Realme U1 vs Honor 8X vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: Price, Features and Specifications Compared

The mid-range smartphone market has been busy since the start of the 2018 and the buzz seems to continue towards the end of the year as well. Yesterday, Realme launched the first handset from its U series dubbed as Realme U1 in India. The U- series is focused on photography and selfies. The phone is expected to give stiff competition to Xiaomi‘s Redmi Note 6 Pro that was launched earlier last week as a successor to its popular Redmi Note 5 Pro smartphone. Some of the key highlights of the device include dual rear as well as selfie camera, 4,000mAh battery capacity and P2i water repellent nanotechnology. There’s another device in the similar price range i.e. Honor 8X which was launched by the company on 23rd November with GPU Turbo Technology. Today we’ll compare the Realme U1 with Honor 8X and Redmi Note 6 Pro in order to pick the value for money handset. Continue reading if you wish to buy any of these three phones.

The comparison will be based on,

• Design and Display
• Processor and Memory
• OS and Battery
• Camera Performance
• Price and Availability in India

Realme U1 vs Honor 8X vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: Design and Display

The Realme U1 comes with 2.5D curved glass and sports a vertically stacked dual camera on the back. The display is 6.3-inch FHD+ with 1080 x 2340 pixel screen resolution and 19.5:9 aspect ratio resulting into a screen-to-body ratio of 90.8 per cent, thanks to the dewdrop-style notch on top of the screen that houses the front camera, ambient light, proximity sensor, and earpiece. Colour options available for the users are Ambitious Black, Brave Blue, and Fiery Gold.

The Honor 8X comes with a combination of metal and glass design. It features a 6.5-inch full-HD+ display with screen resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels and aspect ratio of 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The pixel density is 397 PPI (pixels per inch).

The Redmi Note 6 Pro features a 6000 series aluminium built and has P2i coating which makes it splash-resistant. It sports a 6.26-inch full-HD+ IPS LCD panel with 1080 x 2280 pixel screen resolution and 19:9 aspect ratio. The display comes with an iPhone X like wide notch at the top and features 2.5D curved glass along with Corning Gorilla Glass protection. The rear of the device features a vertically stacked dual camera set up placed on the top left corner and a centrally placed fingerprint scanner. Available colour options with Redmi Note 6 Pro are Black, Blue, Red, and Rose Gold.

In terms of display, the Honor 8X seems to have an edge over the other two as it features a larger display with better resolution. In terms of design, we feel that the Realme U1 is better looking phone out of the three. However, design is a matter of choice, so we leave it up to you to decide.

In terms of dimensions, the Realme U1 measures 157 x 74 x 8 mm and weighs 168 grams. The Honor 8X has measurement of 160.4 x 76.6 x 7.8 mm and weight of 175 grams. The dimensions of Redmi Note 6 Pro are 157.91 x 76.38 x 8.26 mm and its weight is 182 grams. So, the Honor 8X is the slimmest, while the Realme U1 is the lightest of the three phones.

Realme U1 vs Honor 8X vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: Processor and Memory

The Realme U1 is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio P70 SoC clocked up to 2.1GHz along with ARM G72 GPU and 3GB or 4GB of RAM. The inbuilt storage capacity options are 32GB and 64GB. The storage can be expanded further up to 256GB via microSD card

The Honor 8X draws power from an octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 710 SoC paired with a Mali G51 GPU. In terms of memory, there are two options- 4GB RAM + 64GB onboard storage and 6GB RAM + 128GB onboard storage. There is an option to extend the storage further up to 400GB by means of a microSD card slot.

The Redmi Note 6 Pro is fueled by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 SoC along with an Adreno 509 GPU and 4GB or 6GB of RAM. The onboard storage capacity of the device is 64GB and is expandable up to 256GB via microSD card. However, you will lose access to one of the SIM cards if you wish to use external storage.

The Redmi Note 6 Pro is a winner in this department, thanks to its powerful Snapdragon 636 SoC.

Realme U1 vs Honor 8X vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: OS and Battery

The Realme U1 runs ColorOS 5.2 based on Android 8.1 Oreo operating system out of the box and is backed by a 3,500mAh battery. The Honor 8X is shipped with Android Oreo-based EMUI 8.2.0 and packs a 3,750mAh battery non-removable battery with 5V/2A (10W) charging support and a power saving battery feature. The Redmi Note 6 Pro features MIUI 10 on top of Android 8.1 Oreo OS and is fueled by a 4,000mAh battery which comes with support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0. However, the bundled charger in the box supports only up to 10W charging

Once again, the Redmi Note 6 Pro is a clear winner in this department.

Realme U1 vs Honor 8X vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: Camera Performance

As mentioned earlier, the U Realme U series is targeted at camera buffs. The Realme U1 has a dual camera set up on the back which consists of a 13-megapixel primary sensor with an f/2.2 aperture + a 2-megapixel secondary sensor with an f/2.4 aperture and an LED flash. The front camera is 25-megapixel Sony IMX576 sensor with an f/2.0 aperture and AI Beauty+ mode. In addition, there is a Smarter Groupie feature that allows customised beautification for multiple subjects in a single photo.

The Honor 8X also features a dual rear camera set up comprising of a 20-megapixel primary sensor + a 2-megapixel secondary sensor with f/1.8 aperture and PDAF. The front hosts a 16-megapixel selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture for selfies and video calls.

The Redmi Note 6 Pro comes with a dual camera set up on the rear as well as front. The rear features a vertically aligned camera setup of a 12-megapixel primary sensor with f/1.9 aperture + 5-megapixel depth sensing secondary sensor. The front bears a dual camera set up that consists a 20-megapixel primary sensor + 2-megapixel secondary sensor with support for AI Face Unlock and AI Portrait Selfie. Some of the other features include AI Beautify and AI Scene Detection.

On paper, the Realme U1 has a striking camera configuration. However, please refer actual user reviews before you pick one phone out of these three based on the camera output.

Realme U1 vs Honor 8X vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: Price and Availability in India

The Realme U1 starting price in India is set at Rs. 11,999 for the 3GB RAM + 32GB inbuilt storage variant. While, the 4GB RAM + 64GB inbuilt storage variant is priced at Rs. 14,499. It will be sold exclusively via Amazon India starting December 5.

The Honor 8X base variant i.e. 4GB RAM + 64GB inbuilt storage comes with a price tag of Rs. 14,999, the mid variant i.e. 6GB RAM + 64GB inbuilt storage comes with a price tag of Rs. 16,999, and the top variant i.e. 6GB RAM + 128GB inbuilt storage comes with a price tag of Rs. 18,999. The phone has already gone on sale exclusively via Amazon.in.

The Redmi Note 6 Pro is priced in India at Rs. 13,999 for the base 4GB RAM + 64GB inbuilt storage variant and Rs. 15,999 for the top 6GB RAM + 64GB storage variant. Unlike Realme U1 and Honor 8X, the Redmi Note 6 Pro is exclusive to eCommerce giant Flipkart.com.

CompareRaja’s Verdict

Xiaomi is a market leader in the budget smartphone segment and the Redmi 6 Pro lives up to the expectations as it comes loaded with specifications that provide value for user’s money. The Honor 8X is also a decent device, but Realme U1 is the device to go for if you are too price conscious.

Here’s a quick specs comparison between Realme U1, Honor 8X and Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro which will help you further in decision making.