OnePlus and Xiaomi, both the Chinese companies have been quite popular in India. While the latter mostly concentrates on the phones that fall under the sub-Rs. 20,000 category, the former has slowly managed to get itself into the Rs. 30,000 and above price segment.
For the last couple of years or so, Xiaomi continued to rule the entry level and lower mid-range market seamlessly. Meanwhile, OnePlus had conveniently taken over the mid-range (and now the upper mid-range) market.
There was this one time, though, both the companies had to face each other. Needless to say, OnePlus crushed its Chinese counterpart ruthlessly. Yes, we are referring to last year’s Mi 5 and OnePlus 3 here.
And this year, in what appears to be a history-repeats-itself affair, both the companies will again face each other with their latest flagships, i.e., the Mi 6 and OnePlus 5. The question is, will OnePlus’s upcoming flagship knock down Xiaomi’s Mi 6 this year as well or will Xiaomi dethrone OnePlus from its position.
Well, here’s what we think.
As far as the specs go, both the smartphones will feature top-of-the-line hardware. There’s no doubt in it. Both the smartphones will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 chipset. Xiaomi’s offering will come with 6GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB storage space, so will the OnePlus 5, only with 8GB of RAM.
In case you are wondering about other specs we have already listed the rumoured specs for the Xiaomi Mi 6 and OnePlus 5 in our previous stories.
Assuming that you already have a fair idea regarding the two, it’s pretty much clear that both of them will more or less feature similar hardware. That isn't really where the competition lies. Where it does, though, is in terms of the software, the camera, and the pricing.
Looking at how OnePlus is handling the software, it's already the winner. For instance, the OnePlus 3 and 3T are two of the very few phones that are currently on Android 7.1.1 Nougat other than, of course, Pixel phones. Moreover, the company is rolling out the monthly security updates on time.
Both the phones are tipped to get a dual camera setup. We are not yet sure how both the companies will implement them. But, one thing we do know for sure is the fact that camera performance will be one of the major differentiators besides software.
Then comes pricing. It goes without saying that OnePlus 5 will be priced a bit higher than the Mi 6. That being said, people are willing to shell out extra money for the OnePlus’s offerings. We can’t say the same for Xiaomi, though. The company is to be blamed for this.
Xiaomi, especially in India, promoted itself as a budget-centric brand that offers the best value for money products for the most part (which is true). But, this image could now turn out to be catastrophic for the company unless the Mi 6 is worth it.
So, by the looks of it, the OnePlus 5 appears to be slightly ahead in the competition. But, you never know. Xiaomi could get the Mi 6 just about right to give a stiff competition to OnePlus 5.
Either way, the battle is clearly getting way fiercer than how it was last year.
So what do you think? Will the OnePlus 5 continue on the high note or will the Xiaomi Mi 6 emerge as the new flagship killer? Comment all your thoughts below!
