Best flagship killer smartphones of 2021: Realme GT, Mi 11X Pro, and more

What is a flagship killer? Ideally, it’s a phone that offers an experience akin to a high-end Samsung Galaxy or a premium iPhone at a fraction of the cost. The moniker picked up steam in 2014 with OnePlus entering the market with its first product, the OnePlus One. With OnePlus changing course, and getting into the flagship game, the term was starting to fizzle out, or at least that’s what you’d think.

A slew of brands, have since, taken the onus and made their own flagship killers this year. Here are our top picks.

Realme GT

The Realme GT is a performance-oriented phone from the get-go. At the same time, the combination of vegan leather and Realme’s signature yellow colourway (and minimal branding) makes the phone stand out from the crowd and feel good in the hands. It’s safe to say that the Realme GT brings back a bit of the excitement and déjà vu long lost in the industry after OnePlus moved on to a different trajectory.

Street price: Rs 37,999 (starting)

Xiaomi Mi 11X Pro

The Mi 11X Pro pairs good performance with a capable camera system that together make it great value. The standout feature of this phone, though, is its display. It has a 6.67-inch E4 AMOLED display sourced from Samsung. The panel has 120Hz refresh rate (360Hz touch sampling), 1300 nits of peak brightness and HDR10+ support. It also comes with Xiaomi’s version of Apple’s “True Tone.”

Street price: Rs 36,999 (starting)

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G

The 5G S20 FE arrived in India nearly six months after global debut which means that unlike other 2021 flagship killer phones, this one makes do with an older Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chip. But despite a late entry and having what some may call an ageing processor, the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G in fact, turned out to be one of the best smartphones to launch in India this year. It’s a no-brainer and a really good product despite burgeoning competition. One that gets you more bang for the buck yet manages to impress with all-round premium look and feel. Not to mention, it has the best software of the lot.

Street price: Rs 39,999 (starting)

iQOO 7 Legend: Rs 39,990

Rounding off our list is the iQOO 7 Legend, a phone that Vivo spinoff iQOO made in partnership with BMW M Motorsport, a BMW AG subsidiary known for its high-performance cars. iQOO 7 Legend comes in white and features BMW M’s iconic tri-colour racing stripes logo engraved with the slogan “Fascination meets innovation.” Technically, the vanilla iQOO 7 offers more value but the “legend” gets you more striking looks, those that are limited-edition without going overboard.

Street price: Rs 39,990 (starting)