If you are in the market for a new smartphone, and have a budget of about Rs 15,000, you will be flooded by several options. As this is the segment that lies right in between basic smartphones and their mid-segment counterparts, phones here often come with traces of both zones. So you are likely to get devices that are a blend of solid basics like great battery life (albeit with slightly slower charging speeds), expandable storage and 3.5mm audio jacks, and mid-segment-ish features like better cameras, slightly faster processors and sleeker design than in the basic smartphone world.
So if you are looking to step past the basic smartphone zone, but are not too sure of venturing into the mid-segment, here are five super phones that you can get for under Rs 15,000:
Moto G54: The Spec Monster
Price: Rs 13,999 onwards
If you are chasing the best specs in the segment, the Moto G54 could well be the phone you are looking for. It ticks off more spec boxes than devices way more expensive than it does. It comes with a 6.5-inch FHD+ display with 120Hz refresh rate and runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 7020 chip, which is one of the most powerful in the segment, combined with a minimum of 8GB RAM and 128GB storage (expandable).
It also features a very good 50-megapixel main camera with OIS (very rare at this price) and a decent 8-megapixel secondary camera, a rather good 16-megapixel selfie camera, and not just a 3.5 mm audio jack, but also stereo speakers! Round this off with a massive 6,000mAh battery with 33W charging (and a charger in the box), a colourful design that will turn heads, and clean stock Android, and the Moto G54 becomes the best deal you can get for under Rs 15,000.
In fact, if you are ready to spend Rs 15,999, you can get its 12GB+256GB variant.
The Poco X5 was launched earlier this year at a price of Rs 18,999, and it had seemed very good value for money even at that time. So imagine how good a deal it seems at its new sub-Rs 15,000 price. Its design might seem a little on the plain side, but the phone is one of the few in the segment to feature a brilliant 6.67-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and runs on the slightly old, but still very powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 processor.
It comes in 6GB+128GB and 8GB+256GB configurations with expandable storage and features a triple camera set up on the back with a 48-megapixel main sensor and a very useful 8-megapixel ultrawide, although the 2-megapixel macro is more hit than miss.
The phone also packs a massive 5,000mAh battery with support for 33W charging and a charger in the box too. Very good value for not too much money (at the time of writing, the 8GB+256GB variant was available for Rs 14,999).
Redmi 12 5G: Chipping In With The Best
Price: Rs 11,999 onwards
With its clean and elegant design (a glass back is rare in this range) and powerful new processor, the Redmi 12 5G is one of the best options for those wanting a phone for under Rs 15,000.
The phone is the first in India to come with the very powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 processor (some more expensive phones still come with Gen 1), making it a very capable performer. It also features a large 6.79-inch FHD+ display with a 90Hz refresh rate, a minimum of 128 GB storage (with expandable memory) and a large 5,000mAh battery, although it charges at a relatively slow 18W.
The 50-megapixel camera on the back does a reasonable job, although its 2-megapixel 'depth' companion is largely decorative. The Redmi 12 5G starts at Rs 11,999 but you can even get its 8 GB/ 256 GB variant for under Rs 15,000.
If you are looking for a decently specced phone that will turn heads, the Realme 11x is a worthy option. In a price segment where design tends to be low profile, its spherical camera unit and hue-shifting purple shade make the Realme 11x stand out.
It is very well specced too, with a MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ chip powering it and a bright 6.72-inch FHD+ display, although with only a 60H refresh rate.
That spherical camera unit on the back houses a very good 64-megapixel main sensor and a large 5,000mAh battery keeps the phone going for comfortably more than a day, with a 33W charger to recharge it speedily as well. It is one of the few phones in the segment that comes with a style quotient.
The Galaxy F23 was released by Samsung last year. The fact that it makes this list proves just how good the device was and still is. What makes the F23 such a good proposition even now is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750 chip, which was seen in mid-segment devices, and despite its age, remains a very powerful option at this price point.
The phone also features a 6.6-inch FHD+ display (albeit with a 'normal' 60 Hz refresh rate) and a very good main 50-megapixel camera, as well as a massive 5,000mAh battery (although with no charger in the box). You get RAM and storage variants of 4GB+128GB and 6GB+128GB, with support for expandable storage.
You might end up getting slightly better specs in some other departments on other phones, but its oldie-that-remains-a-goldie chip makes the Galaxy F23 a contender in the sub-Rs 15,000 zone even a year after its release.
