What should Rs. 35,000 buy in October 2026? The realme P4s 5G has an answer that is hard to argue with: an 8,000mAh battery with 80W charging, a 6.78-inch 1.5K AMOLED at 144Hz, a 50MP main camera with OIS plus a real 8MP ultra-wide, 4K video, IP66, IP68 and IP69, and a written promise of 3 Android upgrades and 4 years of security patches. Listings sit between Rs. 33,000 and Rs. 35,000 for 8GB + 128GB, at or slightly under its launch price, which in a year of rising prices is news in itself. The chip is a solid mid-range part rather than a fast one, and the update promise is shorter than some rivals'. For most people spending about Rs. 35,000, this is the one to buy.
A naming note: the P4s 5G is not the P4s Lite 4G, the P4 5G or the P4 Power. realme's P4 family is crowded, and a spec sheet for the wrong one will print the wrong battery, chip and screen.
The trilemma, solved at a sensible weight.
Big battery, fast charging, light phone: pick 2, says the usual rule. The P4s picks all 3. 8,000mAh charged at 80W, in a body 8.6mm thick and 208g heavy, is serious packaging: plenty of phones carry less battery and more weight. realme quotes 50% in about 28.5 minutes; that is the maker's own lab figure rather than a measurement of ours, but 80W into 8,000mAh is the right ratio, and the phone can share its charge by cable too.
The screen is not the place realme saved money. A 6.78-inch 1.5K AMOLED at 450ppi and 144Hz is sharper than the full-HD panels many phones at this price still use. It is rated at 1,400 nits in high-brightness mode across the panel; the 6,500-nit headline is a local peak on a small part of the screen and should be read as a highlight figure, not a sunlight figure.
The cameras are 2 real cameras. At this price it is common to see a good main sensor beside a 2MP lens that exists mainly to fill a ring on the back. The P4s pairs its stabilised 50MP main with an 8MP ultra-wide that actually takes a different kind of photograph, and records 4K from the rear. 2 useful cameras beat 3 where one is decoration.
And it is built for the weather. IP66, IP68 and IP69 cover dust, submersion and high-pressure water jets. Add a promise of 3 Android upgrades and 4 years of security patches, which takes a phone bought this month to 2030, and you have a phone that is meant to last rather than merely to launch.
A sensible engine, and a few missing extras.
The chip. The Dimensity 7400 Ultra is a 4nm mid-range part with 4 Cortex-A78 cores at up to 2.6GHz. On paper it is comfortable for everyday use, social apps, video and casual games. It is not built to chase high frame rates for hours, and phones with newer Cortex-A720 cores, such as the Nord CE6, have a more modern design.
The selfie camera. 16MP and 1080p video from the front is fine for calls and social posts. Several rivals at this price offer 32MP and 4K from the front, so if your phone is mostly a video-call machine, look at those.
The updates are good, not the best. 3 Android upgrades and 4 years of patches is a real promise, but the POCO X8 Power offers 4 and 6, and the iQOO Z11 offers 3 and 5. If you keep phones well past 4 years, that gap matters.
The small stuff. No NFC, no microSD slot, Wi-Fi 5 rather than Wi-Fi 6, and no wireless charging. None is unusual at this price, but none is here.
The cheaper half of a near-twin.
The closest rival is the OnePlus Nord CE6, at about Rs. 36,000 for 8GB + 128GB. The 2 phones share a recipe: 8,000mAh at 80W, a 6.78-inch 1.5K 144Hz AMOLED at 450ppi, OIS, 4K video, stereo speakers, UFS 3.1, and a footprint within a tenth of a millimetre. The CE6 adds a 32MP autofocus selfie camera with 4K, a brighter panel in high-brightness mode, Wi-Fi 6 and an IP69K rating. The P4s answers with a real ultra-wide where the CE6 has a 2MP lens, a published update promise where OnePlus has none, 7 fewer grams, and a lower price. The CE6 launched at Rs. 29,999 and has since had 4 list-price rises; the P4s has not moved. Our OnePlus Nord CE6 review sets out its side.
POCO X8 Power 5G, about Rs. 31,000 for 8GB + 128GB today: if endurance is everything, 10,000mAh at 100W and a longer update promise make it the cheaper choice, at the cost of 229g and Wi-Fi 5. Read our POCO X8 Power 5G review.
iQOO Z11, about Rs. 35,000 for 6GB + 128GB: lighter at 199g, with a Dimensity 7500 Turbo and 4K from both cameras, but a smaller 7,050mAh battery at 44W and 2GB less memory at the base. Our iQOO Z11 review makes the case for a smaller battery. The vivo T5 5G is built on the same platform at about the same price.
For the wider field, our guide to the best phones between Rs. 30,000 and Rs. 50,000 names the P4s its best-value pick.
- You want 8,000mAh, 80W and a 1.5K 144Hz AMOLED for about Rs. 35,000
- You want 2 real rear cameras, with OIS and 4K
- You want an update promise in writing, to 2030
- You game seriously: the chip is mid-range
- You live on video calls: 16MP and 1080p from the front
- You want NFC, Wi-Fi 6 or a microSD slot
Buy. On published specification the realme P4s 5G gets almost every big decision right at about Rs. 35,000: 8,000mAh with 80W in a 208g body, a sharp 1.5K 144Hz AMOLED, a stabilised main camera with a real ultra-wide, 3 water ratings and a written update promise. It is still selling at or slightly under its launch price while rivals have climbed. The compromises are the ones you would expect at the price: a mid-range chip, a modest selfie camera, no NFC. If you game hard, look elsewhere; if you live on video calls, the Nord CE6 is worth its premium. For almost everyone else, this is the phone to buy at this money.
Same recipe as the dearer phone next to it. Without the markup.
The price is for the base 8GB + 128GB model, read from live listings at 2 major Indian retailers on 10 October 2026; launch prices are labelled as such. Rival prices are live listings for each phone's base model, checked the same day. Specifications are confirmed against at least 2 independent sources each, led by the maker's own India specification. Where sources disagreed, such as the build material and the reverse charging wattage, we left the claim out. Our verdict is based on published specification, not hands-on testing: we have not held this phone.
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