ASUS and Lenovo recently expanded their entry-level smartphone lineup in India. While ASUS debuted the ZenFone Lite L1, Lenovo launched the A5 in the country. Both the ASUS ZenFone Lite L1 and the Lenovo A5 compete against the likes of the Xiaomi Redmi 6A and the Realme C1. Since all of them offer a few unique features, some of you might be confused as to which entry-level smartphone you should buy. To help you make a good decision, we are pitting the new Lenovo A5 and the ASUS ZenFone Lite L1 smartphones against the Realme C1 in our comparison today.
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Lenovo A5 vs ASUS ZenFone Lite vs Realme C1: Price in India
The Lenovo A5 is priced at INR 5,999 for the 2GB RAM variant, while the 3GB RAM variant of the smartphone is priced at INR 6,999. ASUS ZenFone Lite L1 has been priced at INR 6,999 but is currently available for INR 5,999 as part of an introductory offer. Realme C1 is also priced at INR 6,999 and comes in a single memory configuration.
Lenovo A5 vs ASUS ZenFone Lite vs Realme C1: Build, Display
The Lenovo A5 comes with a plastic construction like most of its rivals, although it does have a metal frame in the middle to make it more durable. It sports a 5.45-inch IPS LCD display with 720 x 1440 pixels resolution and an 18:9 aspect ratio. ASUS ZenFone Lite L1 also offers a plastic body, although the metallic finish does make it look slightly more premium. It features a 5.45-inch sized IPS LCD panel with the same 720 x 1440 pixels resolution and an 18:9 aspect ratio as the Lenovo A5. Realme C1 is also made primarily out of plastic but comes with a glossy finish. In terms of display, the Realme C1 boasts a large 6.2-inch IPS LCD panel with 720 x 1520 pixels resolution and a 19:9 aspect ratio.
Lenovo A5 vs ASUS ZenFone Lite vs Realme C1: Hardware, Performance
The Lenovo A5 runs on a quad-core MediaTek MT6739 chipset clocked at up to 1.5 GHz with a PowerVR GE8100 GPU. It comes in two memory configurations – 2GB RAM + 16GB storage and 3GB RAM + 32GB storage. ASUS ZenFone Lite runs on a more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 octa-core processor, paired with an Adreno 505 GPU and 2GB of RAM. In terms of storage, the smartphone includes 16GB of onboard memory. Realme C1 Pro is the most powerful of the three smartphones, running on an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 chipset clocked at 1.8 GHz with an Adreno 506 GPU. The smartphone includes 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. All the three smartphones include a dedicated microSD card slot for further expansion up to 256GB.
Lenovo A5 vs ASUS ZenFone Lite vs Realme C1: Software
The Lenovo A5 ships with the Android 8.1 Oreo-based ZUI 3.9 out of the box. ASUS’ ZenFone Lite L1 runs on the slightly older Android 8.0 Oreo operating system with the manufacturer’s ZenUI 5.0 UX running on top. Realme C1, on the other hand, runs on Android 8.1 Oreo-based ColorOS 5.1 version currently.
Lenovo A5 vs ASUS ZenFone Lite vs Realme C1: Camera
The Lenovo A5 is equipped with a single 13MP resolution snapper at the rear and an 8MP selfie camera on the front. Both the front and rear cameras on the Lenovo A5 have been coupled with an f/2.2 aperture. To help users capture selfies even in low-light surroundings, the A5 features a Selfie Light as well. ASUS ZenFone Lite L1 also sports a 13MP rear camera, although it is coupled with a brighter f/2.0 aperture. For selfies, the ASUS smartphone features a 5MP snapper on the front with an f/2.4 aperture lens as well as a soft-light LED flash. Realme C1 is the only smartphone in this group to feature dual rear cameras. It sports dual 13MP + 2MP AI-powered cameras with support for bokeh shots. The 5MP front-facing camera comes with AI Beauty Mode and an f/2.2 aperture.
Lenovo A5 vs ASUS ZenFone Lite vs Realme C1: Battery Life, Connectivity
The Lenovo A5 is more impressive than most other entry-level smartphones when it comes to battery life. It packs an impressive 4000mAh battery, significantly larger than your average entry-level Android smartphone. ASUS ZenFone Lite L1, on the other hand, comes with a 3000mAh capacity battery, which is more or less on par with most entry-level smartphones on sale in India currently. Realme C1, however, has an edge over both its rivals, thanks to a 4230mAh capacity battery under the hood.
In the connectivity department, Lenovo A5 supports Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2 Low Energy, GPS with A-GPS, and 4G VoLTE. ASUS ZenFone Lite L1 supports Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy, GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, and 4G VoLTE. Realme C1 comes with Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2 Low Energy, GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, and 4G VoLTE.
Lenovo A5 vs ASUS ZenFone Lite vs Realme C1: Conclusion
The clear winner of our comparison today is the Realme C1. Even though it is INR 1,000 more expensive than the ASUS ZenFone Lite L1 and the base variant of the Lenovo A5, the Realme C1 has a clear edge over its rivals in pretty much all areas. It boasts a significantly larger display, faster performance, dual rear cameras with AI-backed features, and superior battery life. The ASUS ZenFone Lite L1 offers better performance compared to the Lenovo A5 but has a significantly smaller battery, which makes it less appealing.
