Trying to pick a 5G phone under 15k that’s actually good at… 5G. I’m confused by all the “SA/NSA, n28/n78, VoNR” stuff and don’t want to end up with a phone that shows the 5G icon but struggles indoors or kills battery on standby.
Use case: mostly browsing/maps/WhatsApp, some photos, lots of calls on Jio 5G (with Airtel as secondary SIM). No gaming.
Must-haves (or at least “nice-to-haves” if it’s unrealistic at this price):
- Solid 5G in India: SA for Jio and NSA for Airtel, with useful bands (n28 for indoor + n78). Good 4G fallback with carrier aggregation.
- Stable calling: VoNR and VoWiFi that actually work, fast call setup, reliable proximity sensor.
- Battery life: low standby drain on 5G, especially with two SIMs.
- Clean software: minimal bloat/ads, at least 2 years OS + 3 years security updates.
- Basic performance: UFS 2.2 or better, 6+128 at minimum.
- Display comfort: DC dimming or low flicker/PWM if AMOLED, or a decent LCD is fine.
- Decent haptics and GPS (for rides/maps).
- Service/warranty that isn’t a nightmare.
Shortlist I’m looking at (open to others): Samsung Galaxy F15 5G, Moto G54/G64 5G, Redmi 13 5G, Poco M6 Pro 5G, Realme Narzo 70 5G, Lava Storm/Blaze 5G, Infinix Note 40 5G.
If you own any of these, can you share:
- Which 5G bands you actually see in India (field test/engineering mode info is a bonus).
- Whether VoNR works on Jio and if call quality is better than plain VoLTE.
- Real standby drain per hour on 5G (one SIM vs two SIMs).
- Whether 4G/5G carrier aggregation kicks in consistently.
- Update situation after a few months: any major bugs, how fast patches arrive.
- Ads/bloat you could/couldn’t remove.
- Any eye strain or flicker issues on the display.
- Camera reality in daylight/low light (EIS/OIS? I know OIS is rare here).
- Anything weird like weak haptics, fake proximity sensor issues, or throttling.
Extra noob question: is there a quick way to check if a phone supports Jio SA and the right bands (n28/n78) before buying, without relying on the marketing specs?
Would love real-world feedback and Speedtest screenshots if possible. Should I buy now or wait for a sale/festive drop to stretch to the next tier?