Redmi 6 Pro vs Redmi Note 5 Pro: Xiaomi may decide against bringing this one

Xiaomi launched the Redmi 6 Pro earlier this week in China and while the Redmi Note 5 was launched in India only earlier this year, it is worth looking at how the Redmi 6 Pro stacks up against it when we put them side to side.

Looking at the smartphone renders upfront, the most striking difference between the Redmi 6 Pro and any other smartphone made by Xiaomi so far is the presence of a notch. The Redmi Note 5 Pro, on the other hand, does not have a notch but does sport a large 5.99-inch 18:9 full HD IPS display, as compared to the Redmi 6 Pro which despite the notch, only packs a 5.84-inch 19:9 full HD IPS display. What this means, is that the Redmi Note 5 Pro has a much bigger chassis as well as a marginally larger display when compared to the Redmi 6 Pro.

Turn the smartphone around and what you see is an identical looking back. We’ve seen Xiaomi replicate the back of the Redmi Note 5 Pro on the more budget-oriented Redmi Y2 and its stuck to the same layout for the Redmi 6 Pro as well. The vertical dual-camera setup and the fingerprint sensor are located in the same place on both phones.

Talking about internals, the Redmi Note 5 Pro features a more capable Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 SoC, while the Redmi 6 Pro gets the older Snapdragon 625 SoC. Things also differ when it comes to the RAM as the base variant of the Redmi 6 Pro gets 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage while the Note 5 Pro comes with a minimum of 4 GB RAM and 64 GB of storage. Both phones also offer higher variants with the Redmi 6 Pro being offered in a 4 GB RAM/32 GB storage and 4 GB/64 GB variant and the Note 5 Pro being offered in a 6 GB RAM/ 64 GB storage variant.

Both smartphones also feature a similar AI-powered dual-camera setup on the back but if you do look close enough, you will see the difference. It is the Redmi Note 5 Pro which has a minor edge here as well thanks to the presence of a 5 MP (f/2.0) secondary sensor while the Redmi 6 Pro gets a 5 MP (f/2.2) secondary sensor which allows the former to draw a little more light. The front camera is another area where the Note 5 Pro shows it superiority, featuring a 20 MP front camera while the 6 Pro gets an unimpressive 5 MP unit.

Moving on to the price of both the smartphones, the Redmi 6 Pro is yet to be launched in India and there is no official word on whether we will see it anytime soon, but we can use its China price for reference. The Redmi 6 Pro starts at CNY 999 which is approximately Rs 10,400 for the base variant while the Note 5 Pro was launched at Rs 13,999, now sells at Rs 14,999.

The choice, therefore, is quite simple. On paper, the Note 5 Pro does have an edge over the Redmi 6 Pro in almost all the departments and if Xiaomi does plan to bring the Redmi 6 Pro to India, they would be cannibalising their own products in the Redmi Note 5 and the Redmi Y2, given the pricing. The Redmi 6 Pro does come with a notch, making the Note 5 Pro look a little dated in design but the competition is still a little to one sided in favour of the 5 Pro.

Here’s a more detailed look at the specifications of the two phones:

| Smartphone | Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro | Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro

                                          149.3 x 71.7 x 8.8

| | Weight (gm) | 181 | 178 | | Dual SIM | Yes | Yes | | SIM Type | Nano-SIM | Nano-SIM | | Connectivity Types | GSM / HSPA / VoLTE |

GSM / HSPA / VoLTE

| | Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 |

Qualcomm Snapdragon 625

| | CPU Cores | Octa-core | Octa-core | | CPU Clock Speed (GHz) | 4x Kryo 260 @ up to 1.8 GHz & 4x Kryo 260 @ up to 1.6 GHz |

8x Cortex-A53 @ 2.0 GHz

| | GPU | Adreno 509 | Adreno 506 | | RAM | 4,6 GB | 3,4 GB | | Ruggedness | – | - | | On-Board Memory | 64, 128 GB | 32, 64 GB | | Expandable Memory | Yes, upto 256 GB |

Yes, upto 256 GB

| | Sensors | Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Compass |

Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Compass

| | Primary Camera | 12 MP, f/2.2 and 5 MP, f/2.0 |

12 MP, f/2.2 and 5 MP, f/2.2

| | Optical Image Stabilization | - | - | | Camera Array | Dual Camera | Dual Camera | | Autofocus System | Phase detection | Phase detection | | Secondary Camera | 20 MP | 5 MP | | Video Capture | 1080p | 1080p | | Flash | Dual-LED | Dual-LED | | OS Version | Android 7.1.1 Nougat-based MIUI 9.2 |

Android Oreo 8.1 Oreo-based MIUI 10

| | AI (Smart Assistant) | Google Assistant | Google Assistant | | GPS | Yes | Yes | | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot |

Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot

| | Bluetooth | v4.2, A2DP, LE | v4.2, A2DP, LE | | NFC | No | No | | Infrared | Yes | Yes | | Fingerprint Scanner | Yes, Rear button | Yes, Rear button | | 3.5 mm jack | Yes | Yes | | Radio | Yes, FM Radio | Yes, FM Radio | | USB Type | microUSB v2.0 | microUSB v2.0 | | USB Standard | USB v2.0 | USB v2.0 | | Battery (mAh) | 4,000 | 4,000 | | Fast charging | No | No | | Colours | Black, Gold, Rose Gold, Blue |

Black, Blue, Gold, Rose Gold, Red

| | Prices in India | Rs 14,999 | Approximately Rs 10,400 |