Budget smartphones are always high on demand in India. Nobody wants to spend more than Rs 15,000 on a phone that, let’s be honest, will be their aankhon ka tara for a year at best.
And with brands like Xiaomi and Moto generating a buzz in the below-15,000 price segment every year, buyers have moved on from their affinity for Samsung and the other so-called big brands.
As someone who’s in the business of writing about phones, I get a lot of queries from would-be buyers about handsets priced under 15K.
So, to answer those questions, here’s a compact list that everyone in the market should definitely give a read.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
With the Redmi Note 4, Xiaomi has brought out a phone that, to a large extent, rides on the coattails of the Note 3 but refines the user experience in many small yet discernible ways. You also get a phone that lasts long, helped by the 4100 mAh battery.
With the Note 4, Xiaomi has given us a device that’s relevant and competitive in 2017, without messing around too much though.
Price: Rs 12,999/Rs 14,999
Moto G5 Plus
The Lenovo-Moto combine recently unveiled the all-metal Moto G5 Plus. The latest Moto offering should be your pick if what you want a sorted, balanced phone which has good build quality and a refined software experience, not to mention the big design differentiator I mentioned.
It’s also the phone that’s more likely to be in stock if you should suddenly decide to make a purchase.
Price: Rs 14,999/Rs 16,999
Lenovo Z2 Plus
Lenovo’s Z2 Plus is still a contender in this segment, and the only phone among its rivals that packs in a Snapdragon 820 processor. For a phone priced under 15K, you get a compact device, with an efficient though okay-ish camera. The Z2 Plus is a pale imitation of the iPhone 5, but honestly, that’s not a bad thing at all.
It used to be a OnePlus 3 and Asus ZenFone 3 rival, though the price drop has made the Lenovo handset even more appealing.
Price: Rs 14,999
Also Read: Review: Lenovo Has Played All the Right Cards With the Z2 Plus
Asus Zenfone 3S Max
Asus ZenFone 3S Max is a smaller variant of the ZenFone 3 Max. For Rs 14,999, the ZenFone 3S Max is a battery contender that is right up there with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 and the Honor 6X. If battery is your primary concern, then the ZenFone 3S Max is the phone for you.
Price: Rs 14,999
Also Read: Asus ZenFone 3S Max Review: Just Another Long Battery Warhorse?
Huawei Honor 6X
The only phone in this range that packs in a dual camera, the Honor 6X is the younger sibling of the Honor 8. For under 15K though, you get a decent package. As for the camera, it doesn’t exactly wow you, but gets the work done effectively.
Price: Rs 12,999/Rs 15,999
Also Read: Huawei Honor 6X - Dual Lens Camera Phone for Everybody
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