LeEco Le 2 vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 vs Panasonic Eluga Note: Which sub-Rs. 15,000 smartphone should you buy?

The competition in the budget premium smartphone category in India is no less than a battle. Several smartphone companies have jumped into this bandwagon to take advantage of the rising demand for sub-Rs. 15,000 smartphones. Panasonic recently launched its Eluga Note smartphone in India and its price and specs makes it a strong competitor in the budget premium category, but the handset meets strong demand from its rivals such as Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, Lenovo ZUK Z1 and LeEco Le 2.

If you are shopping for a new smartphone within a budget, it is wise to survey the market for best options. Here is a comparison of the newly-released Panasonic Eluga Note, which is priced at Rs. 13,290, against the popular LeEco Le 2 and Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 smartphones, both of which are priced at Rs. 11,999.

Display

All three smartphones have the same display, both size and resolution, which measures 5.5 inches and has 1920x1080 pixels. In terms of size and clarity, all three phones stand on the same level, but individual designs of the handsets can be a deciding factor for buyers.

Camera

LeEco Le 2 features a 16-megapixel primary camera with dual LED flash, PDAF, f/2.0 aperture and an 8MP front-facing snapper for selfies. The Redmi Note 3 packs also a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera with PDAF, dual-tone LED flash, dual ISP and HDR and a 5MP front-snapper with 36 smart beauty profiles. While the camera resolution on both sides of the Eluga Note is same as that in the Redmi Note 3, Panasonic's smartphone comes with triple LED flash.

We have tested the Le 2 and the Redmi Note 3 cameras and found them worth their price, but the Eluga Note's camera results are inconclusive at the moment.

Processor, RAM and storage

LeEco Le 2 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 octa-core processor clocking speeds at 1.8GHz, 3GB RAM and 32GB eMMC5.1 fixed storage. Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 CPU, which is backed by 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. Panasonic Eluga Note is powered by a 1.3GHz MediaTek octa-core processor with the same RAM and storage configuration as the other two smartphones in this comparison.

LeEco Le 2 seems to have an edge with its latest processor in this category.

Battery

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 has the biggest 4,050mAh battery, which the company claims to last 14 hours with GPS navigation. LeEco Le 2 and the Eluga Note pack a 3,000mAh battery each. While the Le 2 comes with fast charging support, there is no mention of the useful feature in Panasonic's smartphone spec-sheet.

Software

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 runs MIUI 7 on top of Android 5.1 Lollipop, while the Le 2 is powered by the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow based eUI 5.8. Panasonic Eluga Note also has the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS.

Add-ons

In terms of extras, Le 2 has an edge over its rivals. It has USB Type-C audio port with CDLA standard where headphones deliver supreme sound quality. While dual SIM and 4G LTE support is common in all three smartphones, the Eluga Note lacks a fingerprint scanner, which is available in the other two phones.

Conclusion

While Panasonic Eluga Note matches Le 2 and Redmi Note 3 on most categories, it trails behind on certain parameters. Also, the price of the handset is more than that of the Redmi Note 3 and the Le 2. As per this comparison, the Le 2 smartphone comes out as a winner in more areas than the other two phones.