As the smartphone market continues to maintain its growth trajectory in India, competition on-ground is also heating up fiercely as new products make their way into the market. Given this, it isn’t surprising to note that India is now the second largest smartphone market in terms of active unique smartphone users, with the total base crossing 220 million as per a new report from Counterpoint Research. The sub-15k category is where most smartphone manufacturers see growth coming from, evident from the plethora of devices in the market in this price range, all equipped with superlative features.
While this indicates the immense potential for the ever-growing smartphones market, it also means users now have become more discerning and choosy. From a consumer standpoint, devices that make their smartphone experience unique and possibly future-proof, is more important than a vanilla comparison of features.
To simplify the purchase decision of users, here’s a list of top 3 smartphones to consider when looking at buying a phone in the sub-15k category -
1.
Lenovo Vibe K5 Note - features a 5.5-inch full-HD IPS display and much like the Vibe K4 Note, the K5 Note is also powered by a MediaTek processor. The Vibe K5 Note packs a 64-bit octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 (MT6755) processor clocked at 1.8GHz coupled with 4GB of RAM and Mali-T860 GPU. It supports expandable storage via microSD card (up to 128GB). On the camera front, it sports a 13-megapixel rear camera with PDAF autofocus, an f/2.2 aperture and dual-tone LED flash apart from an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. It weighs 165 grams and sports a 3500mAh battery.
2. 
Le 2 by LeEco - LeEco’s second generation phone, Le 2 seems to have won many hearts in the market since its launch. It flaunts a full metal unibody that feels solid andcomes with a 5.5 inch Full HD display, ensuring a great visual experience. With 3GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage, it is backed by the powerful Octa-Core Qualcomm ® Snapdragon ™ 652, one of the fastest processors in the segment. Le 2 also has a fine and accurate fingerprint scanner that helpsusers to unlock their devices faster and also click pictures with a convenient touch of the fingerprint sensor. This phone also incorporates the World’s first CDLA Standardthat enables end-to-end lossless digital music transmission, giving users an unmatched audio experience. Le 2 comes equipped with a 16MP rear camera with PDAF for faster focusing and an 8MP front camera, that ensures you can click a great selfie! It weighs only 153 grams and sports a 3000mAh non-removable battery, which means your phone can go a long way without the need of charging it time and again. All this and much more, comes at a price of Rs 11,999.
3. 
Redmi Note 3 - Redmi Note 3 is powered by 1.4GHz hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 and comes with 3GB RAM and packs 32GB of internal storage. It flaunts a 16MP main camera with f/2.0 aperture, a 5MP secondary camera with f/2.0 and sports a 4,050mAh battery. It comes with a 5.5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with 1,080x1,920 pixels (403 ppi pixel density). It weighs 164 grams, comes packed in a metal body with a fingerprint sensor, at a price of 11,999.
While all three smartphones compete neck to neck in terms of specifications, Le 2 has an edge when it comes to the design, processor, fingerprint sensor, CLDA audio technology which promises to deliver an unmatched experience to users without any issues of their smartphone lagging.