The sub-Rs. 10,000 market has seen some of the trendiest smartphone launches this year. From Samsung Galaxy M20 in January this year to Realme 5 just two months ago, we have had some great phones under 10000 released in 2019. If you don’t have the budget to spend over Rs. 10,000, these two phones and several other options make sure that you don’t get a sub-standard experience. In this article, we have compiled our top picks for best mobiles under Rs. 10,000 available right now.
As always, every phone that we are recommending has gone through our usual battery of tests. For this guide, we have restricted ourselves to the phones priced over Rs. 8,000 and under Rs. 10,000. If you are have budget less than Rs. 8,000, make sure to check out our updated guides on best phones under Rs. 8,000 and best phones under Rs. 7,000.
Best phones under 10000
| Phone under Rs. 10,000 | Gadgets 360 rating (out of 10) | Price in India (as recommended) |
|---|---|---|
| Realme 5 | 8 | Rs. 9,999 |
| Redmi 7 | 8 | Rs. 8,499 |
| Samsung Galaxy M20 | 8 | Rs. 9,999 |
| Nokia 5.1 Plus | 8 | Rs. 8,999 |
| Redmi Note 7S | 8 | Rs. 9,999 |
| Realme U1 | 8 | Rs. 8,999 |
| Redmi Note 8 | 7 | Rs. 9,999 |
Realme 5
The latest entrant in this list, Realme 5 is one of the latest camera-focussed smartphones from the Chinese smartphone maker. It looks nice, however, the size of the phone does make one-handed use quite cumbersome. It offers good performance with no issues with day-to-day performance.
Realme 5 is the only smartphone with a quad camera setup under Rs. 10,000, making it an interesting preposition. The primary shooter on the phone takes pleasing landscape photos however they lack detail in distant objects. Wide-angle shots have less details but provide an interesting perspective. The close-ups shots is one area where Realme 5 really shines. The low-light images had weak details.
The smartphone dominated our HD video loop test and lasted for a solid 22 hours and 31 minutes, which is the best in this price segment.
Realme offers three variants of the Realme 5 – 3GB + 32GB, 4GB + 64GB, 4GB + 128GB – however, only the base variant is available in this price segment.
Redmi 7
It should come as a surprise to no one that Xiaomi knows how to make good budget smartphones. Thanks to such smartphones the company has managed to grab the top spot in the Indian smartphone market. This success hasn’t gone to the company’s head as it still continue to release good and affordable phones in the country. Redmi 7 is one such phone. Released earlier this year in the country, Redmi 7 offers a great performance and good battery life, and it’s one of our picks in this list of best mobile phones under Rs. 10,000.
In our review, we found the Redmi 7 to capable of providing a good experience, however we did face minor lag when calling up and scrolling through the app switcher. The phone lasted an impressive 17 hours and 9 minutes in our HD video loop test.
The camera performance of the Redmi 7 is also decent and we like how our sample photos turned out. The photos taken under bright sunlight had sharp focus and subtle details within the focused area, though anything more than a few feet away looked a lot poorer. Low-light photos were also not a complete disappointment.
Xiaomi offers two variants of the Redmi 7 in the country and both of the versions can be purchased under Rs. 10,000. However, we will recommend going for 3GB RAM variant of the Redmi 7 for a better overall experience. Do note that though Xiaomi has released a successor to the phone in the form of Redmi 8, and it features in our list of best smartphones under Rs. 8,000.
Samsung Galaxy M20
Samsung started this year with a pretty aggressive approach and brought its India-first Galaxy M-series to target the online smartphone buyers. The strategy seems to have been pretty successful for the company, as most of the Galaxy M-series phones have found favour with not only the reviewers but the consumers as well. Samsung Galaxy M20 is not different.
Samsung Galaxy M20 offers a decent experience and we didn’t have any trouble using the phone for day-to-day tasks. The phone’s display is bright and crisp with good viewing angles. It, however disappoints on the camera front. The photos taken with Galaxy M20 didn’t lacked realistic textures and finer details. On the positive side, all shots were all in focus and colours were fairly vibrant.
Samsung Galaxy M20 lasted 12 hours and 53 minutes in our HD video loop test, which isn’t too bad, but we were even more impressed with the phone’s real-life battery performance.
Samsung offers two variants of the Galaxy M20 – 3GB + 32GB and 4GB + 64GB – however, only the 3GB RAM can be found under Rs. 10,000.
Nokia 5.1 Plus
Although HMD Global has struggled with some of its latest launches, the company’s 2018 lineup is still going strong, including that Nokia 5.1 Plus that recently completed one year of its availability in the country. Like the Realme U1, Nokia 5.1 Plus excels in pretty much all areas, except the cameras, which may not be great but still offer decent experience, making the phone enough of an all-rounder to feature as one our picks as the best phones under Rs. 10,000.
In our review, we found the Nokia 5.1 Plus to be sporting a stunning design with a good display. While the screen’s HD+ resolution may not be appreciated by everyone, the display itself is not bad any means. The phone also provides good performance during day-to-day talks. The phone’s rear cameras capture good details in landscape shots, however they don’t always get the exposure right, even with Auto HDR. In low light situations, focusing speeds of the cameras dip and landscapes shots suffer the most.
Phone’s battery is its strong point and it went on for 14 hours and 36 minutes in our HD video loop test.
HMD Global offers two variants of the Nokia 5.1 Plus in the country – 3GB + 32GB and 4GB + 64GB – however only the 3GB RAM variant is available under Rs. 10,000.
Redmi Note 7S
Released as a variant of the Redmi Note 7, the Redmi Note 7S brings the 48-megapixel Samsung ISOCELL GM1 sensor from the Chinese variant of the Redmi Note 7 with rest of the innards from the India version of the same phone. In our review, we found the Redmi Note 7S to be a capable smartphone that can handle day-to-day tasks with ease. As it keeps the same design as the other Redmi Note 7-series phones, the phone looks premium in hand, however, it is a fingerprint magnet.
The Redmi Note 7S also delivers good battery performance and it ran for 13 hours and 17 minutes in our HD video loop test. The dual camera setup on the back of the phone takes decent photos with good colour reproduction. The low-light imaging performance is also decent, however, we were able to spot fine grain in the captures.
Xiaomi sells two variants of the Redmi Note 7S in the country – 3GB + 32GB and 4GB + 64GB – however, only the 3GB RAM variant of the phone is available under Rs. 10,000.
Realme U1
Even though Realme U1 is getting close to the one-year-anniversary of its India debut, the smartphone is still worth considering for anyone looking to buy a smartphone under Rs. 10,000. The phone impressed us in pretty much every aspect, except its cameras, which are also not a complete downer.
The smartphone’s rear camera setup manages to take good photos under decent lighting conditions, however it struggles in poor lighting situations. The auto-focus is also not the quickest on the phone. The 25-megapixel selfie shooter that is one of the highlights of the phone captures detailed selfies with good colours, however, like the rear shooters, it also performs poorly in badly-lit situations.
Realme U1 manages to get through the day-to-day tasks without issue and even games perform great. Battery life is another positive for the phone and Realme U1 lasted 14 hours and 56 minutes in our HD video loop test.
Realme sells three variants of the U1 in the country – 3GB + 32GB, 3GB + 64GB, and 4GB + 64GB, however only the 3GB RAM variants can be purchased under Rs. 10,000.
Redmi Note 8
Part of Xiaomi’s much touted Redmi Note 8-series, Redmi Note 8 is a decent option for anyone looking to buy a new phone under Rs. 10,000. While the phone doesn’t sport an eye-catching design, Redmi Note 8 packs a crisp full-HD+ screen that is bright enough for outdoor use. It is also good for entertainment experience.
In our review, we found the Redmi Note 8 to be capable of providing a decent experience without any hiccups. The phone also offers a decent battery performance and it can easily get through the day. Redmi Note 8 lasted 13 hours and 10 minutes in our HD video loop test.
In terms of the cameras, Redmi Note 8 takes impressive photos and we were able to capture crisp and bright shots with very good detail. The low-light photos, on the other hand, turned out to be noisy and blotchy. Further, we had trouble with autofocus in poor lighting situations.
Xiaomi offers two variants of the Redmi Note 8 in the country – 4GB + 64GB and 6GB + 128GB – however, only the 4GB RAM variant is available in this price bracket.
Best phones under Rs. 10,000 — bonus picks
| Phones under Rs. 10,000 | Gadgets 360 rating (out of 10) | Price in India (as recommended) |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung Galaxy M30 | 8 | Rs. 9,999 |
| Motorola One Macro | 7 | Rs. 9,999 |
Samsung Galaxy M30
When Samsung launched the Galaxy M30 earlier year, the company had released the phone in only two variants, one with 4GB of RAM and the other with 6GB of RAM, neither of which was priced under Rs. 10,000. However, thanks to Samsung’s recent launch of a new 3GB RAM variant of Galaxy M30 in the country, we now have a variant priced under Rs. 10,000. Samsung Galaxy M30 had impressed us in our review with its crisp Super AMOLED display and a solid battery life. The phone lasted 19 hours and 23 minutes in our HD video loop test.
The phone’s day-to-day performance was also decent with no lag or stuttering. Having said that, we reviewed the 4GB RAM variant of the phone, so there might be some degradation in the performance of the 3GB RAM variant, and which is why this phone is not part of our main picks as one of the best phones under Rs. 10,000.
Samsung Galaxy M30 also takes sharp photos with good detail in daylight, however the shots taken in low-light situations came out average. The photos didn’t have much noise but there was fine grain.
As mentioned, only the 3GB RAM variant of the Galaxy M30 is available in this price segment.
Motorola One Macro
One of the latest phones from Motorola’s stable to reach India shores, the Motorola One Macro is a decent option for anyone looking to buy a stock Android smartphone. Although the phone isn’t a part of Android One programme, unlike other Motorola One-series phones, the phone comes with a clean version of Android.
We also liked the phone’s performance and battery life in our review. The phone runs smoothly without any stuttering or lag and even the multitasking experience is good. It also offers great battery life and ran for 17 hours and 30 minutes in our HD video loop test.
The photos taken from Motorola One Macro come out average and the distant objects lack detail in our sample shots. As the name suggests, Macro camera is one of the highlights of the smartphone and the phone takes good Macro shots with more detail than the primary shooter.
Motorola only sells one variant of the Motorola One Macro with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage in the country.