The under Rs.15,000 price point is crucial to the Indian smartphone industry since it is accessible to a lot of people. Over the years we have seen multiple manufacturers attempting to capture this segment by offering better cameras, faster processors, and better batteries. In order to be the best in this segment, manufacturers have flooded the sub-Rs. 15,000 price segment with a range of good smartphones.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 which was earlier exclusive to smartphones above Rs. 20,000 is now available under Rs. 15,000. You can also find mightier processors like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 675, and MediaTek Helio P70 at this price point, giving users powerful hardware at a bargain price.
Good camera technology has also trickled down to the sub Rs. 15,000 segment over the years giving people the option to capture good photos without paying a bomb for flagship devices. Some of the recent smartphones we have seen in this price point pack in as much as a 48-megapixel sensor. With so many options in the market, picking up a smartphone isn’t easy. But we’ve put together a list of the best phones under Rs. 15,000 for you. As usual, we’ve restricted ourselves to phones that have fared well in our review process.
1.Realme Narzo 10
The Realme Narzo 10 is a low-cost phone that claims to offer a great experience for young gamers thanks to the MediaTek Helio G80 SoC. It has an interesting look with subtle stripes down the back that appear to shift as you turn the phone under the light. It feels well built but is a little heavy thanks to the 5000mAh battery. The 6.5-inch display is quite good and the HD resolution won’t stress the processor too much, but some might prefer a crisper full-HD panel at this price. There are no variants, so you can only get this phone with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage in India. Gaming performance is quite good, though we did feel the upper rear get a bit warm while playing heavy games. Battery life is excellent and you can get well over a day of usage out of each charge. The cameras are largely average, with the primary one doing well in the daytime but the wide-angle and macro cameras feeling a little sub-par. Low light photography isn’t great, and video is also limited in quality.
| Realme Narzo 10 Specifications | |
| Display | 6.50-inch, 720×1600 pixels |
| Processor | MediaTek Helio G80 |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage | 128GB |
| Battery Capacity | 5000mAh |
| Rear Camera | 48MP + 8MP + 2MP + 2MP |
| Front Camera | 16MP |
2.Redmi Note 9 Pro
The Redmi Note 9 Pro has a lower starting price than its predecessors, but also doesn’t offer all the modern features that you might expect. It has a 6.67-inch LCD screen with a 60Hz refresh rate and hole-punch front camera at the top. The processor is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G which is surprisingly powerful for this segment. You also get a 5020mAh battery and suppport for 18W fast charging.
The Redmi Note 9 Pro is powerful and everyday work will go smoothly. The display is large and crisp, making games and movies look good. You have a choice between variants, one with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, and the other with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
The 48-megapixel primary camera was slightly disappointing overall, particularly in low light. There’s also an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera, a 5-megapixel macro camera, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. On the front you get a 16-megapixel selfie camera.
| Redmi Note 9 Pro Specifications | |
| Display | 6.67-inch, 1080×2400 pixels |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage | 64GB |
| Battery Capacity | 5020mAh |
| Rear Camera | 48MP + 8MP + 5MP + 2MP |
| Front Camera | 16MP |
3.Real Me 6
| Realme 6 Specifications | |
| Display | 6.50-inch, 1080×2400 pixels |
| Processor | MediaTek Helio G90T |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage | 64GB |
| Battery Capacity | 4300mAh |
| Rear Camera | 64MP + 8MP + 2MP + 2MP |
| Front Camera | 16MP |
4.Poco X2
The Poco X2 offers good value for money, with specifications and capabilities that few other companies can match in the sub-Rs. 20,000 market. The design, with its attention-grabbing circular patch on the rear and bright gradient finishes, might be a bit polarising but Poco has used Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back for durability. You get a large 6.67-inch screen with dual front cameras embedded in a cutout in the top-right corner. The display is bright, and supports a 120Hz refresh rate as well as HDR-10, but we didn’t find it to be too vibrant. Performance is very good thanks to the Snapdragon 730G processor, and you can get up to 8GB of RAM with up to 256GB of storage for less than Rs. 20,000. This phone also boasts of a 64-megapixel primary rear camera and it took very good stills in the daytime. The night mode also helped low-light photos look good. The wide-angle and macro cameras are less useful but still nice to have. Daytime videos looked good, but quality suffered a lot at night, especially when recording at 4K. Battery life was also quite good, but not spectacular.
| Poco X2 Specifications | |
| Display | 6.67-inch, 1080×2400 pixels |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G |
| RAM | 6GB |
| Storage | 64GB |
| Battery Capacity | 4500mAh |
| Rear Camera | 64MP + 2MP + 8MP + 2MP |
| Front Camera | 20MP + 2MP |
5.Realme 5i
Realme 5i shares the same design as the Realme 5 and the Realme 5s. It has a 6.52-inch display and a tiny waterdrop notch that houses the selfie camera. The Realme 5i packs a 5,000mAh battery which makes it a tad bulky at 195g. This smartphone is available in Aqua Blue and Forest Green colour variants.
The Realme 5i has a quad-camera setup at the back with a 12-megapixel primary sensor, a wide-angle camera, a macro camera and a depth sensor. This smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 SoC and comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. It also has an option for storage expansion upto 256GB.
It runs ColorOS 6.0.1on top of Android 9 Pie. The cameras on the Realme 5i are quick to focus and managed good details. It managed good shots in daylight but low-light camera performance was below-average.
| Realme 5i Specifications | |
| Display | 6.52-inch, 720×1600 pixels |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage | 64GB |
| Battery Capacity | 5000mAh |
| Rear Camera | 12MP + 8MP + 2MP + 2MP |
| Front Camera | 8MP |
6.Vivo U20
The Vivo U20 is from the online exclusive U series from Vivo. The Vivo U20 sports a 6.53-inch IPS LCD display with a dewdrop notch at the top. It has a full-HD+ resolution and a screen-to-body ratio of 90.3 percent. The phone is a tad bulky at 193g which is mainly down to the 5,000mAh battery that it packs.
Powering the Vivo U20 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 SoC and it is offered with 4GB RAM and 6GB RAM variants. Storage for both these variants remains the same at 64GB which is further expandable up to 256GB via a microSD card slot. The smartphone is available in Racing Black and Blaze Blue colour variants. In the box, the smartphone comes with an 18W fast charger which helps top the device quickly.
Vivo ships the U20 with Funtouch OS 9.2 running on top of Android 9. It does get a fair amount of bloatware preinstalled on the smartphone. The Vivo U20 has a triple camera setup at the back consisting of a 16-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel super-wide-angle camera, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. For selfies, it has a 16-megapixel selfie shooter. It clicks decent photos in daylight but low-light camera isn’t great.
| Vivo U20 Specifications | |
| Display | 6.53-inch, 1080×2340 pixels |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage | 64GB |
| Battery Capacity | 5000mAh |
| Rear Camera | 16MP + 8MP + 2MP |
| Front Camera | 16MP |
7.Samsung Galaxy M30s
The Galaxy M30s is an update to the Samsung Galaxy M30 which was launched earlier this year. This new smartphone packs in a 6,000mAh battery which is its highlight feature. We were impressed with the AMOLED display on this smartphone as it was crisp and had good viewing angles. The 6.4-inch display also got bright enough when outdoors.
Samsung has picked the Exynos 9611 SoC to power the Galaxy M30s which is the same processor powering the Galaxy A50s, There are two variants of the Galaxy M30s, 4GB RAM with 64GB of storage and 6GB of RAM with 128GB of storage. The processor isn’t as powerful as the Snapdragon 675 SoC but is on par with the Snapdragon 710 SoC.
The Galaxy M30s has a triple camera setup consisting of a 48-megapixel primary sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera and a 5-megapixel depth sensor. We were happy with the camera performance of the Galaxy M30s however, it was slow to focus while shooting macros. Video recording tops out at 4K but lacks stabilisation. On the other hand, videos shot at 1080p were stabilised.
We could use the Galaxy M30s for close to 2 days with our usage. The big battery does help to keep the phone away from the charger for long. Charging the phone took about 2 and a half hours with the supplied 15W charger.
| Samsung Galaxy M30s Specifications | |
| Display | 6.40-inch, 1080×2340 pixels |
| Processor | Samsung Exynos 9611 |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage | 64GB |
| Battery Capacity | 6000mAh |
| Rear Camera | 48MP + 5MP + 8MP |
| Front Camera | 16MP |
Summary list of Best Mobile Phones Under 15000 In India (22 June 2020)
| Best Mobile Phones Under 15000 In India | Prices |
|---|---|
| Realme Narzo 10 | Rs. 11,999 |
| Redmi Note 9 Pro | Rs. 12,999 |
| Realme 6 | Rs. 13,999 |
| Poco X2 | Rs. 13,987 |
| Realme 5i | Rs. 10,999 |
| Vivo U20 | Rs. 11,490 |
| Samsung Galaxy M30s | Rs. 14,399 |
Content Credit Gadgets NDTV
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