Micromax Bharat 5 vs Nokia 2 vs Xiaomi Redmi 5A: Which is the best budget 4G phone?
Post Reliance Jio's entry into the market last year, the country was plunged into the depths of a 4G-VoLTE revolution. Almost overnight, India became one of the most well-penetrated 4G markets in the world. But as it turns out, the country's smartphone market was far from ready for this revolution.
A year on, the situation has improved drastically. Smartphone makers have jumped into the market with 4G-capable devices not just in the higher price segments, but also in the budget and ultra-affordable segment. The latest entry to the list is Micromax Bharat 5 – the successor to the Bharat 4.
This new device comes on the back of the addition of some high-profile entry-level 4G phones to the market in recent weeks, such as the Xiaomi Redmi 5A and Nokia 2. Today, we compare the three devices to see which is the best of the lot.
Design and display
In terms of design, the Micromax Bharat 5 comes with an all-plastic back and prominent bezels at the front. The phone is similar in design to its predecessors – Bharat 3 and 4. The phone's back is also prone to fingerprint smudges and, overall, it feels plasticky and bulky.
The Nokia 2, on the other hand, is a device that stands out because of its classy and elegant design. The build quality is solid and the phone sports a removable polycarbonate back which blends into a frame made of series 600 aluminum. The smartphone has a premium feel to it and, unlike the Bharat 5, does not feel bulky.
However, arguably the best of the lot in terms of design here is the Xiaomi Redmi 5A which borrows heavily from the DNA of other popular Xiaomi phones. The device comes with a plastic unibody design and curves – unlike the 4A – affording it a familiar, yet premium feel.
Coming to the front, all three phones sport a 720p display which only differ slightly in size and specifications.
The Nokia 2 comes bearing a 5-inch high-contrast LTPS display at the front, while the Redmi 5A comes with a 5-inch HD IPS panel. The Bharat 5 has the biggest display of the three at 5.2 inches.
Under the hood
In terms of specs, the clear-cut winner here is the Redmi 5A which comes boasting of a spec sheet that embarrasses not just the Nokia 2, but also the Bharat 5 with the hardware it brings to the battle. Compared to its competition – Nokia 2 and Bharat 5 which come with 1GB RAM paired with Snapdragon 212 or a 1.3GHz quad-core processor – the Redmi 5A comes with the highly efficient 425 SoC paired with 2/3GB of RAM.
Coming to the battery, the Bharat 5 comes with a massive 5000mAh battery while the Nokia 2 which boasts of a "two-day" owing to its large 4,100mAh pack under the hood. The most lightweight of three here though is the Redmi 5A which comes with only a 3,000mAh battery which is non-removable, but one that Xiaomi claims can provide 8-days of battery life on standby on a single charge.
Camera
On the optics front, the Nokia 2, as well as the Bharat 5, come with cameras that on paper at least fail to excite. The former comes with 8-Megapixel main camera and a 5-Megapixel front shooter on board, while the Bharat 5 comes with a pair of 5-megapixel cameras on board with LED flash modules.
The Redmi 5A again looks to be the winner here as it comes sporting a 13-megapixel camera on the backwith f/2.2 aperture, Phase Detection Autofocus and LED flash. The rear camera is capable of shooting 1080p videos at 30fps. On the front, the Redmi 5A comes with a 5-megapixel camera with f/2.0 aperture.
Price
Launched as entry-level 4G phones, more than the specs and features on offer, it will be with the pricing that will define the futures of the three phones. In competitive space, the phones have been launched in, the Redmi 5A takes the lead with its pricing strategy. The phone has been announced in two variants – 2GB RAM paired with 16GB storage and 3GB of RAM mated to a 32GB ROM – with the entry model being announced with a price tag of 5,999 while the 3GB RAM variant will retail for 7,999.
However, Xiaomi is also giving a Rs 1,000 discount on the first 50 lakh Redmi 5A phones it sells, bringing down the price to effectively Rs 4,999 and 5,999.
In comparison, the Nokia 2 retails for Rs 6,999 while the Micromax Bharat 5 at Rs 5,555.