Please recommend Android phone (2025)

[RDR]

Hi, I'm looking to buy an Android phone for my mother under 40k budget. Her main requirements in priority order are:

1. Lightweight and not very big
2. Good camera and good screen
3. Good battery
4. Reliable and durable ~3 years

I am currently considering the following phones:
- Oneplus 13R
- Pixel 7a

I'll be grateful if people can suggest other great phones in this budget.

 

[Raghav2006]

S20FE buttery smooth with premium features of S series.

Agreed, but s23 fe is even better features and performance wise, but for in hand feel in all my current devices nothing beats s20 fe

 

[cardio_guy]

Redmi note 14 pro could be good

 

[theMessiah]

I’ve read that the battery is small on S23?

Do Samsung phones now slow down after couple of months of usage like they used to?

Small phones have smaller capacity battery. Since it's for your mother the usage will not enough for the battery to be a bottleneck. I won't recommend fe version or even s24 as in the long term exynos struggles and if you're spending 40k or more you should never get a exynos.

 

[Raghav2006]

I’ve read that the battery is small on S23?

Do Samsung phones now slow down after couple of months of usage like they used to?

Not true.

Not anymore, using s20 fe 5g for 3 yrs now and s23 fe for a yr, both still work like a charm.

 

[Garry]

If she is okay with iOS, then you should consider iPhone (whichever suits the budget) as its reliable and durable for long time and handy in comparison to current big android phones.

 

[k989]

buy a phone launched in india after Jan 1st. It will have NavIC which will give you better gps accuracy. Do NOT buy a Pixel. It has numerous software bugs which you will go crazy about. (trust this from a two times Pixel user) + all the older pixels have serious network modem issues.
OnePlus 13R seems a good choice in your budget.

 

[jhanishdev]

Samsung phones (including Exynos) do not slow down. Samsung promised 4 years of software updates and 5 years of security updates. The phone will definitely not see such a long ownership tenure. bloatware remains but not bothersome.

I got my mother a Samsung A52S in 2021 and it is still running smooth, definitely slowed down with newer software like every phone but still not worth replacing in 2025.

 

[RDR]

Samsung any day with wide variable spectrum of phones as per budget. Unmatched security. AI/ Smarthing/Samsung Pay & its own One UI is GEM 💎

1 suggestion only, s23 fe.

Thanks, lots of love for Samsung here! I will research more on S23 FE and S23.

Redmi note 14 pro could be good

I want to avoid Xiaomi/Redmi due to bloatware.

Small phones have smaller capacity battery. Since it's for your mother the usage will not enough for the battery to be a bottleneck. I won't recommend fe version or even s24 as in the long term exynos struggles and if you're spending 40k or more you should never get a exynos.

Thanks for the tip. I feel Snapdragon processors are more reliable in the long run. My mom doesn't need to run any heavy apps, I just want to ensure that the phone doesn't slow down over time and become frustrating to use.

If she is okay with iOS, then you should consider iPhone (whichever suits the budget) as its reliable and durable for long time and handy in comparison to current big android phones.

As an iPhone user myself, I did consider it but my mom has some of her govt department apps that are available only on Android.

buy a phone launched in india after Jan 1st. It will have NavIC which will give you better gps accuracy. Do NOT buy a Pixel. It has numerous software bugs which you will go crazy about. (trust this from a two times Pixel user) + all the older pixels have serious network modem issues.
OnePlus 13R seems a good choice in your budget.

Navigation is not really a consideration for her.

I will definitely stay away from the Pixels. Glad that I asked here! Thank you folks!

Consideration list now:
- OnePlus 13R
- Samsung S23 FE
- Samsung S23
- Nothing Phone (will checkout variants)

 

[deovratsingh123]

Thanks, lots of love for Samsung here! I will research more on S23 FE and S23.


I want to avoid Xiaomi/Redmi due to bloatware.


Thanks for the tip. I feel Snapdragon processors are more reliable in the long run. My mom doesn't need to run any heavy apps, I just want to ensure that the phone doesn't slow down over time and become frustrating to use.


As an iPhone user myself, I did consider it but my mom has some of her govt department apps that are available only on Android.


Navigation is not really a consideration for her.

I will definitely stay away from the Pixels. Glad that I asked here! Thank you folks!

Consideration list now:
- OnePlus 13R
- Samsung S23 FE
- Samsung S23
- Nothing Phone (will checkout variants)

You can't go wrong with any of these. But whatever you get on the best price.

 

[Garry]

As an iPhone user myself, I did consider it but my mom has some of her govt department apps that are available only on Android.

In that case, I would recommend to go with one plus 13R as it’s UI is cleaner than other Chinese brands and also one plus is giving life time Warranty of green line in screen.

 

[Nishan11]

Oneplus 13R will be best option followed by Samsung S23 FE.

 

[gowthamv]

OnePlus 13R is a value for money product!