Redmi 6A vs Redmi 5A: New entry-level phone from Xiaomi offers more at same price

Indians just can't get enough of Xiaomi. And Xiaomi can't help launching a new phone in India almost every month or so. The year started with the Redmi Note 5 series, then came Android One powered Mi A2, and now the company has launched more affordable Redmi 6 series of phones. There are three phones in the Redmi 6 series: The Redmi 6A, the Redmi 6 and the Redmi 6 Pro. Of the three, the most interesting is the Redmi 6A because with a price of Rs 5,999, it is the most affordable of the lot.

The Redmi 6A, basically is the successor to the Redmi 5A, which too sold at the same price point. Just like the Redmi 5A, it also comes in two variants. The base model, which has a price tag of Rs 5,999, comes with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. The higher-end variant comes with 2GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage for Rs 6,999.

Given that the price of the two phones, which are the Redmi 6A and the Redmi 5A, is the same, what all has changed? We can also ask which one is a better phone to buy, but that question is moot because the Redmi 5A is no longer in stock and chances are that it may not come back into stock now that the Redmi 6A is here.

So, back to the differences. At India Today Tech we are yet to review the Redmi 6A so it is difficult to talk about what it offers to consumers as far as the real-world usage is concerned, but yet there are bits and pieces that we can figure out from whatever Xiaomi has revealed so far. We did review the Redmi 5A earlier, and possibility is that that Redmi 6A improves on it.

A lot has changed from the Redmi 5A to the Redmi 6A. The latter comes with better display, faster hardware, latest software and several new features. Let's take a detailed look at what has changed in the new desk ka smartphone compared to the old one.

Bigger and better screen: From the Redmi 5A to the Redmi 6A, Xiaomi has come a long way when it comes to the phone screen. It has equipped the Redmi 6A with a bigger display. The Redmi 5A comes with a 5-inch LCD display with 1280 x 720p resolution with 16:9 aspect ratio, but the Redmi 6A has a 5.45-inch full-screen display with 1440x720p resolution and aspect ratio of 18:9. The Redmi also 6A comes with various modes to control the phone's screen in different situations, like sunlight display, automatic contrast and night display. The Redmi 5A only has a reading mode and color temperature adjustment option in it. The specs hint that the Redmi 6A will offer better video experience.

-- Same battery: You get the same battery inside the Redmi 6A as in the Redmi 5A. Both the Redmi 5A and the Redmi 6A come with non-removable 3000mAh battery with 5V/1A charging support. This means you can expect the same battery backup with the Redmi 6A as the 5A. While reviewing the Redmi 5A we had said that its battery lasted one full day with ease on a single charge. This is what our review mentioned:

"Moderate to extreme usage saw me cross the one whole day barrier with ease while toning down further should get most users one and a half days out of the phone. Extreme usage scenarios got me close to 13 hours on the Redmi 5A, which is more or less similar to what you get on its predecessor, the Redmi 4A."

-- Improved hardware: The Redmi 5A is powered by Snapdragon 425 quad-core 1.4GHz processor with Adreno 308 GPU as found in the Redmi 4A. The Redmi 5A is the most powerful phone that you can find in this price point. In our Redmi 5A review we had mentioned:

"Just like the Redmi 4A, the Redmi 5A is also the most powerful (and most power-efficient) smartphone that you can buy in the Indian market right now."

In comparison, the Redmi 6A looks to be even more powerful, at least on papers. The smartphone is powered by 12nm FinFET Helio A22 quad-core processor that has clock speed as high as 2.0GHz. Xiaomi claims all the three Redmi 6 series phones, which include the Redmi 6A as well, will be fast enough to run heavy GPU games and as well as offer fast multi-tasking.

-- Two variants: Both the Redmi 5A and the Redmi 6A comes in two variants. The Redmi 5A is available in 2GB + 16GB and 3GB + 32GB models, expandable up to 128GB storage, while the Redmi 6A comes in 2GB RAM + 16GB and 2GB RAM + 32GB, expandable by up to 256GB microSD card.

-- Same camera setup: Now it is possible thatredmi 6A comes with a different and improved camera setup, from the specs sheet it is not clear. The specs sheet hint that the Redmi 6A has the same cameras that are there in the Redmi 5A! This may disappoint some Xiaomi fans.

Both the Redmi 5A and the Redmi 6A come with a 13-megapixel rear camera that has a /2.2 lens. On the front there is a 5-megapixel camera with /2.0 aperture. The only upgrade you seemingly get in the Redmi 6A compared to the Redmi 5A is the additional camera modes on both front and back like burst mode, scene selection, age recognition, among others.

-- AI face unlock is new: The Redmi 6A comes with artificial intelligence based face unlock support, which isn't present in the Redmi 5A.

-- Dual 4G support: Both the Redmi 5A and the Redmi 6A comes with dual SIM slot + dedicated microSD slot. The Redmi 6A, however, lets you use two 4G SIM cards at the same time, which Redmi 5A doesn't support.

-- Latest software: Redmi 6A has been launched with MIUI 9.6 that is built on top of Android Oreo OS. The Redmi 5A, on the other hand, runs MIUI 9 on top of Android 7.1.2 Nougat. Xiaomi has also announced that the Redmi 6A will be upgraded to the latest MIUI 10 very soon.

-- Same price: Prices of both the Redmi 5A (2GB+16GB) and the Redmi 6A (2GB+16GB) start at Rs 5,999. While the Redmi 6A 2GB RAM+32GB storage and the Redmi 5A 3GB RAM+32GB storage are priced at Rs 6,999. The Redmi 6A will go on sale in India on September 19 via Mi.com and Amazon.in. While the Redmi 5A keeps going on flash sales every now and then, although now that the Redmi 6A is here there is a chance that Xiaomi may not hold another sale for the phone.