Best smartphones at Rs 30,000: Should you buy Poco F5, Galaxy F54, or Moto Edge 40?

Poco F5: A performance-centric beast

The Poco F5 is powered by the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2. (Image: Vivek Umashankar/Indian Express)

Performance is Poco’s forte, so it’s unsurprising to see that the Poco F5 is primarily focused on that aspect as well. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 chipset, a 4nm chip that even blows the yesteryear flagship chip Snapdragon 888+ out of the water.

With an AnTuTu score just a few thousand shy of touching a million, the Poco F5 is guaranteed to handle the most demanding gaming titles as well as any flagship. In its microsite for the phone, Poco has also talked about the F5’s cooling capabilities, which should ensure smooth extended gaming sessions.

That’s not to say the Poco F5 is focused entirely on processing power, though. The phone features a 64 MP OIS primary + 8MP ultrawide + 2MP camera setup, which in our review, performed impressively.

Additionally, despite carrying a 5,000 mAh battery, the Poco F5 weighs only 181 grams and is only 7.9mm thick. But as you’ll learn soon enough, despite such comfy dimensions, the Poco F5 is, in fact, not the most portable device out of the three.

Motorola Edge 40: For fans of aesthetics

The Motorola Edge 40 features a thin and light design. (Image: Motorola)

That title goes to the Motorola Edge 40. Measuring just 7.6mm thick and weighing only 167 grams, the Edge 40 isn’t just the comfiest to hold among the three, it’s one of the slimmest and lightest phones to release this year.

That’s because Motorola has invested heavily in the phone’s design. The metal frame, vegan leather back, curved display, and minimal bezels are a combination that isn’t seen often in the sub-Rs 30,000 segment. To top all this off, the Edge 40 boasts an IP68 rating too. Also, the 6.55-inch display should appeal to people with smaller hands – it’s a tad smaller than the 6.7-inch panels on the other two.

Another standout aspect is the display, which boasts a refresh rate of 144Hz that rivals gaming monitors. The MediaTek Dimensity 8020 chip under the hood, which again is almost flagship-level, will ensure that uncapped games run with silky smooth graphics. However, the Poco F5’s Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 is still notably more powerful. For photography, the Motorola Edge 40 features a dual camera setup at the rear, comprising 50MP OIS primary and 13MP ultrawide lenses.

Samsung Galaxy F54: Half a decade of software support

The Samsung Galaxy F54 5G is powered by the same chipset as the Galaxy A54. (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

Going by Samsung’s microsite for the Galaxy F54, the phone appears to be a camera-centric offering. The phone’s rear camera unit features 108MP OIS primary, 8MP ultrawide, and 2MP macro lenses while the selfie camera has a 32MP sensor. Judging by pixel count alone, the Galaxy F54 has an edge over the other two phones – but things are unfortunately not that simple.

For fans of no-frills, minimalistic designs, the Galaxy F54 will appeal with its Galaxy S23 series-inspired look. However, it will simply not feel as premium as the Edge 40 with its high-quality materials or as classy as the Poco F5 with its eye-wateringly slim front bezels. The Exynos 1380 chip the phone features should also feel noticeably slower than the other two.

Where the Galaxy F54 does have an edge is software. For fans of One UI, the Galaxy F54 will stay on the latest Android version for years to come, thanks to its promise of 4 generations of OS updates and 5 years of security updates. Samsung’s feature-packed software skin also offers a slew of goodies that the other two phones can’t keep up with. An example is Samsung Wallet – a one-stop destination for all your IDs, debit cards, and credit cards.

The Galaxy F54 is also a battery-centric device, packing a 6,000mAh unit which promises 2 days of usage. However, the significantly slower 25W charging speed, which almost takes two hours to fill up the phone, is also worth noting. The F54 also gives a miss to stereo speakers, unlike the other two.

Conclusion

If you already had definitive requirements on your mind, then chances are you’ve decided which phone to buy. For fans of mobile gaming, the Poco F5 is one of the most powerful handsets you can lay your hands on for Rs 30,000. For fans of design and a clean stock Android experience, the Motorola Edge 40 takes home the cake.

The Galaxy F54 is harder to recommend to someone with good hardware on their mind, as both Edge 40 and Poco F5 have a significant edge in that regard. But if battery life is paramount for you, and if you are locked into the Samsung ecosystem, then the Galaxy F54 isn’t a bad device at all.