Nokia 6 is the latest midrange smartphone to launch in India. Priced at Rs. 14,999, the handset offers average specifications but a solid build quality. HMD Global, the company behind the new generation Nokia devices has promised to deliver timely updates and a premium customer experience. Today, we will compare the Nokia 6 with one of the most popular midrangers – Xiaomi Redmi Note 4. Let’s see if the reincarnated Nokia can take on Xiaomi’s unmatched value for money.
Nokia 6 Vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Specifications
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Design and Build Quality
The Nokia 6 features an aluminum unibody construction with subtle antenna lines. On the other hand, the Redmi Note 4 comes with a metal back with plastic inserts on the top and the bottom for signal reception. Dimension-wise, the Nokia 6 is a bit taller but thinner than Xiaomi’s handset. The former also weighs a bit more than the latter.
Speaking of in hand feeling, both the smartphones are quite good. However, the Nokia 6 felt a lot sturdier than its competitor. HMD Global has genuinely worked hard to make the handset as much robust as possible and we do feel it while handling the phone. The Redmi Note 4 sports a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, while the Nokia 6 has it integrated with the home button.
Winner: Nokia 6
Display
2.5D curved 5.5-inch Full HD (1080 x 1920) IPS LCD panels sit at the top of both smartphones. The Nokia 6 further boasts the Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Coming to quality, both the handsets have vibrant screens with a generous amount of brightness.
The Nokia 6 does feel minutely better in terms of color reproduction. However, this is only visible when you hold the two devices side by side.
Winner: Nokia 6
Hardware and Storage
The Nokia 6 packs the Snapdragon 430 SoC. Built using the older 28 nm process, the octa-core processor has eight Cortex A53 cores clocked at up to 1.4 GHz. Adreno 505 GPU is bundled with this. Coming to storage, HMD Global has opted for 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory.
Coming to the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, the Snapdragon 625 chipset sits at its heart. This is built on the newer and much more efficient 14 nm technique and features eight Cortex-A53 cores running at up to 2.0 GHz. The Adreno 506 GPU handles the graphics. Xiaomi sells multiple storage variants of the Redmi Note 4, but here we will only consider the 4 GB / 64 GB model as its costs nearest to the Nokia 6.
As you can see, the Redmi Note 4 is miles ahead of the Nokia 6 in terms of specifications. It is worth noting that this is not the entire story.
Winner: Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
Software and Performance
The Indian unit of the Nokia 6 runs a unmodified version of Android 7.1.1 Nougat, whereas, the Redmi Note 4 is still stuck with the older Android 6.0 Marshmallow underneath MIUI 8 user interface. HMD Global has promised that all the new Nokia smartphones will receive regular Android upgrades, whereas, Xiaomi is always late at it.
Performance-wise, both the competing phones are decent enough. What surprises us is that the Nokia 6 manages to deliver the almost same level of performance even though it has a significantly inferior hardware than the Redmi Note 4. The former fares better in multi-tasking while the latter opens up graphics intensive apps faster.
One notable thing is that the Redmi Note 4 can play 4K videos while its competitor cannot.
Winner: Tie
Camera
A splendid 16 MP camera sits at the back of the Nokia 6. It captures beautiful images and decent videos and does keep up with the reputation of the Finish brand. On the other hand, the Redmi Note 4 features a 13 MP primary camera. It shoots good images under daylight but fails under low light situations. Video capturing is average in comparison to the Nokia 6.
However, Xiaomi’s handset does support shooting slow motion 720p footages at 120 fps. This is absent from the Nokia 6 due to lack of hardware support.
Talking of selfies, the Nokia 6 breezes past the Redmi Note 4 with its 8 MP front camera. The latter sports a 5 MP unit.
Winner: Nokia 6
Battery
The 4100mAh battery of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 easily beats the 3000mAh toting Nokia 6. Moreover, the 14 nm Snapdragon 625 SoC of the former is way more power efficient than the SD 430 of the latter.
Winner: Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
Nokia 6
Pros
- Top notch build quality
- Faster Android updates
- Better availability
Cons
- Slower chipset (Snapdragon 430)
- Expensive
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
Pros
- Excellent value for money
- Better SoC (Snapdragon 625)
- Bigger battery
Cons
- Lackluster Android updates
- Inferior RAM management
Conclusion
As you see, both the smartphones have their own ups and downs. If you are looking towards affordability, the Redmi Note 4 should be your choice. For those who want better customer support and faster Android upgrades go ahead and buy the Nokia 6.
