Earlier, a day before Bharat 5’s launch Xiaomi launched its entry-level smartphone Redmi 5A in India. The Redmi 5A price starts
Indian smartphone maker Micromax has just expanded its Bharat smartphone series with another budget 4G phone. The Micromax Bharat 5 is an affordable 4G VoLTE-enabled smartphone which is priced at just Rs. 5,555. The highlight of Bharat 5 is it’s 5,000mAh battery with a standby time of 500 hours, as claimed by the company.
Earlier, a day before the Bharat 5’s launch Xiaomi launched its entry-level smartphone Redmi 5A in India. The Redmi 5A price starts at Rs 4,999 for the base variant. The phone is the successor to Redmi 4A which has been a best selling phone in India. So, at this price point, Redmi 5A now will directly face competition from Bharat 5. Interestingly, both the phones come with some launch offers as well.
Apart from price and offers, they also have a few things in common. So, does the Micromax Bharat 5 offer better value for money or Xiaomi Redmi 5A will be the better option? Let’s find out!
The Micromax Bharat 5 features a slightly bigger 5.2-inch HD display than Xiaomi Redmi 5A which has a similar 5-inch HD display. However, Redmi 5A looks more premium with just 8.35 mm thickness. Also, Redmi 5A will be available in Gold, Rose Gold, and Dark Grey color options, while Micromax has a black color option.
Overall, design, display-wise there is not much difference, though Bharat 5 has a bigger display, Redmi 5A still looks good.
Micromax Bharat 5 is powered by a Quad-core Mediatek processor with 1GB RAM and 16GB storage which is expandable up to 64GB via a microSD card. Xiaomi, on the other hand, is powered by a Quad-core Snapdragon 425 processor with 2GB or 3GB of RAM. It also comes with two storage options- 16GB/32GB and supports up to 128GB.
The major highlight of Bharat 5 is its 5,000mAh battery, which is said to offer a standby time of up to 500 hours. It also comes with OTG support which means the Bharat 5 can be used as a Powerbank. Xiaomi Redmi 5A is backed by a 3000mAh battery, that is claimed to offer up to 192 hours of standby time.
Both the phones are dual SIM, but Xiaomi Redmi 5A comes with a dedicated slot for memory card. Both the phone run Android Nougat, however Redmi 5A gets Xiaomi’s latest MIUI 9, which has some cool features.
Overall, the Redmi 5A is a winner in terms of hardware, RAM, and storage. It also offers good software experience but if we talk about the battery, Bharat 5 has a bigger battery which could be good for many.
Micromax Bharat 5 has a 5MP auto-focus camera at rear with f/2.2 aperture, and flash. Other features include Panorama, Time Lapse, Watermark, Beauty Mode, and Bokeh mode. The front camera is 5MP with a wide-angle lens and features Portrait mode, Time Lapse, Watermark, and Beauty mode.
The Xiaomi Redmi 5A sports a 13MP rear camera with f/2.2 aperture, LED flash, HDR, Panorama, Burst mode, Face recognition, and Real-time filters. Up front, there is a 5MP camera with f/2.0 aperture, Selfie countdown, and Face recognition.
In terms of camera, Redmi 5A beats the Micromax Bharat 5 with a better primary camera.
Micromax Bharat 5 is priced at Rs 5,555. It comes with a launch offer from Vodafone. The buyers will get 50GB free data on any new or existing Vodafone number. The operator offers 10GB free data every month for five months.
Xiaomi Redmi 5A costs Rs 4,999 for the 2GB RAM variant and Rs 6,999 for the 3GB RAM and 32GB model. However, the actual price of the 2GB model is Rs 5,999 and the Rs 4,999 is only for the first 50 lakh units.
Moreover, Xiaomi has partnered with Reliance Jio, to offer an additional cashback of Rs 1,000 on Redmi 5A. Reliance Jio has announced a special Rs 199 pack and by recharging with this plan for 12 months, users will get 10 vouchers of Rs 100 each at the end of 12 months period. So, you can buy Redmi 4A at an effective price of Rs. 3,999 as well.
Coming to the conclusion, Redmi 5A is the winner in terms of hardware, RAM, storage, and camera. While the Bharat 5 has a slightly bigger display and a much bigger battery. Overall, with features like more RAM & storage, better camera, and software performance, even at a slightly lesser price, Redmi 5A offers good value for money.
Micromax Bharat 5 is available at retail stores across the country while Redmi 5A will go on sale in India starting December 7 from Flipkart and mi.com/in.
