Apart from the hardware, the thing which makes the Nokia 6.1 Plus even more competitive is its price, the smartphone retails for Rs 15,999 which makes it the perfect competitor for Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 5 Pro.
Key Specifications
Build and Design: Glass vs Metal
Nokia 6.1 Plus comes with a glass body design which makes it look more premium than the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro which comes with a metal back panel which is not the “Pro” looking smartphone. The Nokia 6.1 Plus smartphone comes with a metal frame to give it the rigidity a smartphone needs while the Redmi Note 5 Pro is curvier.
Both the smartphones come with a significant size of camera bump on the back which keeps the smartphone elevated when placed on a flat surface. The Nokia 6.1 Plus has a smaller form factor which makes it easier to hold and use with one hand while Redmi Note 5 Pro is a little bigger in hands.
Display: To the Notch-mobile
Both the smartphones, Nokia 6.1 Plus and Redmi Note 5 Pro comes with IPS display panels. Two of the major differences between these two smartphones are; the notch and the screen size. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro comes with a traditional 18:9 display with the rounded corner display.
Whereas the Nokia 6.1 Plus comes with a notch display and the aspect ratio is 19:9. The display on Nokia also comes with a Corning Gorilla Glass 3. Both the smartphone features FHD+ resolution with great viewing angles and brightness levels. The display on Redmi Note 5 Pro is 5.99 inches whereas the display size on Nokia 6.1 Plus is 5.8 inches.
Camera: Dethroning the leader?
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro has been the camera leader in the price range and since Nokia 6.1 Plus comes in the similar price range, we have to check if Nokia is anywhere near the competition. The Nokia 6.1 Plus comes with a 16MP + 5MP dual camera setup on the rear and a 16MP sensor on the front. The Redmi Note 5 Pro comes with a 12MP + 5MP dual sensor at the back and a 20MP sensor at the front for selfies. Having a better number of megapixels does not make Nokia the winner in this battle of cameras. The camera in Nokia 6.1 Plus is nowhere near the camera on the Redmi Note 5 Pro, you can check the quality of both the cameras in the samples.
Performance: Kinda similar
The Nokia 6.1 Plus and Redmi Note 5 Pro both come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor running at 1.8GHz clock rate paired with Adreno 509 GPU. The smartphones come with 4GB of RAM as well which makes the performance smoother on both smartphones, Redmi Note 5 Pro comes in 6GB RAM version for extra money. One major difference between the smartphones is the operating system compatibility, the Nokia 6.1 Plus comes with stock Android user interface under the Android One campaign, it will get the next update soon. Redmi Note 5 Pro comes with MIUI 9 running out of the box and there is no sign of getting the Android 9 Pie update on this smartphone.
Conclusion
The Nokia 6.1 Plus and Redmi Note 5 Pro come with similar hardware and performance. The major differences are the design and form factor and software which make a huge gap between the smartphones. If you are more into a shiny glass body, trendy notch display, and stock Android then you should go for Nokia 6.1 Plus. However, if you want a subtle design and good camera then Redmi Note 5 Pro is still a good option.
