With the Honor 9 N selling out in no time during its first flash sale on July 31, a comparison with another entrenched and strong player, the Redmi Note 5 Pro is inevitable. While the Redmi handset follows a strong record of success built around value pricing, the Honor 9N builds on a record of redefining the segment itself, when it comes to looks and features. From the dual camera, to high spec cameras and hardware, the brand is one of the reasons this segment has seen so much interest. A key insight, from Honor clearly seems to be the focus on looks, finish, and solid, if not top end specs in this segment. So what could have worked this time?
Was price a factor?
Competing with a player which has been built around the ‘value’ offering , the Honor 9N started off on a strong note. The biggest advantage straightaway is the price, where the Honor 9N is priced below the Redmi Note 5 Pro by a comfortable Rs 1000, not counting in the multiple launch offers, which make the deal sweeter.
Did design and looks play a role?
But you don’t go by just the price, do you? So let’s move on to the design and looks. The first thing that strikes you when comparing the two phones is the extra swag factor in the Honor 9N, thanks to its unbelievably polished glass back. Thanks to six layers of glass, no less. The Redmi Note 5 pro on the other hand has the more regular aluminium body. The second thing is the camera bump, noticeably smaller in the Honor 9N as compared to the protruding bump in the Redmi Note 5 Pro. What that means is that the Honor 9N, despite the slightly smaller screen size of 5.84 inches to the Redmi’s 5.99 inches, looks more expensive. The 2.5% difference in screen size is also made up by a full HD and 19:9 aspect ratio, as compared to the Note 5 pro’s 18:9 display. The higher aspect simply means more efficient use of available screen space. And if all that wasn’t enough, the Honor 9N throws off a choice of 4 colours to finish off, vibrant shades of Lavender Purple, Midnight Black, Robin Egg Blue and Sapphire Blue. So a no contest this one really for the Honor 9n.
Was security taken care off?
Both the phones have fingerprint scanners and a Face ID option leaving little reason to ignore the advantages that one has over the other. Of course, if one hand usage is what you like then the Honor 9N will tick that box quicker too.
Did camera play a role?
So how does the display, the full HD and more affect the camera’s? Because, one thing the Redmi Note 5 Pro did was to upgrade the camera on the phone, an area where the Honor range had started to open up a massive gap. Both the phones are closely matched here, with the Honor 9n coming with a 13MP + 2MP rear camera and a 16 MP front camera. The Note 5 Pro has a 12MP + 5 MP rear camera and a 20 MP front camera. That makes it an evenly matched battle, with the Honor 9N intelligent interface stepping into make a good picture just that extra bit better when it matters. Could this already be a battle between the past and the future? The Honor 9N continues to redefine standards even as it leaves the Redmi Note 5 Pro with a lot of catching up to do.
What else made an impact?
On the heavy specs, the Redmi Note 5 Pro has the Qualcomm 836 chipset, matched by the Honor 9N’s in house Kirin HiSilicon 859, a proven performer with other Honor models. On a like to like basis, both have a 4GB/64GB combination for their the models available at Rs 14,000 for the Honor 9n and Rs 15,000 for the Redmi Note 5 pro.
Which brings us to the battery, the one area where the Redmi Note 5 Pro mounts a fight back, with a 4000 mAh battery as compared to the Honor 9N’s 3000 mAH version. Even crediting Honor’s famed EMUI for its optimization and other battery saving possibilities, we give this one to the Redmi Note 5 Pro.
Should you buy it?
So finally, we come to the final frontier for a buyer in this segment. The service side offers, and after sales service. As the more recent phone, the Honor 9N gives you the advantage some great launch offers, to make the deal sweeter. In case you are a Jio user, there is a special offer from Jio that includes a Rs 2200 discount, 100 GB data and even a Rs 1200 voucher from Myntra.
So, if one lucky to grab Honor 9N in next sale, one will not be disappointed with his new gadget because a complete package is always better than a piece meal arrangement.