Nokia 6.1 Plus, Mi A2, Motorola One Power Retail At Same Price Now; Did Xiaomi Get Edge in Competition?

With the Mi A2 seeing a massive price drop this festive season on Amazon, is the Xiaomi mid-ranger at an obvious advantage over its primary competition? Read on to find out.

Sharjeel Ahmed

Published On: Oct 12, 2018 | Last Updated: Oct 14, 2018

The festive season is here and it brings along a host of festive sales, all replete with superb offers on smartphones and other consumer electronics. As part of the discounts being dished out, a new development is that Amazon has started selling the Mi A2 with a massive discount of flat Rs. 2,000. On the other hand, the Nokia 6.1 Plus continues to sell at Rs. 15,999 and so is the case with the Motorola One Power. The Mi A2, which was retailing at Rs 1,000 more than the other two handsets, is now selling at Rs 14,999. Read on to find out which mid-range smartphone has the edge here, and why.

Table of Contents

Nokia 6.1 Plus, Mi A2, Motorola One Power: Build, Display

When it comes to the design and display of the handset, we have to give it loud and clear to the Nokia 6.1 Plus, as it is the sleekest and prettiest phone not just in this comparison but in the whole segment of mid-range smartphones itself. In this comparison, it is the only handset that gets a glass back, chrome-like accents, a 19:9 aspect ratio, and a high 432 ppi pixel density. Also, it weighs the lightest at 151 grams. The Motorola One Power weighs the most and is also the thickest, at 8.4 mm and 205 grams, but it does get a notched display and hence, better screen aspect and screen-to-body ratio than the Mi A2.

Where the Mi A2 leaves its competition behind is in the screen protection, with this handset getting a Corning Gorilla Glass 5 whereas, the other two come with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. To put it briefly, the Corning Gorilla Glass 5 is eight times stronger than the Corning Gorilla Glass 3, and four times stronger than Gorilla Glass 4.

Nokia 6.1 Plus, Mi A2, Motorola One Power: Performance

Performance wise too the Mi A2 has a clear advantage in its Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 AIE chipset, which has all eight of its cores clocked at 2.2GHz. While the Snapdragon 636 powering the other two handsets is also octa-core, it lacks the high frequency of the Snapdragon 660 chipset and also does not come with artificial intelligence built in. The Snapdragon 660 has a neural processing unit (NPU) for chipset-based AI features so that AI need not be dependent on cloud technology. AI used via cloud technology is known to slow down and heat up smartphones.

All three handsets come with the same 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage, but the Mi A2 does not get expandable storage while the other two do.

Nokia 6.1 Plus, Mi A2, Motorola One Power: Camera

In the camera department, again, the Mi A2 is a hands-down winner. The Snapdragon 660 processor can support up to 32 megapixels in one camera, and as a result, the rear dual camera of the handset has a massive 20MP low light sensor and a 12MP primary sensor. The Nokia 6.1 Plus and the Motorola One Power both get a 16MP+5MP dual rear camera, with the 5MP sensor for depth of field and background blur.

In the selfie camera department too, the Mi A2 excels with its 20MP camera that comes with built-in portrait mode and an accompanying 4500K soft LED light, while the Nokia 6.1 Plus gets a 16MP front camera and the Motorola One Power gets a 12MP front camera. In our expert reviews of the Nokia 6.1 Plus (here) and the Motorola One Power (what is the verdict), we rated the camera on the Nokia handset better, while the camera performance of the Mi A2 is at a higher level altogether (read review).

Nokia 6.1 Plus, Mi A2, Motorola One Power: Battery

Coming to the battery aspect, this is where you get your money’s worth if you buy the Motorola handset. The Motorola One Power comes with a solid 5000mAh battery that is claimed to go on for two days on a single charge, and with TurboPower charging, can suck up six hours of performance in just 15 minutes. There is no such magical fast charging or heavy battery tech for the other two handsets, but the Mi A2 does get QuickCharge 4.0 support in India for its 3010mAh battery, while the Nokia 6.1 Plus gets QuickCharge 3.0 support for its 3060mAh battery.

Nokia 6.1 Plus vs Mi A2 vs Motorola One Power: Verdict

The conclusion is simple; go for the Mi A2. But hey, if you don’t find the Mi A2 attractive enough, the Nokia 6.1 Plus is a good choice too, as it certainly is a looker. But if battery power is a priority, then the Motorola One Power lives up to its name and most likely you will find it worth investing in.