We spent a week with the Redmi Note 15 5G, and it’s made to keep you entertained

There’s something almost dangerous about a comfortable phone. The Redmi Note 15 5G sits so nicely in your hand, with that slim 7.35mm body and featherweight 178g build, that you forget you’re even holding it.

And when you forget you’re holding something, you tend to keep holding it. That’s precisely what kept happening over the full week with the device, and honestly? We are not even mad about this. The following Redmi Note 15 5G review will tell you why.

Redmi Note 15 review: Design and display

The longest we used this phone continuously for was at an airport, during a massive six-hour delay last week. The flight kept getting pushed back every 45 minutes like some cruel game. And what better way to test a device with a massive 6.77-inch display than these conditions? The phone almost acted like an escape of sorts.

At that size, the Note 15 is larger than many other phones in the market, and you really notice the difference when you flip the thing horizontally for video. Most of that airport ordeal was spent watching Your Friends & Neighbours on Apple TV+, and the experience was genuinely enjoyable.

The 2392 x 1080 pixels resolution keeps everything sharp, and that 3,200 nits peak brightness meant actually seeing what was happening even under those harsh terminal lights.

The curved edges on this display blend seamlessly into the frame, which is a nice premium touch that Xiaomi has borrowed from its pricier Note Pro+ models. It makes swiping from the edges feel natural, and combined with the lightweight build, one-handed use for extended periods becomes comfortable without any strain.

Redmi Note 15 review: Performance and software

The Redmi Note 15 runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, which is a 4nm chip that handles everyday tasks perfectly. Scrolling through apps, jumping between social media, pulling down the notification shade–all of these things feel quick and responsive.

But while this serves excellently as an entertainment device, that entertainment doesn’t extend to heavy gaming. We tried running Genshin Impact, and ran into noticeable stutters during combat sequences.

Now, expecting a budget phone to handle one of the most demanding mobile games (it’s sized over 40GB!) out there is perhaps unreasonable, but it’s worth knowing the limitations. Lighter games run perfectly fine, so if you’re more into casual puzzle games or something like Subway Surfers, you’ll be golden.

Then there’s the software situation. The phone runs HyperOS 2 based on Android 15, and Xiaomi has committed to four years of OS upgrades plus six years of security updates. That’s genuinely impressive software support for a mid-range device.

But be aware that this is actually a pared-down version of HyperOS, with several of the visual flourishes from Xiaomi’s flagships missing. The Control Centre, for instance, lacks the blur effect you’d get on more expensive models. Instead, you get this rather unattractive grey background. Animations have been toned down as well.

That’s a shame because we’re fairly certain the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 would have handled those visual elements without issue. But Xiaomi has probably made this choice to maximise fluidity and battery life. It’s a trade-off, and whether that bothers you will depend on how much you care about having the prettiest possible software experience.

Meanwhile, the 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM keeps things moving along nicely, and you can choose between 128GB or 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage. There’s also expandable storage up to 1TB if you need more space for all those downloaded shows.

Redmi Note 15 review: Cameras

The camera system on the Redmi Note 15 punches above its weight for this price point, though it does have a particular personality you’ll need to work with. The main shooter is a 108MP Samsung ISOCELL HM9 sensor with optical image stabilisation, and it captures a surprising amount of detail in good lighting conditions.

Xiaomi has tuned these cameras to produce images with higher contrast and saturation than what you’d see in real life. Some people love this look because it makes photos pop on social media without any editing. Others might find it a bit much. Overall, it works well for most everyday shooting scenarios, though skin tones can occasionally look a touch warm.

The real surprise here is the zoom capability. This phone only goes up to 20x digital zoom, which sounds modest on paper, but the results are more than usable. We tested this by trying to read text on a billboard that was easily a hundred metres away, and the words came out crisp and readable. That’s not something you’d expect from a phone at this price.

The 8MP ultrawide camera handles its duties competently for capturing wider scenes, though it doesn’t match the main sensor’s detail levels. Up front, there’s a 20MP selfie camera that produces flattering results in decent lighting. Video recording tops out at 4K at 30fps on the rear camera, which is perfectly adequate for social media content creation.

Redmi Note 15 review: Battery

The 5,520mAh battery inside the Redmi Note 15 powered through that airport nightmare without any anxiety about finding a charger. And we found that it averages a day and a half of light to moderate use over the week of use. Heavy video streaming will obviously drain it faster, but it’s still a lot better than the competition, likely due to that efficient Snapdragon under the hood.

When you do need to top up, the included 45W charger gets you back to full relatively quickly. There’s also 18W reverse charging if you need to share some power with a friend’s dying phone, which is a thoughtful addition. The battery uses “EV-grade cells,” and Xiaomi claims it retains 80 to 85 per cent of its original capacity even after 1,600 charge cycles. That should mean this phone keeps its stamina for years of use.

Unboxed Take: Who should buy the Redmi Note 15 5G?

The Redmi Note 15 5G knows exactly what it wants to be. This is a phone built for people who consume a lot of content, whether that’s streaming shows during travel delays, scrolling through endless social media feeds, or just browsing the web.

ALSO READ: Redmi 15C review

That gorgeous display, comfortable build, and solid battery life make it genuinely enjoyable to use for extended periods. Just don’t expect it to double as a gaming device for demanding titles, but that’s expected for a Rs 22,999 device.

For all the above reasons, we rate it a solid 4/5. Stay tuned to Unboxed by Croma for more such in-depth reviews, and everything tech.