Xiaomi, the extremely popular budget oriented Chinese smartphone maker has launched its Redmi 6 series in India. This new Redmi 6 series becomes the successor to the previously launched Redmi 5 series, and it will now offer the Redmi 6 Pro, Redmi 6 and Redmi 6A under this line-up. Out of the three, the Redmi 6A comes with the cheapest price tag, and it will retail for Rs 5,999 for the 2GB/16GB model. There are some apparent differences between the Redmi 6A regarding design compared to the Redmi 5A. Under the hood also, the Redmi 6A has gone through some improvements as compared to the Redmi 5A. The new Redmi 6A features a 5.45-inch HD+ 18:9 display and also instead of a Qualcomm chipset which we see on the previous device, the Redmi 6A comes with a MediaTek SoC.
Redmi 6A vs Redmi 5A Design and Display
In terms of design, the Redmi 6A is a significant step forward when compared to the Redmi 5A. While the Redmi 5A came with thick bezels on all sides, the Redmi 6A comes with thinner bezels. The top edge and the chin of the phone have also been trimmed to give it a more modern feel. There is also the arc design which lends a comfortable grip to the phone. The rear side of the Redmi 6A gets a brushed faux metallic finish, and we also get to see the antennas on the back side on the top and bottom side. The Redmi 5A used to come with capacitive buttons; the Redmi 6A does away with those too.
There is also a change in the orientation of the rear camera setup as well. Although both the phones come with a single rear camera setup, the Redmi 6A features a vertically stacked sensor which is situated above the antenna line whereas the camera on the Redmi 5A is a horizontally on with a LED flash on the side.
There is also an improvement in the display size as we see the Redmi 6A sporting a big 5.45-inch IPS LCD panel as compared to the 5-inch HD display (1280 x 720 pixels) with a pixel density of 296 PPI and 16:9 aspect ratio on the Redmi 5A. This time, the Redmi 6A comes with HD+ (1440 x 720 pixels) resolution and an 18:9 aspect ratio screen.
Redmi 6A vs Redmi 5A Hardware and Software
To recall, the Redmi 5A used to come with the Snapdragon 425 which provided justifiable performance for its price tag. However, now Xiaomi has partnered up with MediaTek for delivering the hardware on Redmi 6A which comes with MediaTek Helio A22. A chipset which is fabricated on a 12nm FinFET process. Xiaomi has asserted claims that the small transistors on the processor will improve battery performance. The chipset consists of four 2.0GHz Cortex A53 cores which are said to increase efficiency.
On the software front, the Redmi 6A will come with Android Oreo with the MIUI 9.6 skin on top of it. On the other hand, the Redmi 5A still comes with Android Nougat based MIUI 9. Additionally, now the Redmi 6A is going to support Face Unlock and Dual VoLTE support, something which we do not get to see on the Redmi 5A.
Redmi 6A vs Redmi 5A Camera and Imaging
The Xiaomi 6A boasts of a single 13MP camera which is similar setup resembling the previous Redmi 5A. The rear sensor on the Redmi 6A comes with f/2.2 aperture and PDAF (phase detection autofocus) identical to the one seen on Redmi 5A. On the front side, both these phones get the same 5MP sensor. However, the Redmi 5A’s front sensor has a f/2.0 aperture, while the Redmi 6A comes with a f/2.2 aperture. In addition to all this, the camera app on the Redmi 6A gets a new portrait mode for bokeh selfies.
Redmi 6A vs Redmi 5A Battery, Storage and Pricing
The Redmi 5A and Redmi 6A both come with the same 3000mAh unit for power. However, the battery life on the Redmi 6A is expected to be better as it comes with the more efficient 12nm architecture.
Speaking of storage, the Redmi 5A used to come in two RAM/storage configurations – 2GB RAM/16GB storage and 3GB RAM/32GB internal storage. The Redmi 6A retails with a single RAM option. The phone offers 2GB of RAM with either 16GB or 32GB onboard storage. Both the devices come with dedicated microSD slot to allow inserting two SIM cards and a microSD card simultaneously. The room on both the phones is expandable to 256GB.
The Redmi 5A debuted in India for Rs 4,999 for the 2GB/16GB model. However, it now retails for Rs 5,999. The price of the 3GB/32GB model for the Redmi 5A has been pegged at Rs 6,999 currently. As for the Redmi 6A, the phone retails at Rs 5,999 for the 2GB RAM/16GB storage model, and it is available for Rs 6,999 for the 2GB RAM/32GB storage model. The phone goes on sale on September 19 on Flipkart where it will be exclusively available.
