Honor 7A Vs Realme 1 Vs Redmi 5 – Which Is The Best Budget Phone In India?

The recent launch of Honor 7A and Realme 1 has spurred a price war in the budget category of the Indian smartphone market. A category mostly dominated by Xiaomi has now new and better competitors. The affordable smartphone segment in India already is crowded, and these new smartphones will take the competition to the next level.

Oppo Realme 1 has already completed its first sale successfully and will go on sale for sale again on June 1. The Huawei branded Honor 7A is going on sale today prompting a fierce competition in the budget category. Launched in March, the Redmi 5 has already completed three months of sales in the country.

From dual cameras to widescreen 18:9 displays to the latest Android Oreo out-of-the-box, these smartphones offer top-rated features and specifications under Rs 9,000.

Honor 7A Vs Realme 1 Vs Redmi 5 – The Best Budget Smartphone?

Under Rs 9,000/-, each of these smartphones has similar memory specifications;

• Honor 7A costs Rs 8,999/- (3GB RAM + 32GB Storage)
• Realme 1 costs Rs 8,990/- (3GB RAM + 32GB Storage)
• Redmi 5 costs Rs 8,999/- (3GB RAM + 32GB Storage)

Design

All the three smartphones have a sturdy built and design on the out. With a unibody form factor, each of the smartphones is well built and can withstand heavy everyday usage. But, the Realme 1 comes certified with 100,000 drop tests done before being shipped.

Winner – Realme 1

Display

Honor 7A and Redmi 5 both will come with an 18:9 widescreen 5.7 inch HD+ IPS LCD display with a screen resolution of 1440 × 720 pixels. Realme 1 sports a bigger 6-inch full HD+ 18:9 widescreen display with a screen resolution of 2160 × 1080 pixels.

Winner – Realme 1

Hardware & Storage (3GB RAM)

Honor 7A will come with an octa-core Snapdragon 430 paired with Adreno 505 GPU and Redmi 5 features an octa-core Snapdragon 450 coupled with Adreno 506 GPU. The Realme gets powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio P60 chipset coupled with ARM Mali-G72 GPU. All the 3GB variants of the three smartphones come with 32GB internal storage.

Winner – Redmi 5 & Realme 1

Software

Honor 7A will run EMUI 8.0 based on Android 8.0 Oreo and Realme 1 will run the latest Android 8.1 Oreo with ColorOS 5.0 on top. Redmi 5 sadly still runs on Android Nougat 7.1.2 with MIUI 9 on top. An Oreo update is expected soon.

Winner – Realme 1

Rear Camera

Honor 7A is the only one out of the three which comes with a dual rear camera system. The 7A features a primary 13-megapixel CMOS sensor coupled with a 2-megapixel secondary sensor. Honor has also packed in AI-based features for scene detection, colour correction and bokeh mode. Realme 1 has an AI-powered 13-megapixel rear camera capable of detecting scenes and adding depth effects. Redmi 5 sports a 12-megapixel single rear camera with 1.25-micron pixel size.

Winner – Honor 7A

Front Camera

For selfies, Honor 7A features an 8-megapixel front snapper coupled a soft selfie light. Realme 1 sports an 8-megapixel AI-powered front camera and Redmi 5 features a 5MP front shooter with Beautify 3.0 feature.

Winner – Honor 7A & Realme 1

Connectivity

In terms of connectivity, all the three smartphones come with dual SIM support, 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11, GPS, headphone jack and all the requisite sensors.

Winner – Tie

Battery

Honor 7A will pack in a 3,000mAh battery, whereas the Redmi 5 packs in a slightly bigger 3,300mAh battery and Oppo Realme 1 has a 3,410mAh battery.

Winner – Realme 1 & Redmi 5

Pricing

Comparing all the 3GB/32GB variants of the three smartphones, each of then is priced very similarly. Honor 7A costs Rs 8,999, Realme 1 costs 8,990 and Redmi 5 costs Rs 8,999.

Winner – Tie

Availability

Honor 7A will be available on Flipkart and Hihonor website starting today. Redmi 5 and Realme 1 are Amazon exclusive, where Oppo Realme 1 will be available via periodic sales only for the time being.

Full Comparison – Honor 7A Vs Realme 1 Vs Redmi 5

	Honor 7A	Realme 1	Redmi 5
Display	5.7 inch HD+ 18:9 widescreen IPS LCD panel	6 inch Full HD+ 18:9 widescreen LCD panel	5.7 inch HD+ 18:9 widescreen IPS LCD panel
Hardware	Qualcomm Snapdragon 430	MediaTek Helio P60	Qualcomm Snapdragon 450
Software	EMUI 8.0 based on Android 8.0 Oreo	ColorOS 5.0 based on Android 8.1 Oreo	MIUI 9.0 based on Android 7.1.2 Nougat
Storage	32GB (Expandable up to 256GB)	32GB (Expandable up to 256GB)	32GB (Expandable up to 128GB)
Rear Camera	13MP Primary Lens + 2MP Secondary Lens	13 megapixel (AI-powered)	12 megapixel
Front Camera	8 megapixel	8 megapixel	5 megapixel
Connectivity	Dual sim support, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS	Dual sim support, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS	Dual sim support, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
Battery	3000 mAh	3410 mAh	3300 mAh
Colour Variants	Blue, Black and Gold	Diamond Black and Solar Red	Blue, Black, Gold and Rose Gold
Price	Rs 8,999 (32GB)	Rs 8,990 (32GB)	Rs 8,999 (32GB)