2017 was a landmark year for Xiaomi in India. Just three years after the company first made it to India – in 2014 – they managed to become the joint number 1 smartphone brand in the country by market share. In the last quarter of 2017, Xiaomi with nearly 23% of the market, had the same market share as that of Korean smartphones giant Samsung. This is, by all means, an incredible achievement. The main reason Xiaomi was able to reach this position in a short period of time is the sheer value for money proposition that the company offers. Almost all of Xiaomi’s handsets offer incredible value for money. In today’s article, we take a look at three phones – two of them Xiaomi and compare how another handset from Samsung fares against the offering from the Chinese manufacturer. The handsets involved in this comparison are the Redmi 5 (not available in India), the Redmi Note 4 from last year, and the Samsung Galaxy J7 – also from last year. In India, the Galaxy J7 2017 edition is sold as the Galaxy J7 Pro.
Table of Contents
Redmi 5 vs Redmi Note 4 vs Samsung Galaxy J7: Design, Display
In case you are not aware, the Redmi 5 is sort of a scaled down version of the newly launched Redmi Note 5. The handset features the same design as the Note 5 but is a shade smaller. The handset features toughened glass coating at the front, a plastic frame and an aluminium back panel. The display measures 5.7inches across and has a resolution of 720 x 1440 pixels. As you might have guessed, the display is in the new 18:9 aspect ratio and has a PPI density of 282. There is a Gorilla Glass coating for scratch resistance as well.
The Redmi Note 4 features an aluminium body and toughened glass coating at the front. The display measures 5.5-inches across and has a resolution of 108 x 1920 pixels in the 16:9 aspect ratio. The display also happens to e an IPS LCD panel that has a PPI density of 401.
The Samsung Galaxy J7 -2017 edition gets an aluminium body and glass front. The display on the Galaxy J7 happens to be a Super AMOLED panel with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels in the 16:9 aspect ratio. This translates to a PPI density score of around 401. The display doesn’t seem to have any form of scratch protection.
Redmi 5 vs Redmi Note 4 vs Samsung Galaxy J7: Hardware
The Redmi 5 finds itself powered by the Qualcomm SDM450 Snapdragon 450 SoC that houses an Octa-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A53 processor. For graphics, the phone uses the Adreno 506 GPU for graphics. The Redmi 5 is offered in three versions- a bse 2GB RAM + 16GB version, a mid range 3GB RAM 32GB version and a top of the line 4GB RAM 32GB version. The phone also gets a 3,300 mAh battery for all-day battery life.
The Redmi Note 4 uses the Qualcomm MSM8953 Snapdragon 625 SoC that houses an Octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 processor. The graphics department is handled by the Adreno 506 GPU. The Redmi Note 4 is offered i two versions – an entry level 3GB RAM, 32GB version and a more expensive 4GB RAM 64GB version. The handset also gets a large 4100 mAh battery.
The Samsung Galaxy J7 2017 edition is powered by the Exynos 7870 Octa SoC from Samsung. This SoC houses an Octa-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A53 processor and uses the Mali-T830 MP1 GPU for graphics. The phone comes with 16GB of storage and 3GB of RAM. The battery capacity is rated at 3,600 mAh and should offer day-long battery life.
Redmi 5 vs Redmi Note 4 vs Samsung Galaxy J7: Camera and Imaging
The Redmi 5 gets a single 12-megapixel camera at the rear as the primary camera with f/2.2 aperture. This camera supports phase detection autofocus and LED flash for low light imaging. At the front, there is a 5-megapixel shooter for selfies and video calls. Both the cameras support 1080p video recording.
The Redmi Note 4 gets a 13-megapixel camera with f/2.0 aperture. The camera supports phase detection autofocus and supports dual LED, dual tone flash for low light situations. The front camera is a 5-megapixel unit with f/2.0 aperture. Both the front and rear cameras support 1080p video recording at 30fps.
The Samsung Galaxy J7 features a 13-megapixel camera at the rear as its primary shooter. This camera has an aperture value of f/1.7 and supports full HD videos at 30fps. The front camera is also a 13-megapixel shooter with f/1.9 aperture and supports full HD video recording at 30fps.
Redmi 5 vs Redmi Note 4 vs Samsung Galaxy J7: Price in India, conclusion
Two of the handsets in the comparison – the Redmi 5 and the Galaxy J7 2017 are not officially sold in India. Samsung, however, does sell the Galaxy J7 Max which has almost the same spec sheet as the Galaxy J7 albeit with larger internal storage. The J7 Max is sold for Rs. 16,900 in India.
The Redmi Note 4 is offered in two versions in India with the following price tag
Redmi Note 4 3GB+32GB: Rs.9,999
Redmi Note 4 4GB +64GB: Rs. 10,999
In the current scenario, the Redmi Note 4 looks like the sensible option. However, do note that the Redmi Note 5 is already here and is sold for around the same price tag in India. That phone, however, is a bit difficult to get thanks to the weekly flash sales mechanism that Xiaomi as adopted.
