Xiaomi has just launched a new phone in the Philippines, and it’s the budget-friendly Redmi 15C, which has a price tag of just a bit over PHP 5k.
At this point, Redmi is synonymous with bang-for-buck smartphones, especially its Redmi Note line, given that the phones in this series have prices that range between PHP 10k to 20k while having performance that punches above their weight. Aside from the Note series, Redmi also has its “C” series, and this lineup is the brand’s most affordable, with prices hovering at just around the 5k Peso mark. The Redmi 15C is no different, as this phone has a starting price of just PHP 5,299. At this price though, the phone still promises to be a great daily driver in terms of performance, display, and design.
Of course, as a budget phone, it’ll be interesting to see how well it performs in real-world use, especially given that the budget segment has plenty of strong contenders. So, is the Redmi 15C worth buying for budget-conscious users? Here’s what we think.
Geek-sthetic
To kick things off, let’s take a look at the Redmi 15C’s design. This phone comes in the more eye-catching Mint Green, Moonlight Blue, and Twilight Orange colorways, though the phone that we were able to test is in the Midnight Black color. The other color should be great for users who want their phone to stand out more, but if you ask us, we like how the black color option looks, especially as it has a glittery surface pattern which looks nice when light hits it at certain angles.
The back also features a Redmi 15C signature logo on the bottom right side, which is quite nice while also being small enough to not be distracting. You’ll also see that the phone’s back has a dual rear camera setup, and it has a bit of a camera bump, but not extreme enough to be annoying when you lay it flat (especially if you use the included clear case).
As a budget phone, the Redmi 15C isn’t exactly the most premium-feeling phone out there, but we do like that it doesn’t feel cheap. It also feels quite solid in the hand, and we’re also fans of how grippy it is thanks to the flat edges. Thanks to this, even if you’re playing games with sweaty hands, you likely won’t drop the phone as you should still get a good grip.
At the front, we have the phone’s 6.9-inch Dot Drop display. This is a pretty big screen for a budget phone, so that’s a bonus for users who want a large display for binge-watching or gaming. The screen also has a 120Hz refresh rate, meaning animations should look snappy. It also has TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light certification, so using for long hours should be easy on the eyes.
It’s fair to say that, design-wise, the Redmi 15C does indeed punch above its weight as it doesn’t feel like a cheap device. Instead, it’s more akin to something in the mid-range segment; great news for budget buyers who still want a phone that looks and feels rather nice.
Binge-Watching Factor
When it comes to binge-watching, the 6.9-inch LCD screen is quite fine, as it can get bright enough to watch videos even when outdoors. Plus, the screen’s color output is surprisingly decent for an LCD in the budget segment. Of course, it’s important to note that the screen only has an HD+ resolution (that’s 720 x 1600 for this phone). As such, it won’t look as sharp as a proper 1080p screen, but that’s a fair tradeoff given the affordable price point.
As for audio, the Redmi 15C has a single, bottom-firing speaker that sounds ok for casual video-watching, though for a better experience, headphones or external speakers are definitely recommended. Thankfully, the phone is one of the few new devices in the market that has a 3.5mm headphone jack. As this has become a rarity these days, having the option to connect a wired audio device is definitely welcome, especially for a phone in the budget segment.
Gaming Performance
The Redmi 15C is powered by a MediaTek Helio G81-Ultra processor, and it’s paired with up to 8GB of RAM, though the model we have with us is the base 4GB model (with 128GB of internal storage). As such, we were interested in finding out how well it can run today’s popular games.
To start, we tried out League of Legends: Wild Rift. This game ran fairly well at 60FPS and on the Medium graphics quality setting. You may want to turn some of the settings down a bit to get more consistent framerates, but for the most part, this phone should have enough power to run MOBAs at medium or so.
As for shooters, we tried Call of Duty: Mobile. Given that the Helio G81 is quite an old processor at this point, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that CoD on this device is locked to Medium as the max setting. At least, the game runs fairly well on the Medium graphics quality preset.
Given these results, you probably shouldn’t expect to run more demanding games on this device such as Genshin Impact. Still, if you’re a fairly casual player, the Redmi 15C will do the job fine for popular multiplayer titles. Also, for gaming, you may want to consider getting the higher memory variants, as the 4GB RAM model may be a bit slow to start with some games, especially in the menu when you boot titles up.
Geek Photoshoot Capabilities
For photography, the Redmi 15C packs a dual rear camera setup, with a 50MP main shooter. Interestingly, Redmi isn’t exactly clear on what the second camera is, though we imagine it to be something like a depth sensor. As such, you can essentially treat this phone as a single-camera device in practice, at least for its rear shooter setup. Meanwhile, at the front is an 8MP selfie camera.
With its 50MP main camera, the Redmi 15C manages to capture good daytime photos, with indoor shots also looking fairly nice when there’s a good amount of light. It is worth noting that the images taken with the main camera have vibrant colors, so this should work well for users who want more colorful photos for social media sharing.
As for night photography, the phone has a dedicated Night Mode that lets it take decent low light photos. While it can struggle with lights, the results are still good overall for a budget phone.
Finally, selfies with this new Redmi phone are surprisingly good. As is the case with most budget phones though, you should take selfies in a well-lit area to get the best results, as doing so in dimmer areas can result in a blurry photo.
Everyday Reliability
For the most part, the Redmi 15C is a reliable device for everyday tasks. We had no issues running popular social media and work apps on the phone, and we also didn’t really have much in the way of issues with Xiaomi’s HyperOS.
What’s also nice with this phone as a daily driver is that, aside from the headphone jack (which we always like to see), the phone has a microSD card slot for expandable memory, coupled with dual SIM support. This means you don’t have to pick between a second sim and a memory card, which is the case for phones with hybrid card slots.
Perhaps the only thing we would’ve wanted to see improved was the performance, at least for the 4GB model. While apps work well when they’ve loaded, it seems that 4GB may not be enough to give users the smoothest experience, especially when going through menus. There’s a bit of sluggishness when opening new apps or switching between them. This isn’t a dealbreaker, but it might make the higher memory variants more appealing to some users.
On the bright side, the phone does not disappoint when it comes to battery life. Thanks to the large 6000mAh battery, it should have no issues lasting for a day on a single charge. It shouldn’t take time to fill up too, thanks to its 33W wired fast charging.
Final Geek Lifestyle Verdict
At its starting price of PHP 5,299, the Redmi 15C is overall worth considering for budget-conscious buyers, and for those looking for a backup phone. That’s because the phone is built well, has a nice display, features decent in-app performance, and can deliver all-day battery life. It can also run popular games too, albeit at Medium settings or so.
If you can spare a bit of extra cash though, the 6GB or 8GB RAM models should be worth the splurge, especially as the 4GB model can feel a bit sluggish at times, likely because there’s less memory to work with.
Redmi 15C specs:
- 6.98-inch HD+ (720 x 1600) display, 120Hz refresh rate, with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection
- Mediatek Helio G81 Ultra processor
- Mali-G52 MC2 GPU
- 4/6/8GB RAM
- 128/256GB storage
- Rear cameras: 50MP main f/1.8 main camera
- Front camera: 8MP
- LTE, Dual SIM + microSD
- Side-mounted Fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C port, 3.5mm headphone jack
- 6000mAh battery with 33W wired Fast charging
- Android 15 with HyperOS 2
- Price:
- 4GB+128GB – PHP 5,299
- 6GB+128GB – PHP 5,799
- 8GB+256GB – PHP 6,599