Motorola

The Moto G6 Plus has launched in India this week, starting at ~$309.

Lenovo’s new phone seems overpriced compared to devices from Xiaomi, Huawei, Realme, and others.

Xiaomi’s Pocophone F1 offers a flagship chipset and a bigger battery for a lower price.

The Moto G and Moto E series have traditionally been held up as great examples of capable budget smartphones. Now, the Moto G6 Plus has been released in India, but it seems like Lenovo missed news of a mid-range price war in the market.

The year has played host to a ton of great smartphone deals, making the 22,449 rupee (~$309) Moto G6 Plus look overpriced. For the price, you’re getting a Snapdragon 630 chipset, 6GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, and a 3,200mAh battery. You’re also getting a 12MP+5MP rear camera pairing, a 16MP selfie shooter, and a 5.9-inch full HD+ display.

That’s a solid deal but Xiaomi has several more intriguing devices in India.

A flood of affordable phones

The Pocophone F1 is a much better deal at 20,999 rupees (~$290), offering a top-flight Snapdragon 845 chipset, 6GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, a 4,000mAh battery, a 12MP/5MP rear camera, and IR face unlock. And all of this is available at a cheaper price than the Moto G6 Plus.

The vast majority of phones will look expensive next to the game-changing Pocophone device, but Xiaomi’s Mi A2 and Redmi Note 5 Pro also offer better value for money. Both of these phones offer a more powerful chipset and dual rear cameras, while the Redmi Note 5 Pro has a 4,000mAh battery too.

Huawei also has a cheaper yet more capable offering in the new Honor Play gaming-focused phone. For a starting price of 20,000 rupees (~$275), you’re getting a top-end Kirin 970 chipset, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, a 3,750mAh battery, a 16MP/2MP rear camera combo, and a 16MP selfie shooter.

Honor Play

Then there’s the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1, with the 6GB/64GB model available for 14,999 rupees (~$206). The phone also has a slightly more current Snapdragon 636 chipset, a 16MP+5MP dual camera pairing, and a 5,000mAh battery. And this is all available for 7450 rupees (~$103) less than the G6 Plus.

Toss in other devices like the Realme series and Infinix Zero 5 Pro, and you’ve got a Moto device that looks out of touch in the Indian market.

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It’s pretty clear that several manufacturers are engaged in a race to the bottom, as they seek to get a bigger slice of the Indian pie. Market share isn’t the sole way to calculate success as Apple proves, but can Lenovo afford to turn a blind eye to the price war and charge Apple-like premiums instead?

Keen on getting the Moto G6 Plus anyway? You can check out the store listing below. What do you make of the device? Let us know in the comments section.