In this specs comparison, we put three smartphones side-by-side to see which has the upper hand in different aspects. The Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus versus the Huawei Nova 2i is highly requested by the readers but there’s one more that we can add to the mix — the Infinix Zero 5. Let’s start!
The Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus was released in December last year and it is available in the Philippines for purchase. It has a 5.99″ FHD+ display with 2160 x 1080 resolution, a Snapdragon 625 processor, a 32GB/64GB internal storage, a 3GB/4GB RAM, a 12MP rear camera with dual-tone dual LED flash, a 5MP front camera with soft-light LED flash, and a 4,000mAh battery with fast charging.
The Huawei Nova 2i has been around since last year and is one of the most popular devices in the market. It has a 5.9″ 18:9 IPS LCD FHD+ display with 2160 x 1080 resolution, a Kirin 659 processor, a 64GB internal storage, a 4GB RAM, a 16MP + 2MP rear cameras with LED flash, a 13MP + 2MP front cameras, and a 3,340mAh battery.
The Infinix Zero 5 is the company’s latest smartphone sporting a decent processor and a large RAM capacity. It has a 5.98″ 16:9 FHD IPS display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, a MediaTek Helio P25 processor, a 64GB internal storage, a 6GB RAM, a 12MP + 13MP rear cameras with dual-tone LED flash, a 16MP front camera with LED flash, and a 4,350mAh battery with fast charging.
Here are their detailed specs:
| Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus | Huawei Nova 2i | Infinix Zero 5 |
|---|---|---|
| 5.99-inch 18:9 FHD+ display @ 1080 x 2160 pixels | 5.9-inch 18:9 IPS LCD display @ 2160 x 1080 pixels | 5.98-inch 16:9 FHD IPS display @ 1080 x 1920 pixels |
| 2.0Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 Octa-core | HiSilicon Kirin 659 2.36GHz octa-core | 2.6GHz MediaTek Helio P25 MT6757 Octa-Core |
| Adreno 506 | Mali-T830 MP2 | Mali-T880 MP2 |
| 32GB or 64GB Internal Storage | 64GB internal storage | 64GB Internal Storage |
| 3GB or 4GB RAM | 4GB LPDDR3 RAM | 6GB LPDDR4X RAM |
| expandable via microSD up to 128GB (uses SIM2) | expandable via microSD up to 256GB (uses SIM2) | expandable via microSD up to 128GB (dedicated) |
| 12MP Rear camera with 1.25-micron pixel sensor and dual-LED Flash | 16MP+2MP rear cameras, f/2.2 with LED Flash | 12MP, f/2.0 + 13MP telephoto, f/2.6, 2x optical zoom rear cameras, with dual-tone LED flash |
| 5MP front camera with soft-light LED | 13MP+2MP front cameras, f/2.0 | 16MP f/2.0 aperture front camera with LED flash |
| 4G LTE | 4G VoLTE | 4G VoLTE |
| Dual SIM (Nano, Hybrid) | Hybrid Dual-SIM (nano+nano/microSD) | Dual-SIM (micro) |
| WiFi 802.11 b/g/n | WiFi 802.11 b/g/n | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n |
| Bluetooth 4.2 | Bluetooth 4.2 | Bluetooth 4.2 |
| GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS | GPS with aGPS support, GLONASS | GPS |
| IR Blaster | - | - |
| Fingerprint scanner (rear-mounted) | Fingerprint Scanner | Fingerprint Scanner |
| micro-USB | micro-USB | USB Type-C |
| Android 7.1.2 Nougat with MIUI 9 | Android 7 Nougat with Huawei EMUI 5.1 | Android 7.0 Nougat with XOS 3.0 |
| 4,000mAh Battery | 3,340mAh Li-Ion battery | 4,350mAh battery |
| Fast charging | - | Fast charging |
| 158.5 x 75.5 x 8.1 mm | 156.2 × 75.2 × 7.5mm | 166.38 x 82.38 x 7.95mm |
| 180 g | 164 grams | 197g |
Here are the advantages of each smartphone:
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
+ Largest screen size by 0.01-inch
+ IR Blaster
+ Android 7.1.2 out-of-the-box
Huawei Nova 2i
+ Expandable up to 256GB
+ Highest rear camera resolution
+ Lightest smartphone
Infinix Zero 5
+ Best performing CPU
+ Best performing GPU
+ Largest RAM capacity
+ dedicated microSD card
+ Highest front camera resolution
+ USB Type-C
Here are the rankings of each key aspects:
Table of Contents
Users who are fond of watching videos can choose any of these devices since all mentioned smartphones have a large, almost 6-inch screens. The Redmi 5 Plus and Nova 2i have the upper-hand because of their 18:9 screen aspect ratio with a higher vertical resolution.
The Snapdragon 625 is the most optimized and power efficient due to its 14nm architecture while the Kirin 659 and Helio P25 both have a 16nm. In terms of clock speed, the Helio P25 has the best performing processor among the three. The Snapdragon 625 is the least performing but it is not that far from the Kirin 659. Overall, all processors are good for mid-range smartphones.
The Mali-T880 GPU of the Zero 5 is the best performing one, with the Redmi 5 Plus’ Adreno 506 coming second and the Nova 2i’s Mali-T830 last. Playing with mid-graphics games won’t pose any problems to all GPUs but the Mali-T830 will fall behind when tested when it comes to graphics-intensive games.
Basing on camera resolution alone, the highest rear camera resolution among the three is the Nova 2i. As for the front camera resolution, the Zero 5 has the highest one. Be wary that it is not all about having the highest camera resolutions since there are still a lot of factors to be considered when choosing a good camera smartphone. We have taken sample shots from the Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus and Huawei Nova 2i that users can check out.
Zero 5 has the highest battery capacity among the three. The Redmi 5 Plus comes second while Nova 2i goes last. We’re yet to test the battery life of the first and second one so we will be updating this article as soon as our review comes out. Both of them also have fast charging technology in which the Nova 2i lacks.
The Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus, Huawei Nova 2i, and Infinix Zero 5 are priced at Php9,800 (see price listing here), Php14,990, and Php13,999 (see price listing here), respectively. This makes the Redmi 5 Plus the most affordable but this is based on an online store listing without official warranty. The Nova 2i and Zero 5 are close by a difference of less than Php1K.
Here’s our recommendation, if users want to have the best viewing experience, they can choose between the Redmi 5 Plus and the Nova 2i. For performance and gaming potential, they can go for the Zero 5. If they want to have a smartphone with a high camera resolution, they can pick Nova 2i (rear camera) or the Zero 5 (front camera). If budget is a problem, the Redmi 5 Plus is the best option.
What do you guys think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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Kao says:
thanks for this specs comparison, I think for my budget Redmi 5 plus is a great compromise.
tae says:
Redmi 5 plus slays the others
sayote says:
haha redmi kills them with its price