Mobile Phones Under Rs 10,000 in India for July 2016

If you are in the market looking for the top phone under 10,000 Rs, chances are, you will end up with so many options. So, what do you get in this budget? well, a lot actually. As technology continues to become cheaper with each passing month, features such as 16MP rear cameras, Full HD displays, fingerprint sensors have started to make their way in this segment. Moreover, the increase in battery size means, users don’t have to charge their phones, that often. But, which phone to buy?. Here is our list of the top 10 best budget smartphones you can buy for Rs 10,000 or less in India for July 2016 across different brands. These are the best smartphones under Rs 10,000, which offer the best combination of features, performance and quality.

1)   Xiaomi Redmi Note 3

Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 3 took the budget market by storm. It doesn't matter whether you buy the 16GB version of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 priced at Rs. 9,999 or the little costly 32GB variant, you will end up with the best smartphone in the segment. In terms of performance, the Snapdragon 650 powered device moves past many devices priced well above its price range. It also has one of the most reliable battery life we have seen on a sub-10k smartphone. Moreover, it comes with an all round metal construction and offers a fingerprint sensor at the back. Overall, It offers the best performance and battery life of all smartphones below Rs. 10,000 that are currently available in India. However, the flash sale system is still a big hurdle to pass through.

2)   Meizu M3 Note

The Meizu M3 Note offers a lot of hardware for a sub-10K smartphone like an octa-core processor, 3GB RAM and 32GB of Storage. To top it all, there is a 4100mAh battery inside, which provides more than a day of usage. It is quite simply the best phone to buy if battery is your main priority. The 13MP rear camera on the M3 Note does a decent job and is able to take good images in favourable light conditions. The all metal unibody built offers a touch of premiumness in this budget segment and we believe, it is the best looking phone if your budget is limited to Rs. 10,000.

3)   Asus Zenfone Max (2016)

The Asus Zenfone Max had a great battery life but it lacked the performance. Asus has rectified that by upgrading to a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC. Now the Asus Zenfone Max is much faster and offers a reliable performance. Asus hasn't changed the rest of the stuff though as the phone is still boasting a 13MP rear camera and 5.5-inch display. The phone still features a massive 5000mAh battery which go up to two days without charging.

4)   Coolpad Note 3 Lite

Last year, Coolpad did surprise everyone by launching Note 3, which was a budget smartphone with a fingerprint sensor and 3GB of RAM. This year, the company did something better, brought a phone with almost similar specifications to the Sub-7K segment. This makes the Coolpad Note 3 Lite, one of the best value for money smartphone in this price segment and the best phone to buy in the sub-7K smartphone segment. It is also the only smartphone at its price to offer a fingerprint scanner, and it is quite accurate one as well. The quad-core smartphone churns out a commendable performance considering its price and can run Facebook or Candy Crush with equal ease. It can even take on heavier games such as Asphalt 8, albeit with occasional lag. The battery life of this little phone is also quite good, with almost eight hours of on-time between charges.

5)   XOLO Black 1X

The Xolo Black 1X is one of the few phones in this price range to boast a metal frame on its side. It is also the only phone besides the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 to boast a 1080p display. Also, with just a 5-inch display, the Xolo Black 1X offers the best PPi under the sub-10K price. It is powered by the same MediaTek SoC which is being used by the Coolpad Note 3 and it works well for the most part. It does not falter until you try to push it by loading three - four demanding games on the memory, back to back. Talking about the camera, the Xolo Black has a 13MP shooter on the back, and even though the image quality is decent, the camera does lack sufficient details. The colour reproduction is respectable, and the shutter delay is less than ideal. The front-facing camera is slightly better and the battery life is respectable as well.

6)   Motorola Moto G (3rd gen)

The humble Moto G (3rd gen) reserves its spot at sixth position for its best in class software support and best in class optimization. Even though the phone uses yesteryear’s Snapdragon 410 SoC, thanks to Motorola optimization, the phone performs better than most of the phones out there. The Moto G (3rd gen) boasts a very good display and is the only phone in the sub-10k category, which is water resistant. This means, you can use the phone in rain and it won’t die if you accidently drop it in a fishbowl. However, the best part of the phone is its UI which is clean and almost unadulterated Android. Motorola phones always get the latest Android update before any other phone from any other phone manufacturer and that’s what makes it a good proposition. Currently, the phone is running on Android Marshmallow and chances are, it will be the only phone in the sub-10k segment, which might receive the Android N update, whenever it is released.

7)   Lenovo K3 Note

Lenovo K3 Note is a generation older now but, it is still a good phone to buy. It is powered by an octa-core SoC which makes the whole user experience across the phone quite smooth. Gaming does push the phone towards the edge but unless you are running some heavy games, you won’t feel much of a difference. Movie watching experience on the phone is great as the K3 Note features a very good display which is further aided by Dolby Atmos audio optimization.

8)   Asus Zenfone 2 Laser 5.5

Asus Zenfone 2 Laser is one of the best camera phone you can buy in a budget of Rs. 10,000. The phone has a 13MP rear camera which is assisted by laser autofocus making the phone quite fast in focusing and taking pictures. However, the rest of the phone, with its Snapdragon 410, 2GB RAM and a 5.5-inch 720p display is just good, not the best. Although, if camera is your priority you won’t go wrong with the Asus Zenfone 2 laser 5.5.

9)   Meizu M2

The Meizu M2 is quite simply one of the best phones one can buy in the sub-7K smartphone category and hence it also makes its way into the best sub-10k phones. Just like the M2 Note, it is able to perform quite consistently across all measurable parameters. It uses the same SoC as the Coolpad Note 3 Lite and thus offers a similar performance. For the price, the camera is equally good and has a very dependable battery life. it is also one of the most good looking phones in the sub-10K category. We wish it had a fingerprint scanner as well.

10)               Micromax Canvas Pulse 4G

Micromax is well known brand among budget buyers and the Canvas Pulse 4G is just one of the reasons why it such a popular brand. The Canvas Pulse 4G is a very good looking phone and one of the few phones to offers a metal outer frame. The phone boasts a good display and a very commendable performance, courtesy of the octa-core MediaTek SoC inside. However, the phone has an average battery life and a decent camera.