The Realme 14x 5G, launching in India today, seems like a fantastic value proposition for budget-conscious buyers. Though its primary USP is its rough and tough build quality, the 14x bags a bunch of other quality-of-life features, to set itself apart from competition. That is not to say, it’s perfect. The biggest con—on paper—is that it has a 720p display, which given its asking price of Rs 14,999, seems like an odd decision.
If that bogs you down, worry not, there are other options from the recently unveiled Poco M7 Pro to the customisable CMF Phone 1. There’s also the Xiaomi Redmi 13 and Vivo T3x that you can consider. Either way, you’ll get a smartphone high on features, and low on price.
Without further ado, here are the best smartphones to buy under Rs 15,000 at the time of writing:
Poco M7 Pro 5G
The Poco M7 Pro, as expected, is a Redmi Note 14 for less money. The specs are largely similar. It has a 6.67-inch 1080p AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2,100 nits. Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection is available. Powering the phone is the MediaTek Dimensity 7025 Ultra processor paired with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Running the show is Xiaomi HyperOS based on Android 14.
For photography, the Poco M7 Pro has a 50-megapixel Sony LYT-600 primary sensor paired with another 2MP macro camera, along with a 20MP selfie shooter. The phone is backed by a 5,110mAh battery with 45W fast charging support baked in. The M7 Pro comes in a choice of 6GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB for Rs 14,999 and Rs 16,999 respectively.
Realme 14x 5G
The Realme 14x gets you a 6.67-inch 120Hz LCD display with a peak brightness of 625 nits. The resolution is only 720p. But Realme compensates for it by giving you the best durability at its price. The 14x is IP69 dust and water resistance and SGS military-grade shock resistance. The core components such as the middle frame, camera, vibration motor and screen have cushioning sponges to prevent collision damage. Powering the phone is the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor paired with up to 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 128GB of eMMC5.1 storage.
Running the show is Realme UI 5.0 based on Android 14. The phone is backed by a 6,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging. For photography, it has a 50-megapixel main camera with f/1.8 aperture. On the front, it has an 8-megapixel camera for selfies. The Realme 14x is priced at Rs 14,999 for the base variant with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage going up to Rs 15,999 for the top-end model with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage.
CMF Phone 1
The one-of-a-kind CMF Phone 1 has a 6.67-inch LTPS AMOLED display with a 1080p resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. The panel can top 2,000 nits. Powering the phone is the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 processor and a 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging support. For photography, it has a dual camera setup on the rear with a 50-megapixel main paired to another 2-megapixel depth or portrait sensor. The front camera is a 16-megapixel. Software is Android 14-based Nothing OS 2.6.
The CMF Phone 1 can be snagged for as low as Rs 14,999 with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage currently. The 8GB/128GB variant is available for Rs 16,999.
Redmi 13 5G
The Redmi 13 5G sports a 6.79-inch 1080p LCD display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The screen can reach 550 nits in high brightness mode, though it lacks HDR support. Under the hood, the Redmi 13 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 processor. Software is Xiaomi’s HyperOS. For photography, it has an 108-megapixel Samsung HM6 main sensor with 3x in-sensor zoom and a 2-megapixel macro lens. The front camera is 13 megapixels. The device is powered by a 5,030mAh battery with 33W fast charging. The Redmi 13 5G comes in a choice of 6GB/128GB and 8GB/128GB at a price of Rs 13,999 and Rs 15,499 respectively.
Vivo T3x 5G
The Vivo T3x 5G has a 6.72-inch 1080p LCD display with a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 1,000 nits of peak brightness. Powering the phone is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 processor and a 6,000mAh battery with 44W fast charging. Running the show is Android 14. For photography the phone has dual rear cameras headlined by a 50-megapixel main sensor paired to another 2-megapixel portrait sensor. The front camera is an 8-megapixel. The Vivo T3x is IP64 rated.
It comes in a choice of 4GB/128GB, 6GB/128GB, and 8GB/128GB at a price of Rs 13,499, Rs 14,999, and Rs 16,499 respectively.
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