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In the $300 budget phone segment, there are a couple of familiar choices, such as Samsung’s Galaxy A3x lineup and Motorola’s Moto G Power series.
There is also a third option that is not officially sold in the US, yet delivers strong performance. That phone is the new Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 5G, one of five devices in Xiaomi’s 2026 Redmi Note lineup. Pricing starts at around 250 euros for the 128GB version and goes up to about 300 euros for the 256GB model. It is already fairly affordable, and based on past trends, discounts are likely to follow.
So what does it offer, and can it really compete with the Galaxy A36 5G?
Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 5G
6
PhoneArena Rating
5.7
Price Class Average
Battery Life
7.5
7.3
Photo Quality
6
5.6
Video Quality
4.6
4.1
Charging
6.8
6.9
Performance Heavy
3.8
3.1
Performance Light
5.9
5.4
Display Quality
7
6.7
Design
6
6
Wireless Charging
0
Biometrics
7
6.8
Audio
6
5.8
Software
6
5.3
Why the score?
This device scores 5% better than the average for this price class, which includes devices like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 15, Motorola Moto G Power (2026) and Samsung Galaxy A17 5G
Right off the bat, this Redmi makes a great first impression. Sure, the back is plastic, but the phone is impressively thin, and the tapered sides make it look even sleeker in the hand.
At just 7.4 mm thick, it’s the slimmest phone in the new Redmi lineup, and it honestly gives off strong iPhone Air vibes at a fraction of the price. You also get IP65-rated dust and water resistance, which is perfectly respectable for this class. And despite packing a large display, the phone feels incredibly light at just 178 grams, which is seriously impressive.
In the box, you can find a 45W charger, which is great to have as most phones these days don't include the charger. You also get a charging cable, SIM tool and user manuals.
On the display side, you get a 6.8-inch AMOLED screen. It’s not just large, it also features a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, and the slim bezels give it a modern, polished look that feels even sleeker than the Galaxy A36.
I should also point out that the Moto G Power, priced similarly, still uses an older LCD panel.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set(area)of colors that a display can reproduce,with the sRGB colorspace(the highlighted triangle)serving as reference.The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x:CIE31' and 'y:CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance(balance between red,green and blue)across different levels of grey(from dark to bright).The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones,the better.
There is an optical fingerprint scanner embedded in the screen, it’s way at the bottom of the phone. It worked quite fast and reliably, though, so no big issues there.
Redmi Note 15 5G Camera
Decent, not great
Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 5G
PhoneArena Camera Score
BEST 158
124
PhoneArena Photo Score
BEST 165
134
Main (wide)
BEST 87
76
Zoom
BEST 30
20
Ultra-wide
BEST 26
18
Selfie
BEST 30
21
PhoneArena Video Score
BEST 155
114
Main (wide)
BEST 83
64
Zoom
BEST 27
12
Ultra-wide
BEST 24
17
Selfie
BEST 28
21
The Redmi Note 15 5G has a dual-camera setup on the back: a 108MP main camera with a 24mm f/1.7 lens, and an 8MP ultra-wide camera with a 16mm f/2.2 lens.
The main camera clearly outshines the ultra-wide. By default, the main cam shoots 12MP photos, but you can switch to Ultra HD mode to use the full 108MP, which produces larger files of roughly 8–10MB, compared to around 3MB for the standard shots.
The ultra-wide struggles with detail compared to the main camera and tends to get noticeably noisy.
Photos look quite decent with pleasing colors and no particular issues with oversharpening or troubles with exposure.
Video Quality
As with most budget phones, the biggest compromise is video. This Redmi can record 4K footage, but there’s no proper stabilization, making the video very shaky and borderline unusable.
I'd recommend sticking to 1080p, where stabilization is at least acceptable. Even then, you’re limited to 30 frames per second — no 60fps option, which is a bit disappointing.
Redmi Note 15 5G Performance & Benchmarks
[SUBHEADING]
We also have to talk about the performance here. The Redmi Note 15 5G comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chip and a solid 8GB of RAM. In daily life that feels sufficient, with no major hiccups, but if you push the phone, it does take an extra beat.
The Xiaomi gets very good numbers in benchmarks. Despite being much cheaper than the Galaxy A36 5G, its CPU performance is practically identical, only slightly behind in multi-core CPU performance.
And similar story with gaming and graphics performance. Results from the 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme test reveal that the Xiaomi and the pricier Galaxy are neck in neck.
The Xiaomi also supports microSD card storage, which is a nice option.
Redmi Note 15 5G Software
It runs HyperOS 2.0 on top of Android 15, and Xiaomi has already confirmed an upgrade to HyperOS 3.0 with Android 16.
Redmi promises four major OS upgrades over the lifetime of this phone.
The big advantage of Redmi phones over rivals is their bigger battery. Despite the super slim profile, the Note 15 5G still has a quite spacious 5,520 mAh battery, larger than the 5,000 mAh battery on Samsung phones.
If you want a bigger battery, the other Redmi Note 15 phones all have battery size of more than 6,000 mAh, but they are a tiny bit thicker.
On our in-house battery tests, the phone scored quite well, beating the thicker Galaxy in YouTube video streaming by a few hours, an impressive advantage.
Charging is officially rated at 45 watts, which is again much better than the 25 watt speeds on Samsung phones. Keep in mind, though, that charging speeds drop significantly if you use the phone while charging.
There is no wireless charging on board, but that's expected at the price.
Redmi Note 15 5G Audio Quality and Haptics
Audio quality on this phone is just okay, but the slimmer profile takes a bit of a toll here and lower frequencies are barely present. That's a common issue on budget phones, though.
That said, the vibration feedback gives away its budget roots, lacking the tight, precise feel you get on pricier phones.
Should you buy it?
The Redmi Note 15 5G is an affordable phone that looks great, feels slim, and delivers surprisingly strong battery life. Its camera quality is solid for the price, but 4K video suffers from poor stabilization and isn't very usable, which is the main downside. Performance, on the other hand, exceeds expectations.
If camera quality is your top priority, the Galaxy A36 5G might be a better choice, but it's a pricier phone. Still, the Redmi clearly outperforms the Moto G Power in most areas, so it's one of the top contenders in its class.
Victor, a seasoned mobile technology expert, has spent over a decade at PhoneArena, exploring the depths of mobile photography and reviewing hundreds of smartphones across Android and iOS ecosystems. His passion for technology, coupled with his extensive knowledge of smartphone cameras and battery life, has positioned him as a leading voice in the mobile tech industry.
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