Nokia 6.1 Plus vs Xiaomi Mi A2: Mid-range phones with stock Android compared
Nokia 6.1 Plus and Xiaomi Mi A2 offer a fluid Android experience and come with a similar set of specifications and features. Here’s how the two mid-range smartphones compare.
Nokia launched its first smartphone with a notch display in India earlier this week. Called Nokia 6.1 Plus, the smartphone runs on Google's Android One platform. Nokia 6.1 Plus is the latest entrant in the mid-range segment which is currently dominated by the like of Xiaomi's Redmi Note 5 Pro and Mi A2 and also the Moto G6. Based on specifications and features HMD Global's Nokia 6.1 Plus competes with Xiaomi Mi A2 which is also an Android One smartphone.
Google's Android One platform aims to offer a fluid Android experience on budget smartphones along with regular security and OS updates. Nokia 6.1 Plus and Mi A2 offer the same software experience running stock Android Oreo with minimum bloatware.
The smartphones have similarities under the hood as well as in terms of specifications and features. Here's a detailed comparison between the two new Android One phones in India.
Design and display
Nokia 6.1 Plus has arguably one of the best designs in its price range, courtesy the 2.5D Gorilla Glass design. The smartphone conveniently fits the 5.8-inch display into a compact form factor. Nokia 6.1 Plus is also very light for a smartphone with a glass body. More intricate design details include steel rims on the rear cameras, fingerprint sensor and volume keys.
Xiaomi Mi A2 is taller than the Nokia 6.1 Plus with a slightly bigger 5.99-inch display. The smartphone is wrapped in a full metal unibody design, a known Xiaomi feature. The smartphone is decent looking with different colours to choose from like rose gold, black, gold and lake blue.
Performance
Under the hood, both Nokia 6.1 Plus and Xiaomi Mi A2 run Qualcomm's best mid-range processors. Nokia 6.1 Plus is powered by Snapdragon 636 SoC, while Mi A2 has Snapdragon 660. Both chipsets offer almost the same specifications which equates to a similar performance on the Nokia 6.1 Plus and Mi A2, theoretically.
Nokia 6.1 Plus is offered in only one variant with 4GB RAM and 64GB of in-built storage. There's a microSD card slot for further storage expansion up to 400GB. Xiaomi Mi A2 also comes with the same storage configuration but with no expandable storage. Xiaomi plans to launch another variant of Mi A2 with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage soon.
In terms of power both phones are at par with a 3,060mAh battery on the Nokia 6.1 Plus, and a 3,010mAh on the Xiaomi Mi A2. Xiaomi is slated to receive support for Quick Charge 4+ later this year.
Camera
Nokia 6.1 Plus' dual-camera setup comprises of a 16-megapixel f/2.0 camera and a 5-megapixel f/2.0 snapper. For selfies, there's a 16-megapixel camera with f/2.0 aperture. Nokia 6.1 Plus also comes with the company's trademark 'Bothie' feature which lets users shoot from the rear and front cameras at the same time. The smartphone's native camera can also be used to livestream directly to Facebook and YouTube.
Xiaomi Mi A2 offers a stronger camera setup with Xiaomi Mi A2 a 12-megapixel Sony IMX 486 sensor and a 20-megapixel Sony IMX376 sensor with f/1.75 aperture. For selfies, the smartphone features a 20-megapixel front-facing camera along with front flash. The selfie camera is capable of DSLR-like shallow depth-of-field. The results of Xiaomi Mi A2's camera have proven to be impressive in different lighting conditions. ALSO READ: Xiaomi Mi A2 review: Impressive design and performance but not without trade-offs
Price
There isn't much of a difference in pricing between the two phones. Nokia 6.1 Plus is priced at ₹15,999 which is slightly lower than the Mi A2's price tag of ₹16,999.
Takeaways,
On paper, both the phones offer same specifications and Android experience. Nokia 6.1 Plus does offer a better design and gives you more flexibility with features like expandable storage. Xiaomi Mi A2 doesn't have the expandable storage and also skips the 3.5mm headphone jack.
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