Honor 6X vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 4: Which one to buy at Rs. 12,999?

 Xiaomi  Redmi Note 4 has created quite a stir in the budget smartphone market  soon after its launch. Since the most awaited budget smartphone was out,  another Chinese smartphone giant Honor played its card and launched Honor 6X  in India. Although both the smartphones are aimed at different  consumers, the two still compete because of the similar price tag.

We are comparing the Rs. 12,999 version of both the smartphones to  help you find out which one is a better choice for the price.

The Honor 6X is powered by the 2.1 GHz, Octa Core, HiSilicon Kirin 655  Processor paired with 3GB of RAM and the Mali-T830MP2 GPU.

While the Redmi Note 4 is powered by 2 GHz, Octa Core, Qualcomm MSM8953 Snapdragon 625 Processor with 4GB of RAM and Adreno 506 GPU.

The Redmi Note 4 definitely looks a bit more powerful than the Honor  6X on paper, but the performance on both the smartphones is impressive  during regular usage. Both the smartphones feel smooth but the Note 4  takes the lead when it comes to prolonged gaming, multitasking and doing  power intensive tasks.

On the storage front, Redmi Note 4 has just double the storage  available on Honor 6X. Where Honor 6X offers 32GB of internal storage,  the Note 4 again hits the right spot with 64GB of internal storage. Both  the smartphones come with Hybrid SIM slot that supports microSD card in  place of second SIM.

With a more reliable Qualcomm processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of  internal storage, Redmi Note 4 is a better choice for aggressive users. 

Both the Honor 6X and the Note 4 have a 5.5-inch Full HD (1920x1080)  display. Both the smartphones have the 2.5D curved glass on the display.

We cannot rate any of the display panels above the other because it is  tough to spot any distinction with naked eyes. Both the displays look  crisp and evenly saturated. The colours were a bit punchier on Honor 6X,  but both the displays are good for watching videos and reading. Viewing  angles are decent, and outdoor visibility is not a problem too.

On the imaging front, the Honor 6X comes with a dual camera setup with  12MP + 2MP camera setup with dual-LED on the rear, and an 8MP sensor on  the front. The 2MP secondary sensor is a monochrome sensor. The Redmi  Note 4 comes with a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera with a  wide-angle lens that Xiaomi claims has a field of view of 85 degrees.

Without any doubt, the Honor 6X has a much better rear camera compared  to Redmi Note 4. The images clicked on Honor 6X looked much crisper and  showed better color contrast. With a special wide-aperture mode, you  can take a variable aperture photo for various bokeh effects, which can  also be adjusted later. Whereas in low light, both the camera captured  similar pictures.

The front camera on Redmi Note 4 captures wider area compared to Honor  6X. Other than this, both the smartphones click good selfies in day  light but Redmi does slightly better job in low light conditions.

If you love playing with the camera on your phone, you should prefer Honor 6X.

On the connectivity front, both devices support 4G LTE, GPRS, 3G, 2G,  GPS/A-GPS, Glonass, Bluetooth 4.1 and microUSB for data transfer and  charging.

The number of sensors on both the smartphone are similar except for  the extra gyroscope on the Redmi Note 4. In case you want to use your  phone for VR, then Honor 6X may disappoint you.

The Honor 6X comes with a 3,340mAh battery unit, while the Redmi Note 4 comes with a larger 4,100mAh battery unit.

The Redmi Note 4 has a longer battery life and easily lasts more than 1 day.

Both the smartphone come with Android Marshmallow with their own  custom UI on top. The Redmi Note 4 comes with the MiUi 8 and the Honor  6X has EUI 5.6 skin on top.

Honestly, software is something that depends on your personal liking.  In day to day usage, both the UIs felt smooth and snappy so there is no  chance of rating one over other.

The Honor 6X has DLNA support that enables you to stream and share content via WiFi to you DLNA supported device.

Redmi Note 4 comes with an IR sensor on top, which can be used to  control your home appliances. Other than this, both the smartphones  boast fingerprint sensors that work very well.

In terms of performance and battery life, there is no doubt about  Redmi Note 4 being the clear winner. But if you are looking for a good  camera phone with decent performance and overall package, Honor 6X is  not a bad choice either. The camera on Redmi Note 4 is not bad either,  but the dual camera setup on 6X steals a few points in this department.

 If you can compromise a bit with the camera, then Redmi Note 4 is undoubtedly a smarter choice any day.

Sudhanshu Singh

Sudhanshu Singh have been working in tech journalism as a reporter, writer, editor, and reviewer for over 5 years. He has reviewed hundreds of products ranging across categories and have also written opinions, guides, feature articles, news, and analysis. Ditching the norm of armchair journalism in tech media, Sudhanshu dug deep into how emerging products and services affect actual users, and what marks they leave on our cultural landscape.
His areas of expertise along with writing and editing include content strategy, daily operations, product and team management.