Realme U1 vs Honor 8C vs Redmi Note 6 Pro: Which Is The Best Under-Rs 15,000 Smartphone?

Three new mid-range smartphones launched in India in the last couple of weeks. Redmi Note 6 Pro, Realme U1 and Honor 8C. All the smartphones pack in solid midrange specs backed by top processors and cameras.

The competition in the budget segment will become more intense now.

Realme U1 is the world’s first smartphone to come with the new MediaTek Helio P70 while Honor 8C is using the first Snapdragon 632. All the three smartphones will be up against some of the bestselling budget phones in the country.

Honor 8C vs Realme U1 vs Redmi Note 6 Pro: In-Depth Comparison

Let’s find out which is the new best smartphone under 15,000 rupees in India. Here’s a full in-depth comparison between Honor 8C, Realme U1 and Redmi Note 6 Pro:

Design & Build

Redmi Note 6 Pro has an all-metal aluminum body. Realme U1 and Honor 8C have polycarbonate bodies featuring a glass finish. Polycarbonate is better than metal in terms of durability.

The Redmi Note 6 Pro still sports that old boring design while Realme U1 and Honor 8C has a better finish and looks smarter.

Display

Realme U1 sports a 6.3-inch Full HD+ 19.5:9 waterdrop notched display with a 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection on top. Honor 8C, on the other hand, comes with an only-HD 6.26-inch 19:9 display with a resolution of 720×1520 pixels and Redmi Note 6 Pro has a 6.26-inch Full HD+ 19:9 notched display.

Realme U1 has the highest screen to body ratio of 90.8 percent among the three with higher screen space and lesser bezels.

Hardware

Redmi Note 6 Pro runs on Snapdragon 636 built clocked at 1.8GHz coupled with up to 6GB of RAM. Realme U1 is powered by MediaTek Helio P70 built on a 12nm process offering a peak CPU frequency of 2.1GHz with up to 4GB of RAM. Honor 8C uses Snapdragon 632 with upto 4GB.

Realme U1 with Helio P70 beats both the smartphones in terms of performance and extended gaming. Coming to everyday use, there’s no massive difference between the three devices.

Storage

Redmi Note 6 Pro offers 64GB of internal storage which is expandable up to 256GB. Note 6 Pro has two variants: the base model has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage while the higher model offers 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

Realme U1 and Honor 8C also has two storage models: the base version comes with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage and the top model offers 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. Both the variants of each of the smartphones can be expanded up to 256GB.

Software

All the three smartphones run different UIs with Android Oreo 8.1 out of the box. Redmi Note 6 Pro runs MIUI 10 based on Oreo 8.1 and Realme U1 with Color OS 5.2 UI. Honor 8C runs on Android 8.1 Oreo-based EMUI 8.2 UI.

You can expect Android 9 Pie update on all the devices by early 2019 or later in the second quarter.

Rear Camera

Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro has a rear dual camera setup comprising of a 12-megapixel primary sensor coupled with a 5-megapixel secondary f/1.9 sensor. It offers Dual Pixel Autofocus with EIS, AI scene detection, AI Portrait 2.0, Dynamic Bokeh and more.

Realme U1 and Honor 8C also have a rear dual camera setup featuring a 13-megapixel primary sensor coupled with a 2-megapixel secondary f/2.2 PDAF sensor.

Redmi Note 6 Pro has the best shot here among the three with better rear camera performance with improved low light photography.

Front Camera

Realme U1 has a 25-megapixel Sony IMX 576 sensor backed by AI capabilities to offer clear and wide selfies. Redmi Note 6 Pro, on the other hand, comes with a front dual camera setup comprising of a 20-megapixel primary sensor coupled with a 2-megapixel secondary sensor for better depth effects.

Honor 8C has a single 8-megapixel front snapper.

Redmi Note 6 Pro and Realme U1 both offer wide-angle selfies with AI-based bokeh effects but U1 has a more powerful 25-megapixel front-facing camera.

Connectivity

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

Battery

Realme U1 is backed by a 3,500mAh battery with no support for fast charging. On the other hand, Honor 8C Redmi Note 6 Pro has a bigger 4,000mAh battery. Note 6 Pro also supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0.

Pricing & Availability

Redmi Note 6 Pro has two variants available in India:

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

The smartphone is available exclusively via Flipkart and Mi online store.

Realme U1 has two variants available in India starting at:

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

Realme U1 is available exclusively via Amazon India.

Honor 8C also has two variants available in India starting at:

• Rs 11,999 (3GB/32GB)
• Rs 12,999 (4GB/64GB)

Honor 8C will be available exclusively via Amazon India from December 10.

Honor 8C vs Realme U1 vs Redmi Note 6 Pro: CONCLUSION

Realme U1 is a better device among the three. Honor 8C is a very average phone packing in an only-HD display, decent processor and mid-range specs. If compared to Redmi Note 6 Pro, Honor 8C does look better, but Note 6 Pro has a full HD+ display, better cameras, and a faster processor.

But again if you compare Realme U1 and Redmi Note 6 Pro, the Xiaomi device loses out on looks, overall performance, and more importantly price.

Realme U1 packs in a solid performance, good display, build quality and great cameras. Realme U1 starting at just Rs 11,999 is definitely a better smartphone under 15,000 rupees among Note 6 Pro and Honor 8C.

What will be your pick? Share your opinions, feedbacks right here!