Best Mobile Phones Under ₹15,000 in India (September 2023)

The iQOO Z6 Lite 5G was the first smartphone in India to come with Qualcomm’s last-gen entry-level chipset, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1. The iQOO Z6 Lite 5G also has a 120Hz refresh rate display, which is a feature all mobile gamers will appreciate since it enables gaming on a high frame rate. The new Qualcomm chip with a highly responsive display makes the iQOO Z6 Lite 5G a brilliant value for money option in this list. We also get a pretty decent set of cameras with the 50MP primary and 2MP macro dual rear camera setup. Furthermore, with 5,000mAh battery we get about a day and a half’s backup, but the 18W charging isn’t the fastest we have seen in this range. The iQOO Z6 Lite 5G is a great smartphone for those looking for something powerful yet efficient in the sub-₹ 15,000 segment.

One of the most recent budget smartphones in this list, the Samsung Galaxy M14 5G impressed us with the performance numbers the device is able to achieve, thanks to the 5nm Exynos 1330 chipset. Paired with 6GB of RAM, the Exynos 1330 SoC helps the Galaxy M14 5G achieve an AnTuTu score of 411,340. While on paper, the performance of the Samsung Galaxy M14 5G looks very good, in real life the situation is far from it. The smartphone feels slow and takes a while to run demanding apps or games as compared to some other competing devices. The display on the Samsung Galaxy M14 5G is also a PLS LCD display with 90Hz refresh rate. Despite an average performance, what makes the Samsung Galaxy M14 5G one of the top devices in our list of the best smartphones under ₹15,000, is the smartphone’s brilliant battery backup with the 6,000mAh battery that supports 25W fast charging. For our power user friends, this massive 6,000mAh battery will make a huge difference in terms of the overall package.

Another recently-launched smartphone, the Poco X5 5G is powered by the tried and tested Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 SoC, which has kind of become the go-to choice for OEMs in the budget 5G segment. The Snapdragon 695 chip allows the Poco X5 to achieve an AnTuTu score of over 400,000, which is great for a sub-₹15,000 smartphone. Apart from the performance figures, we also get a stunning and responsive super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate! Apart from this, the Poco X5 also has a standard 5,000mAh battery which supports 33W fast charging, which takes about an hour to charge the smartphone to full. In terms of optics, we get a triple rear camera with a 48-megapixel primary shooter, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle lens, and a 2-megapixel macro shooter. With a good mix of performance and premium features, the Poco X5 makes for a great choice for those who want a balanced experience out of their smartphone.

Moto G62 5G makes it to another top 10 list on Digit.in! The younger brother of our Zero1 winner for the budget smartphone category, the Moto G62’s performance figures, paired with a vibrant display and a super clean Android experience makes the Moto G62 5G hard to ignore in any top 10 list that talks about sub-₹15,000 smartphones. The device comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 SoC paired with up to 8GB of RAM. We also get a 120Hz IPS LCD display, which has a nice and vibrant colour tone, along with a responsive refresh rate. Apart from this, we also get a 50MP triple rear camera setup, which we found to be rather mediocre in our review. The battery life, however, is very good with the 5,000mAh unit, but the charging is quite slow. With a fairly powerful processor and a super clean software, the Moto G62 5G is a good bet for those looking for a safe option under ₹15,000.

The Realme 9 5G is last year’s popular budget-centric 5G offering. The Realme 9 5G, with the MediaTek Dimensity 810 SoC is good for an AnTuTu score of 369,800 points. In our review, the Realme 9 5G also showed good performance on other CPU benchmarks like on Geekbench, the Realme 9 5G scored 609 in the single core test and 1,828 points in the multi-core test. The smartphone also has a good 48MP + 2MP + 2MP triple rear camera setup that clicks very good photos. The 5,000mAh battery makes the smartphone last for 1.5 days easily, but the 18W takes too long to charge it to 100 percent. With a good battery and an above average performance, the Realme 9 5G naturally becomes a fairly decent choice for buyers who want their first 5G smartphone with a long battery life and good after sales service.

The Infinix Zero 5G 2023 features in our list of the best smartphones under Rs 15,000, despite being priced just above the mark. This is because the smartphone is packed with features despite the affordable price tag. The Infinix Zero 5G 2023 comes with a MediaTek Dimensity 1080 5G chip, which we have also seen on higher-priced smartphones. The SoC is paired with up to 8GB of RAM, which makes the Infinix Zero 5G 2023 one of the best performer in its range. Further, the smartphone comes with a nice premium faux leather design, which gives it a sort of a luxurious in-hand feel and we get a very nice IPS LCD display with 120Hz refresh rate. The battery specifications on the Infinix Zero 5G 2023 is the familiar 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging. So if you are in the market for a feature-packed smartphone at around ₹15,000, the Infinix Zero 5G 2023 offers a great value for your money.

The Vivo T2x 5G is Vivo’s recently-launched sub-₹15,000 5G offering. It makes its way in our top 10 list of smartphones under ₹15,000 given that this too, offers a complete Android experience to its users. We get a nice MediaTek Dimensity 6020 SoC, which is also present on the Realme Nazro 60 5G, along with 8GB of RAM. The Vivo T2x 5G also has a 5,000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging. For our power user friends, we get a good chipset and battery combination. However, the Vivo T2x 5G doesn’t make for the best complete package, since the display specs are underwhelming. We get a 6.58-inch IPS LCD display with 60Hz refresh rate. Now, this may not be as responsive as competition, but the 60Hz refresh rate will save battery on this smartphone.

Despite being a 4G offering, the Realme 10 deserves a spot in our top 10 list of smartphones under ₹15,000, since the smartphone still offers a lot to its users, except 5G of course. The Realme 10 is powered by a MediaTek Helio G99 chipset, which is a performance-centric chip in the entry-level segment. The Realme 10 5G is also one of the few devices in this range that come with a super AMOLED display, offering an immersive viewing experience to users. We get a 6.4-inch super AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate, which is not just crisp and sharp, it is also super responsive. Further, there is a 50MP dual rear camera setup that somehow takes very good images in greyscale. We also get a 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging, meaning that apart from being one of the most kickass 4G offerings in this list, buyers also get their money’s worth in the battery experience.

The Redmi Note 12 4G is another 4G smartphone that makes it to our list of best smartphones under ₹15,000. Why, because the smartphone is powerful, has a brilliant battery backup, and offers a reliable and trusted name with the features. Even without 5G connectivity, we get a very good package in the Redmi Note 12. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 chipset which is also a 6nm chip like the hugely popular SD 695, but comes without 5G connectivity. The Snapdragon 685 SoC is paired with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage. While UFS 2.2 may seem slow by today’s standard, most smartphones in this range and even in a segment above are still using UFS 2.2. On AnTuTu, the Redmi Note 12 4G scores just under 320,000 points. Now, this is not the best we have seen, but it indicates that the Redmi Note 12 4G is perfectly capable of handling all the basic functions. We also get very good battery backup with a 5,000mAh unit that lasts about two days. With 33W fast charging, you can charge it up in about an hour. So for those looking for something basic and reliable, the Redmi Note 12 4G makes for a very decent option, if only the buyer is not looking for 5G connectivity.