Micromax, after a while, has launched another budget-centric smartphone, the Bharat 5 Pro, in India. The smartphone comes with a price tag of Rs 7,999 and it will be available across offline stores starting from next week in Black colour option.
Micromax has recently shifted its focus to the budget segment with its Bharat series. The brand has launched a slew of products in the budget category in the recent past. However, this particular segment is highly competitive with brands like Xiaomi, Motorola, Samsung and more their best to capture a sizeable market share. And the forerunner in the segment is Xiaomi. The brand recently launched Redmi 5 in India. The base model comes with 2GB of RAM comes with a price tag of Rs 7,999, which is same as Bharat 5 Pro. So, lets get down to a comparison between the twowith a step-by-step comparison of the Micromax Bharat 5 Pro and Xiaomi Redmi 5.
Design
Starting with the design, both the smartphones come out well in the looks department. The Xiaomi Redmi 5 looks a tad similar to its elder sibling, the Redmi Note 5 which is not a bad thing at all, while the Bharat 5 Pro has a fair resemblance to other smartphones available at this price range. However, the major difference between both the devices is the display. The Xiaomi Redmi 5 sports 18:9 display, whereas, the Bharat 5 Pro comes with standard 16:9 display.
That said, the Bharat 5 Pro is compact with a small display. In terms of body, the Redmi 5 sports a metal unibody, though Micromax has not revealed whether it is using metal body or a plastic one. So, the choice is up to you. If you want a compact smartphone and if you are comfortable with a small screen, then Micromax Bharat 5 Pro seems to be an option for you. Other than this, Redmi 5 has all the reason to be on the top of your list.
Winner: Redmi Pro seems to be edging this one.
Display
Micromax was one of the early adopters of the latest 18:9 display with Canvas Infinity. But it seems that the brand has discarded this trend in favour of standard 16:9 aspect ratio. The smartphone comes loaded with a 5.2-inch HD display with a screen resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels.
The Xiaomi Redmi 5 is offering a bigger and better display with its 5.7-inch HD+ IPS screen with a resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels. The display present on the Redmi 5 has a better resolution and with 450nits brightness, it is surely brighter than the Bharat 5 Pro. Plus, the Redmi 5 sports night display, 72 percent NTSC colour gamut and a Pixel density of 282ppi, which makes it a more desirable option. So, this rounds surely goes to the Redmi 5.
Winner: Xiaomi Redmi 5
Hardware
On the hardware front, the Micromax Bharat 5 Pro is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6737 processor. The device is backed by 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. Further, the storage can be further expandable up to 64GB via micro SD card slot.On the connectivity front, the device supports 4G VoLTE, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, Dual-SIM and Micro USB port.
The Xiaomi Redmi 5 is powered by a 1.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 450 processor, along with Adreno 506 GPU. It is backed by a 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, which can be further expanded up to 256GB via micro SD card. Besides, the smartphone offers Dual SIM, 4G LTE, WiFi (802.11 b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, and a micro USB port.
Clearly, the Xiaomi Redmi 5 is more powerful in terms of computing power with the latest Snapdragon 450 processor, while the Bharat 5 Pro runs on an older MediaTek processor. However, the Bharat 5 Pro comes with better RAM and storage option as compared to the Redmi 5. So, if you are ready to ignore the RAM and storage for a more optimized processor and new display, then Redmi 5 is the option for you, otherwise, the Micromax Bharat 5 Pro has better RAM and storage option. So, we are going to give the Micromax corner the EDGE in this one, though it’s as close as it can get.
Winner: The Bharat Pro, by the thinnest of margins.
Camera
On the camera front, the Micromax Bharat 5 Pro features a 13-megapixel rear and 5-megapixel front cameras with LED flash with autofocus. The Xiaomi Redmi 5 also features a 13-megapixel rear camera with large 1.25-micron pixel size, 5-element lens, f/2.2 Aperture and PDAF along with LED flash. For the front, there is a 5-megapixel shooter with selfie flash.
Both of the smartphones feature similar camera specifications, so let’s dive deep into minute details. The Redmi 5 feature a large 1.25-micron pixel size, which means that more light will enter the sensor, thus, you should ideally better low light performance. Further, the Phase Detection Autofocus simply means that the camera on the Redmi 5 will be able to focus faster as compared to other smartphones out there. Xiaomi Redmi 5 has a clear edge over the Bharat 5 Pro here.
Winner: Xiaomi Redmi 5
Software
On the software front, both the smartphones run on Android Nougat. On the one hand, Micromax user interface is not the best out there, while the MIUI 9 in Redmi 5 surely offers a host of interesting features and it is safe to say that it more optimized than the UI present in the Bharat 5 Pro. So, with a box full of features and customizations, Xiaomi Redmi 5’s user interface looks the more desirable option. But, then, it all boils down to consumer preferences, an area where Xiaomi’s bigger sales numbers would make it the clear winner.
Winner: Xiaomi Redmi 5
Battery
This is where it gets interesting. The Xiaomi Redmi 5 is backed by a 3200mAh battery, while the Micromax Bharat 5 Pro is backed by a massive 5000mAh battery. Micromax claims that the smartphone can last up to 2 days and gives a Standby time of 21 days. Further, users can use the phone to charge other smart devices through via OTG cable. In a category where charging a pain, and the battery really swings decisions, the Bharat 5 Pro wins this round like a piece of cake.
Winner: Micromax Bharat 5 Pro
Verdict
Xiaomi’s full upgrade of its range to 18:9 aspect on display and better cameras are both moves that have served it well here. That said, the Micromax puts up a strong fight when it comes to what some consumer segments really value, be it battery, or hardware like RAM and storage.
To conclude, both the smartphones do give pretty interesting features at this price point. Both of them comes loaded with Face unlock feature. The Micromax Bharat 5 Pro features a compact design, while the Redmi 5 comes loaded with a sturdier look and the latest display, which is much better in every regard. The former provides you with better RAM and storage option, while the latter sports a better and more optimized processor.
So, if you want a compact smartphone with longer battery life than Bharat 5 Pro seems to be an option for you. Otherwise, Xiaomi Redmi 5 is one option to consider if you want the latest display and optimized processor with a solid camera and looks.