BEST PHONES UNDER ₹10000 [APRIL 2020]

INTRODUCTION

India has always been the market of phones of 10k-20k. Companies are in the race to launch the best smartphones. Whatever you may think about this, we all are getting some excellent packages if you can’t spend more than ₹10,000. Let's see those. You cannot buy any of these right now due to the Lockdown. I would go in descending order.

3. Realme 5i (₹9,999)

Realme 5i

This is a phone I suggest to people who want a great battery phone. This has good specs but still is on number 3. This has a plastic back with Gradient and this looks very good. This also has a nice Fingerprint Scanner. But there is no case in the box. You get a 6.52” IPS LCD Display with 20:9 ratio and a tiny waterdrop notch. This is huge but the quality is nothing special. There is a Snapdragon 665 powering this along with 4GB RAM. I think that it is a downgrade from Snapdragon 660. This has some heating issues and high settings are not supported on PUBG, unlike Snapdragon 660 AIE. But I can't complain much at the price. It comes with Color OS 6 with Android Pie. But you would get Realme UI soon.

It has a Quad Camera 12MP (f/1.8) + 8MP (Ultra-Wide) + 2MP (Macro) + 2MP (depth) along with an 8MP Front Camera. I found it not to be that good. Also, the front camera is average. It has a 5000 mAh battery with 10W charging. The battery life is best in class but there is no Type-C which is fine but the absence of fast charging on such a monster battery is a deal-breaker. So for Realme Fans, this is the best thing you can find.

Best Buy Link:- Realme 5i on Flipkart

2. Vivo U10 (₹9,999)

Vivo U10

There are two phones I suggest at Number 2. One is the Vivo U10. This is a very balanced phone. For the design aspect, this has a Plastic Back with gradient. This looks pretty similar to other phones at this price. You get a Fingerprint Scanner which is fast and accurate. There is a 6.35” HD+ IPS LCD Display with Waterdrop Notch. This has the Snapdragon 665 and this is the same story as Realme 5i. PUBG doesn’t run well and there are heating issues. The base model comes with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. But still, I can't complain at this price. You get Funtouch OS 9 with Android Pie which is a lot like iOS. 

The cameras are 13MP (f/2.2) + 8MP (ultra-wide) + 2MP (depth) and it has an 8MP (f/1.8) front camera. The rear camera is great in daylight but not good in low light. And the front camera is pretty good too. The battery is 5000 mAh which provides best in class battery life. There is no Type-C but that’s not an issue. Plus there is an 18W charger in the box which is a great thing. So this is for people who want a phone with a huge battery and a fast charger in the box.

Best Buy Link:- Vivo U10 on Amazon   Vivo U10 on Flipkart

2. Honor 10 Lite (₹8,499)

Honor 10 Lite

This is another phone which I suggest on Number 2. And people might be shocked but I have my reasons to suggest it. It comes with a plastic back that has a gradient. Its profile is overall compact and feels sturdy. It has a 6.21” IPS LCD Display which is Full HD+ and that’s uncommon at this price. It has very thin bezels and a Waterdrop Notch. This phone looks modern even though it is more than an year old. It has a Kirin 710 processor which is similar to Snapdragon 660. This has GPU Turbo 3.0 and can run PUBG in high settings easily. The 3GB RAM variant is the one I recommend. 

The camera is a 13MP (f/1.8) +2MP depth sensor. This is just a dual camera but the main camera clicks excellent photos in both daylight and low-light. It has an AI Mode and Night Mode too. But the front camera is its highlight. It is a 24MP IMX 576 sensor which is the best you can find. This has portrait lighting effects on both rear and front cameras. Redmi Y3 may have a better selfie camera but Honor 10 Lite is a more balanced phone.

There is EMUI 9.1 with Android Pie and it would Android 10 soon. You don’t have to worry due to the US Ban as Google would continue to work on this and you would get Security Updates. You also get a multi-color notification light which is extinct nowadays. There is a 3400 mAh Battery which doesn’t perform that well and there is no Type-C or fast charging which is the only downside of this phone. Still, I suggest this phone to people who love to take selfies but are on a tight budget and to even those who want a compact phone.

Best Buy Link:- Honor 10 Lite on Flipkart

1. Redmi Note 7S (₹9,999)

Redmi Note 7S

This is the best phone under 10000 and this is for Camera Lovers and those who want a Glass Design on Budget. This comes with Gorilla Glass 5 on both front and back. It doesn’t have a gradient on any colour but still, it looks more premium than all the phones in this list. This has a 6.3” IPS LCD Display which is Full HD+. It has a Dot Notch but thick bezels. But the quality is great. There is the Snapdragon 660 which is old but offers excellent day-to-day performance. It has MIUI 11 with Android 9 at the moment. It has ads but you can disable them. Its gaming is better than Snapdragon 665 Phones in my opinion.

It has a 48MP (f/1.8; .6 μm Super Pixel) camera which is an ISOCELL GM1 sensor. It offers camera quality better than any phone here. The Daylight Performance is great and it has a Night Mode which generates excellent results in Low-Light. The portrait mode on this is the best at this price. It lacks a Wide-Angle Lens though. The front camera is 13MP which is good but not as great as Honor 10 Lite. The battery is 4000 mAh which provides an excellent battery life, though not as great as phones with 5000 mAh Battery. It has a Type-C Port with just 10W charger in the box but supports Quick Charge 4.0 charging. So this is an overall package and I suggest this to anyone who wants a great phone under 10000.

Best Buy Link:- Redmi Note 7S on Flipkart

CONCLUSION

I have removed the M10s as it is discontinued. You can take a look at other phones or wait for Galaxy M11 if you want a Samsung phone. I know that once the lockdown opens, the companies would like to launch new phones and for that, they would clear the old stock by giving discounts and then big sales would also come on Amazon and Flipkart. I have given the links along if you want to buy it later. So that’s it for today.