The budget smartphone space in India is getting intense with manufacturers launching new models with compelling specifications at competitive prices. The sub-Rs 10,000 smartphones are gaining a lot of traction among consumers and OEMs, taking advantage of the popularity and demand of premium budget phones.
International brands like Xiaomi, Lenovo, Coolpad, LeEco, Huawei as well as some domestic handset manufacturers like Micromax and Karbonn have a wide range of collection of budget phones that offer value for money. Xiaomi recently launched its Redmi Note 3 and Lenovo unveiled its Vibe K5 Plus in India to acquire a share of fast-growing smartphone market share in the country.
With plenty of options to choose from, it is often confusing to narrow down the choices. Here is a spec-by-spec comparison of three popular sub-Rs 10,000 smartphones – Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus and Coolpad Note 3.
Display and design
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 features metal uni-body with a 5.5-inch Full HD display and 401ppi. The handset's screen has a wide viewing angle with 178 degrees and equipped with Sunlight display technology and Night mode.
Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus has a slightly smaller 5-inch display with the same Full HD (1920 x 1080p) resolution and 441ppi. The handset sports premium aluminium cover with radio frequency (RF) radiation shield on its back.
Coolpad Note 3 is made up of plastic and has a 5.5-inch HD (1280 x 720p) display with 178-degree viewing angle. Of all the phones in this comparison, the Note 3 feels the least premium.
Camera and battery
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 sports 16-megapixel primary camera with PDAF, dual-ISP and dual tone flash. On the front side of the device, there is a 5MP snapper complete with 36 smart beauty profiles.
Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus has a 13-megapixel primary camera OV13850 sensor, f/2.2 aperture, 5-element physical lens and LED flash. The front camera is equipped with 5MP sensor that has fixed focus and f/2.8 aperture.
Coolpad Note 3 features a 13MP primary camera with f/2.0 aperture, 5-element HD lens and LED flash. On the front, there is a 5MP snapper for selfies.
The camera setup in the Redmi Note 3, by comparison on paper, appears to be the best.
In terms of battery, Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 has the biggest capacity of 4,050mAh, followed by Coolpad Note 3 with 3,000mAh and finally Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus, which has 2,750mAh power.
Processor, RAM and storage
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 is powered by a 64-bit class based Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 Hexa-core (ARM Cortex A72 dual-core + ARM Cortex A53 quad-core) processor, which is backed by a 2GB RAM in 16GB model and 3GB RAM in 32GB model. There is a microSD card slot to add up to 32GB of additional storage.
Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus uses a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 Octa-core (ARM Cortex A53 x 8) processor, 2GB RAM and 16GB expandable storage.
Coolpad Note 3 comes with a 1.3GHz 64-bit Mediatek MT6753 octa-core processor, 3GB RAM and 16GB expandable memory.
Add-ons
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and Coolpad Note 3 have fingerprint scanners on the rear, while Lenovo's handset lacks the security feature. But the Vibe K5 Plus has Dolby Atmos audio system, twin stereo speakers and TheaterMax VR set.
Price and availability
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 is priced at Rs 9,999 for 16GB. It is available on Amazon India and Mi.com/in and the next flash sale is set to take place Wednesday, March 16.
Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus is available exclusively on Flipkart. At the time of writing this report, the handset was out of stock, but it is expected to be back soon.
Coolpad Note 3 is currently the only smartphone in this comparison to be available freely without any flash sale or stock issues. The handset is priced at Rs 8,999 and is available in white and black colours.
