Xiaomi

Keeping in mind how drastically the memory crisis is impacting budget and mid-range smartphones in 2026, it remains to be seen how Xiaomi's humble Redmi Note (once a budget smartphone) still manages to deliver value. Like all smartphones announced this year, Xiaomi too has hiked the price of its Redmi Note 17 because of the rising cost of memory, but it does not appear as brutal on paper as we expected. In terms of upgrades, the Redmi Note 17 gets a bigger display, an updated processor and a new-age, high-capacity battery. But after using it for a week, we discovered some other deductions that will surprise you.

Xiaomi's Redmi Turbo series has finally made its debut in India after years of being locked up in China. Xiaomi has never launched a Turbo-branded device in the past solely because these devices have always made their way to India under its Poco sub-brand. And as things would have it, Poco already launched its X8 Pro in India back in March. Both phones are identical in core hardware, appearance, and dimensions, but Xiaomi's Redmi Turbo 5 has a larger battery. Can this higher battery capacity justify the Turbo 5's slightly higher price tag? And are there better options that offer a more holistic premium smartphone experience for around Rs. 37,999?

Calculated compromises — this is probably the best word to describe smartphones in the sub-flagship tier in recent years. In most cases, brands have selectively adopted top-tier features from their flagship offerings, while cutting specific corners to meet a more accessible price point. For the longest time, Xiaomi's 'T' series was among the absolute gold standard of this philosophy. Wherever available, it built a good reputation for delivering near-flagship features at highly aggressive prices. Indian consumers, however, were starved of this formula for over 4 years, but that is no longer the case.