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The budget smartphone segment has remained stale in the last few years, but 2024 has been a great year for those looking to buy a new phone without spending too much. If you want to buy a new smartphone under Rs 15,000, here are some of the best phones that offer great value for money.
Nokia G42 (review) is one of the best value for money 5G phones if you are looking for a budget phone with good build quality and clean Android interface.
Powered by the Snapdragon 480+ chipset, the phone has a 6.56-inch IPS LCD screen with 90Hz refresh rate and Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
The Nokia G42 has a pretty good primary camera that takes detailed and sharp photos and is better than the competition when it comes to night photography. It also has a 2MP macro and another 2MP depth sensor, which are useless at best.
The phone runs on a near stock Android 13 out of the box but Nokia has already updated it to Android 14 and has promised that it will get Android 15 as well. The Nokia G42 is currently available on Amazon for Rs 9,999, but if you can spend a bit more we recommend going with the 6GB variant.
Launched last month, the Poco M6 Plus (review) is one of the best budget phones if you are looking to buy a new budget 5G phone.
Sporting a 6.79-inch FullHD+ IPS LCD screen with 120Hz refresh rate and featuring Gorilla Glass 3 protection, the phone is powered by the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 AE chipset.
The Poco M6 Plus comes with a glass back and a plastic frame, giving it a premium look and runs on HyperOS based on Android 14 out of the box, with the company promising 2 years of OS updates.
The rear of the phone has a dual tone finish with the upper half housing a 108MP primary camera that can take good photos during day time, with the image quality taking a hit in low light conditions. It also happens to be one of the few phones that come with both a 3.5mm headphone jack and microSD card slot.
The base variant of Poco M6 Plus with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage is currently available on Flipkart for Rs 11,499 while the 8GB RAM version is selling for Rs 12,999.
In July, Nothing’s sub-brand CMF launched the Phone 1 (review), its first budget smartphone. Featuring the Dimensity 7300 chipset, the CMF Phone 1 has a plastic back and is available in various colours that can be easily replaced, with the various colour options giving it a retro funky look.
The smartphone has a 6.67-inch 120Hz AMOLED screen and runs on NothingOS 2.6.0 based on Android 14 out of the box, with Nothing promising to update the phone to Android 16.
The back of the phone can also be used to add accessories like a lanyard, a stand or a card case, which are sold separately. It also houses a dual camera setup in a pill shaped enclosure on the top left side. In our review, we noted that the 50MP primary camera takes good photos in good lighting, but the quality dips during night time.
The 6GB RAM and 128GB storage version of the CMF Phone 1 is currently selling for Rs 14,999, but you get upto Rs 2,000 off with card offers, which brings the price down to Rs 12,999.
If you are looking for a value for money phone with a leather back and good performance, the Realme 12x 5G is a good option.
Powered by the Dimensity 6100+ chipset, the phone comes with Realme UI 5.0 based on Android 14 and a 6.72-inch IPS LCD screen that is bright even under direct sunlight.
It has a circular camera island that houses a 50MP primary camera alongside a 2MP depth sensor. While the photos are crisp and detailed in daylight, as is the case with most budget phones, the quality suffers in low light conditions.
The base version of the Realme 12x 5G with 4GB RAM and 128GB is selling for Rs 12,500, which may not be enough for heavy users. However, if you can increase your budget, we suggest buying the 8GB RAM variant, which costs Rs 1,500 more.
Want to buy a budget Samsung phone under Rs 15,000? Check out the Galaxy M35, a good value for money device that will get at least 4 Android updates.
Launched in July, the Samsung Galaxy M35 packs the Exynos 1380 chipset, which also powers the Galaxy A54 from last year and has a 6.6-inch 120Hz Super AMOLED screen protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus Plus.
It also happens to be one of the few phones with a decent triple camera setup that consists of a 50MP primary shooter with OIS, an 8MP ultrawide sensor and a 2MP macro shooter.
The phone packs a 6,000mAh battery that supports and comes with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. Samsung Galaxy M35 is available on Amazon for Rs 14,999, but we recommend spending Rs 1,500 more and going with the 8GB RAM variant for smoother performance.
