Redmi Note 5 vs Redmi Note 5 Pro vs Xiaomi Mi A1 Comparison

Xiaomi’s three phones, all the three in that price segment that has very actively seen so many buyers. It was a similar scene recently with Honor having three of its phones in the similar segment, and now, it is the Redmi Note 5, Redmi Note 5 Pro, and the Xiaomi Mi A1 being available with similar prices but a lot of difference in what is being offered.

Let’s compare the three phones and check out how they differ, and what is being offered with each of them. To start with, let’s talk about the price.

The Redmi Note 5 is priced at Rs. 11999 for the 4GB and 64GB variant, while the Redmi Note 5 Pro is priced at Rs. 13999 for 4GB and 64GB, and the Mi A1 also has the exact same pricing and internal specs when compared to the Redmi Note 5 Pro.

Rather than going into each aspect, let’s talk about how one phone is better than the other in different ways.

The Xiaomi Mi A1 comes with stock Android ROM, under the Android One program from Google. While MIUI offers so much in terms of extra features and options, many people still prefer having the standard Android OS for its simplicity. That was also apparent from the recent polls from the company that was later taken down but it showed that the stock Android was more preferred than MIUI.

The competition is tough when it comes to the cameras on the Mi A1 and the Redmi Note 5 Pro. Both the devices offer dual-lens camera setup and in this case, the Redmi Note 5 comes no close with its single 12MP shooter. Though, the Mi A1 is a better camera phone in my opinion, not only because it packs a 12MP + 12MP camera setup but also because the secondary camera here has a telephoto lens for lossless zooming, which is not offered on the Redmi Note 5 Pro. It is a 12MP + 5MP combination where the secondary camera here is for the depth recognition while taking portrait shots.

The Redmi Note 5 Pro wins it clearly when we talk about the selfies. The company has included a 20-megapixel selfie camera here with Beautify 4.0 and a selfie light on the front to assist and take the best selfies, and there is also an option to take portrait photos, which is not possible on the other two phones and with their 5-megapixel front cameras, the Mi A1 and the Redmi Note 5 don’t come any closer to this, but the addition of LED flash for selfies on Redmi Note 5 throws the Mi A1 to the third position for the selfie lovers.

The Mi A1 is an older device and thus, it didn’t run into that trend of the Full View displays, thus the 5.5-inch standard 16:9 display is what it could come with, but the Redmi Note 5 and the Redmi Note 5 Pro have the 18:9 displays with the 5.99-inch size, still not being very large because of the better usage of the screen area. The pixel density or the sharpness is the same but then, you have the choice to have more display area with the new Redmi phones.

The performance is where, again, the Redmi Note 5 Pro seems like a choice over the other two, because even though the Snapdragon 625 on those is a good performer, the Pro is powered by Snapdragon 636 and that chipset is doing very well with the performance. The MIUI version is the latest on the new Redmi phones and it is the stock Android OS that is present on the Mi A1. There’s some difference in both, the snappiness of the interface and even with the final performance, and with the choice of the interface, it depends on what you expect from the interface to offer for a better user experience.

Just a noticeable difference when it comes to the connectivity is that the Mi A1 comes with the USB Type-C port and although all the three phones are said to have QC 2.0 support, it isn’t really quick charging and there’s no difference in this case as they charge with the 5V/2A standard.

The battery life seems better on the Redmi Note 5 Pro, with just a little difference. There’s a 4000 mAh battery powering both the latest Redmi devices while a 3080 mAh battery powers the Mi A1. Given how MIUI and the processor worked together for a better battery efficiency, the Redmi Note 5 Pro ended up getting the highest usage on a single charge.

Overall, which is a better phone?

Of the three, it is not hard to guess that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 is the best phone of the three. It has a better processor, a much better camera setup and there are a lot more inclusions that the other two phones miss. You are surely spending more than what you would have for the Redmi Note 5 but there are things offered at a better level. Also, when compared to the Mi A1, the camera works better with the presence of Electronic Image Stabilization.