The mobile landscape is undergoing a drastic shift with companies like LeEco, Lenovo, Xiaomi and Asus redefining the definition of budget devices. Smartphones under Rs 10,000 these days are not full of compromises, poor cameras and sluggish performance.
In fact, devices in this price range are becoming more than capable of giving a fight to the mid-range, sometimes even flagship handsets of the world.
Also Read : 10 Best smartphones under Rs 15,000
What's even better is the fact that these smartphones won't break the bank and will give you a seamless experience at a staggeringly low cost.
Here are the 5 best smartphones you can buy for under Rs 10,000 right now.
1/5 Xiaomi Redmi 3S/Redmi 3S Prime
The Redmi 3S sports a 5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) IPS display and is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor clocked at 1.1GHz clubbed with the Adreno 505 GPU, a 4,100mAh battery, 2GB of RAM and 16GB internal storage.
The elder brother, the Redmi 3S Prime ups the ante with 32GB internal storage, 3GB of RAM as well as the inclusion of a fingerprint sensor. The CPU, GPU, battery and screen size remains the same.
On the imaging front, both smartphones come with a 13MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture, PDAF (phase detection autofocus), HDR mode and 1080p video recording and a 5MP front camera.
Both smartphone runs MIUI 7.5.5 based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and support 4G Wi-Fi, GPRS/ EDGE, Bluetooth, GPS/ A-GPS and Micro-USB as connectivity. Both devices also offer dualSIM functionality.
Also read: Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime review
2/5 LeEco Le1s Eco
The LeEco Le 1s Eco features an all metal design, a 1.85 GHz MediaTek Helio X10 processor, 32GB of non-expandable internal storage and 3GB of RAM.
The smartphone has a 5.5inch, full HD IPS display with a pixel density of 401 PPI. It also has Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for scratch resistance. On the software front, The phone runs on Le Eco's own EUI, running on top of Android 5.0 Lollipop.
The smartphone has a 13MP rear camera with a f/2.0 aperture and a 5MP front camera. It also comes with a fingerprint scanner at the back, which is extremely fast and snappy.
Also Read: LeEco Le1s Eco review
3/5 Xiaomi Redmi Note 3
The Redmi Note 3 comes with an all-metal design, a 5.5-inch full HD display and a hexa-core Snapdragon 650 processor. The 16GB variant comes with 2GB of RAM and a 4,000mAh battery unit.
The Redmi Note 3 was Xiaomi's first ever handset to pack a fingerprint scanner, which is placed right below the camera sensor and is extremely accurate. On the imaging front, the device has a 16MP rear camera with a dual LED flash and a 5MP front shooter.
The device runs on Xiaomi’s own MIUI7 running atop Android 5.1 Lollipop and has held the title of the best budget smartphone in our books for quite some time now. There is also a 32GB variant with 3GB of RAM priced slightly higher at Rs 11,999.
Also read: Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 review
4/5 Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
The Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus comes with a 5-inch full HD display, a Snapdragon 615 64-bit octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM and a 2,750mAh battery.
The K5 Plus easily handles day-to-day tasks like web browsing, running social networking apps, taking pictures and so on. The Adreno 405 GPU is easily able to handle casual games such as Candy Crush, Subway Surfer and Cut the Rope.
What is missing though is a fingerprint sensor, for which you can look at the Lenovo Vibe K4 Plus, which is available online for Rs 10,999, thus just missing the eligibility criteria for this comparison.
On the imaging front, the Vibe K5 Plus comes with a 13MP rear camera with an aperture of f/2.2 and a 5-piece lens system and a 5MP front camera. The rear camera is above average and is quite capable in well-lit situations.
Also Read: Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus review
5/5 Asus Zenfone Max
Asus recently launched the new ZenFone Max. It is available in two variants, one with 2 GB of RAM for Rs 9,999 and one with 3GB of RAM for Rs 12,999.
The Asus ZenFone comes with an octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor, the Adreno 405 GPU clocked at 550MHz, 32GB internal storage, a 5.5-inch HD IPS display and 2GB/3GB of RAM. On the software front, the smartphone runs Asus's own ZenUI 2.0 based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.
It comes with a 13MP rear camera with a dual LED flash and Asus's PixelMaster 2.0 technology, a 5MP front camera and microSD card support (up to 64GB). Connectivity options include 4G LTE, 3G, GRPS/EDGE, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi.
The distinctive feature of the Asus ZenFone Max remains its colossal 5,000mAh battery, which the company claims can deliver up to 914 hours of standby time and 38 hours of talk time.
Also Read: Asus Zenfone Max review
