Top 10 phones under Rs.10,000 in 2019

In today’s market there are plenty of phones available in every price range and to suit different needs. These days, even the pocket friendly phones are available with the features you would expect from high end expensive smartphone. Be it good cameras, bigger battery, big and high-resolution display, design, sound quality, fingerprint sensor, 4G connectivity and more.

We have made a list out of all the smartphones available in this price range to help you decide which one is the best for you. These are the phones which we think will be the best buy for you under the Rs.10,000 segment.

10. Honor 9N

In the era of the big-screen smartphone, it is hard to find the one which fits in your hand easily and allows single-handed operation. The Honor 9N has a stylish back, thin, lightweight and compact size and decent specs which many people appreciate and expects from a smartphone. The screen is 5.84”1080x2280 pixel panel with a notch at the top.  

The phone is powered by an Octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 659 SoC which is sufficient for daily apps and games requirement. It runs on the EMUI 9 based on Android 9. Both the back camera (13MP main sensor with 2MP depth sensor) and the 16MP selfie cam do a surprisingly good job. The 3000 mAh battery capacity is good considering the compact size of the smartphone.

The phone has a hybrid sim slot which uses sim 2 slots for memory expansion. The phone comes in 3GB+32GB, 4GB+64GB and 4GB+128GB variant. 

  

9. Realme U1

The Realme U1 is a direct competitor of the Redmi Y3. Both the phones focus on great selfie experience. The U1 has a 25MP AI front selfie camera. The 4 in 1-pixel technology takes good photos even in the dark. At the back, there is a 13MP camera with 2PM depth sensors for taking portraits and slow-motion videos. 

The phone’s display is 6.3” 1080x2340 pixels with a tiny waterdrop notch and is protected by older generation Corning Gorilla Glass 3, which is disappointing. The stylish laminated plastic body of the U1 is designed with rounded edges and slim bezels which makes for a comfortable grip. This dual sim phone has a dedicated microSD card slot for memory expansion.

The phone runs on Mediatek Helio P70 and does an above-average job at running apps and games. The U1 runs on ColorOS 6 on top of Android 9 with all the handy features. The 3500 mAh battery, sadly, doesn’t support fast charging but will take you through the day. The phone comes in 3GB+32GB and 4GB+64GB variant.

8. Redmi Y3

The Redmi Y3 by Xiaomi is a phone for the selfie lovers. The phone has a 32MP selfie camera with AI beautification and portrait feature and the 4 in 1 super pixel enables good details in dark scenes as well. The screen flash for the selfies comes with auto-adjust color for clear and bright selfies. On the back is 12MP sensor with 2MP depth sensor for edge detection which does a good job.

Housing the camera in the dot notch, the display is 6.26” 720x1520 resolution with Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The display is brighter and legible in the daylight. It has a plastic body and the back has Aura Prism Design which looks attractive. The Y3’s Snapdragon 632 SoC coupled with MUI 10 on top of Android 9 does all the daily life tasks with ease. Though the complementary 4000 mAh battery serves you for a day and a half, it doesn’t support fast charging.

The phone has a tough nano-coating and protects the phone against humidity, everyday splashes, and spills. The phone has a dual sim slot with dedicated space to fit a microSD card. It comes in 3GB+32GB and 4GB+64GB variant.

7. Realme 2 Pro

The Realme 2 pro display is 6.3” at a resolution of 1080x2340 pixels with a tiny waterdrop notch. The front of the phone is protected by an older generation Gorilla Glass 3 and the polycarbonate body feels sturdy and comfortable to use.

The Realme 2 Pro is powered by Snapdragon 660 SoC and currently runs on ColorOS 6.0 on top of Android 9. The phone’s apps and games performance are acceptable and the phone doesn’t heat too much during excessive use. The phone comes in three variants: 4GB+64GB, 6GB+64GB and 8GB+128GB. The phone has dual sim slot and the storage is expandable through a dedicated microSD card slot.

At the back is 16MP main sensor with 2MP depth sensor which takes good stills and 4K videos recordings and slow-motion videos but low light performance could be better. At the front is a 16MP camera which will be cherished by the selfie lovers. The 3500 mAh battery is enough to last a full day with moderate usage. It doesn’t support fast charging which is a drawback.

6. Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2

The Zenfone Max Pro M2 from Asus offers a stock Android experience just like predecessor but with better performance, bigger display. The 6.26” 1080x2280 pixel display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 6 which is first in this price segment. The display is bright enough to be legible in outdoors. The phone has a wide notch at the top compared to the dot-notch and waterdrop notch in other smartphones. The back of the phone is made of plastic with a glossy finish which catches smudges and fingerprint easily. It has dual sim slot with a dedicated microSD card slot to expand the storage up to 1TB.

The M2 is powered by a Snapdragon 660 SoC and runs on Stock Android 9 Pie. You still get Facebook, Messenger, Instagram pre-installed on the device and some ZenUI gestures like double-tap to wake and SmartScreen. The main 12MP sensor with the 5MP depth sensor takes good macros but disappoints in some scenarios.

The battery of the M2 is 5000 mAh which coupled with stock android gives you more than a day and a half of battery life. Sadly, the Zenfone Max Pro M2 doesn’t support fast charging and takes a while to get completely charged. The base model is 3GB+32GB with 4GB+64GB and 6GB+64GB options. If stock Android and battery is your priority then it is a good choice for you. However, it may not impress buyers looking for good camera performance.

5. Samsung Galaxy M20

The M20 is an attempt from Samsung to enter the sub 10,000 market. You get all the offering with the trust of Samsung. The Phone has 6.3” display with 1080x2340 pixels and waterdrop notch but lacks the Gorilla Glass Protection. The back is made out of plastic. The phone is dual sim with a dedicated microSD card slot to expand your storage up to 1 TB.

The M20 has Samsung’s own Exynos 7904 octa-core processor designed for entry-level smartphones and performs well. On the software side, the M20 runs on the Samsung’s One UI on top of Android 9. We liked the look and feel of the One UI but it contains many bloatware and duplicate apps.

The phone’s camera takes mediocre photos with the 13MP primary lens coupled with 5MP ultrawide lens. The front-facing camera is an 8 MP sensor. The M20 base variant is 3GB+32GB plus a 4GB+64GB variant.

The selling point of the phone is Samsung’s service and its massive 5000 mAh battery which easily lasts a day and a half and supports fast charging with the adapter that comes in the box.   

4. Redmi 7

The Redmi 7 is a low-cost smartphone and is inferior to Xiaomi’s own Redmi Note 7S. The Redmi 7 is a good upgrade compared to the last generation Redmi 6. It has a more powerful performance, bigger battery, a bigger screen with dot notch and stylish color gradient on the plastic back. The phone’s 6.26”, 720x1520 pixels display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The Redmi 7 is a dual sim smartphone with a dedicated microSD card slot which lets you expand your storage up to 512GB.

The phone comes with Snapdragon 632 SoC which is quite good for day-to-day tasks and media viewing. The phone runs on a feature-rich MIUI 10 on top of Android 9. The battery capacity is 4000 mAh which easily lasts through the day. The phone’s back has 12 MP main sensor with a 2 MP depth sensor and on the front is an 8 MP snapper. The camera takes decent pictures in the daylight condition. It comes with two memory options: 2GB+32GB and 3GB+32GB.

On the downside, the phone plastic back easily catches fingerprint and gets scratches, the video quality is not satisfying, the display’s outdoor visibility is not good.

The selling point of the Redmi 7 is its price to utility ratio which makes it difficult not to include it in this list. If you are really tight on budget or buying it for a first-time smartphone user and still want a decent performer, consider buying it

3. Redmi Note 7s

The Redmi Note 7S, from the outside, looks similar to the Redmi Note 7 and 7 Pro. The phone’s display measures 6.3” at a resolution of 1080x2340 pixels with a dot notch. The front and back of the phone are protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 with the plastic frame on the side. The phone’s back has an eye-catching gradient finish which you can flaunt. The display is bright enough to be legible outdoors. The phone has a hybrid sim slot, which can fit two nano sims or a sim and a microSD card of up to 256GB.

The Redmi Note 7S runs MIUI 10.3 on top of Android 9. The phone software has smooth animations and MIUI gives a complete overhaul to the stock android with lots of useful features. The Redmi Note 7S is powered by Snapdragon 660 SoC and it does deliver a lag-free experience in day-to-day apps and games.

The main selling point of the phone is its camera and battery. On the back, it rocks a primary 48 MP wide camera with 5 MP depth sensors. The front camera is a 13 MP shooter. The camera performance of both the front and back cameras is good.  The Redmi Note 7S has a 4000 mAh battery which easily lasts through the day. It also supports 18W fast charging (18W charger sold separately).

2. Redmi Note 7

The Redmi Note 7 gives a tough competition to all the phones in its price range. The phone has Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back to give it a stylish and premium look. The display is a 6.3” 1080x2340 pixels panel with a dot notch but the borders around the display are quite noticeable. The display is bright enough to be legible in bright sunlight. It has a hybrid sim slot which can be disappointing if you want to use two sims and expand storage. The Redmi Note 7 is the entry-level note model from Xiaomi but delivers competitive specs.

The device is powered by Snapdragon 660 which delivers good app and gaming performance. The Note 7 runs on MIUI 10 based on Android 9. The Note 7 has a 12MP main camera on the back with a 2MP depth sensor and a 13MP sensor for the selfies. It takes good photos and portraits but the AI feature lets you down with some unnatural colors. It has two variants: 3GB+32GB and 4GB+64GB.

The Note 7 comes with a 4000 mAh battery which will easily take you through the day with still some juice left and it supports fast charging as well but you have to spend extra money to buy the fast charger as it doesn’t come bundled with the box. The Phone has a type C port for charging which is a nice thing to see at this price point. The Note 7 is value for money all-rounder phone which ticks all the boxes for an average user. However, if a good camera is your main priority, you should not consider buying it. 

1. Realme 5

The Realme 5 is a stylish phone to have. In the front, you have 6.5” 720x1600 pixels display with a waterdrop notch. The colors and brightness are good and the display is big enough for playing games and watching movies. The display is protected by gorilla glass. The back is made of plastic and has a crystal pattern which is attention-grabbing. The phone has a dual nano sims slot plus a dedicated microSD card slot.

The Realme 5 ColorOS 6 is colorful and feature-rich software. It has many customization options like gestures and shortcuts. The phone is powered by Snapdragon 665 and the app and gaming performance is good. The phone has three memory options:  3GB+32GB,  4GB+64/128.

The main selling point of the phone is its cameras and battery. The Realme 5 has 4 cameras on the back. Along with the 12MP primary lens, it has a 2MP depth sensor, 8MP wide-angle and 2MP macro lens. It has a good 13MP selfie camera. The battery capacity is 5000mAh which easily lasts a day and a half on one charge.