Looking to buy an affordable smartphone under Rs 10,000 without compromising on performance? Though it’s been a tough task, as nowadays all handset manufacturers have their phones in this lucrative price range and claim to provide best in class performance. But no worries, here we have selected top 5 best smartphones under Rs 10,000 that stand out in the crowd and are worth all the money that is spent on them.
Panasonic Eluga Ray X (Rs 8999)
Panasonic had launched Eluga Ray X smartphone in India in March at Rs 8,999 and it comes with company’s own smart AI-powered (Artificial Intelligence) assistant named – Arbo, which can be considered as the highlight of this smartphone.
Talking about the new Arbo smart assistant, Panasonic claims that the new virtual assistant is a self-learning technology that understands the user behaviour and then maps their daily activities for them accordingly. With its ‘location identification’ feature it recognises the places often visited by the user and sends out prompt responses asking them to make changes to their phone settings. The AI-powered assistant takes care of all the daily tasks and activities like calls and messages that need to be framed and sent out on a regular basis. It also keeps a detailed list of all the applications functioning on the smartphone, gathers detailed information on their habits and informs them about it accordingly.
As far as tech specifications are concerned, the Eluga Ray X sports a 5.5-inch (1280 × 720 pixels) HD 2.5D curved glass display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The handset comes with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage which is further expandable via microSD. Further, we get 1.3 GHz Quad-Core MediaTek MT6737 processor with Mali-T720 GPU. The device runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and also boasts a fingerprint scanner at the front. In the camera department, we get a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash along with a 5-megapixel front camera with front-facing LED flash. For the stamina, we get a 4000 mAh battery inside with connectivity options such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, 4G VoLTE etc.
Coolpad Note 5 Lite smartphone was also launched in March in Gold and Grey colour options, priced at Rs 8199. The Coolpad Note 5 Lite boasts a metal unibody design and a 5-inch HD display with a screen Resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels coupled with 2.5D curved glass. The device is powered by 64 bit 1.0 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6735CP processor, along with Mali 720 GPU. It is backed by a 3GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage which can be further expanded up to 64GB via microSD card slot. 
On the camera front, the device sports a 13-megapixel rear camera coupled with an 8-megapixel front-facing camera alone with front flash. The smartphone runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with company’s Cool UI 8.0 running on top of it. The device is juiced up by a 2500mAh battery which the company claims give a Standby time of 200 hours. On the connectivity front, the device support 4G LTE, Wi-FI, Bluetooth v4.0, OTG and dual SIM. The smartphone also features a fingerprint sensor which can be used to unlock, make receive calls, open applications and take pictures. The smartphone measures 145.3 x 72.3 x 8.7mm and weighs 148 grams.
Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime (Rs 8,999)
Priced at Rs 8,999, the Redmi 3S Prime smartphone can be considered as the good buying option in this price range. It has a metal unibody design and features a 5-inch HD (720 x 1280 pixels) IPS display. It comes equipped with an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 (4 x 1.2 GHz Cortex A53 + 4 x 1.5 GHz Cortex A53) 64-bit processor, which is clubbed with Adreno 505 GPU, 3GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, which is further expandable by upto 128GB via a micro SD card. The smartphone runs on Android Lollipop based MIUI 7 operating and has a 4100 mAh battery. It also has a fingerprint scanner for enhanced security.
The Hybrid Dual SIM based smartphone boasts a 13-megapixel Autofocus rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front camera. it also features HDR and HHT (handheld twilight) modes for various shooting conditions Besides, the smartphone offers 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 4.1, WiFi (802.11 b/g/n), GPS with AGS/GLONASS Micro-USB 2.0 and an IR blaster. The handset measures 139.3 x 69.6 x 8.5mm and weighs 144 grams.
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Lenovo K6 Power 3GB (Rs 9,999)
Lenovo K6 Power was launched in November last year at Rs 9,999. The smartphone has a metal unibody design and comes with an impressive specification in this price range, most importantly it has a powerful 4000mAh battery, which claims to offer 649 hours of standby time. The battery comes with an ultimate power saver mode which helps the battery to last 3 times longer.
Lenovo K6 Power features a 5-inch full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) IPS display and is powered by an Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor, clubbed with Adreno 505 GPU. It comes with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, which can be further expandable memory upto 128GB via microSD card. The smartphone runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow operating system. The Lenovo’s Pure UI now support dual apps feature as well as long screenshots.
The K6 Power also houses a fingerprint scanner, which sits on its back panel. The company claims that the fingerprint sensor can unlock the phone in just 0.3 seconds and can also be used to lock individual apps. On the camera front, the smartphone flaunts a 13-megapixel primary camera with LED Flash, Sony IMX258 sensor and PDAF. On its front, it has an 8-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies. The smartphone also supports TheaterMax technology. Besides, the smartphone offers Dual SIM, 4G VoLTE ,Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, a microUSB port USB OTG with reverse charging option, and Dolby Atmos audio. The handset measures 141.9 x 70.3 x 9.3 mm and weighs 145 grams.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 2GB (Rs 9,999)
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 2GB was launched in India in January this year at Rs 9,999. The 3GB and 4GB variants of the smartphone are also available for sale in the market. The 3GB RAM with 32 GB ROM model is priced at Rs 10,999, whereas the 4GB RAM with 64GB ROM one has to pay Rs 12,999.
As far as specifications are concerned, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 comes with a 5.5-inch full HD (1920 x 1080) 2.5D curved glass display and a 2.0 GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 625 processor with Adreno 506 GPU. The hybrid dual SIM smartphone runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating and has a 4100 mAh battery. It also houses a fingerprint scanner which is integrated on its back panel.
The Redmi Note 4 sports a 13-megapixel autofocus rear camera with dual tone LED flash, PDAF, f/2.0 Aperture and a 5-megapixel front camera for selfies and video chats. Besides the smartphone offers 4G with VoLTE, Bluetooth 4.2, WiFi (802.11 b/g/n), GPS with AGS/GLONASS and USB Type C. The handset measures 151 x 76 x 8.35mm and weighs 175 grams.