Best phones under Rs 10,000 you can buy in India

Redmi Note 7S Redmi Note 7 Pro was the first phone under Rs 15,000 to offer a 48 MP rear camera, and that too with a Sony IMX586 flagship sensor. Redmi Note 7S offers the same camera under Rs 10,000. Plus, that’s not all, it has the same glass-clad design too with protection against marks at the front as well as at the back, courtesy of Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The principal camera uses pixel binning that combines information from four pixels into one to provide more light data and retain finer details in captured images. As a result, it manages to capture wonderful shots in all lighting conditions, including low light. There’s also a secondary 5 MP camera for depth sensing that supports portrait mode. The 13 MP front camera does an immeasurable job with selfies. You get a 6.3-inch Full HD+ display with a drop notch. This handset is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC that is an excellent choice for this segment. You get 3 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage that can be extended further. Another Rs 2,000 can get you its 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage variant, which is a better option. It has a 4,000 mAh battery that easily lasts over a day of moderate usage. Redmi Note 7S runs Android Pie OS out of the box with an MIUI 10 layer on top. This is hands down the most useful camera phone in this list.

Xiaomi Mi A2  Another Xiaomi device makes it to our sub-10K list this month but it couldn’t be more different from the Redmi Note 7S. Mi A2 is an Android One device and plays a more classical look with a good old 5.99-inch narrow bezel 18:9 Full HD+ display without any notch, and a metal body. It is powered by a Snapdragon 660 SoC (the only similarity with the 7S) and comes with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage in this budget. While the Mi A2 is a great all-round phone, it misses a few notable features. There’s no 3.5 mm headphone jack or a microSD card slot to expand the internal storage. There is a 128 GB storage variant with 6 GB RAM available for 3K more, just in case. When it comes to snap shooting, you have 12 MP + 20 MP dual cameras at the back that do a heavenly job in all lighting conditions. Furthermore, though the phone is over a year old, the cameras can hold their own even today. The 20 MP secondary camera helps greatly with improving its low light photography and seizing excellent shots in varied lighting conditions. Long story short, you get a solid Android One device with stock Android UI, frequent OS and security updates and competent hardware. No MIUI is a bonus.

Honor 9N   Honor 9N was the first phone in India with a rough appearance to breach the 12K price barrier. Yes, this phone is considerably older but still appropriate, especially for those who still like small phones. It’s been available for under Rs 10,000 for a while and the price of the 4G RAM + 64 GB storage model has dropped even further. This phone has 2.5D glass at the front as well as at the back with a mirror-like surface. It has a fairly compact 5.84-inch notched display with a 19:9 aspect ratio and a Full HD+ resolution of 2280 x 1080 pixels. The phone is powered by Huawei’s Kirin 659 octa-core SoC and has a 3,000 mAh battery that lasts for a working day. There’s a 13 MP + 2 MP dual-camera system at the back and a 16 MP front camera that clicks some good selfies. It runs Android Oreo with EMUI 8.0 layer on top. This phone will soon be introducing an Android Pie update.

Samsung Galaxy M20  Here’s one for the Samsung fans. In an attempt to be competitive in the lower mid-range segment, Samsung launched the M series phones earlier this year. The Samsung Galaxy M20 has a 6.3-inch PLS TFT Full HD+ display with a drop notch. It is powered by an Exynos 7904 SoC which is analogous to a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 or a MediaTek P60. It is accompanied by 3 GB RAM and 32 GB of internal storage that can be extended further using a microSD card. It has a massive 5,000 mAh battery that can last up to two days of moderate usage. Like all M series phones, it debuted with Android Oreo 8.1 OS with Samsung’s Experience UI layer on top. The phone has started receiving the Android Pie update with the much better One UI. The photography department is handled by 13 MP + 5 MP dual rear cameras, and there’s an 8 MP camera for selfies. The photos come out sharp in good lighting conditions and the low light performance is acceptable for this budget. So if you are craving for a Samsung smartphone in a four-figure budget, this is your best alternative.

Realme 2 Pro  Yes, you read that right. Realme 2 Pro was a breakout star of the midrange pack in 2018. So why Realme 2 Pro, you ask? Simple, the brand has dropped its price significantly to clear stocks. Also, it is still a better alternative than the non pro versions from the company in this budget, courtesy of higher RAM and a Full HD+ display. Speaking of which, it has a 6.3-inch Full HD+ display with a tiny, drop-sized notch. The non-Pro versions have an HD+ display. The Realme 2 Pro is powered by a Snapdragon 660 SoC like a lot of other phones in this list, and it’s powerful enough for this segment. There’s 4 GB RAM and 64 GB internal storage that can be expanded further with a microSD card. Its 16 MP + 2 MP dual rear cameras are still quite competent in most conditions and the 16 MP front camera is more than decent for selfies. A 3,500 mAh battery keeps it powered for a day. It ran Android Oreo 8.1 with ColorOS 5.2 layer on top at launch. Realme recently released an Android Pie update for the device with the vastly improved ColorOS 6 UI, making the deal even more pleasing.