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Redmi Note 3 vs Honor 5X Comparison Review

A few days ago, Xiaomi launched their new Redmi Note 3 in India in an event held in New Delhi. The phone is no doubt a beast and performs really well, more than what you would have expected from a phone of this price category. I’ve already covered the full review of the device and a comparison with the LeEco Le 1S. Today, let me compare it to the popular Honor 5X, which was launched in India in January.
Redmi Note 3 vs Honor 5X (2)

Specifications Comparison

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Design & Build

Redmi Note 3 vs Honor 5X (7)

Both the Redmi Note 3 and the Honor 5X feature a full metal build, yet differ in certain aspects. The back on the Redmi Note 3 is a smooth metal, whereas the back on the Honor 5X has a bit of a texture all around. Another thing different in their design is that the Redmi Note 3’s back simply curves on the sides, whereas in case of the Honor 5X, you see a proper rim around the phone. Due to some peculiar reason, I find the metal rim to feel a bit more premium when compared to the curved back, but your choice may differ.

The build quality on both these smartphones is great, and they both secure full points with regard to the build quality. Holding both the smartphones in the hand give a premium and sturdy feel.


Display

Redmi Note 3 vs Honor 5X (1)

The Redmi Note 3 has a 5.5-inch full HD display, just as the Honor 5X but the displays on both the phones tell a different story. The display on the Redmi Note 3 is much much better than the one on the Honor 5X in terms of color reproduction. To give both the phones a fair chance, I put the same wallpaper on both the smartphones and put them on full brightness with auto brightness turned off on both. And the wallpaper on the Redmi Note 3 looked much better than the one on the Honor 5X.

In terms of the brightness and outdoor visibility, both the phones are pretty much comparable. However, the Redmi Note 3 is slightly better visible in direct sunlight than the Honor 5X which is also visible, but not as great as the Redmi Note 3.

Camera

Redmi Note 3 vs Honor 5X (4)

The camera on the Redmi Note 3 is a 16-megapixel shooter with dual tone LED flash, whereas the one on the Honor 5X is a 13-megapixel shooter with a single LED flash only. The dual tone LED flash definitely adds a plus point to the Redmi Note 3. The front camera on both these smartphones are 5-megapixels, but the one of the Honor 5X has an aperture of f/2.4, whereas the one on the Redmi Note 3 has an aperture of f/2.0. Thus, on paper, the pictures that you take with the Redmi Note 3 should come out much better than the ones on the Honor 5X. Below, find the different images that were captured with both these smartphones together, in the exact same lighting conditions using the exact same objects so you can compare better.

When we tested the camera, the images showed different results in different lighting conditions. The front camera on both the devices was very much comparable with the images that we took with it. The rear camera produced mixed results. In low light, the Redmi Note 3 was better with the flash, in other lighting conditions, both the cameras produced similar results. The only difference was in the HDR mode that was significant. The HDR from the Redmi Note 3 looks much better in terms of colour when compared to the Honor 5X HDR image.

Redmi Note 3 HDR Mode

Normal Picture

IMG_20160308_170556

HDR Picture

IMG_20160308_170601_HDR

Honor 5X HDR Mode

Normal Picture

IMG_20160308_170424

HDR Picture

hdr

Redmi Note 3 Front Camera

Honor 5X Front Camera

Redmi Note 3 Rear Camera

Honor 5X Rear Camera

Benchmarks & Gaming

The Redmi Note 3 is powered by a hexa core Snapdragon 650 processor, with either 2GB of RAM or 3GB of RAM, whereas the Honor 5X is powered by an octa core Snapdragon 616 processor, coupled with 2GB of RAM. In terms of storage, the Redmi Note 3 comes with either 16GB or 32GB with different RAM options. The Honor 5X comes with 16GB of internal storage only. The good thing is that both these smartphones have support for microSD cards up to 128GB in size. The Honor 5X has a dedicated microSD slot, whereas the Redmi Note 3 has a hybrid SIM slot, where you can put in a microSD card. Here are the benchmark results of both the smartphones.

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In terms of gaming, the Redmi Note 3 definitely outperforms the Honor 5X by a lot. The Redmi Note 3 shows no sign of slowing down even when playing heavy games like Nova 3 on it, whereas the Honor 5X shows lag while playing such heavy games. As far as the heating is considered, the Redmi Note 3 simply does not heat up! The Honor 5X on the other hand does get to a bit higher temperature than the Redmi Note 3 on a long gaming session.

Redmi Note 3 Gaming Data

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Honor 5X Gaming Data

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Battery Performance

Redmi Note 3 vs Honor 5X (6)

In terms of the battery, the Redmi Note 3 features a much bigger battery than the Honor 5X. The Redmi Note 3 packs a 4000 mAh non-removable battery whereas the Honor 5X packs a 3000 mAh non-removable battery. In terms of the screen on time with usage, I was easily getting around 6 hours and 45 minutes on the Redmi Note 3 but on the Honor 5X, the maximum that I could ever get was around 5 hours and 45 minutes.

But to make the comparison fair, I made use of the Lab 501 battery test on both the smartphones to play the same video for 20 minutes, and then note the battery loss. Remember, the Redmi Note 3 has a bigger battery, so just don’t go by the percentage. That being said, the Note 3 lost around 4% battery, whereas the Honor 5X lost 8% of battery, supporting the fact that the battery performance on the Note 3 is superior to the Honor 5X.

Extra Features

Redmi Note 3 vs Honor 5X (8)

Other than the usual hardware, you’ll find a fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone in both the smartphones. The navigation buttons are different on both. The Note 3 features soft capacitive touch buttons on the bottom of the phone, whereas the Honor 5X features on-screen buttons. I personally prefer the on-screen navigation buttons more than the off-screen buttons, but again this is personal preference.

Other than that, the Note 3 also features an IR blaster, that you can use with any third party app as well to control your appliances that work with a remote control. This gives the Redmi Note 3 one more advantage over the Honor 5X.

Pros & Cons

Redmi Note 3 Pros

  • Better display than the Honor 5X
  • Better processor and gaming performance than the Honor 5X
  • Better Camera than Honor 5X
  • Bigger battery with fast charging

Redmi Note 3 Cons

  • It does not feature a dedicated microSD card slot
  • The build quality of the Honor 5X feels a bit more sturdy because of the metal rim around the phone

Honor 5X Pros

  • It features a dedicated microSD card slot
  • Better build quality than the Note 3

Honor 5X Cons

  • The screen is not as vivid as the one on the Redmi Note 3
  • While gaming, a few stutters are easily noticeable on the Honor 5X

Verdict

Overall, I would say that the Note 3 is much better in terms of performance, battery consumption, display and the camera. The Honor 5X feels sturdy to me with the metal rim around the edges of the phone. If I were to choose a phone out of these two, I would choose the Redmi Note 3 over the Honor 5X just because it performs better than the Honor 5X, and is even priced a bit lower than the Honor 5X.

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Aneesh Bhatnagar

Aneesh Bhatnagar is a freelance web developer, who specializes in front-end website development with HTML5, CSS3 and jQuery. He is also an Android enthusiast, and a budding Android Application developer.