It’s not simple to compile a list of the best smartphones under Rs 15,000 in India, as it is for those under Rs 20,000. While in the latter case, it’s advisable to pick a 5G phone and there are a few good ones out there, it’s hard finding a 5G phone under Rs 15,000 without a fair bit of compromises. The choice is yours— buy a phone with better specs and 4G or tone down your expectations and get 5G with a relatively dumbed-down spec sheet.
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Depending on what you choose to go with, there are options across a wide range of brands ranging from Xiaomi’s Redmi to Realme, Motorola, and even Samsung, that you can look at. For this list in particular, we’ve tried to include products that are fresh which is to say, launched recently and covered both phones with both 4G and 5G so you have some variety. The Redmi Note 12 4G gets you the specs, while Realme’s C55 gets you a neat party-trick inspired from the iPhone 14 Pro. The Samsung Galaxy F14V 5G brings 5G on a budget, while the Moto G13 offers great value for way less.
Here are our top 5 picks for best smartphones you can buy under Rs 15,000 in April 2023:
Redmi Note 12 4G: If specs are what you crave on a tight budget, the Redmi Note 12 4G is the phone for you. It has a 108op AMOLED screen with fast 120Hz refresh rate and attractive IP53-rated design. Powering the package is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 685 and a 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging baked-in— a hardware combo that entails reliable day-to-day performance and long-lasting battery life. The 50MP main camera is good, too, for the most part giving you a compelling all-rounder on the whole with a starting price of Rs 14,999 for 6GB/64GB.
Realme C55: The entry-level C55 from Realme packs some notable hardware including a 90Hz display and 33W fast charging. You also get a neat little party trick called “mini capsule” which is a dynamic notch system inspired from Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro dynamic island tech. Running the show is MediaTek’s Helio G99 and the latest Android 13 software under the hood. You get a 64MP main camera in this phone and an 8MP shooter on the front. A version with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage costs Rs 10,999, 6GB/64GB Rs 11,999, and 8GB/128GB is available for Rs 13,999.
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Samsung Galaxy F14 5G: The Galaxy F14 5G brings a 6.6-inch 1080p LCD display with a 90Hz refresh rate, Samsung’s Exynos 1330 processor, and massive 6,000mAh battery (with 25W fast charging) at a base price of Rs 14,490 (4GB/128GB). Being a modern-day Samsung phones means its guaranteed for long-term support which is 2 major OS and up to 4 years of security updates. For photography, you get a 50MP main camera in this phone.
Realme 10 4G: The Realme 10 brings an attractive design and big battery with fast charging for Rs 13,999 (4GB/64GB). More specifically, you get a 6.4-inch AMOLED display with a 1080p resolution and 90Hz refresh rate, MediaTek’s Helio G99 chip, Android 12-based Realme UI 3.0 software, dual cameras headlined by a 50MP main sensor, and 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging.
Motorola G13: The Moto G13 is technically an entry-level smartphone, but clearly it’s ahead of the curve on so many levels, we had to put it in this list. The Moto G13 comes with a fast 90Hz display and stereo speakers capable of Dolby Atmos playback making it seemingly ideal for content consumption. There are other niceties, too, including an IP52 splash resistant build, near stock Android user experience and large 5,000mAh battery. Moto G13 price in India starts at Rs 9,499 for a version with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. A model with double the storage— 128GB— will set buyers back by Rs 9,999.
