The Redmi 15C 5G may appeal to first-time smartphone buyers or those upgrading from 4G-capable phones. Here's our review.
The Redmi 15C 5G price in India begins at Rs. 12,499 for the 4GB + 128GB variant
With the new Redmi 15C 5G, the Xiaomi sub-brand has continued targeting budget-conscious buyers with a formula that prioritises practicality over ambition. The handset follows a familiar approach that focuses on incorporating large displays, dependable battery life, essential hardware, and 5G support — all at a price point that may appeal to first-time buyers or those upgrading from 4G-capable devices. But does it deliver a similar real-world experience?
The Redmi 15C 5G price in India begins at Rs. 12,499 for the base variant with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. Here's our review.
The Redmi 15C 5G features a distinct design from its predecessor. For starters, the brand has moved away from the circular camera deco that encompassed its top half, and there's now a square-shaped housing aligned to the top-left corner. It houses the dual rear camera sensors and an LED flash in a slightly raised module. Although the camera module protrudes ever so slightly, the Redmi handset remains fairly stable when kept on a flat surface and does not wobble.
The Redmi 15C 5G measures 171.56 x 79.47 x 8.05mm, and with such dimensions, it takes up more space in the hand than many compact offerings. Tipping the scales at 211g, the phone feels slightly bulky. While its curved edges do help with grip and improve ergonomics, the Redmi handset is undoubtedly a tall and wide device, and users with normal-sized hands may struggle with reach. It is, perhaps, another entry into the ‘almost-phablet-like' category of smartphones.
The Xiaomi sub-brand has introduced three colourways of the Redmi 15C 5G — Midnight Black, Moonlight Blue, and Dusk Purple — each with a different finish. We have the Moonlight Blue shade for review, featuring a ripple-like textured pattern that catches light at certain angles. This design element adds visual character and makes the handset appealing, especially when the light reflects off the surface. Despite the glossy look, the phone doesn't feel too slippery and manages to hide fingerprint smudges.
The Redmi 15C 5G has an IP64 rating for durability, which means it is certified to be resistant to dust and splashes of water, but not fully waterproof.
On the front, the Redmi 15C 5G sports a 6.9-inch HD+ (720 x 1,600 pixels) AdaptiveSync display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate. It has a waterdrop-style notch for the front camera. What's immediately noticeable here are the thick bezels, especially at the chin, which detract from the otherwise decent viewing experience.
The massive screen real estate, though, works well for content consumption, browsing, and scrolling.
Moving on, the display is somewhat of a mixed bag. With a resolution of 720 x 1,600 pixels and a pixel density of 254ppi, the content does not appear especially sharp. Colour reproduction is decent, and the handset delivers fairly wide viewing angles. While outdoor legibility was initially a concern in our first impressions, long-term usage of the Redmi 15C 5G has alleviated that to some extent. The 810 nits (HBM) peak brightness, on paper, may seem low, but the handset gets adequately bright in outdoor conditions.
There is a bottom-firing speaker on the Redmi 15C 5G, which gets adequately loud, especially when the 200 percent volume boost function is toggled. However, sound distortion is noticeable at higher volumes.
Powering the Redmi 15C 5G is a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 SoC, which is commonly used in devices in this segment. While it is not at par with the very best processors in the market, daily usage — which involves multitasking and casual gaming — is fairly smooth. Those upgrading from sub-Rs. 10,000 smartphones will encounter no major performance issues. That said, we recommend opting for at least the 6GB variant of the Redmi 15C 5G, as 4GB may not be sufficient for long-term usage.
Moving on, light games run pretty smoothly on the Redmi 15C 5G. However, it struggles when running graphics-intensive titles such as Battlegrounds Mobile India (on high settings), Call of Duty: Mobile, and Red Dead Redemption (Netflix). The handset comes with UFS 2.2 onboard storage, which results in quick app loading, smooth app switching, and easy navigation. We experienced stuttering only a handful of times while using the Redmi 15C 5G, delivering sufficient performance for most users.
The software experience, meanwhile, leaves a bit to be desired. While animations and UI navigation on Android 15-based HyperOS 2 are fluid, many intuitive UI actions appear to have been disabled to maintain smooth performance. On top of that, there are plenty of bloatware apps, ranging from the usual culprits like Block Blast and Bubble Shooter to pre-loaded apps like LinkedIn and Snapchat. We also encountered advertisements that appeared at certain times, which had to be disabled manually, app by app.
What works in Redmi's favour is software support, with Xiaomi promising two years of OS upgrades and four years of security updates. Rounding off the other aspects, the Redmi 15C 5G comes with a side-mounted fingerprint sensor that works fairly quickly. There's 5G connectivity, and the handset retains a strong signal.
The 50-megapixel primary rear camera on the Redmi 15C 5G captures photos with accurate colour reproduction and balanced exposure. However, images often lack fine detail, and textures appear on the softer side even in good lighting conditions. This becomes especially noticeable when shooting in 2x mode or zooming into captured shots.
Redmi 15C 5G primary camera samples (tap to expand)
In darker environments, I noticed that the camera struggled to retain detail in shadow-heavy areas. While enabling Night mode improves brightness, it offers only marginal gains and does little to improve sharpness or noise control. Portrait photos, though, appear to be better. Background separation is decent, especially when capturing artificial objects.
Redmi 15C 5G portrait camera samples (tap to expand)
On the front, the 8-megapixel selfie camera produces shots that look decent in daylight. They offer acceptable skin tones and exposure, although, like the rear camera, detail drops in low-light conditions.
Redmi 15C 5G selfie camera sample (tap to expand)
Battery life is one of the highlights of the Redmi 15C 5G. The 6,000mAh battery comfortably lasts a full day and can even deliver up to two days of use for casual users. In the PCMark 3.0 Battery Life Test, the handset achieved a usage time of 24 hours and 23 minutes, reinforcing its endurance advantage in the segment.
Charging speeds are decent, too. The handset comes with 33W charging support and a 33W charger in the box. It took about one hour and 4 minutes to charge the Redmi 15C 5G from 0 percent to the "fully charged" notification to appear. A good thing here is that the phone supports 10W reverse charging, meaning you can top up your TWS or smartwatch if it runs out of juice mid-way through the day.
The Redmi 15C 5G delivers a dependable experience that prioritises everyday usability. Its strengths lie in the large display for browsing and media consumption, appealing design, consistent day-to-day performance, and long battery life. However, there are a few caveats, including the low-resolution display, bloatware-heavy software experience, and average camera performance.
The handset is best suited for first-time smartphone buyers or users upgrading from older 4G devices. Those looking for better durability can consider the Oppo K13x 5G (review), while users prioritising battery endurance may find the iQOO Z10x 5G (review) to be a better alternative.
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