Moto just announced three new handsets under its popular budget G-series which replaces last year’s Moto G5 and G5 Plus. While Motorola reserved the G6 Play to compete with lower-end devices in the budget segment, the standard G6 variant comes in place of the company’s older G5 Plus which also started in the same price cap. The G6 Plus, on the other hand, is Motorola’s enhanced take on the Moto X4 for markets where the latter wasn’t made available.
But the question here is who does the company’s regular Moto G6 compete against. The Moto G6 is expected to retail around Rs 16,500 which is around the same price at which Xiaomi sells the 6GB RAM variant of the Redmi Note 5 Pro in India. We’ll thus compare these two based on which phone outplays the other in a specific category.
Design:
The ergonomic design of the Moto G6 gains points through the previous generation Moto G5 and the Moto X4. While you’ll be greeted with a circular space for the rear camera setup, you might also notice a familiar 3D glass on the G6 which was first seen on the Moto X4. While moving on from a slippery metallic back is a huge plus, the presence of glass could be challenging to hold on to. But if a handy device needs to be considered, the G6 is grippy since it’s taller, narrower and has curved edges to fit on one’s palms with ease. The fingerprint scanner along with the abundance of gesture controls sits conveniently on the front where it can be accessed comfortably.
Redmi Note 5 Pro’s design is just about as mainstream as any Xiaomi phone with a unibody metallic back with plastic Antenna strips at the top and bottom. The camera setup is positioned in one corner of the rear end and is aligned vertically like that of the iPhone X. The device is taller than the Moto G6 due to its bigger display which means it’ll need to be held with both hands. The fingerprint scanner is quite responsive but the mere positioning of the same at the back side of the phone means it won’t be as functional as the one on the Moto G6.
Winner: Moto G6.
Display:
Xiaomi has come a long way into adopting a taller bezel-less screen on the Redmi Note 5 Pro as the 5.99-inch IPS LCD display is a beauty to watch with its 18:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 1080 x 2160 pixels. The ultra-thin bezels on the edges thus save space for an all-display front that scores a screen-to-body ratio of 77.4 percent, which is decent for a budget smartphone. The phone adapts on-screen buttons after cutting out its traditional capacitive buttons and has a Pixel density of 403 ppi.
The Moto G6, on the other hand, a stylishly designed device with a 5.7-inch IPS LCD FHD+ display that offers a resolution of 1080 x 2160 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18:9, thus making it a taller device than its predecessor. The screen and the back are covered by a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and with the fingerprint scanner on the front, the screen-to-body ratio of the phone drops down to 75.4 percent which is barely any different from the Note 5 Pro. The G6 though makes amends by providing a smoother display with a Pixel density of 424 ppi.
Winner: Moto G6
Hardware:
The Moto G6 is powered by the latest Snapdragon 450 Processor which we’re clear won’t hold up to compete with the Note 5 Pro’s SND 636, that is more powerful and battery efficient. In terms of graphics, the G6 is powered by Adreno 506 GPU while the Note 5 Pro comes with a more recent Adreno 509 unit. The more expensive variant of the Note 5 Pro, to which the Moto G6 compares to in terms of pricing, comes with 6GB of RAM. That in itself would be more powerful than the 3GB or 4GB RAM variants of the Moto G6. The 3GB version of the G6 only features 32GB of onboard storage in contrast to the 64GB internal storage on the Redmi Note 5 Pro, which is again where Xiaomi outbids its competition.
On the connectivity front tho, both devices feature the same Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, and GPS. However, the Moto phone features a USB-C port for all its data and charging needs.
Winner: Redmi Note 5 Pro
Software:
Motorola offers the latest Android 8 Oreo out-of-the-box with the Moto G6 which is more stock than what many manufacturers offer at the moment. Users will get the same look and feel as what you expect to get on a Google Pixel 2, in terms of the interface. It’s neat, devoid of any bloatware and smooth on most parts of the day.
The Redmi Note 5 Pro takes a beating in this category as it only runs Android 7.1.2 Nougat which is almost two years old now and if that wasn’t disappointing enough, the interface runs the Xiaomi’s own MIUI skin on top. The UI is heavy, includes Xiaomi’s bunch of bloatware and thought it might run the heavier skin easily due to a better hardware, it’ll not be something most Android users wouldn’t want to recommend.
The Moto G6 also packs several gestures for its fingerprint scanner through software tweaks and includes the Moto display for relaying important notifications when the phone is being picked up. MIUI in terms of offering additional features has failed miserably, even after years of developments and updates.
Winner: Moto G6
Camera:
The Redmi Note 5 Pro earned much of its praise from its camera unit which is dual lens 12-megapixel (f/2.2, 1.25µm) + 5-megapixel (f/2.0, 1.12µm) setup that comes with phase detection autofocus, face detection, and an LED flash. The front-facing snapper is a 20-megapixel (1/2.8″) lens with a pixel size of 1µm and f/2.2 aperture.
Even Motorola has gone with a slightly similar setup with a dual 12 MP (f/1.8) + 5 MP camera with PDAF but there’s a dual LED dual tone flash to go with the same. Video recording at 1080p is possible at 60 FPS while the front-facing shooter is just an 8-megapixel camera.
Winner: Redmi Note 5 Pro, if you’re into selfies.
Battery:
The Moto G6 with its snappy Snapdragon 450 processor would be enough to last you up to a day of moderate usage through its 3,000mAh battery. But that would offer no challenge to the 4,000mAh power unit on the Note 5 Pro which runs a more power efficient Snapdragon 636 chipset. The Note 5 Pro could go for anywhere between one and two days on a single charge. The Plus point for Moto G6 here is faster charging than Xiaomi’s Quick Charge 2.0.
Winner: Redmi Note 5 Pro
Verdict:
The Redmi Note 5 Pro is a pure beast of a phone in the budget price point as it offers a one of a kind setup when it comes to the hardware with the Snapdragon 636 and 6GB RAM. Even the camera setup is something to be talked about since the front-facing camera holds up a 20-megapixel lens on a smartphone in this price segment.
But for daily usage, it’s the Moto G6 which has stood apart in terms of functionality, ease of use, a sleek display, and a grippy yet stunning design. So if you’re not someone who lays focus on selfies much, the Moto G6 could be the right device for them and who wouldn’t want to be seen with a curved glass phone with a price that’s lower than the Redmi Note 5 Pro.
The 6GB RAM variant of Redmi Note 5 Pro sells in India for Rs 16,999 while the Moto G6 is slated to be priced at Rs 16,500. If the pricing of either doesn’t matter to you, the availability of these phones might. The Redmi Note 5 Pro currently sells through flash sale (or pre-orders) in India which isn’t preferred by the normal crowd. This could also swing some votes for the upcoming Moto G6 which will be readily made available in the market when it comes to India.