Moto E5 Plus vs Realme 1 vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 5: Which is a better budget smartphone

As teased, Moto E5 and Moto E5 Plus have been launched in India. These smartphones run Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. These smartphones have a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor as they house tall 18:9 displays. Priced at Rs. 11,999, the Moto E5 Plus makes use of a juicy 5000mAh battery. These phones are exclusive to the online retailer Amazon and will go on sale from today midnight.

Having said that, we have come up with a comparison between the Moto E5 Plus, Oppo's Realme 1 and Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 as these phones priced in the similar price bracket as the Motorola phone. Take a look at the comparison from below.

Design

Moto E5 Plus flaunts thin bezels at the sides and top due to the 18:9 display and this gives it a little premium look. Though it uses plastic, it appears to have the looks of a glass and metal build. What's interesting is that the device has a water-repellent coating to resistant splashes and has Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Realme 1 features a diamond cut back as seen on the Oppo F7 and A3 smartphones. The device features a 12-layer coating to get the attractive look. The Redmi Note 5 is similar to the previous Xiaomi smartphones in terms of design and looks with no changes.

Display

Both Moto E5 Plus and Realme 1 are fitted with a 6-inch IPS LCD display. While the Realme 1 screen has a FHD+ resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels, that on the Motorola phone has HD+ resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels. The screen has an aspect ratio of 18:9. The Xiaomi phone also has similar aspects as the display is a 5.99-inch panel with the same aspect ratio and resolution as the device from Oppo's sub-brand.

Performance

Moto E5 Plus gets the power from an quad-core Snapdragon 425 SoC. The Realme 1 makes use of an octa-core MediaTek Helio P60 SoC under its hood. In comparison, the Redmi phone uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC. Notably, MediaTek SoC is based on the 12nm process while that from Qualcomm is based on the 14nm process. The advantage is that the former will render an overall improvement in the performance.

Motorola's offering has 3GB RAM and 32GB storage space. In comparison, the Realme 1 makes use of 3GB/4GB/6GB RAM and 32GB/64GB/128GB storage space while the Xiaomi phone has just 3GB/4GB RAM and 32GB/64GB storage space. With the launch of the Realme, the company has set a new pricing benchmark for the 6GB RAM and 128GB storage mode by pricing it at Rs. 13,990.

The other notable aspect is the presence of a dedicated microSD card slot and dedicated dual SIM card slots in the Realme 1. With this feature, it wins over its rivals having a hybrid SIM slot.

Camera

Moto E5 Plus bestows a 12MP rear camera with LED flash, f/2.0 aperture and PDAF at its rear. There is a 5MP selfie camera with LED flash as well. The Realme 1 makes use of an AI-powered 13MP rear camera at its rear and an 8MP selfie camera at the front. The AI capabilities of the device include AI Shot, Bokeh mode without dual cameras, Vivid Mode, AR stickers, AI beautification and more. Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 comes with a 12MP rear camera and a 5MP selfie camera. With AI capabilities, the Realme 1 scores more in this segment.

Battery

A capacious 5000mAh battery powers the Moto E5 Plus from within. This battery comes along with fast charging support too. On the other hand, the Oppo smartphone has a 3410mAh battery with AI battery management to render a long-lasting battery life by understanding the user behavior and closing the inactive apps. The Redmi Note 5 gets the power from a more capacious 4000mAh battery. While all these phones can last for up to two days on normal usage, the E5 Plus wins in this category.

Connectivity and Software

All these smartphones have necessary features such as 4G VoLTE, dual SIM support, GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. While the Realme 1 misses out on a fingerprint sensor, it does have the Face Unlock feature to unlock the smartphone. The Redmi Note 5 and Moto E5 Plus have a fingerprint sensor at the rear.

The Realme runs Android 8.1 Oreo with ColorOS 5.0 out of the box while the Redmi Note 5 running Nougat will get the Oreo update. The Android Nougat OS is topped with the company's MIUI 9. The Moto E5 Plus comes with Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box.

Verdict

All these smartphones are meant for those who seek to own a budget smartphone. However, each of these phones has its own USP to offer. The Realme 1 is better in terms of all aspects, remember that there are memory management issues with the 3GB RAM variant. If you opt for the high-end model with 6GB RAM, then it is relatively expensive than the Moto E5 Plus and Xiaomi Redmi Note 5. On the other hand, if you want a superior battery backup, then the Moto E5 Plus is the one for you. Needless to day, the Xiaomi offering does provide a better between the pricing and performance.