Redmi 15 5G first impressions

The Redmi 15 5G has launched, and it doesn’t whisper “entry-level” when you hold it. It feels like a phone that’s trying to break out of its bracket. With a price tag starting at Rs 14,999, it throws in a 7,000mAh battery, a 144Hz display, and a design that could easily pass off as mid-range. The message is clear; Xiaomi wants to blur the lines of what budget phones should look and feel like. Here are our Redmi 15 5G first impressions.

A design that’s meant to be noticed

One of the first things that catches your eye is the new camera island. Milled from aerospace-grade metal, it looks every bit as serious as flagships from double the price range. There are three cutouts, but only two of them house cameras, the third is a design flourish.

In the Frosted White colourway we got for review, the back has a soft gradient sheen that shifts gently under light, and the flat-frame edges give it the kind of clean, confident lines you usually associate with pricier handsets.

At 8.4mm thick and 217 grams, it’s not the slimmest or lightest phone on the block, but the weight distribution makes it feel solid rather than cumbersome. Add to that an IP64 rating for dust and splash resistance, and you’ve got durability in the mix too, not something budget phones are famous for.

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Small touches like slim bezels and a centred punch-hole camera make the front feel tidy, while the power and volume controls sit comfortably on the right edge, with the USB-C and speaker grille neatly aligned at the bottom.

A display that wants your attention

The 6.9-inch Full HD+ display is, simply put, huge. It dominates the front, and the 144Hz adaptive refresh rate keeps scrolling and swiping satisfyingly smooth. Redmi has tuned it with up to 288Hz touch sampling and a claimed 850 nits of peak brightness.

Indoors, the panel looks sharp and colours are vibrant enough, though in bright outdoor light it doesn’t quite pop in the way AMOLED rivals sometimes do. Still, in early use, the combination of sheer size, fluid refresh rate, and decent colour reproduction makes it feel like one of the most entertainment-ready panels in this segment.

Performance, software, and battery

Running the show is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6s Gen 3, a dependable mid-tier processor built for balanced performance rather than raw firepower. It’s paired with up to 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage, which should be plenty for everyday tasks, streaming, and casual gaming.

What’s more interesting is the software commitment. Redmi is shipping this with HyperOS 2 (based on Android 15) and promising two years of OS updates plus four years of security patches. For a phone under Rs 15,000, that’s a big deal and hints at Xiaomi taking longevity in the budget segment more seriously.

If there’s one spec that dominates the Redmi 15’s pitch, it’s the 7,000mAh silicon-carbon battery. This is the first time we’re seeing this new battery chemistry trickle down to the budget space.

On paper, this should translate to marathon endurance without turning the phone into a brick. It also supports 33W fast charging and even 18W reverse charging, effectively letting it double as a power bank in a pinch. How long it actually lasts in day-to-day usage is something we’ll be putting to the test, but first impressions suggest this could be the Redmi 15’s trump card.

Cameras

The phone technically carries a dual rear camera setup including a 50MP main sensor with f/1.75 aperture and a secondary lens that Redmi hasn’t detailed yet. Up front, there’s an 8MP selfie shooter

This is one area where budget phones often reveal their limits, and while the specs look serviceable, we’ll have to see how it handles tricky lighting, skin tones, and video in real-world use.

Redmi 15 5G first impressions

The Redmi 15 5G feels like a budget phone that doesn’t want to behave like one. From the oversized display to the 7,000mAh battery, it’s aiming squarely at users who want longevity, entertainment, and a touch of premium design without stretching their wallets.

We’ll need more time to see how it performs in gaming, photography, and real-world endurance, but it’s safe to say Redmi has set the stage for an interesting budget showdown.