Best smartphones to buy under Rs 15,000 || Redmi Note 8 Pro, Poco F1 and Realme 5 Pro
Most Indian consumers look for a smartphone that doesn't cost a bomb to own but offers all the essential features with a dash of style, some good cameras and a battery big enough to make through a day. This defines the sub-Rs 15,000 category where you can find at least a dozen of smartphones from various brands. Whether you want good cameras or powerful battery, there's a phone for you in this price range. However, choosing from a sea of dozens of phones is often a task.
Especially now, when the year is ending, there are a host of options that include a couple of new phones launched a few weeks ago as well as some old phones that have been more expensive a few months ago. The sub-Rs 15,000 segment has the right mix of both old and new phones at this time and depending on your preferences, one of these can just be the right phone for you.
But which one is it? That's what we are here to answer today.
Best smartphones to buy under Rs 15,000
Redmi Note 8 Pro (from Rs 14,999)
You can't go wrong with a Redmi Note device from Xiaomi and the latest model - the Redmi Note 8 Pro, is the best of its series yet. The new Note offers the biggest display in a Xiaomi phone, measuring 6.5-inches and uses an IPS LCD screen with narrow bezels. The Redmi Note 8 Pro also takes mobile gaming seriously with its MediaTek Helio G90T chipset that's paired with a liquid-cooling system and 6GB RAM as standard. A new quad-camera system with a 64-megapixel Samsung sensor at the helm ends up doing a good job with the photography. The 4500mAh battery is big enough to make it to the end of the day easily and it gets an 18W fast charging system. The Note 8 Pro is also the only phone in its category with a Gorilla Glass 5 panel on both front and back.
Realme 5 Pro (from Rs 13,999)
The Realme 5 Pro is a couple of months old but it packs quite a punch. The Realme 5 Pro is one of the few phones to offer a Snapdragon 712 chipset under Rs 15,000. However, the phone impresses elsewhere with a Full HD+ 6.3-inch display and a big 4035mAh battery. The phone also gets Oppo's VOOC 3.0 20W fast charging system. For the cameras, it uses a quad-camera system that includes a 48-megapixel camera along with three other clever camera systems. However, the Realme 5 Pro has a plastic body and the base variant only comes with 4GB RAM.
Motorola One Vision (from Rs 14,999)
This is the most unique smartphone you can buy for less than Rs 15,000. The One Vision comes with 21:9 CinemaVision 6.3-inch display featuring a punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera at the front. The narrow body is easy to hold and features a glass panel at the back. It relies on a Samsung Exynos 9609 chipset and paired with a stock Android interface, the user experience is usually smooth.
The 3500mAh battery may just make it to the end of a busy day but where the One Vision shines is its camera performance. The 48-megapixel camera at the back comes with a Night Vision mode that's easily the best in its class. If you want something unique, this is the phone to go for.
Poco F1 (from Rs 14,999)
Once Xiaomi's flagship, the Poco F1 is currently the cheapest phone running a Snapdragon 845 chipset. The F1 may look old with its huge notch, thick bezels and a plastic body but it's unbeatable when it comes to performance. If you love playing games more than anything else, the Snapdragon 845 chip offers incredible performance. The 4000mAh battery comes with support for 18W fast charging. And it's one of the few phones with an IR based face unlock system. The Poco F1 is currently on the Android 10 update with MIUI 11 onboard.
Samsung M30s (from Rs 13,999)
Samsung has been at its aggressive best and the Galaxy M30s is another good example of that. The M30s has some class-leading specs in the form of a 48-megapixel camera with Samsung's Super Slow Motion video recording, a 6.4-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display and a huge 6000mAh battery with 15W fast charging technology. The phone looks classy but you can choose the gradient colours as well if you want more style. The M30s, however, is made of plastic and the Exynos 9611 chipset may not compete with the Helio G90T and Snapdragon 712 in terms of raw performance.
Especially now, when the year is ending, there are a host of options that include a couple of new phones launched a few weeks ago as well as some old phones that have been more expensive a few months ago. The sub-Rs 15,000 segment has the right mix of both old and new phones at this time and depending on your preferences, one of these can just be the right phone for you.
But which one is it? That's what we are here to answer today.
Best smartphones to buy under Rs 15,000
Redmi Note 8 Pro (from Rs 14,999)
You can't go wrong with a Redmi Note device from Xiaomi and the latest model - the Redmi Note 8 Pro, is the best of its series yet. The new Note offers the biggest display in a Xiaomi phone, measuring 6.5-inches and uses an IPS LCD screen with narrow bezels. The Redmi Note 8 Pro also takes mobile gaming seriously with its MediaTek Helio G90T chipset that's paired with a liquid-cooling system and 6GB RAM as standard. A new quad-camera system with a 64-megapixel Samsung sensor at the helm ends up doing a good job with the photography. The 4500mAh battery is big enough to make it to the end of the day easily and it gets an 18W fast charging system. The Note 8 Pro is also the only phone in its category with a Gorilla Glass 5 panel on both front and back.
Realme 5 Pro (from Rs 13,999)
The Realme 5 Pro is a couple of months old but it packs quite a punch. The Realme 5 Pro is one of the few phones to offer a Snapdragon 712 chipset under Rs 15,000. However, the phone impresses elsewhere with a Full HD+ 6.3-inch display and a big 4035mAh battery. The phone also gets Oppo's VOOC 3.0 20W fast charging system. For the cameras, it uses a quad-camera system that includes a 48-megapixel camera along with three other clever camera systems. However, the Realme 5 Pro has a plastic body and the base variant only comes with 4GB RAM.
Motorola One Vision (from Rs 14,999)
This is the most unique smartphone you can buy for less than Rs 15,000. The One Vision comes with 21:9 CinemaVision 6.3-inch display featuring a punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera at the front. The narrow body is easy to hold and features a glass panel at the back. It relies on a Samsung Exynos 9609 chipset and paired with a stock Android interface, the user experience is usually smooth.
The 3500mAh battery may just make it to the end of a busy day but where the One Vision shines is its camera performance. The 48-megapixel camera at the back comes with a Night Vision mode that's easily the best in its class. If you want something unique, this is the phone to go for.
Poco F1 (from Rs 14,999)
Once Xiaomi's flagship, the Poco F1 is currently the cheapest phone running a Snapdragon 845 chipset. The F1 may look old with its huge notch, thick bezels and a plastic body but it's unbeatable when it comes to performance. If you love playing games more than anything else, the Snapdragon 845 chip offers incredible performance. The 4000mAh battery comes with support for 18W fast charging. And it's one of the few phones with an IR based face unlock system. The Poco F1 is currently on the Android 10 update with MIUI 11 onboard.
Samsung M30s (from Rs 13,999)
Samsung has been at its aggressive best and the Galaxy M30s is another good example of that. The M30s has some class-leading specs in the form of a 48-megapixel camera with Samsung's Super Slow Motion video recording, a 6.4-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display and a huge 6000mAh battery with 15W fast charging technology. The phone looks classy but you can choose the gradient colours as well if you want more style. The M30s, however, is made of plastic and the Exynos 9611 chipset may not compete with the Helio G90T and Snapdragon 712 in terms of raw performance.