The Digit Zero1 Awards recognizes and awards the best performing products of the year
Products are evaluated on basis of objective and scientific test processes, followed by Digit reviewers at the test centre in Noida and Mumbai
These are the winners for the Best Mid-Range Gaming Smartphone (Under Rs 30k) for 2021
Smartphone gaming is one of the fastest-growing industries and there was enough evidence to prove the same in 2021. There already exist a number of smartphone games like Fortnite and Call of Duty: Mobile that have become hugely popular over the last few years. However, getting the best experience out of these games requires nothing less than the best phone for gaming and the industry has responded with a new breed of gaming smartphones. However, what if you are on a budget, and still want a phone that can provide great gaming experiences? Well, fret not because this year saw some really good gaming phones under the Rs 30,000 price point, built from the ground up for gaming. For this category, we tested three phones — the Poco F3 GT, Realme GT Master Edition, and the iQOO Z5. While there are points of differentiation between them, all three do have a few things in common — lots of RAM and storage, a large, vibrant display with fast touch response, and long battery life. Read on to know our Digit Zero1 pick for the winner, runner-up, and best value for money buy from the segment.
Winner: Poco F3 GT (Buy Here)
The Poco F3 GT is a special device from the house of Poco. It packs a lot of powerful hardware and offers some interesting gaming first features. While the Poco F3 GT is not explicitly marketed by Poco as a gaming smartphone, it is in essence just that. Proof of it is the presence of physical gaming triggers, which honestly is one of the most interesting things about the Poco F3 GT and something that also helped it win the crown in this segment. These are maglev triggers that offer nice and tactile feedback, and as we found out, are quite helpful if you plan on spending a good chunk of your time playing heavy-duty games on the Poco F3 GT. Apart from this, the Poco F3 GT also scored well in our CPU and GPU tests, and in the process ensured that it emerged as the winner in the segment.
Runner-up: Realme GT Master Edition (Buy Here)
Realme GT Master Edition emerged as the runner-up in the segment, but only by a small margin. The Realme GT Master Edition promises great gaming experiences because it brings with it other hardware and software features that improve the experience of playing games and running resource-intensive applications on the device. The phone comes with a 120Hz AMOLED display with support for 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut. It also supports a 360Hz touch sampling rate which is not the fastest in the business but is still pretty good for a phone in this price range. At the heart of the device is a powerful Snapdragon 778G chipset, which helps the device provide an almost flawless experience with games running like a breeze on it.
Best Buy: iQOO Z5 (Buy Here)
The iQOO Z5 is the winner for the crown of the best buy in this particular category, and understandably so! It scored big on CPU and GPU performance and performed well in real-life gaming scenarios and was generally impressive in its overall performance. Powered by the Snapdragon 778G, the iQOO Z5 offers stable peaks and as a result, good thermals as well. All this coupled with the aggressive price point that iQOO has priced the device at, the Z5 automatically becomes a no-brainer.
ABOUT DIGIT ZERO 1 AWARDS
With a legacy of 20 years, the Digit Zero 1 Awards is recognized as the Industry’s only performance-based awards. Digit rewards brands for putting in years of research in developing and introducing performance-driven products for their audience. All products are made to pass through a rigorous and scientific test process and compete with competitor brands in the same category. The Winner in each category is announced on the basis of their total score, post complete performance analysis done across an average of 56 tests, conducted for every category, across key performance parameters. The test process for the Zero1 Awards does not consider scores for features, price or design. The aim is to identify the very best products that money can buy, celebrate the innovations that push the industry forward, and reward the products that dare to disrupt the market.
Follow Us
Sushant Talwar
Sushant Talwar is a full-time foodie who reviews cool gadgets and binges on TV shows when he is tired of playing video games. He is also in love with football and thinks Manchester United is a religion View Full Profile
