Xiaomi Mi A1 vs Huawei Honor 9i: Battle for Best Mid-Range Dual Camera Smartphone!

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Xiaomi Mi A1 vs Huawei Honor 9i: Battle for Best Mid-Range Dual Camera Smartphone!

Smartphone makers are putting their best foot forward in India, both in premium and budget segments. This month has witnessed two new viable contenders in the market – the Huawei Honor 9i and the Xiaomi Mi A1.

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Already gaining popularity in the country, these two smartphones have a lot in common on the paper but they also differ in many other ways. If you’re looking for a best mid-range dual camera smartphone, then which one should you choose between the Honor 9i and Mi A1? Let’s find out.

Display and Design

Xiaomi has taken pointers from the likes of the OnePlus 5 and the iPhone 7 with the new Mi A1 including its slim profile, rounded corners, and tapered edges. It also packs the aluminium casing on the rear with antenna lines around the perimeter. On the other hand, the Honor 9i is a slim phone at 7.5mm and has an all-metal body with 2.5mm curved glass on top that gives off a premium look.

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The Honor 9i comes with an immersive 18:9 5.9-inch FHD+ display while the Mi A1 pales in comparison with its 5.5-inch FHD display. What puts the Honor 9i apart from the Mi A1 is its bezel-less display as opposed to the latter’s thick bezels.

Hardware

Under the hood, the Honor 9i is powered by an octa-core 2.3GHz HiSilicone Kirin 659 chipset, paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. Meanwhile, the Mi A1 ships with an octa-core 2.0GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The Mi A1 wins in the gaming department with its Adreno 505 GPU over Honor 9i’s Mali-T830 MP2 GPU. Nevertheless, Huawei Kirin lineup of SoCs have given a tough fight in the past to Snapdragon chipset smartphones, and the same continues here as well.

Software

As for the software, the Xiaomi Mi A1 and the Honor 9i run Android Nougat operating system. However, the Honor 9i comes with its in-house EMUI skin on top offering features like the smart screenshot, split-screen, and smart gestures, while the Mi A1 offers stock Android experience, which is its highlight.

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Camera

The camera segment is where both phones shine. The Xiaomi Mi A1 features a dual-camera setup on the rear with a combination of two 12MP sensors – one 26mm wide-angle lens with aperture f/2.2 and another 50mm telephoto lens with aperture f/2.6. The rear cameras offer 2X optical zoom and bokeh effect.

The Honor 9i also comes with dual rear cameras of 16MP primary and 2MP secondary sensors. In comparison to A1’s single 5MP front-camera, the Honor 9i comes out a winner with its dual cameras on the front. The 13MP+2MP front camera combination serves to capture great selfies with ‘smart selfie toning flash’.

Battery and Pricing

The Honor 9i is backed by a 3,340mAh battery while the Mi A1 sips its juice from a 3,080mAh battery unit. The Honor 9i promises one and a half day of power on a single charge while Xiaomi’s Mi A1 is claimed to last up to a full day on single charge.

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When it comes to the pricing, there is not much of a big difference. The Mi A1 is priced at Rs. 14,999 and the Honor 9i retails at a slightly higher price of Rs. 17,999.

Verdict

If you lean towards the stock Android experience, the Xiaomi A1 would be the ideal purchase. However, if you prefer the dual front cameras and a bezel-less display with 18:9 aspect ratio, the Honor 9i takes the prize.

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