Redmi Note 15 5G Review: Xiaomi’s Going Back to its Roots to Produce a Smartphone Worthy of a Recommendation

With smartphone prices rising across the board, it’s crucial to hunt for good deals. If you can find the Redmi Note 15 for under Rs 20,000, then you’ll have one of the deals of the year right in the palm of your hands. Yes, I’m talking about Redmi’s latest Note-tastic smartphone that just launched in India. Currently, on Xiaomi’s online store, you can snag an 8GB + 128GB Redmi Note 15 for just Rs 22,999. Even at that price, Xiaomi has hit it out of the park with the latest iteration of one of its best-selling smartphone series.

Xiaomi’s Redmi Note series was the easiest of recommendations back in its heyday. It conquered the mid-range segment, and for years, nothing even came close. The problem is that over the last few years, Xiaomi has slowed the pace of development for the Redmi Note Series, causing frustration among consumers.

With the Redmi Note 15, it seems Xiaomi is indeed taking customer and media feedback to heart, making the Note Series a compelling option once again.

I’ve used the Redmi Note 15 for a few weeks now, and I’m thoroughly impressed. Yes, it isn’t perfect, but the Redmi Note 15 is a timely reminder of the glory days for this particular smartphone series, and I’m glad Xiaomi has once again upped the game. The company has a lot to build on over the next few years, but thankfully, it has a solid base to work with.

My only complaint is that the cameras, on the back of the smartphone, do little to stand out in an uber-competitive segment.

The Redmi Note 15 will be available in two variants and three colourways. There’s the 8GB + 128GB model for Rs 22,999 and the 8GB + 256GB variant for Rs 24,999. The three colours on offer are Black, Glacier Blue and Mist Purple (my personal favourite). There’s also a microSD card (shared with the SIM tray) for storage expansion up ot 1TB.

Why It Is A Great Smartphone Purchase

The design: Yes, personally, I think this design has cemented Xiaomi’s position in the mid-range segment. The Redmi Note 15 is sleek and lightweight, and it comes with an IP65/IP66 water- and dust-resistant rating. It’s premium through and through and won’t bulge inside your pocket. At 178g, this smartphone has an incredible in-hand feel. The “squircle” camera housing is where I think the design stands out among competitors. The only downside is that it can easily pick up smudges and fingerprint marks.

Curved display: I’m not usually a fan of curved displays, but the one on the Redmi Note 15 has me hooked. It’s a change from a flat panel to a 3D curved display. The display is 6.77 inches and AMOLED, with a FHD+ (2392x1080) resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate (hallelujah), and a peak brightness of 3,200 nits. The display is wonderful for daily usage, including video calls. Out of the box, the smartphone delivers good colours and crisp text. I was recently watching a T20 World Cup match on it, and didn’t even realise I wasn’t on my Pixel smartphone. Last, but not least, I did not face any accidental touches. Brightness, outdoors, is on the lower side, but not a dealbreaker.

Adequate performance: The Redmi Note 15 could have gone with a better chipset, but Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 isn’t shabby at all. It may not be as fast as some of its competitors, but for daily tasks, this chipset will perform just fine. It’s got UFS 2.2 storage speeds and LPDDR4X RAM. Sure, it could have been much improved in this regard, but I didn’t encounter any issues while multitasking with my regular social media and instant messaging apps. There’s no way I’d buy this smartphone for gaming (other than a few light games), and so I’m not aggrieved by the lack of any “ultra” performance.

Great battery life: Under the hood is a 5,520mAh battery (410mAh more than its predecessor), and, in simple terms, the smartphone easily lasts 1.5 days of regular usage. The smartphone also supports 45W fast charging, and yes, a charger is included in the box. The kicker is that there is also support for 18W wireless charging (very rare in this segment).

What I Didn’t Like

Cameras: Yes, the cameras aren’t bad, but the sluggish UI and the underpowered chip are to blame. Part of that also has to do with the fact that the Redmi Note 15 comes with HyperOS 2 out of the box, and there is no timeline for HyperOS 3. HypoerOS 2 is over a year old by now, and this is unacceptable. While the primary camera (the first smartphone to utilise Samsung’s ISOCELL HM9 sensor) delivers strong results in good lighting, its low-light performance and slow shutter speed disappointed me.

Furthermore, the portraits could have benefited from better edge detection. My biggest gripe, though, was that the Redmi Note 15 couldn't capture photos of fast-moving objects. More often than not, I ended up with blurry photos, thanks to the slow shutter speed. I’m not even going to get into the ultrawide, since I hardly used it because of its washed-out colours.

The selfie camera, on the other hand, delivered strong results, as they weren’t over-beautified and looked natural.

Software: Yes, part of the performance (even though I didn’t find any issues with multitasking) is pinned down to the fact that Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 15 with HyperOS 2, instead of HyperOS 3 (which is a much more optimised update). Yes, we know why this is done, but bloatware in 2026 isn’t acceptable.

Verdict

Despite thinking the cameras weren’t worth it and that the software, being a year old, is unacceptable, I found my time with the Redmi Note 15 to be joyful. Yes, the smartphone is a good purchase, no doubt, but what I’m most happy about is that Xiaomi is going back to its Redmi Note roots and providing a solid foundation for future models in the series to build on. It’s got all the makings of a successful smartphone, after a few years of hiccups, and I’m glad I can recommend this smartphone to my peers. It’s also lightweight and has great in-hand feel.

There’s a great AMOLED panel, a solid build, excellent battery life, and a capable chipset for daily use. To boot, it’s got the “squircle” camera island that has just grown on me ever since I first unboxed the smartphone.

If you’re after a brilliant camera or are a professional gamer, then look away. For everyone else, the Redmi Note 15 can definitely become your next daily companion. Like I said above, any time it is under Rs 20,000, it’s a killer deal.