The real battle of the budget smartphones in India has just begun. Two smartphones from two popular brands launched and both are budget-friendly. Should you go for the Moto E (2nd Gen) or Xiaomi Redmi 2?
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While both offer great value for the price of Rs 6,999, buyers will have to compromise a bit with the Moto E (2nd Gen) while Xiaomi is offering almost everything possible (in terms of specs and experience) at the same price.
Moto E(2ND Gen) vs Xiaomi Redmi 2: Design
The Redmi 2 and the Moto E(2nd Gen), both have plastic built but the former fetures a Asahi's Dragontrail glass panel on its front, whereas the later has a corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Both of these glass panels are designed to resist from minor screatches and overall to give the smartphones a tough built. The Moto E has interchangeable Motorola Bands which is available in six different colours along with grip shells which provides a better grip for its users. These options are not available for the Redmi 2. Hence the Moto E (2ND GEN) takes the lead in the design font.
Moto E(2ND Gen) vs Xiaomi Redmi 2: Display
The display size and the screen resolution on the Redmi 2 have been kept the same as its predecessor. In comparison to the new 4.5-inch Moto E that has a slightly smaller screen with a screen resolution of 960x540 pixels, the Redmi 2's 4.7-inch 1280x720 pixels display packs in much more pixels and offers better viewing angles and produces relatively rich colours.
Moto E(2ND Gen) vs Xiaomi Redmi 2: Camera
Given the price at which the Redmi 2 comes, it has great cameras - both front and rear. The camera produces more than satisfactory results in both soft and bright-light conditions. Unlike the new Moto E that produces a little washed out and grainy results in soft-light conditions, the Redmi 2's rear camera captures accurate colours. Also the Redmi 2's camera app offers far more options to customise settings than the Moto E. The placement of the front camera in the upgraded version of the Moto E isn't really the upgrade we had been looking for. The quality of the front VGA camera is poor and the Redmi 2 easily scores here.
Moto E(2ND Gen) vs Xiaomi Redmi 2: Specification
Yes, the Moto E (2nd Gen) might look underpowered in front of the Redmi 2. The debate can be extended to 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 (in Moto E) versus 64-bit 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 CPU (in Redmi 2). However, the real deal depends on how much the user actually does with their new smartphone. For checking e-mails, Facebook, browsing, music and a bit of casual photography, the spec sheet hardly matters.
Moto E(2ND Gen) vs Xiaomi Redmi 2: Storage
Of the Redmi 2's 8GB internal storage, only 4.5GB is user accessible. The Moto E's 8GB internal memory offers around 5GB of user accessible storage. Both phones let you expand memory up to 32GB using a microSD card. The company plans to launch a limited edition variant of the Redmi 2 with 16GB storage and 2GB RAM in a few weeks.
Moto E(2ND Gen) vs Xiaomi Redmi 2: OS
Moto E's biggest strength in this battle seems to be its pure Android Lollipop 5.0.2 OS. Xiaomi, on the other hand, is trying to woo users with MIUI 6 which is based on Android 4.4.4 KitKat.
Moto E(2ND Gen) vs Xiaomi Redmi 2: Connectivity
While Xiaomi is offering dual 4G SIM support, Motorola, on the other hand will launch another 4G version with a higher price tag. This so-called weakness of the new Moto E and strength of Redmi 2 can be ignored totally. By the time 4G becomes mainstream in India, people will mostly opt for a new handset. ‘Future-proofing' really doesn't work much in the smartphone market as the product refresh cycles have shortened greatly.
Moto E(2ND Gen) vs Xiaomi Redmi 2: Verdict
Moto E offers a good overall experience. If your need a smartphone for regular tasks with a good battery life, the Moto E (2nd Gen) is a good budget Android Lollipop option. But if you want more out of a budget smartphone then start praying for your Redmi 2.
