Apple is in a downward spiral when it comes to product innovation. The biggest example of this is the Apple iPhone SE.
To start with, Apple said they would be giving an opportunity to tech lovers to buy an affordable smartphone. But at Rs 39,000 for 16GB and Rs 49,000 for 64GB, they are getting greedier and greedier.
A recent report also suggested that the iPhone SE does not cost more than Rs 10,700 to make.
Consider Xiaomi – a company that’s also known as the Apple of China. Xiaomi’s been making some interesting phones for India over the past couple of years. The Xiaomi Mi4, Mi4i and even the recently launched Redmi Note 3 were products that were good and also easy on the pocket.
Recently, Xiaomi has broken its Rs 20,000 barrier and launched the Xiaomi Mi 5 in India at Rs 24,999.
So does it really make sense for one to buy the iPhone SE or go for the Xiaomi Mi 5? We try here to answer some of the questions.
Hardware
Xiaomi Mi 5 comes with the latest of everything that’s available in the tech industry right now. You get the latest 1.8 GHz Quad Core Snapdragon 820 Processor backed by 3GB RAM, a 5.15 Inch FHD Full Lamination Display, a 16 MP Rear Camera With Dual Tone LED Flash and phase detection Auto Focus, a 4 MP Front Camera, 4G VoLTE/WiFi/NFC/Bluetooth, Infrared Sensor and a 3000 MAh Battery. All of that in just Rs 24,999 and they give you 32GB internal storage as standard.
Purely on the hardware that it has to offer, Xiaomi sure looks like the more sensible choice over the iPhone SE.
Apple iPhone SE, mind you, gives you 16GB of internal storage at Rs 39,000. We’re not saying that the iPhone SE is a bad phone; it also has some amazing hardware to offer, like Apple’s latest A9 Chip With 64-Bit Architecture Embedded M9 Motion Coprocessor, a 12MP ISight Camera, Touch ID, LTE Support and also 4K recording and slow motion at 240fps.
On the other hand, when it comes to a complete user experience, the iPhone SE’s iOS is seamless compared to Xiaomi’s MI UI7.
The Catch
Xiaomi’s Mi 5 offers a design that’s, in a way, inspired by Samsung’s Galaxy Note 5. Apple’s iPhone SE is basically similar in design to the iPhone 5 and 5s.
So it’s not like you are getting a phone that’s out of the world when it comes to looks.
The Xiaomi Mi 5 is also expensive, considering this is Xiaomi’s first phone in India that’s above Rs 20,000. Xiaomi has also tried to cut the cost down on the Mi 5 but not by that much.
The iPhone SE, on the other hand, is exorbitant at Rs 39,000. By spending just Rs 2,000 more, one can even get an iPhone 6s now with a 16 GB storage option.
Or even better, you can get your hands on an iPhone 6 (16GB) for as low as Rs 31,000 on some e-commerce platforms. So why did Apple choose to price the so-called affordable iPhone at a not-so-affordable price?
The only reason that consumers would go for an iPhone SE is the size. People who prefer smaller phones really don’t have many options in the market, and the latest one is just the iPhone SE. But in India you can still get an iPhone 5s for less than Rs 30,000. That will also work as good as the iPhone SE. In fact, the biggest thing that one will miss is 4K videos, but come on – on a 16 GB smartphone you won’t be able to record much of that 4K video quality.
Apple’s explanation for the price surge is high import duties, the Indian tax system, and marketing costs.
Xiaomi, on the other hand, say that they are offering a premium phone and the price definitely goes up when a company says it’s a premium phone.
So it’s a dilemma of what one should buy if one is looking for the latest smartphone. It’s a catch-22 situation, where both the phones are expensive at what they are priced at currently.
Xiaomi is still in a better zone with the Mi 5 right now, but the iPhone SE is is way off the mark when it comes to the pricing.
Our suggestion would be that you stick to whatever smartphone you are using right now and wait for the prices to drop on both these phones!
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