Realme 12 Pro+ vs Redmi Note 13 Pro vs Nothing Phone 2a: Which is the best phone under Rs 30,000?

The sub-Rs 30,000 segment is one of the best when it comes to value-for-money phones. This is the segment where most smartphone users will get the most bang for their buck. That said, this segment is also constantly seeing new phones come in and old ones go out. The top current devices in the segment include the Realme 12 Pro+, the Redmi Note 13 Pro, and the Nothing Phone (2a).

Today, we put these three phones against each other to see which is the better device, for all kinds of users, including gamers, shutterbugs, and more. Let’s begin.

Design

The first aspect you consider for any smartphone is the external design. Unlike a few years ago, this segment no longer sees brands compromising with design or build quality.

This is where the Realme 12 Pro+ and the Nothing Phone (2a) stand supreme. While the Realme 12 Pro+ comes with a nice vegan leather back, giving the phone a unique texture and look, the Nothing Phone (2a) comes with a transparent design that lets you peak into the phone and enjoy its internals.

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The Redmi Note 13 Pro looks like a very standard phone in comparison, but the higher-end Redmi Note 13 Pro+ comes with a multi-coloured vegan leather back. However, that phone will set you back a little more than Rs 30,000.

Display

The display is also a crucial part, since it is the part that you will use to actually interact with the phone. The Realme 12 Pro+ comes with a 6.7-inch AMOLED panel with 120Hz refresh rate and 950 nits peak brightness.

The Redmi Note 13 Pro features a 6.67-inch AMOLED panel with 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness 1,800 nits. Meanwhile, the Nothing Phone (2a) comes with a 6.7-inch 120Hz panel with 1,300 nits peak brightness.

While all three phones have roughly the same sized display, and a similar AMOLED panel, the Redmi Note 13 Pro stands out with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection. The Nothing Phone (2a) has Gorilla Glass 5 protection, while the Realme 12 Pro+ doesn’t have any protection from Corning.

Performance

The Realme 12 Pro+ and the Redmi Note 13 Pro both come with a 4nm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset. The Nothing Phone (2a), however, comes with a 4nm MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro chip.

All three phones are about the same in this department, but the Nothing Phone (2a) edges the other two out by featuring a slightly higher clock speed.

Cameras

The Realme 12 Pro+ features a 50MP main + 64MP telephoto + 8MP ultrawide camera. In comparison, the Redmi Note 13 Pro comes with a 200MP main + 8MP ultrawide + 2MP macro camera. The Nothing Phone (2a) comes with a 50MP main and a 50MP ultrawide camera.

While the numbers don’t tell the whole story for any smartphone camera, each of the three phones has a key area. The Realme 12 Pro+ comes with a 64MP telephoto sensor, while the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ comes with a 200MP main camera. The Nothing Phone (2a) comes with neither but offers a higher resolution 50MP ultrawide camera.

Battery and charging

The Realme 12 Pro+ comes with a 5,000mAh battery with 67W wired charging support. The Redmi Note 13 Pro comes with a slightly larger 5,100mAh battery with 67W wired charging support. The Nothing Phone (2a) comes with a 5,000mAh battery with 45W charging support.

While all three phones have roughly the same amount of battery capacity, the Redmi Note 13 Pro edges the other two out in by offering a slightly bigger battery and shares the top spot for the fastest charging between the three. Note that battery life also depends on plenty of other factors like app optimisation, so a direct comparison basis the numbers may not always be accurate.

Software

The Realme 12 Pro+ and the Nothing Phone (2a) come with Android 14, however, they both come with their own flavour. The Realme 12 Pro+ comes with Realme UI 5, while the Nothing Phone (2a) comes with Nothing OS 2.5.

The Redmi Note 13 Pro falls behind with Android 13-based MIUI, but is expected to get the Android 14-based HyperOS update later. However, this will mean that the Redmi phone receives one less update in the longer run.

The software style you prefer will ultimately come down to personal preference, there are some major changes to note here. While Realme UI and MIUI/HyperOS are heavily customised skins which come with a lot of apps, and in some cases, ads, Nothing OS 2.5 is a cleaner, near-stock experience with fewer customisation options.

Unboxed Take

Now that you’ve checked out all three smartphones head-to-head, it’s time to see which one makes more sense for you. If you want the best possible screen in this segment, you can choose the Redmi Note 13 Pro for the reasons mentioned above.

For the best performance and cleanest software experience, you can choose the Nothing Phone (2a). While the Nothing Phone (2a) edges out the other two phones slightly in raw performance, do note that you can get a higher-end variant of the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ and Nothing Phone (2a) under Rs 30,000, which offers 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.

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For the best battery life, you can choose the Redmi Note 13 Pro. While it isn’t very different from the other two phones, it still is the biggest battery capacity and the fastest charging phone among the three.

Other aspects like the design are subjective. This can also be said about the camera performance, as all three phones offer very different camera setups, and hence, cannot be directly compared.

The Redmi Note 13 Pro will click the highest resolution photos, while the Realme 12 Pro+ will have the most details in portrait shots. The Nothing Phone (2a) should offer better ultrawide and macro shots. We leave you to choose the best device for yourself here.

There you go! You now know all about these three popular phones under Rs 30,000, and we hope you now have a better idea of which one is the best one for you. Stay tuned to Unboxed by Croma for more in-depth comparisons!