Redmi 15C 5G is Xiaomi’s latest budget-friendly smartphone, recently launched in India. It is positioned as an ideal choice for students or anyone looking for an affordable device for their parents, with essential AI features, a larger display suitable for media consumption, and impressive battery life. If you’re interested, you’ve come to the right place. This device was brought to us for review, and it has been our main device for over a week now. Here is our Redmi 15C 5G review for you.
In This Article
Design and Display
The Redmi 15C 5G prioritises a huge display and durability with a sleek design that differs from the previous generation’s round camera. It has a “Floating Crater Deco” camera module that provides stability with minimum wobble.
Furthermore, the slightly raised square camera module at the back has rounded corners to prevent snagging when inserting it into a pocket.
The quad-curved back design improves grip and has a textured or glossy finish that creates luminescent effects. The phone is available in Moonlight Blue, Midnight Black, and Dusk Purple. For review, we have the blue -coloured variant. The blue variant features a glittering sand-like finish, and the back design changes depending on where the light hits.
The rear is made of glossy polycarbonate, which resembles glass but feels like plastic and easily attracts fingerprints. The flat side rails also enhance grip during gaming or watching videos, providing greater control.
With a width of over 80 mm, it is difficult to use with one hand and requires an extended reach to access the screen’s upper corners. Weighing 211 g, its substantial heft is tempered by a quad-curved back design that enhances comfort.
The right side has a power button with an embedded fingerprint sensor for unlocking the phone, as well as a volume rocker above it. The left side features a triple-slot tray (dual Nano-SIM and a dedicated microSD card slot for up to 1TB). The bottom has a 3.5mm headphone port and an IR blaster for remote control features. Additionally, the device features a USB Type-C port for charging (33W) and data transfer, a main microphone located to the left of the port, and a mono speaker grill on the right.
The polycarbonate buttons produce a firm, clicking sound, while the capacitive fingerprint sensor allows unlocking the phone with a single touch.
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The IP64 rating means that the device is completely dust- and splash-proof, but it is not waterproof. Wet Touch Technology 2.0 makes sure that the screen responds even when your fingers are wet or greasy. The display has a Mohs level 6 scratch resistance certification, which ensures excellent protection against common objects such as keys and coins.
The top has a Dot Drop notch for an 8MP selfie camera and a tiny earpiece grill. Aside from that, there is a prominent bottom chin, which contributes to the less contemporary design typical of this price range.
The plastic increases the device’s durability and reduces its weight, but it lacks the premium feel of metal or glass backs. Its size might also make single-handed use challenging, particularly for users with smaller hands.
The Redmi 15C 5G is designed for budget-conscious users who love long-term viewing experiences. It features a big 6.9-inch Dot Drop display with an IPS LCD panel. The resolution is HD+ (720 x 1,600 pixels), and the AdaptiveSync technology allows for refresh rates of up to 120 Hz. The display offers a brightness of 660 nits under standard settings and can boost up to 810 nits in high brightness mode, suitable for different lighting conditions. It features a touch sampling rate of 240 Hz for better responsiveness and is scratch-resistant to Mohs Level 6, ensuring durability during daily use, as previously noted.
The pixel density is lower at 4,254 pixels per inch (ppi), yet the display seems acceptable from a regular viewing distance. However, closer inspection reveals minor softness in text and small icons, making the display less sharp than a Full HD (1080p) screen. However, we do not view this softness as a deal breaker.
Although the highest outdoor brightness of 810 nits qualifies it for outdoor usage, it is not ideal in direct sunlight. DC dimming and other features eliminate flicker and blue light indoors, enhancing eye comfort during nighttime use. The screen’s 120 Hz refresh rate ensures smooth and responsive navigation. Additionally, the 240 Hz touch sampling rate benefits casual gaming. A bigger screen size makes streaming services like YouTube and Netflix more immersive, even if the bezels are a little annoying.
The gadget features a single speaker at the bottom and a “Super Volume Boost” function that allows volume to surpass maximum levels, making it loud enough for small spaces. However, this increase might result in audio that is “thin” or distorted, especially with bass-heavy songs. Voice calls over the loudspeaker are crisp, and viewing movies is immersive, despite the audio’s lack of stereo depth. Music playback is fairly loud but lacks depth and bass, making wired audio the better option for music quality.
Performance and cameras
The MediaTek Dimensity 6300 5G chipset serves as the central processing unit, with an octa-core configuration that includes two high-performance cores, specifically the 2.4GHz Cortex-A76 and six efficiency-oriented cores, the 2.0GHz Cortex-A55, which maximise power efficiency while providing sufficient processing power for daily tasks.
In terms of graphics capability, the chipset has the Mali-G57 MC2 GPU, which can handle casual gaming and perform user interface animations with minimal lag. Xiaomi provides various configurations featuring UFS 2.2 storage, delivering faster performance compared to standard eMMC storage within the same price range. Options include 4GB, 6GB, or 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, along with a Memory Extension feature that can add up to 8GB of virtual RAM. The internal storage options are 128GB or 256GB, which may be expanded up to 1TB with a microSD card.
Its MediaTek Dimensity 6300 CPU allows for good multitasking, particularly with the 6GB RAM version, although the 4GB edition may suffer under heavy load.
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Benchmarks indicate that Redmi 15C 5G can achieve an AnTuTu score of 5,79,254. This performance level places the chipset firmly in the mid-range category of low-cost 5G smartphones, making it a viable option for users looking for both affordability and performance.
Despite not being advertised as a “gaming phone”, the Dimensity 6300 processor provides solid performance for popular games such as BGMI and PUBG, attaining 40–60 FPS on balanced or smooth settings. Its effective thermal management reduces heat accumulation, even during long gaming sessions. In addition, HyperOS 2.0 has a Game Turbo mode that optimises gaming resources.
The Redmi 15C 5G comes preloaded with Xiaomi HyperOS 2.0, which is based on Android 15 and includes a promise of two years of major Android upgrades and four years of security fixes, assuring usability until 2029.
The HyperOS 2.0 interface is lighter and more fluid, with a visual revamp that includes a new texture and a cleaner font system for easier readability.
Despite improvements to the user interface (UI) for a more seamless experience, the device still comes with various pre-installed apps. Most of these applications are uninstallable, but they are included by default, so users will see them during setup.
Most notably, the device is equipped with numerous AI features, including “Circle to Search,” which enables users to search for images, videos, or text directly on their screens. Users can circle, highlight, doodle, or tap to specify what they want to find, eliminating the need for screenshots. Additionally, users can engage with Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, to enhance their ideas. It offers assistance with writing, brainstorming, learning, and various other tasks.
In everyday use, the Redmi 15C 5G provides a solid experience, handling operations like emails, social media, and video streaming without latency. Its HyperOS 2.0 and 120Hz refresh rate improve responsiveness, allowing for faster app launches and smoother scrolling.
Notable productivity features include Floating Windows for multitasking and Xiaomi interconnectivity options; certain entry-level models skip traditional split-screen mode to prioritise speed.
The Redmi 15C 5G has a basic camera system, avoiding the sophisticated triple-camera systems that are commonly associated with low-cost smartphones. Its rear camera is made up of a primary 50MP Samsung S5KJN1 sensor with an aperture of f/1.8, as well as an additional 0.08MP sensor. This second sensor primarily contributes to obtaining depth information for portrait pictures, reinforcing the device’s emphasis on providing a professional photographic experience with no additional frills.
In the daytime, the 15C 5G performs admirably, with accurate colours and well-balanced exposure, aided by Xiaomi’s “Ultra HD” mode, which makes use of the full 50MP resolution to produce clear landscape shots ideal for social media. However, in low-light conditions, the device’s basic hardware limitations become apparent, resulting in noisy night photos with soft textures.
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Auto Night Mode tries to artificially brighten photos but does not capture as much detail as higher-end models. In portrait mode, the camera effectively detects edges on subjects, though it may have difficulty with detailed features like hair and sunglasses. The 15C 5G offers up to 10x digital zoom; while 2x zoom remains clear and practical, image quality drops significantly beyond 5x.
The 8MP front camera captures natural skin tones during the day and features a soft-light ring for better lighting, along with a selfie beauty mode that smooths skin naturally without an artificial appearance.
The front and rear cameras’ video capabilities are restricted to 1080p at 30 frames per second with no optical image stabilisation (OIS) and only moderate electronic image stabilisation (EIS). As a result, video recordings, especially those taken while moving, might seem unsteady, making the camera better suited for stationary use or video chats.
Overall, the camera produces solid, 50-megapixel daytime photos with natural colour reproduction. However, the lack of ultra-wide and macro lenses restricts its usefulness. Furthermore, its low-light performance is poor, and while the user interface is clear and easy, video capture suffers from shakiness due to a lack of stability.
The device boasts impressive endurance, thanks to its large 6,000mAh battery that can last up to two days with moderate use. It also supports 33W Turbo Charging, enabling the phone to reach 50% charge in approximately 28-30 minutes. Furthermore, the smartphone has reverse charging capabilities, acting as a power bank that can deliver energy to other devices, such as earphones, at a rate of 10W via wired reverse charging.
Verdict
The Redmi 15C 5G is a low-cost smartphone with a huge 6.9-inch display and a long-lasting 6,000 mAh battery. It has a polycarbonate body and HD+ resolution, which are typical of entry-level devices, but it stands out for its smooth 120 Hz refresh rate, IP64 durability, and MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor, making it ideal for those who value screen space and 5G connectivity. Furthermore, the 6,000mAh battery makes it a true endurance champion. For serious gamers or photography enthusiasts, the 720p screen and basic cameras may be considered limiting.
Price starts at Rs 12,499
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Pros
- 120 Hz refresh rate display
- IP64 rating
- Wet Touch 2.0 tech
- Dimensity 6300 is a solid entry-level 5G chip.
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- IR Blaster
- Dedicated microSD slot
Cons
- lower screen resolution
- Feels a bit heavy and tall, restricting one-hand usage.
- Lacks an ultrawide and macro lens
- Bloatware
