This is the most demanding segment and with fierce competition, the companies have been forced to come up with very creative technological innovation and winning marketing strategies to gain.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
2017 ready
Redmi Note 4 is a successor to the widely acclaimed Redmi Note 3. Available in 3 variant starting from Rs 9999 (2GB RAM + 32GB Flash), Rs 10,999 (3GB RAM + 32GB Flash) and Rs 12,999 (4GB RAM + 64GB Flash). This is another great device from Xiaomi with high-end, premium metal design, excellent build quality –
with fingerprint reader and very good battery life. The MIUI on top of Android works great. Powered with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC and 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage on the top variant makes it a great choice in this segment.The Redmi Note 4 is an intelligent upgrade for Xiaomi to keep its best selling product rolling in this category.
Price: Rs 9999- Rs 12,999
Pros: Battery Life, metal design, price
Cons: Camera performance is average
Key features:
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 with 14nm FinFET technology (Octa-core 2.0GHz)
- 4100mAh high-density battery, 25% longer battery life than Redmi Note 3
- 13MP CMOS camera with PDAF, 5MP front camera
- Premium metal body, anodised high-gloss aluminium lines
- 5-inch Full HD display, dual SIM (Nano- and Micro-SIM)
- LTE and VoLTE support
- 4GB RAM + 64GB Flash, 3GB RAM + 32GB Flash, 2GB RAM + 32GB Flash
- Up to 128GB microSD expandable storage
- Rear fingerprint sensor
- IR blaster
- Available in Dark Grey, Gold and Black
- MIUI 8 beta based on Android N will be available soon
Honor 6X
Sets a benchmark
This is the best phone right now available in sub 15k segment. It gives everything you want from good body, great camera, epic battery life. It is an all round performer and perfect for Gen X who clicks more, calls more and surf more. One of the key highlight of Honor 6X is its innovative dual-lens rear camera which gives you a wide aperture range and gives you nice bokeh effect in pictures. The dual camera setup is first in this price range.The phone is exclusively on amazon through flash sale so you might just have to wait for your chance. The Honor 6X comes in three colors – gold, silver and gray.
Price: 12,999 (3GB)
Pros: Superb camera, battery life, built, price
Cons: Available through flash sales.
Key features:
- 5-inch, 1,920×1,080-pixel HD display (403ppi)
- 12-megapixel and 2-megapixel rear cameras
- 8-megapixel front-facing camera
- Android 6.0 with Huawei’s EMUI 4.1 software
- 3,340mAh battery
- 1GHz octa-core Kirin 655 processor
- Fingerprint sensor (no NFC or Android Pay)
- microSD
- Dual-SIM optional
- 32GB and 64GB options (US gets 32GB model)
Zenfone 3S Max in India.
Long lasting
Powered by a 1.5GHz Octa-core 64-bit processor, high capacity 3GB RAM and 32GB internal memory, expandable up to 2TB, Zenfone 3S Max pushes the boundaries. It’s a very compact looking handset with 5.2inch HD IPS display along with a sleek Metal body and 2.5D contoured glass. It also has a 13MP PixelMaster rear camera with Phase Detection autofocus, and an 8MP front camera with 85° wide capture angle and a fingerprint sensor. The Zenfone 3S Max really is for heavy users and give you enough battery life, has the biggest battery you can get in a device of this class currently, but apart from that it gives you average performance. Also we have noticed heating issues while gaming. We think that the average camera performance and UI spoil the party for 3S.
Price: 14,999/-
Pros: Battery life
Cons: Camera performance, Fingerprint scanner, UI
Key Features:
1.5GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6750 processor clubbed with Mali T860 GPU.
3GB of RAM.
32GB of internal memory expandable by up to 2TB.
5.2-inch 720p IPS LCD display.
13-megapixel camera with f/2.0 aperture
8-megapixel camera with an 85 degree wide angle for group selfies.
Android 7.0 Nougat-based ZenUI 3.0.
5,000mAh battery.
ZTE Blade A2 Plus
A Fresh Start
ZTE recently launched its new Blade A2 Plus in India in the mid range category. They have aggressively priced this mid range phone which is now competing with all the established brands in this segment likes of Xiaomi, Asus, Lenovo and Honor. The Blade A2 Plus comes with great features like, good battery, solid design and great overall aesthetics. No lags in day to day tasks, no heating issues while gaming, gives you reasonable camera performance, though some competitors gives better results then A2 Plus . But all in all we can say that this is a great budget device with good battery life and smooth performance. But as this is a fresh start for ZTE in this segment they have to work really hard to keep them going.
Price: Rs. 11,999/-
Pros: Battery life, Built, Availability
Cons: Average camera performance
Key Features:
Display: 5.5 inch 1080p
RAM: 4GB
ROM: 32GB
SoC: 1.5GHz MediaTek MT6750
Battery: 5000 mAh
Operating System: Android Marshmallow with MiFavor 3.5 UI
Camera: 13MP rear, 8MP front
Coolpad Cool 1
Dual Power
Another great camera performer in this category that comes with Dual Rear Camera with the f/2.0 aperture. The Dual Camera is equipped with dual ISP, dual temperature flash, Four Core Algorithm and dual 6P lens. It also has a night mode feature that helps you to capture good night shots. Other features are very much similar to Le2, in this device they have used LeEco’s EUI instead of Coolpad’s CoolUI which makes it a much better package overall. So if you are looking for a good dual camera smartphone in budget category, and don’t want to wait for any flash sale device then the Cool1 is a good choice for you which is easily available on Amazon.
Price: Rs, 13,999/-
Pros: Dual Camera, Built, EUI, Availability
Cons: Battery life, No expandable storage
Key Features:
Android 6.0 Marshmallow with EUI 5.6
4000 mAh battery
Snapdragon 652 Octa-Core 1.8GHz Processor
dual 13 MP with f/2.0 aperture
32 GB, 3 GB / 4 GB RAM
