to become more popular in 2018.

Meizu MX6 Specifications:

• CPU: Deca-core ARM Cortex in tri-cluster
  • 2 x A72 (2.3 Ghz) + 4 x A53 (2 Ghz) + 4 x A53 (1.4 Ghz)
• GPU: Mali-T880MP4
• Chipset: MediaTek Helio X20
• OS: Android 6.0 Marshmallow with Flyme OS 5.2 (upgradeable to Android Nougat)
• Display:
  • 5.5-inch 2.5D curved 1080p Sharp display
• RAM: 4 GB
• Internal: 32 GB
• Card slot: no
• Camera: 
  • Primary: 12 MP /2.9” Sony IMX386, f/2.0
  • 1.4um pixels, phase-detection AF, dual-tone LED
  • Secondary: 5 MP, f/2.0
• Battery: 3060 mAh with 24W fast charging
• Price: Rs. 31,500

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 costs much less than the other phones in this list but it offers simply too much bang for buck to not include in this list. It’s a jack of all trades and excels in the battery department. The combination of a 4100mAh battery and the Snapdragon 625 ensures that you can get multi-day usage our of it.

If your budget is too low but aspirations are high, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 is a sensible purchase. Another great thing about this phone is that you can install Google Camera (Pixel App) if you root it, which improves the camera performance significantly. Even with the stock app, most users won’t complain about the picture quality though.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Specifications:

• CPU: 8x ARM Cortex A53 @2.0 GHz
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 625
• OS: Android 6.0 Marshmallow with MIUI 8
• Display:
  • 5.5″ 2.5D IPS with Full HD 1080p resolution
• RAM: 2/3/4 GB
• Internal: 32/64 GB
• Card slot: yes, up to 128 GB
• Camera:
  • Primary: 13 MP, 77-degree wide-angle CMOS sensor, dual-tone LED flash, phase-detection autofocus, f/2.0, 1.15nm pixels
  • Secondary: 5 MP, 85-degree CMOS sensor
• Battery: 4100 mAh
• Price: Rs. 20,900 (3 GB), Rs. 25,900 (4 GB)

Final Words

That wraps up our list of the best smartphones you can buy for under Rs. 35,000 in Pakistan. These phones are available with official local warranty and can be purchased at your local mobile phone shops.

Do keep in mind that you can find these phones online for a lower price but they may not have a warranty and may be grey market or smuggled.

Do you agree with the list? Do you think another phone deserves to be in it? Let us know in the comments below!