Year in review: From Realme to Samsung, best budget smartphones of 2019

Business Standard lists the five best sub-Rs 10,000 smartphones launched in 2019

4 min read Last Updated : Dec 15 2019 | 7:03 PM IST

Top budget smartphones 2019: Not unlike earlier years, the year 2019 also saw the budget smartphone segment propelling growth of India’s price-conscious mobile phone market. What was unlike earlier years, however, was that budget smartphones launched in 2019 changed the notion of affordable smartphones by shedding boring design and weak performance as their hallmark.

Most budget smartphones in the market at present are not sluggish or ugly. Instead, they seem to be a shadow of premium smartphones in terms of utility and features.

Business Standard lists the five best budget smartphones under Rs 10,000 launched in 2019.

Realme 3

Launched in March, the Realme 3 was the company’s first product to introduce a gradient design profile, besides the diamond-cut which had been part of the Realme smartphone family since inception. A successor to the Realme 2, the Realme 3 brought several upgrades, including better camera modules, a powerful processor and the company’s Google Android Pie operating system-based user interface. It was with the Realme 3 that the company further cemented its place in the budget smartphone segment otherwise dominated by Xiaomi.

Build	Display	Processor	Battery	Camera	Launch price
Polycarbonate	6.22-inch LCD HD+ Gorilla Glass 3	Mediatek Helio P70	4230 mAh	Rear: 8MP + 2MP Front: 13MP	Starts at Rs 8,999

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7

The Redmi Note 7 was the first smartphone launched in India by Xiaomi this year, along with the Redmi Note 7 Pro. The Redmi Note 7 had midrange specifications and features, but its competitive pricing gave it the budget smartphone tag and made it one of the best product in that segment in 2019. Unlike most budget phones, the Redmi Note 7 boasts a Gorilla Glass 5 construction, screen with fullHD+ resolution, fast-charge support, and more.

Build	Display	Processor	Battery	Camera	Launch price
Glass	6.3-inch LCD fullHD+ Gorilla Glass 5	Qualcomm Snapdragon 660	4000 mAh	Rear: 12MP + 2MP Front: 13MP	Starts at Rs 9,999

Samsung Galaxy M10s

The year 2019 has been a busy one for Samsung. It has launched smartphones across price bands at regular intervals to stay competitive. At the beginning of the year, the company introduced the millennial-centric M-series and A-series smartphones. As the year progressed, it also quickly refreshed the line-ups by bringing in new and relevant upgrades. A successor to the Galaxy M10, the Galaxy M10s boasts a super AMOLED screen, which most other phones in the budget segment lack. Besides, it has a very useful dual-camera set-up on its back, featuring a combination of bright primary sensor and an ultra-wide sensor. Moreover, it comes with 15W fast charger inside the box.

Build	Display	Processor	Battery	Camera	Launch price
Polycarbonate	6.4-inch sAMOLED HD+	Exynos 7884B	4000 mAh	Rear: 12MP + 5MP Front: 8MP	Starts at Rs 8,999

Vivo U10

VVivo this year introduced in India its millennial-centric U-series of smartphones with the launch of the Vivo U10. For a budget smartphone, the U10 has a lot to offer, including a triple-camera set-up on the back, a high-capacity battery with 18W fast-charge support, a capable processor and multiple RAM and storage configurations. At the time of its launch, it was the only budget smartphone capable of challenging even some of the midrange phones.

Build	Display	Processor	Battery	Camera	Launch price
Polycarbonate	6.35-inch LCD HD+	Qualcomm Snapdragon 665	5000 mAh	Rear: 13MP + 8MP + 2MP Front: 8MP	Starts at Rs 8,990

Xiaomi Redmi Note 8

The latest product in Xiaomi’s Redmi Note series, the Redmi Note 8 smartphone brought many minor but relevant upgrades to the Redmi Note 7 and Redmi Note 7S. Like its predecessors, the Note 8 has a durable glass build with a Gorilla Glass 5 protection, screen with fullHD+ resolution, and a high-capacity battery. As part of upgrades, it also got a fast charger inside the box, quad cameras on the back, 48MP primary camera sensor, self-cleaning loudspeaker, and more. At its price, the Redmi Note 8 is one of the most feature-rich budget phone.