Realme U1 vs Redmi Note 6 Pro: Which Is The Best Smartphone? [Indepth Comparison]

Oppo sub-brand Realme launched its fifth smartphone in India, Realme U1 under an all-new U series. The smartphone will be available in India exclusively via Amazon India.

Realme U1 is the world’s first smartphone to use MediaTek Helio P70.

Starting at a price of Rs 11,999, Realme U1 will be up against some of the bestselling budget phones in the country. Xiaomi recently launched its new Redmi Note and it will face some big challenge from Realme U1.

Realme U1 vs Redmi Note 6 Pro: In-Depth Comparison

While Realme continues to grow big in the Indian smartphone market, it may soon enter the top five brands given its sales ratio.

Design & Build

The Redmi Note 6 Pro features an all aluminium body while Realme U1 has a polycarbonate body with a glass mirror finish. Polycarbonate is more durable, and the same Redmi design now looks dated.

Realme U1 looks smarter and has a more aesthetic design language compared to Redmi Note 6 Pro.

Display

Both the smartphones come with Full HD+ LCD displays. Realme U1 has a marginally bigger screen at 6.3-inch followed by Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro at 6.26-inch. Realme U1 has a 6.3-inch Full HD+ 19.5:9 waterdrop notched display with a screen resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. It has a 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass protection on top with 450 nits of brightness.

The Redmi Note 6 Pro, on the other hand, has a 6.26-inch Full HD+ 19:9 notched display having a screen resolution of 1080 x 2280 pixels. It also has a 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass protection on top but higher 500 nits of brightness.

Realme U1 has more screen space with lesser bezels. The smaller notch helps Realme U1 to have a higher screen-to-body ratio comapared to Redmi Note 6 Pro.

Hardware

This is where the game changes. Redmi Note 6 Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 636 built on a 14nm process clocked at 1.8GHz coupled with up to 6GB of RAM. On the other side, Realme U1 is powered by MediaTek Helio P70 built on a 12nm process. The processor outperforms SD 636 with a peak CPU frequency of 2.1GHz. Realme U1 comes with 3GB and 4GB of RAM.

Previously the Snapdragon 636 with Note 6 Pro and Helio P70 AnTuTu scores were leaked online, and Realme U1 is quite ahead of year-old SD 636 in terms of core performance.

Storage

Redmi Note 6 Pro packs in 64GB of internal storage which can be further expanded up to 256GB. The smartphone has two variants available, one comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage while the higher model packs in 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage.

Realme U1 also has two storage versions: the base model comes with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage while the top model stores in 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage. Both the models can be expanded up to 256GB with an external microSD card.

Software

Both Realme U1 and Redmi Note 6 Pro run Android Oreo 8.1 out of the box, but with different UIs. The Redmi Note 6 Pro runs MIUI 10 based on Oreo 8.1 and Realme U1 with ColorOS 5.2 UI.

We expect to see Android 9 Pie on both the devices by mid-2019.

Rear Camera

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro comes with a rear dual camera setup. The smartphone comes with a 12-megapixel primary sensor coupled with a 5-megapixel secondary depth sensor with an f/1.9 aperture.

The camera offers Dual Pixel Autofocus with preloaded features like EIS, AI scene detection, AI Portrait 2.0, Dynamic Bokeh, Light Trails and Studio Lighting.

The Realme U1 also sports a rear dual camera setup. Realme U1 dons a 13-megapixel primary sensor coupled with a 2-megapixel secondary depth sensor with an f/2.2 aperture and PDAF.

The rear camera on Redmi Note 6 Pro has an edge here over Realme U1. Both the smartphones offer quality camera performance, but Note 6 Pro offers a better low light performance.

Front Camera

Being a selfie-centric device, Realme U1 is the first smartphone in the U series. Realme U1 comes with a 25-megapixel Sony IMX 576 sensor that is capable of correcting backlight and colours backed by AI capabilities to offer clear and wide selfies.

At the front, Redmi Note 6 Pro has a dual camera setup comprising of a 20-megapixel primary sensor coupled with a 2-megapixel secondary sensor for better depth effects.

Redmi Note 6 Pro and Realme U1 both offer wide-angle selfies with AI-based bokeh effects. But Realme U1 has an edge here with its better low light front camera performance.

Connectivity

Both the smartphones come with Dual SIM connectivity. Realme U1 comes with 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS, Micro-USB port, OTG support and 3.5mm headphone jack.

Redmi Note 6 Pro also comes with 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v5.0 (the latest), GPS, Micro-USB port and a dedicated.

If you remember, Xiaomi Mi A2 didn’t have a headphone jack. Thankfully Xiaomi didn’t kill the jack on Redmi Note 6 Pro this time.

Battery

Realme U1 packs in a 3,500mAh battery with no support for fast charging. On the other hand, Redmi Note 6 Pro comes with a 4,000mAh battery that supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0.

Pricing & Availability

The Redmi Note 6 Pro has two variants available in India:

• Rs 13,999 (4GB/64GB)
• Rs 15,999 (6GB/64GB)

Redmi Note 6 Pro is available exclusively via Flipkart and Mi online store.

Realme U1 also has two variants available in starting at:

• Rs 11,999 (3GB/32GB)
• Rs 14,499 (4GB/64GB)

Realme U1 will be available exclusively via Amazon India.

Realme U1 vs Redmi Note 6 Pro: CONCLUSION

If pitched head to head, Realme U1 will definitely stay ahead of Redmi Note 6 Pro. Realme has done a pretty good job. Realme U1 packs in solid performance, a good display, solid build and much more. While Redmi Note 6 Pro only has a bit better rear camera and a larger battery (also supports fast charging), there’s nothing much to look out for.

The Redmi Note 6 Pro still dons the old dated design with big bezels, and the same year-old processor is a big let down.

While Realme U1 starts at just Rs 11,999 offering a new top performing processor, an awesome display and great cameras, and Note 6 Pro hardly can stand against it. Realme U1 is a complete package and is worth the price you pay.

To be blatantly honest, Xiaomi is losing its charm. The same design, same processor, same cameras and there’s nothing left to appreciate. The only USP Xiaomi had was its cut-throat affordable pricing, but that too now seems to be gone!