Honor 9N vs Redmi Note 5 Pro – Can Notch Beat The Pro?

The launch of the new Honor 9N has spurred a new price war in the mid-range segment. The category mainly led by Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 and Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1, has a new competition in the form of Huawei’s latest offering Honor 9N.

The only notched smartphone from a major smartphone brand in the category, Honor 9N has an advantage over other mid-range smartphones with some top of the line features and specs.

Here’s a full comparison between the bestselling Redmi Note 5 Pro and newly-launched Honor 9N.

Honor 9N vs Redmi Note 5 Pro | Features Comparison

Both Honor 9N and Xiaomi’s best selling Redmi Note 5 Pro come with more or less similar specs, while price being a major determining factor.

Design

Both the mid-range smartphones come with unibody designs. Redmi Note 5 Pro comes with an iPhone 8 like rear dual-camera vertically striped camera setup in a metal body while Honor 9N has a glass-cut mirror like finish. The perfect-made design on the Huawei smartphone makes Honor 9N more premium.

Verdict – Honor 9N

Display

Redmi Note 5 Pro comes with a 5.99 inch Full HD+ widescreen 18:9 display, while Honor 9N comes with a 5.84 inch Full HD+ display in an elongated 19:9 display. Both the displays have minimal bezels, but the notch on Honor 9N makes the device to stand out in the crowd of 18:9 widescreen displays.

Verdict – Honor 9N

Hardware

Redmi Note 5 Pro comes with Qualcomm’s mid-range Snapdragon 636, a chipset build out of the flagship Snapdragon 800-series process. Honor 9N has a Kirin 659 processor which runs well on EMUI software and handles day to day tasks with no hassle. Both the smartphones can handle multi+tasking and gaming well.

Verdict – Tie

Software

The Redmi Note 5 Pro will run Android 7.1 Nougat with MIUI 9 skin on top. The smartphone also has recently received Android Oreo 8.1 upgrade, which can be updated with the new MIUI 9.5 OTA. Honor 9N on the other hand runs on EMUI 8.1 based on Android 8.1 Oreo.

Both the smartphones have their own UI skins adding up to the usability and ease. Each of them handles daily usage well in terms of gaming, multitasking and everyday use.

Verdict – Tie

Storage

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro is available in two storage versions in the country – the base model comes with 4GB of RAM with 64GB internal storage and the higher variant comes with 6GB of RAM and 64GB internal storage.

On the other hand, Honor 9N is available in three storage variant in India – the base model has 3GB of RAM with 32GB storage, mid variant with 4GB of RAM with 64GB storage and a top variant with 4GB of RAM and 128GB storage.

Verdict – Honor 9N

Rear Camera

The Redmi Note 5 Pro sports a rear dual camera featuring a 12MP primary sensor doubled with a 5MP secondary depth sensor. Whereas, the Honor 9N comes with a primary 13MP camera and a 2MP secondary depth sensor. Both the smartphones can grab a lot of details in light and the colours are accurate. Both of them suffer in low lighting conditions, but overall can perform well in decent-lit surroundings.

Verdict – Tie

Front Camera

Xiaomi has an edge here with Redmi Note 5 Pro featuring a 20 megapixel shooter up front backed by AI capabilities. While Honor 9N has a 16MP shooter which takes good selfies, also has AI features.

Verdict – Redmi Note 5 Pro

Battery

Honor 9N has a 3,000mAh battery that can easily last for a single working day. But, Redmi Note 5 Pro has a 1,000 mAh higher capacity battery if compared, which makes Note 5 Pro a clear choice in terms of battery with a 4,000mAh unit. None of the smartphones has fast charging support.

Verdict – Redmi Note 5 Pro

Honor 9N vs Redmi Note 5 Pro – Pricing

The pricing is a major factor between the two smartphones that will directly affect the sales.

Honor 9N is available at –

• Rs 11,999 – 3GB RAM with 32GB storage
• Rs 13,999 – 4GB RAM with 64GB storage
• Rs 17,999 – 6RAM with 128GB storage

Coming to Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro, the pricing are as follows –

• Rs 14,999 – 4GB RAM with 64GB storage
• Rs 16,999 – 6GB RAM with 64GB storage

So, Which One Should You Buy?

In all, the Honor 9N has better specifications with better pricing options if compared to Note 5 Pro. On the other hand, if both the smartphones are compared in terms of daily usage, its a tie. Redmi Note 5 Pro, if compared to Honor 9N, will lose out to some of the specifications like display, variants and design. Also, the Kirin 659 processor has AI features and the camera has different modes with AI backing it.

The Honor 9N prices are also budget-friendly, starting just at Rs 11,999 compared to the Rs 14,999 price of Redmi Note 5 Pro.