Nokia 6 (2018) versus Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro: Which budget phone to buy?
At a launch event in Delhi earlier this month, Finnish smartphone maker, Nokia showed off its lineup of devices for 2018. The event saw executives from HMD Global, the current licensee of the Nokia brand, making official three new handsets, the Nokia 6 (2018), Nokia 7 Plus and its new flagship device, the Nokia 8 Sirocco.
However, of the three devices, one phone that the company is hoping will do well is its new budget segment offering, the Nokia 6 (2018). The phone brings with it a unique design paired with powerful internals. But before the company can achieve its dreams of domination of the fiercely contested budget segment, it will have to face off stiff competition from the likes of the Redmi Note 5 Pro which offer great value for money.
Let's compare the two and see which one wins the battle of the budget phones.
Design and display
Let's start off with the design of the two smartphones. The 2018 model of Nokia 6 has been crafted from a single block of 6000 series aluminium and has thin chamfered edges. The phone has a two-tone colour scheme which adds a touch of class to the device. On the front, it is adorned by a 5.5 inch Full HD LCD display with 16:9 aspect ratio which is covered by a sheet of curved 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
The Redmi Note 5, on the other hand, boasts of a new 5.99-inch display that is tall and bezel-less. In terms of the specs, the Redmi Note 5 Pro's display is FHD+ panel with a 2160x1080p resolution and 403ppi pixel density. Interestingly though, Xiaomi has managed to put in this bigger display on the phone without increasing the size of the device from the previous year. However, because of this, the bezels on the top and the bottom of the phone have been shaved to a near minimum to give this phone an edge to edge look.
Overall, the design is more industrial and basic as compared to the Nokia 6 (2018), but will still appeal to users looking for a phone with a bezel-less look. However, for those looking for a more solid, and classy design, the Nokia 6 (2018) with its beautiful copper accents is the phone to buy.
What's under the hood?
As expected, this is where the Redmi Note 5 takes a slight lead over its competitor. The Note 5 Pro comes with a powerful Snapdragon 636 which makes it by far the most powerful and energy-efficient phone from the Redmi Note lineup. Paired with the SoC is up to 6GB of RAM and a maximum of 64GB internal storage which is can be expanded by up to 128GB via a hybrid micro-SD card slot.
The Nokia 6 (2018) is also a beast of a phone when it comes to the internals with the device packing a Snapdragon 630 SoC paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage that can be further expanded via a microSD card.
However, with the phone running stock Android Oreo and being part of the Android One platform it provides above par performance like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro which comes running MIUI 9 – Xiaomi's take on Android 7.1.1 Nougat.
In terms of the battery, the Note 5 Pro brings with it a 4,000mAh battery but doesn't support fast charging, while the Nokia 6 2018 is backed by a smaller 3,000mAh battery but supports fast charging.
Cameras
In terms of cameras, both phones offer good value for the money. However, Xiaomi's offering takes a slight lead because of the powerful lenses on board.
While the Nokia 6 comes with a 16-megapixel rear shooter with f/2.0 aperture, Phase Detection Autofocus and dual-LED flash, and an 8-megapixel selfie shooter in the front which supports Nokia's Dual Sight, the Note 5 Pro brings with it a dual camera setup at the back, placed vertically like on the iPhone X.
The setup comprises a 12-megapixel primary sensor with f/2.2 aperture and a 5-megapixel sensor with f/2.0 aperture. The camera module supports electronic image stabilisation, phase detection autofocus. Xiaomi also claims that this depth-sensing dual camera setup also makes use of machine learning for greatly improving picture quality.
On the front, Xiaomi has equipped the device with a 20-megapixel selfie camera with a Sony IMX376 sensor, LED selfie light and Beautify 4.0 tuned for the Indian market.
Price
There is no denying that both phones are very aggressively priced, and offer great value for money – Xiaomi's Redmi Note 5 Pro with its powerful specs, and Nokia's 6 (2018) with its fine balance of internals and design. The Note 5 Pro though offers more flexibility in terms of the price, with Xiaomi offering it in two variants.
Apart from the 6GB+64GB storage variant available for Rs 16,999, Xiaomi's new budget warrior is also available in a 4GB LPDDR4 RAM variant that has been priced at Rs 13,999. The Nokia 6, however, comes only in one variant for now, 3GB RAM+32GB storage priced at 16,999.