Top phones to buy under Rs 10,000: Xiaomi leads the pack

one are the days when you could not have hoped for a good looking feature-rich smartphone at under Rs 10,000. Not only can you hope for one, you can actually go on and get yourself one now. If that wasn't enough, you even have yourself a couple of good options to chose from which makes buying an A-level budget phone all the more exciting now. Xiaomi leads the pack here with as many as four really premium high-end phones -- for the price -- in the Redmi 4A, the Redmi 4 and the Redmi Note 4.

Take a look.

XIAOMI REDMI 4A

If you're someone who is on a very tighter budget, Xiaomi's ultra-affordable Redmi 4A, that sells for Rs 5,999, is the phone to buy. The Redmi 4A can also be an ideal feature phone replacement if you're someone who is looking to make a switch to a 'smart' phone for the first time. It's as basic as basic gets, and yet, it is feature packed to the brim once you get a hang of it. Most importantly, it costs next to nothing.

If you're someone who is looking for a basic smartphone at dirt-cheap prices, but, also someone who loves to flaunt it, the Redmi 4A should get the job done. The phone, although plastic, feels premium from every nook and corner and is also quite high on specs for its price as long as you know its limitations.

In terms of hardware specs, the phone comes with a 5-inch HD IPS display with a 720p resolution. It is powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor coupled with Adreno 308 GPU, 2GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage which is further expandable via micro-SD card slot. The dual-SIM phone runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow-based MIUI 8 out-of-the-box and supports 4G LTE (VoLTE-ready) connectivity.

On the camera front the Redmi 4A comes with a 13-megapixel camera on the rear with f/2.2 aperture along with autofocus and an LED flash. On the front you get a 5-megapixel snapper. The phone is backed by a 3,120mAh battery which is non-removable.

FYI: Xiaomi has recently launched an all-new variant of the Redmi 4A in India with more RAM and more storage. The upgraded Redmi 4A with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage -- keeping all the other specifics constant -- will cost buyers in India Rs 6,999 which is interestingly the same price that the base model of the Redmi 4 retails at.

XIAOMI REDMI 4

The Redmi 4, Xiaomi's Redmi 3S Prime HD remaster, was launched in India in mid-May at a starting price of Rs 6,999 for the 2GB RAM and 16GB storage variant going all the way to Rs 10,999 for the top end 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant. The Redmi 4 is also available in 3GB RAM and 32GB memory version for Rs 8,999. Although, the Redmi 4 has been around for a while, the fact that it brings in some hard-to-get hardware specs at some really rock-bottom prices make it quite a steal: even in September. No other phone still comes close to it as far as value proposition is concerned.

It looks really premium, feels really premium, has a pretty neat display, churns out dependable performance, comes with good-enough cameras and most importantly killer battery life.

Boasting of a full-metal body -- with a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner -- the Xiaomi Redmi 4 comes with a 5-inch 720p display and an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor under the hood. It sports a 13-megapixel rear camera with PDAF and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. On the software side, the Redmi 4 comes with Android 6.0 Marshmallow-based MIUI. It is further backed by a 4,100mAh battery.

XIAOMI REDMI NOTE 4

The Redmi Note 4 is easily among the best-selling phones that Xiaomi has ever come out with, and the phone still manages to hold its ground in the under Rs 10,000 price segment even though it was launched in January. Xiaomi VP and India MD Manu Kumar Jain, only recently, announced that the company had sold 50 lakh units of the Redmi Note 4 phone in the country in 6 months since launch. Quite simply put, that's a lot of smartphones.

Backed by a premium design, top-notch performance and fantastic battery life, the Redmi Note 4 still remains to be the smartphone to beat at its price point. Follow up to the much successful Redmi Note 3; the Redmi Note 4 exists primarily to correct the camera shortcomings of its predecessor, according to the company. The phone comes with a 13-megapixel camera on the rear with f/2.0 aperture, Phase Detection Autofocus and dual-LED (dual-tone) flash. On the front, the Redmi Note 4 comes with a 5-megapixel camera.

The Redmi Note 4 boasts of a full-metal body and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. It comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p IPS LCD display and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor clubbed with Adreno 506GPU. The base 2GB RAM and 32GB storage version of the Redmi Note 4 sells for Rs 9,999 and supports expandable storage of up to 128GB via a hybrid micro-SD card slot as well. The dual-SIM phone runs Android Marshmallow-based MIUI 8 and supports 4G LTE (VoLTE-ready). The Redmi Note 4 is further backed by a 4,100mAh battery.

YU YUREKA BLACK

You can say Micromax's spin-off brand YU has been on a sabbatical for the last few months. Although Micromax has launched some good enough phones during the period, YU has been literally off the radar. Until June this year when it made a comeback with an upgraded version of 2014's Yureka, calling it simply the Yureka Black. The YU Yureka Black comes with an all new design, updated specifications and some nifty new features. The distinguishing feature of the phone is, however, its stealthy all-black design.

The Yureka Black features a metal body with a striking mirror finish on the back. The finish is quite like the one seen on the jet black version of the iPhone 7 and looks incredibly premium. But unlike the iPhone, the Yureka Black costs just Rs 8,999.

The phone's specifications are also pretty neat for the price. It comes with a 5-inch full-HD IPS LCD display with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top. The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor clubbed with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage which is also expandable. The phone runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and supports dual-SIM, 4G LTE and is backed by a 3,000mAh battery.

The Yureka Black sports a 13-megapixel Sony sensor on the rear with a dual-LED flash alongside an 8-megapixel front camera which also comes with an LED flash.