Xiaomi is the leading name when it comes to phones in the mid-range segment. The brand has elevated the average buying price of mobiles for consumers in India and rightly so.
Xiaomi’s success has resulted in more brands looking to take away its pie, and one such brand is Realme, which was first known for being a sub-brand of Oppo. But in late 2018 the brand separated from Oppo to become an independent brand, and according to latest reports, it sits at an impressive fourth spot in the Indian smartphone market.
Which is why, we were intrigued to see if the latest Realme 3 Pro has the wits to rival a competent device like the Redmi Note 7 Pro. The answer follows.
Design & Display
Xiaomi thankfully decided to freshen up things with the design of the Redmi Note 7 Pro and people have liked it as well. The phone’s wrapped in a premium-looking glass body finish, and even on the front, it’s sporting the modern water drop notch, paving the way for more screen space and a bezel-less approach.
The Realme 3 Pro matches the Redmi Note 7 Pro in most aspects, including the prices, but the build quality could be improved with glass treatment, instead of a plastic body. These are small corners cut, but the consumer will notice.
In terms of the display size as well as the quality, you might find it hard to differentiate with respect to its features. Both carry the same 6.3-inch screen with 2340x1080 pixels resolution. The colour reproduction is a close call as well, and we’ll just say that it’s hard to find a winner in this segment. While on the design front, Xiaomi takes the cake.
Hardware and Software
Again, there’s very little to separate both these devices with the hardware on offer. Xiaomi has packed the Redmi Note 7 Pro with Snapdragon 675 processor, while Realme 3 Pro comes with Snapdragon 710.
Even the RAM options have been limited to 4GB and 6GB for both the phones, which means performance will never be a concern, and that’s exactly what the buyer is looking for. Storage wise, there is 64GB and 128GB with a hybrid SIM slot that lets you choose between a second SIM and microSD storage card.
The battery sizes are not too different either, with Realme 3 Pro getting a 4,045mAh battery and Xiaomi loading the Redmi Note 7 Pro with a 4,000mAh unit. However, it’s worth noting that Realme has been generous enough to bundle the fast charger out of the box, whereas Xiaomi doesn’t.
Realme is still content with offering a microUSB port, even when Redmi Note 7 Pro has started using USB Type C port for charging and data transfer.
For software, Xiaomi uses its a tried-and-tested MiUi over Android 9.0 Pie and Realme 3 Pro has adopted Oppo’s Color OS based on Android Pie as well.
Cameras Make the Difference
One look at the sensors used by Xiaomi and Realme, you’ll find it easy to see where the difference is. Yes, more megapixels doesn’t mean better pictures, but in the case of Redmi Note 7 Pro, the figures do justice to the phone’s capability.
The use of sensors with lower aperture helps the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro to click quality pictures even in low-light, at least for its segment. The pixel-binning technology does play its part at the production stage and this is where Realme 3 Pro has a lot of catching up to do. On that front, the scales tilt in favour of the Realme 3 Pro and its 25-megapixel shooter.
While most of the features are similar on both these devices, when it comes to the camera, Xiaomi gets the better of its rival.
Which One to Buy?
So there you have it. Redmi Note 7 Pro and Realme 3 Pro are giving each other a close fight, but at the end of the day it all comes down to what the buyers are willing to spend on. Feature wise, there’s very little to differentiate, as we’ve said in this comparison piece, but the Redmi Note 7 Pro gets the marks for its better build quality and camera capability.
However, since they cost the same, Xiaomi might lose out on buyers if the quick sales system continues to annoy them and that could work in Realme’s favour.
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