OnePlus 6T vs Xiaomi POCO F1 vs Asus Zenfone 5z: Which is the best value for money flagship killer
The mid-segment flagship space has been hotly contested for quite some time now. And with the launch of the OnePlus 6T, the focus has shifted back to this crucial segment, that over the last few months has seen a number of important launches.
From the likes of Huawei Nova 3 to the Asus Zenfone 5z and the recently announced Xiaomi Poco F1 – a phone that despite having flagship killer specs costs a fraction of it – we have seen a number of devices that can take on the very best in the market.
But sustained marketing blitz has ensured that the OnePlus 6T has emerged as the leader of this pack of flagship killers. But does it deserve the crown? Or can the Asus Zenfone 5z or the ridiculously priced POCO F1 lay claim to its throne? Let's compare the three to find which of them represents the best value for your hard earned money.
Design and display
Let's start with the design of the three phones.
To begin with, an important thing to note here is how the three phones look nothing like each other and represent designs that are suited to individuals looking for very different things.
While the OnePlus 6T and Asus Zenfone 5z come with glass body designs that are meant to impress at first sight, the Poco F1 – depending on the variant of your choice – uses kevlar/plastic to give the phone a sturdy feel. This design decision, however, does not mean the phone ends up looking bad. Rather it gives the Poco F1 a distinct look that many may actually be impressed by.
Yet, it cannot be denied that for most buyers, the Zenfone 5z and the OnePlus 6T will be better-looking options because of their glass back designs. However, even these two phones differ very much in their use of glass and look nothing like each other.
While the OnePlus 6T uses curved glass at the back that is glossy yet understated in nature, the Zenfone 5z's glass back uses a light reflective pattern which will be recognisable to anyone who has used an Asus laptop before. Another point of difference is the lack of a fingerprint scanner on the back of the OnePlus 6T as opposed to the presence of a circular one of the Zenfone 5z.
The OnePlus device is also the only one in the list that does not sport a 3.5mm jack.
Moving to the front, all three devices come equipped with bezel-less – and notch ridden – displays that promise immersive multimedia experience. However, it's the OnePlus 6T's 6.4-inch 1080p panel that takes the lead over the slightly smaller 6.2-inch displays on the other two phones.
But apart from the bigger size, all three offer good viewing angles and colour accuracy. The Zenfone 5z's display also uses machine learning to tune itself to the user's preference – a feature that is a definite win for it in this department.
Overall on the balance of things, if we had to choose a winner based on design and display, our pick would be between the Zenfone 5z and the OnePlus 6T as both afford a touch of class and premium that the industrial design of the Poco F1 does not provide.
Specifications, battery and features
Coming to the hardware on board, all three phones pack similar specs – Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC paired with up to 8GB of RAM depending on the variant of choice.
Though the three fare a little differently on synthetic benchmarks – the OnePlus 6T currently being the second-fastest Android smartphone in the market – they do, however, perform equally well when tasked with all applications or games of daily use. There is no micro-stutter or instances of lag while playing games on the device.
This is pretty much down to the fact that the three leverage raw power of the Snapdragon 845's four high-performance Kryo cores running at 2.8GHz and four Kryo silver cores running at 1.7GHz. Another contributing factor is the use of Android skins that come with very little bloatware and offer good memory management.
Though the Zenfone's 5z Zen UI, POCO F1's MIUI and OnePlus 6T's Oxygen OS offer distinction, they do not do so at the cost of burdening the OS with unnecessary applications. Yet, it is to be noted that the OnePlus 6T in this regard is ahead of the other two as it already offers Android 9 Pie and all its goodness out of the box.
In terms of battery, the POCO F1 brings the biggest battery pack – 4,000mAh as opposed to 3,300mAh on the Zenfone 5z and 3,700mAh on the OnePlus 6T. However, unlike the Zenfone 5z and OnePlus 6T, the POCO F1 does not support extreme fast charging and comes with support for Qualcomm's Quick Charge 3.0.
Cameras
In terms of the optics, it is arguably the OnePlus 6T that brings the best camera performance to the table.
Even though it is the same camera setup that was seen on the previous generation OnePlus 6 – a 16MP f/1.7 sensor with optical image stabilisation (OIS) and a 20MP f/1.7 one without OIS – the 6T manages to click better pictures in low light conditions as well as better bokeh shots by improving on post-processing of images.
The Zenfone 5z is second in the race and it ends up clicking impressive pictures in not just well-lit surroundings, but also in low light conditions. During our review of the device, the phone's 12-megapixel primary sensor (f/1.8 aperture lens) paired with an 8-megapixel secondary sensor (f/2.2 aperture wide-angle lens) and field of view of 120 degrees clicked images that came out with good amount of detail and very little noise. The presence of four-axis OIS and EIS on the rear camera also helped with ensuring a low amount of shaky shots.
The POCO F1's camera too proved to be quite up to the task in our time with the phone. However, its dual-camera system – consisting of a 12-megapixel sensor and f/1.9 aperture lens and another 5-megapixel camera for depth sensing – did not do as well as the other two phones in the list.
Yet, if you're not a photography enthusiast, the camera should still suffice your needs.
Which device represents the best value for your money?
Though all three are good phones in their own right, and offer great value for money, it is arguably the Zenfone 5z and the Poco F1 here that look like the best deals.
While the OnePlus 6T which starts with a 6GB RAM+128GB storage variant, the Zenfone 5z and POCO F1 bring 6GB RAM+64GB storage configurations as their entry-level variants. However, unlike the OnePlus 6T which starts retail at Rs 37,999, the POCO F1 and the Asus Zenfone 5z can be found online at extremely affordable price points during sales.
While POCO F1's entry variant can be found for around 20k, the Asus Zenfone 5z with its slightly better cameras, more premium build and AI smarts can be purchased for around 24k. Compare this with the OnePlus 6T's 38k price tag and you automatically find a winner emerging.
There is no doubt that on the balance of things, the OnePlus offers a slightly better device than the other two in terms of performance and technology. However, does this difference between the OnePlus 6T and the other two devices warrant the gulf in price?
Suffice to say, we're not convinced.
As such, if you're in the market for a new phone and find yourself stretching your budget to close to 40k to buy a flagship killer, we'd suggest to pass on the OnePlus 6T and get yourself the Zenfone 5z instead. The decision will not only save you money but also land you a phone that looks and works as well as the OnePlus 6T.
And if you want to save up some more, Xiaomi's POCO F1 is also a good option that promises really good performance – if not comparable looks or camera quality.