Xiaomi Redmi 5A Vs Redmi 4A: Let's pinpoint the differences

Xiaomi's Redmi 4A and Redmi 5A, on the face of it, are more or less the same deal. In fact, for most people, the differences between the two phones would be hard to pin-point chiefly because there are very few differences - and subtle ones at that - between both the phones to warrant an upgrade. Both the phones also hover around the same price point, which means both of them are ultra-affordable phones.  

Xiaomi Redmi 5A Vs Redmi 4A: The similarities

1. The Redmi 4A shared its DNA with the Mi 4i, according to Xiaomi. The Redmi 4A, as a result, was an all-plastic, a trade-off that seemed fair considering its Rs 5,999 price tag. A metal body or the lack of it isn't necessarily a deal breaker, especially in this price segment. Because the Redmi 4A shared its DNA with the Mi 4i, it didn't matter whether it was plastic or metal: it was beautiful and ergonomic. It was a good looking plastic phone, the Redmi 4A, and it certainly felt very nice too. Just like the Mi 4i, the Redmi 4A had a slight matte finish on the back that was smooth to the touch and because the rear seamlessly wrapped around its front, the phone felt all the more comfortable in the hands. If you liked the Redmi 4A, chances are you'll like the Redmi 5A as well, because both the phones are exact replicas.

2. Just like the Redmi 4A, the Redmi 5A is also an all-plastic phone, a trade-off that seems fair considering its low price tag. The Redmi 5A, again like the Redmi 4A, doesn't ship with a fingerprint scanner. The right edge houses the volume rocker and the power button while the left edge houses a hybrid card slot for one SIM and one micro-SD or two SIM cards (micro + nano) and no micro-SD. The speaker vent is, meanwhile, located on the lower end of the back. The phone comes with physical capacitive keys at the front that are non-backlit.

3. The Redmi 4A came with a 5-inch 720p (HD) IPS display. The quality of the panel, in the case of the Redmi 4A, may not have been as good as the one on-board the Redmi 3S, but, at its price point, the Redmi 4A could afford to get away with it. Colours looked rich and vibrant -- a little warm by default -- but there was a manual mode inside that helped achieve slightly better results. Brightness levels left a lot to be desired, so did the phone's viewing angles. At its price point, though, you were bound to overlook some of its shortcomings in this regard since overall there wasn't anything major to complain about the phone's display that could have been a deal breaker. If you liked the display on-board the Redmi 4A, chances are you'll like the display on-board the Redmi 5A as well, because both the phones ship with the same display specs.

4. The Redmi 4A came with an entry-level 1.4GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processer coupled with Adreno 308 GPU. It came with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory which was expandable via a micro-SD hybrid card slot.

5. The Redmi 4A with a Snapdragon 425 may not have inspired the same level of confidence as a certain Redmi 3S with a Snapdragon 430, but, that was beside the point. The Redmi 4A wasn't looking to replace the Redmi 3S. It was merely looking to offer a cheaper alternative. It may not have been as powerful (and as power efficient) but it was certainly no slouch either. In fact, at its price point, the Xiaomi Redmi 4A, still remains to be the most powerful (and most power-efficient) smartphone that you can buy in the Indian market right now. The Redmi 5A ships with the same core hardware as the Redmi 4A and should technically entail in more or less similar all-round performance.

6. Both the phones support 4G LTE, VoLTE and USB OTG. Both the phones have a mono speaker setup on-board which is located at the back. Both the phones come with an IR-blaster that can be used (in tandem with the Mi Remote app or even some third-party solutions) to control smart home appliances.

7. On the camera front, the Redmi 4Acame with a 13-megapixel camera on the rear with f/2.2 aperture, autofocus along with an LED flash. On the front you got a 5-megapixel snapper. The phone captured some good-looking photos in good light with good amount of detail and mostly spot-on colours. But, zooming into these photos -- more often than not -- gave out the real picture. It wasn't that good. Noise was quite evident and resolved detail missing. The phone had a rather hit or miss camera in good light. Still, it sufficed for most budget-conscious buyers. To recall, the Redmi 4A was not a bad camera phone, it was just inconsistent. It was a pretty disappointing camera phone in tricky and low light though. The Redmi 5A ships with the same core camera hardware as the Redmi 4A and should technically entail in more or less similar all-round performance. It could be slightly better if Xiaomi has found a way to improve its post-processing algorithm for all we know.

Xiaomi Redmi 5A Vs Redmi 4A: The differences

1. On the software front, the Redmi 4A came with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow-based MIUI 8 out-of-the-box. The Redmi 5A, on the other hand, runs Android Nougat-based MIUI 9. The MIUI 9 update is said to offer explosively fast app launch times on the back of "optimised haptic feedback, intelligent CPU acceleration and optimised thread scheduling." Xiaomi is touting three key features -- in addition to fast app launch times -- that set the MIUI 9 apart from its predecessor, the MIUI 8:

-- Universal search is said to be a powerful search engine on a Xiaomi phone that can differentiate your image like you do by typing in keywords.

-- Dynamic resource allocation is said to allocate priority to in-use apps to let you enjoy a fluent experience, on basis of critical thinking algorithm.

-- Smart assistant is said to be the easiest way to find anything and almost everything at your will.

2. The Redmi 4A was backed by a 3,120mAh battery. Moderate to extreme usage saw us cross the one whole day barrier with ease. Extreme usage scenarios got us close to 14 hours on the Redmi 4A, which was kind of amazing. The Redmi 5A is backed by a slightly smaller 3,000mAh battery.