The Redmi Note series is one of the most important lineups for Xiaomi, especially in India. The Note series is known for offering ‘bang for the buck’. Some people still remember the popularity of the Redmi Note 10 series launched half a decade ago. Now, after a hiatus of over a year for the Note 14 series, Redmi is back with its successor – Note 15 5G.

On paper, Xiaomi has ticked all the right boxes when it comes to the Redmi Note 15 5G. You get a sleek design, a big battery, and a new camera. The phone maker has said that the Note 15 is not only better than its predecessor, but also outperforms last year’s Note 14 Pro, which was priced at Rs 24,999.

Now, on paper, the Redmi Note 15 5G already seems like a good start, especially when it has a starting price of Rs 22,999 – yes, it’s higher than the Note 14, but still lower than the Note 14 Pro.

But specifications are only part of the story. So, how does the Redmi Note 15 5G perform in everyday use? Here’s our full review on India Today Tech.

Redmi Note 15 5G design

The Note 15 5G gets a different design than its predecessor, and now looks a lot like the Note 14 Pro Plus. You get a large squircle camera module that dominates the plastic rear panel. The backplate comes in matte finish and does not register fingerprints. The black color that we have comes in a single-tone design. Note 15 5G is also available in Mist Purple and Glacier Blue colors.

The first thing you notice when you hold the Redmi Note 15 5G is how slim it feels. At 7.35mm, the device is thinner than last year, and what really makes it feel sleek is the curve of the screen and backplate at the edges. The Note 15 5G comes in a square design, and the sharp corners can feel uncomfortable during long sessions. For an affordable device, the feel in the hand is premium, although you only get a plastic frame.

You also get an opaque TPU case in the box. The case comes in a matte finish and that’s a nice addition, considering that many expensive phones also come with a transparent case which usually starts yellowing after a month or two.

redmi note 15 5g display

On the front, the Redmi Note 15 5G sports a 6.77-inch FHD+ curved AMOLED display. However the display is not curved all the way around as the top and bottom are flat. Still, the Note 15 5G has thin bezels for the price, and the curved display makes the phone feel more premium. You also get a pre-installed screen protector.

Now, the display of the Note 15 5G is good. The colors are attractive. The screen is set to Vivid Color mode by default, and you can tweak the settings to change how it all looks. The display also gets quite bright at 3,200nits. And rarely have I found myself struggling to view content on my screen in broad daylight.

Since we’re talking displays, let’s discuss the streaming experience. I watched a lot of YouTube videos and streamed a few shows on the Redmi Note 15 5G. The overall experience is good – the dual speaker setup with Dolby Atmos support produces loud sound. You also get the option to go up to 300 percent volume, which takes the volume a little more. Now, one thing I noticed was that the backplate, right below the camera module, vibrates noticeably at maximum volume. But this isn’t a deal breaker, and your hands usually won’t be there when you’re streaming a show.

Redmi Note 15 5G performance

Redmi Note 15 5G is powered by Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 processor. When it comes to benchmarks, the phone scored 1,015 points and 2,913 points in single-core and multi-core on Geekbench. This is comparable to the similarly priced Nothing Phone 3A Lite. Although it is less than Lava Fire 4.

Redmi Note 15 5G works well in everyday use. You don’t have to face any panic and everything runs smoothly. The phone can also handle some multi-tasking – be it navigation, Bluetooth and camera. But as is the case with budget phones, you can’t really push it further.

For gamers, I tried different games with the Redmi Note 15 5G. Something like Real Cricket works smoothly even when played for more than an hour. During such games the device does not get too hot and you get a good experience.

However, on Call of Duty Mobile, you may want to turn down the graphics settings. While the phone performs well on low graphics, even set to 90fps, I felt some choppiness when I tried to play on high graphics at 60fps. This should come as no surprise as the Note 15 5G is an affordable device, but phones like the Nothing Phone 3A Lite offer a better experience and the Lava Fire 4 is way ahead of them.

Redmi Note 15 5G cameras

The Redmi Note 15 5G sports a 108-megapixel main camera, along with an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera. Although the phone doesn’t click 108-megapixel photos by default, you can choose the option manually.

When using this high-resolution mode, the details are there, and you can zoom-in and still not see pixelation. I also found that colors were quite accurate even when shooting in the default mode. When using 2x the main sensor, details were not bad, and the results turned out to be useful. Portrait mode also works well and edge detection also works well.

The 8-megapixel ultrawide does the job, but you’ll notice a slight difference when it comes to color uniformity compared to the main sensor.

The front camera of Note 15 5G is a 20-megapixel sensor. When taking selfies during the day, the results were good, and I found the edge detection quite good in portrait mode. The skin color also turned out to be accurate. However, selfies at night were a bit inconsistent in terms of skin softness and tone accuracy.

But overall, the camera setup on the Redmi Note 15 5G is adequate, and you can get some good shots.

Talking about video recording, the main camera can record 4k at 30fps, while the other two sensors can only record up to 1080p at 30fps. The primary sensor gets optical image stabilization (OIS), and footage turns out to be quite stable with good details. When it comes to video you can also get some use out of the front camera, although you don’t get OIS.

Battery life of Redmi Note 15 5G

Note 15 5G comes with a 5,520mAh battery. The phone crossed 20 hours on PC Mark, which is impressive. Now, phones like the Oppo K13 and Realme P4 in this price range come with bigger batteries, but the Redmi Note 15 5G gives you impressive battery life. During my time with the device, I would make it to the end of the day with about 20 percent left in the bank, even on weekends.

Xiaomi has optimized the battery well, and you can expect at least 6 hours of screen-on time, which also includes a few gaming sessions.

The phone comes with a 45W fast charger in the box, and the device charges from 20 percent to full in less than an hour.

Redmi Note 15 5G user experience

The Redmi Note 15 5G runs on Android 15-based HyperOS 2 out of the box At a time when Android 16 is available on many new devices, Xiaomi is yet to roll out HyperOS 3 in India. However, the company has confirmed that the Note 15 5G is HyperOS 3 ‘ready’ and it plans to bring the update soon. Xiaomi also promises 4 years of OS updates and 6 years of security patches, so longevity won’t be an issue.

So, if you’re familiar with HyperOS 2, the Redmi Note 15 5G won’t look any different. You get similar customization options that we’ve seen on other Xiaomi phones. And you get a lot of options. The UI works, and it doesn’t feel like you’re missing anything. You get features like game mode, floating windows, and everything you would expect.

As is the case with most budget phones, the Redmi Note 15 5G comes with a bunch of preloaded third-party apps. You can uninstall most of these bloatware, except the Indus AppStore. Thankfully, the Glance lockscreen is off by default.

Redmi Note 15 5G verdict: A reliable option

Now, when I look at the Redmi Note 15 5G, the device does everything you would expect from a budget phone. You get a nice screen, good battery life and performance isn’t bad for the price. The main camera also gives good results. While the phone comes with Android 15, Xiaomi promises long-term OS updates to give you peace of mind. But for me, the Redmi Note 15 5G was missing one thing – excitement. There is no aspect or feature that will get you excited, something that you usually get when you buy a new phone. Yet when it comes to daily use you won’t really miss anything.

So as the title suggests, the Note 15 5G is a jack of all trades, although it doesn’t particularly master any trade, it doesn’t do anything wrong either. At a starting price of Rs 22,999 (8GB/128GB), the Redmi Note 15 5G could be a good, if slightly boring, option when the CMF Phone 2 Pro and Lava Fire 4 offer more interesting offerings.