While the flagships and mid-rangers steal all the thunder in the smartphone market, there is a booming market for sub 10,000 market in India. While you do not get all the latest bells and whistles at the price point but, buying an affordable smartphone in the country does not mean losing out on all the latest features. Now, it all comes down to one question – what do you get for Rs 10,000 in India? Well, at this budget you can get devices with capable cameras, large displays, and a lot of battery life. At this price, you cannot ask for more than this. With that said, let us quickly dive into the list of Best Phones under 10000 in India, shall we?
These are the best phones under 10000 Rs that you can buy today:
1. Infinix Note 10
When it comes to the sub 10K market in the country, Infinix takes the lead. Despite having strong competition from the likes of Xiaomi, Realme, and Samsung, Infinix fought the price demographic with its most aggressively priced devices. This Hong-Kong-based giant with a made-in-India pitch goes toe-to-toe with Redmi Note 10 and other devices at that price range. From the design point of view, the device features all that 2020-ish glory with a gradient back with stripes pattern and rectangular camera module.
The design takes a lot of influence from the OnePlus devices, which is not a bad thing at all. On the front, the device features a small punch-hole notch coupled with thin bezels. But, the chin is marginally thick. Coming to the display, the device boasts a 6.95-inch display. Now, that the reason behind the phablet form-factor. Do note that the device’s display is huge at any price point, and even larger than Galaxy S21’s display. Many might argue with the fact that the display is huge for one-handed use, but on the bright side, it is great for media consumption. The panel itself is 1080 x 2460 full HD+ one, but no fancy screen refresh rate here.
Under the hood, the device is powered by MediaTek Helio G85 SoC. The device does not tire a bit during the overall usage. I mean, the day-to-day performance is top-notch and so is gaming. The gameplay, no matter which title you consider can be played in high graphics with excellent frame rates. But during the extensive gaming periods, it tends to shutter a bit. On the software front, the device features Android 11 based XOS 7.6 with a huge pile of bloat. The UI elements are unintuitive and irritating at times. There are also ads in the UI. Overall hate the device UI and its choices.
As for the optics, the device features a 48 MP primary sensor coupled with a 2 MP macro and 2 MP telephoto lens. At this price point, you cannot expect massive auxiliary cameras. But for what it is worth, the 48 MP main shooter is a charm. It shoots excellent images for all your social media needs. The portrait mode here is surprisingly amazing with great edge detection and nice depth of field. For the selfie lovers though, the inclusion of Beauty mode with AI support is a nice addition.
All this is powered by a 5000 mAh battery that easily gets you throughout the day. Despite having a huge form factor and battery, the device itself does not feel that bulky. There is an 18W fast charger included but does not juice up the device as fast as you expect.
Reasons to Buy:
Reasons to Avoid:
Specification:
- OS: Android 11 with XOS 7.6
- Display: 6.95-inch Full HD+ LCD screen with 2460 × 1080 pixels
- Processor: Octa-Core MediaTek Helio G85
- Memory: 4GB / 6GB LPPDDR4x RAM
- Storage: 64GB / 128GB, expandable up to 256GB with microSD
- Rear Camera: 48MP + 2MP macro + 2MP Portrait + quad-LED flash
- Front Camera: 16MP
- Connectivity: Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C
- Extra: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
- Battery: 5000mAh battery with 18W fast charging
Lowest Price With Offer:
2. Realme Narzo 30A
The Realme Narzo 30A is the best phone under 10000 Rs for gaming. Realme Narzo series is targeted towards Millenials and is one of the most famous mid-range series in the country. Despite the company launching many high-priced Narzo’s, they have not forgotten for whom the series is really meant. The idea of the series is simple! The company plans to bring great mobile gaming capabilities and features at affordable pricing. This is the device that was launched after the Narzo 20, meaning there are a lot of expectations here. And Narzo 30A just delivers that without even sweating a bit.
We always mention this in our reviews and buying guides and this goes without saying. Realme is one such brand that does not compromise on the design, despite its affordability factors. Realme Narzo 30A is no exception to that. The device has a unique design with a dual pattern with the lower half being diagonal lines and the upper part being plain. Realme has gone with a square-shaped camera cutout on the back which again, reminds me of Realme Narzo 20. Do note that the fingerprint sensor is found on the back of the device.
The device is not a light one for sure considering it weighs about 207 grams. The sides are rounded for better grip as well as to mask the thickness of the device. As for the display, the device boasts 6.5-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. The display itself is smooth and does not disappoint during media consumption at all. Under the hood, the device is powered by MediaTek Helio G85 SoC which in my opinion is good for what you are paying. As for gaming, you can play any huge title on the device at medium graphics and high frame rates. The device itself is available in two variants to choose from including 3 GB 32 GB and 4 GB 64 GB variants.
Unlike Infinix Note 10, there are no fancy numbers on the optics front. The primary sensor here is a 13 MP shooter coupled with the monochrome sensor of unknown resolution. In broad daylight, the device performs well with sharp images. Being a device from the house of Realme, the camera app is jampacked with Chroma Boost that helps in producing contrasty and detailed images. The AI features also takes a bump here making the experience far better. On the front, the 8 MP shooter produces the images as you would expect.
All this is backed by a 6000 mAh battery that gets you throughout the day. I mean, it’s really hard to kill the device in one day. No matter how intense titles you play. But, it is worth noting that huge batteries result in more time to charge. The 18W charger takes more than one and a half hours to juice up the device. I really wish Realme could’ve gone with a fast charger here.
Reasons to Buy:
Reasons to Avoid:
Specification:
- OS: Realme UI based on Android 10
- Display: 6.5-inch HD+ display with 1600 x 720 pixels
- Processor: Octa-Core MediaTek Helio G85
- Memory: 3GB / 4GB LPDDR4x
- Storage: 64GB / 128GB, expandable up to 256GB with microSD
- Rear Camera: 13MP + 2MP + 8MP + LED Flash
- Front Camera: 8MP with f/2.0 aperture
- Connectivity: Dual 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 5, GPS/ GLONASS/ Beidou, USB Type-C
- Extra: Rear-mounted Fingerprint sensor
- Battery: 6000mAh battery with 18W charging
Lowest Price With Offer:
3. Samsung Galaxy F12
Gone are the days when people would recommend buying the Samsung phone if your budget is above 30,000 in India. With the launch of the Galaxy M-series, Samsung has entered into the affordable phone market and has gone toe-to-toe with the likes of Realme and Redmi. With the launch of its Galaxy F41, Samsung is clearly trying to expand its midrange portfolio. The Galaxy F12 seems more like an unwanted device at this point considering the Galaxy M12 is already available with the same features and specifications.
The only difference between the Galaxy M12 and F12 is with the textured back on M12. The F12 has stripped back panel. The device features a 6.5-inch PLS LCD panel with a resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels. Yes, it is only a 720p display in the list. But one good thing that Samsung has done here is the implementation 90Hz display refresh rate. The viewing angles of the display are not good to our liking but it gets the job done. Despite having the 90Hz, Samsung has locked the refresh rate to 60Hz on various parts of the UI giving a choppy experience.
Under the hood, the device is powered by Samsung Exynos 850 SoC. This is one of the latest additions to the company’s Exynos portfolio. As for the performance, the device performs like, well, a budget phone. In a day-to-day usage scenario, the performance is okay-ish but as mentioned earlier, there is an occasional lag and stutter. Gaming here is great if you only use lower settings. Medium settings are supported but the game lags a lot with a lot of frame drops and etc.
Just like any other budget phone, the cameras here just to add up the numbers. The primary sensor is a 48 MP unit which is coupled with a 5 MP secondary ultrawide camera. There are two 2 MP depth and macro sensors. By these numbers, you might have already understood that, except for the primary camera, the rest are merely useless. The battery is one place where the device actually shines. The 6000 mAh battery can get you throughout a day or even two with moderate usage.
Reasons to Buy:
Reasons to Avoid:
Specification:
- OS: Android 11 with OneUI 3.1
- Display: 6.5-inch HD+ Infinity-V display, 720×1600 pixels, 90Hz refresh rate, Corning Gorilla Glass
- Processor: Octa-Core MediaTek Helio G85
- Memory: 4GB RAM
- Storage: 64GB / 128GB storage, expandable Up to 1TB
- Rear Camera: 48MP + 5MP ultra-wide camera + 2MP depth + 2MP macro camera
- Front Camera: 8MP with f/2.2 aperture
- Connectivity: 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C
- Extra: Rear-mounted Fingerprint sensor
- Battery: 6,000mAh with 15W Fast Charging
Lowest Price With Offer:
4. Redmi 9 Power
The Redmi Note 9 Power is one of the successful budget smartphones from the Redmi stable which is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 chipset. The Redmi Note 9 Power shares a lot of similarities with the other 9 series smartphones in terms of build quality and design.
The backside of the phone is completely made out plastic and has a nice textured finish which makes it resistant to fingerprints. The best thing is that the Redmi 9 Power is very lightweight, only 198g, which is lower than even the Redmi 9 Pro that weighs 209g. Overall, the Note 9 Power looks and feels premium.
Apart from this, the display is protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 which will save the display from accidental scratches. It also comes with a P2i coating on the body that will keep liquid droplets away. On the display department, the Redmi Note 9 Power features a 6.53-inch Full HD+ display with a resolution of 2340 × 1080 pixels resolution with 400 nits brightness and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The brightness of the display is quite good and should be very legible even under bright sunlight outdoors.
The performance is one area where Redmi 9 Power beat its competition by a significant margin. It comes with Octa-Core Snapdragon 662 chipset coupled with the 4GB/6GB RAM performs fine with all the day-to-day apps and games without any issues. You can easily Player Battleground India and COD Mobile in medium graphics settings.
In the lens department, the phone has a 48MP rear camera with a Samsung GM1 sensor, 8MP ultra-wide sensor, 2MP depth sensor, and 2MP macro sensor. In the front, there is an 8MP selfie shooter with an f/2.0 aperture. Overall, the camera performance is really good and definitely justifies the price tag. The primary lens works really well in daylight, pictures are generally sharp and vibrant. The dynamic range, while lacking in some aspects, is acceptable for this price range.
The device packs a massive 6000mAh battery inside with 18W fast charging support. With moderate to heavy usage, the Redmi 9 Power is rated to last over two days on a single charge.
Reasons to Buy:
Reasons to Avoid:
Specification:
- OS: Android 10 with MIUI 12
- Display: 6.5-inch HD+ Infinity-V display, 720×1600 pixels, 90Hz refresh rate, Corning Gorilla Glass
- Processor: Octa-Core Snapdragon 662
- Memory: 4GB / 6GB LPPDDR4x
- Storage: 64GB / 128GB (UFS 2.2) storage, expandable up to 512GB
- Rear Camera: 48MP + 8MP ultra-wide sensor + 2MP depth sensor + 2MP macro sensor
- Front Camera: 8MP with f/2.0 aperture
- Connectivity: Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C
- Extra: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, IR sensor, Splash resistant (P2i)
- Battery: 6,000mAh with 18W fast charging
Lowest Price With Offer:
5. Micromax In 1
After staying under the realm for quite some time, Micromax is back with yet another budget offering in the country. Unlike the previous devices from the company, Micromax In 1 promises something and delivers it without a doubt. Like Ash from C4ETech said, the company has perfectly planned its launch timeline and the device itself cashes in on the anti-china revolution in the country. After personally using the device, I really have to say that, the device is super great for the price and there are various reasons for that. For starters, unlike the competition, the device features a clean Android experience.
The device features an excellent design for the price. Despite being an all-plastic build, it looks super-premium with a dual-color gradient and an ‘X’ pattern. The fingerprint sensor resides on the back of the device and the whole back has a texture for better grip. Micromax did not cut any corners with the display here and the device boasts a 6.67-inch IPS LCD display with Full HD+ resolution and a 20:9 aspect ratio. Also, there is support for Widevine L1 here. Meaning, you can stream in HD on all the OTT platforms. Although there is no fancy refresh rate, the device holds up everything smoothly.
Under the hood, the device is powered by MediaTek Helio G80 SoC. Mali G52 handles the graphic duties here. Being a gaming SoC, it can handle all the graphic intense titles pretty well in medium graphics. That said, near-to stock experience comes as an added benefit. It was an excellent experience booting into stock Android and literally no bloatware. As for the optics, there is a triple rear camera arrangement here. One thing I felt unnecessary here is the AI branding on the top. That said, a primary 48 MP camera if given enough light can shoot decent images and the addition of 2 MP depth and 2 MP macro is a welcome move.
All this is backed by a 5000 mAh battery and comes with an 18W fast charger. Obviously, the phone can get you throughout the day and charging might take anywhere between one and a half to two hours.
Reasons to Buy:
Reasons to Avoid:
Specification:
- OS: Android 10, upgradable to Android 11
- Display: 6.5-inch HD+ Infinity-V display, 720×1600 pixels, 90Hz refresh rate, Corning Gorilla Glass
- Processor: Octa-Core MediaTek Helio G85
- Memory: 4GB / 6GB LPPDDR4x
- Storage: 64GB / 128GB (eMCP) storage, expandable up to 256GB
- Rear Camera: 48MP + 2MP macro lens + 2MP depth sensor + LED flash
- Front Camera: 8MP
- Connectivity: Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C
- Extra: Rear-mounted Fingerprint sensor
- Battery: 5000mAh battery with 18W fast charging
Lowest Price With Offer:
6. Infinix Hot 10S
The Infinix Hot 10S is our last choice on the list of best phones under 10000 Rs. Despite having more than half a dozen models from Xiaomi and Realme in this segment, Infinix Hot 10S has grabbed our attention. With a great spec sheet, the device shines and stands from the crowd. While it is common for us to say, at this price we cannot expect a lot, Infinix has proved to us once again with this device. Despite being priced cheap, the device goes toe-to-toe with the likes of the Redmi Note 10 and others.
As for the build and design, there is nothing fancy here. The back of the device has the whole textured vibe going and there is a rectangular camera setup. Just like most of the phones at this price range, the device comes with a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. As for the display, the device features a 6.82 inch IPS LCD display with 720p resolution. That is the only thing I do not like about this device. But on the bright side, there is a 90Hz display refresh rate here. Also, the teardrop notch and the presence of a huge chin give it a whole 2019 vibe which for some is a major letdown.
Under the hood, the device is powered by MediaTek Helio G85 SoC which in my opinion is good for what you are paying. As for gaming, you can play any huge title on the device at medium graphics and high frame rates. The device itself is available in two variants to choose from including 4 GB 64 GB and 6 GB 64 GB variants. The SoC is what makes the device stand tall than the Galaxy F12. Most of the titles can run at 30-60FPS in medium graphic settings. Although the XOS 7.6 is not my favorite interface, it is much cleaner with bloat that can be uninstalled.
As for the cameras, despite having three cameras, only one camera is what users can use. The primary 48 MP sensor shoots some decent shots if given good lighting. Indoor photos though are not that great with blurry and noisy colors. A secondary sensor is a depth unit, which till today is not found to be useful on any smartphone. Finally, we have an “AI Camera” which is useful for god knows what. Yes, a lot of manufacturers have added a third or fourth sensor for the sake of increasing the number of cameras. But, Infinix has not even tried here. They have explicitly added a camera sensor that is just a dummy one and does not really work at all.
Now all this is backed by a 6000 mAh battery. At this point, 5000 and 6000 mAh has become a norm for any smartphone and so is the 18W charger. But, sadly Infinix has gone with a 10W charger which takes hours to juice up the device.
Reasons to Buy:
Reasons to Avoid:
Specification:
- OS: XOS 7.6 based on Android 11
- Display: 6.82-inch HD+ display 90Hz refresh rate, 1640 x 720 pixels
- Processor: Octa-Core MediaTek Helio G85
- Memory: 4GB / 6GB LPPDDR4x
- Storage: 64GB (eMMC 5.1) storage, expandable up to 256GB
- Rear Camera: 48MP + 2MP depth sensor, AI lens
- Front Camera: 8MP, dual LED flash
- Connectivity: Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11, Bluetooth 5, GPS/ GLONASS/ Beidou
- Extra: Rear-mounted fingerprint sensor
- Battery: 6000mAh battery
Lowest Price With Offer:
