Mi A2: 5 Reasons Why the Xiaomi Android One Phone Will Lose the Competition With Nokia 6.1 Plus

Here are five reasons why you should consider the Nokia 6.1 Plus over the Xiaomi Mi A2.

Published On: August 22, 2018

At an event held in New Delhi yesterday, HMD Global launched the Nokia 6.1 Plus and Nokia 5.1 Plus smartphones in India. The Nokia 6.1 Plus, as many of our readers might be aware, is the global variant of the Nokia X6 smartphone that debuted in China earlier this year. It takes on smartphones like the Redmi Note 5 Pro and the Xiaomi Mi A2 in India, both of which are very popular among consumers in India. While the Mi A2 does have a few advantages over the Nokia 6.1 Plus, there are a few areas where the Nokia handset has the edge.

Table of Contents

Lower Price

The Nokia 6.1 Plus is priced at Rs.15,999 in India and comes in just a single variant. Xiaomi Mi A2 is also available in a single variant in India currently and is priced at Rs.16,999. Quite clearly, the Nokia 6.1 Plus is the more affordable of the two smartphones.

More Attractive Design With 93% Glass Surface Area

Nokia has always been known for devices with great build quality and HMD Global has been doing its best to ensure that its latest smartphones live up to the expectations of its fans. The Nokia 6.1 Plus features an attractive curved design with a 93% glass surface area and a solid aluminum frame in the middle for rigidity. The edge-to-edge design further adds to the visual appeal of the smartphone. In comparison, the Mi A2 boasts a thin metal unibody with an understated design. While both smartphones do look premium, it is the Nokia 6.1 Plus that is the more attractive of the two.

Nokia Has a Higher Brand Value

Xiaomi is currently the No.1 smartphone brand in India when it comes to market share. However, when it comes to brand value and perception, the Nokia brand still has an edge over Xiaomi and pretty much all other Chinese brands. If you are someone who considers yourself to be brand-conscious, the Nokia 6.1 Plus will certainly appeal more to you than the Mi A2. Alternatively, if you are thinking of gifting a smartphone to a loved one, it is probably a better idea to go with the Nokia 6.1 Plus if the person isn’t very fond of the Xiaomi brand.

Notched Display With Higher Pixel Density, Wider Color Gamut

The Nokia 6.1 Plus features a 5.8-inch display with 1080 x 2280 Full HD+ resolution and a 19:9 aspect ratio, thanks to the notch at the top. Protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3, the display panel has a pixel density of 432 PPI. In comparison, the Xiaomi Mi A2 comes with a 5.99-inch LTPS IPS LCD display featuring 1080 x 2160 Full HD+ resolution and an 18:9 aspect ratio. Thanks to its slightly larger display and the lower aspect ratio, the Mi A2 has a lower pixel density of 403 PPI. In addition to the slightly higher PPI, the Nokia 6.1 Plus display covers 96% of the NTSC color gamut. The Mi A2 display, on the other hand, covers 85% of the NTSC color gamut.

Expandable Storage

One of the main disadvantages of the Xiaomi Mi A2 is the lack of a microSD card slot. And since Xiaomi has not launched the 128GB storage variant in India just yet, you will need to live with the 64GB of onboard storage if you decide to get the Xiaomi Mi A2. The Nokia 6.1 Plus, on the other hand, offers 64GB of onboard storage as well as support for further expansion up to 400 GB. However, the Nokia handset only includes Hybrid Dual-SIM slots and not a dedicated microSD card slot.