If you thought the budget smartphone industry in India was uber-competitive last year, well, we’re barely two months into 2019 and phone makers are already at each other’s throats. Xiaomi unveiled the much-awaited Redmi Note 7 last week to much fanfare and everyone was of the opinion that it was the phone to beat, Well, Realme (Oppo’s sister brand, for those unaware) has today unveiled the Realme 3 and it looks like the perfect gamble against Xiaomi’s budget smartphone.
Before we dive in to compare the Redmi Note 7 and the Realme 3, here’s a quick look at the specifications of these two devices:
Design and Build
The biggest change in both of these smartphones comes in the design department. The phone makers today are enamored by two key design cues – a glass design or gradient colors. Well, we have both of them amongst us today. The Redmi Note 7 brings in tow a premium glass sandwich build, with Gorilla Glass 5 protection, whereas the Realme 3 is proud of its unibody gradient design that looks quite good.
Xiaomi has opted for solid colors with Redmi Note 7, which look good, but Realme 3’s gradient backs are eye-grabbing and shiny. I quite like the Radiant Blue color that Realme has lent us but the black and purple gradient variant which resembles Vivo V11 Pro’s Starry Night color is what I have my eye on. Both the devices surely look and feel premium, with a fingerprint sensor on the rear – right where your index finger rests.
On the display front, both the Redmi Note 7 and Realme 3 have opted for a non-intrusive and immersive experience to the users with the waterdrop notch. Both the companies use different jargons for the same, with Xiaomi calling it a dot-notch display and Realme using the dewdrop notch in its marketing.
Coming to the specs, the Redmi Note 7 sports a 6.3-inch Full-HD+ in-cell LTPS LCD screen with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and 2340×1080 resolution. The Realme 3 lacks on this front and features a 6.2-inch HD+ LCD display (yeah, HD+) with a 19:9 aspect ratio and 1520×720 resolution. There’s a considerable chin on both of these devices, but it doesn’t really hinder the experience.
Xiaomi hasn’t made any changes to the internal hardware of the Redmi Note 7 it launched in China earlier last month. It is powered by the Snapdragon 660 chipset, clocked at up to 2.2GHz and coupled with up to 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage.
Both the Snapdragon 660 AIE (one of the most popular chipsets in the premium budget category now) and MediaTek Helio P70 (flagship chipset from MediaTek) are powerful, to say the least. I haven’t faced any major issues with the Chinese Redmi Note 7 variant & Realme 3 in my brief time with them. Redmi Note 7 (Left) and Realme 3 (Right)
As for the software department, the Redmi Note 7 is backed by Xiaomi’s trusty MIUI 10 custom ROM based on Android 9 Pie and it’s recognized to be one of the better Android experiences by the community. And even I love the UI, navigation gestures, and all the features on board. MIUI 10 on Redmi Note 7 (Left) and ColorOS 6 on Realme 3 (Right)
Cameras
Speaking of the camera department, the Redmi Note 7 launched in India, unfortunately, doesn’t carry the 48MP Samsung GM1 sensor; instead it packs a 12MP primary sensor on the rear. This sensor has an f/2.2 aperture and a 1.25μm pixel size, and is coupled with a 2MP depth sensor for better portrait photos.
We’re currently testing both of these smartphones thoroughly, so expect to learn more about the camera performance over the coming days.
Both the Redmi Note 7 and Realme 3 carry massive battery packs, with the former being 4,000mAh and the latter a 4,230mAh battery. These should last you at least a whole day on a single charge – if not longer depending on the usage patterns.
Value for Money: Should Xiaomi Be Concerned?
The pricing is one of the most crucial factors in today’s frenzied Indian budget smartphone market and well, both the Redmi Note 7 and Realme 3 are priced quite competitively. They strive to provide a solid design, beefy internal specs, and a myriad of features for an attractive price.
