Kryx Gael Diaz Cruz asks, “Which is better: Huawei GR5 2017 or Xiaomi Mi A1?“
In this, we will be comparing a community favorite smartphone with the brand that wins the hearts of many readers. Let’s start!
The Huawei GR5 2017 has been around for quite some time now and has been proven as one of the best mid-range smartphones out there. It has a 5.5“ IPS LCD display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, a Kirin 655 chipset, a 32GB internal storage, a 3GB RAM, a 12MP + 2MP dual rear cameras with LED flash, an 8MP wide-angle front camera, and a 3,340 battery to power up the smartphone.
The Xiaomi Mi A1 is one of the most anticipated smartphones by our readers, following the fame of the Redmi Note 4X. It has a 5.5“ IPS display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, a Snapdragon 625 chipset, a 64GB internal storage, a 4GB RAM, a 12MP (wide-angle) + 12MP (telephoto with 2x zoom) dual rear cameras with LED flash, an 8MP front camera, and a 3,080 battery to power up the device.
Here are their detailed specs:
| Huawei GR5 2017 | Xiaomi Mi A1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 5.5-inch IPS LCD display @ 1920 x 1080 pixels | 5.5-inch Full HD IPS display @ 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| CPU | HiSilicon Kirin 655 2.1GHz octa-core | Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa-core |
| GPU | Mali-T830 | Adreno 506 |
| Memory | – 32GB internal storage – 3GB RAM | – 64GB internal storage – 4GB RAM |
| Camera | – Dual rear cameras (12MP/2MP) with LED flash – 8MP wide-angle front camera | – 12MP wide-angle + 12MP telephoto (2x zoom) dual rear cameras with LED flash – 8MP front camera |
| Battery | 3,340mAh Li-Ion battery | 3,080mAh battery |
| OS | Android 6.0 Marshmallow with EMUI 4.1 | Pure Android 7.1.2 Nougat (Android 8.0 Oreo within 2017) |
Here are the advantages of each smartphone.
Huawei GR5 2017
+ Larger battery
+ Wide-angle front camera
Xiaomi Mi A1
+ Better performing CPU
+ Better performing GPU
+ Larger internal storage capacity
+ Larger RAM
+ Dual 12MP cameras
+ USB Type-C
+ Vanilla Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box
Since we do not have a unit for the Mi A1 yet, we will look at this comparison based on papers. Starting from their screen, they both have the same IPS LCD display and 1080p resolution.
In terms of memory, the Mi A1 has a larger 64GB internal storage and 4GB RAM compared to the 32GB internal storage and 3GB RAM of the GR5 2017.
For overall performance, the Xiaomi Mi A1 gives a better performance with its Snapdragon 625 CPU and Adreno 506 GPU. The difference of CPU performance, however, is not that distant with GR5 2017’s Kirin 655 but, its Mali T830 GPU has a significant difference when compared with the Adreno 506 GPU. The SD 625 is also known for its power efficiency which means that it will save more battery life.
For camera quality, the advantage of GR5 2017’s camera feature is that it has a wide-angle lens for the front camera. The Mi A1 has a wide-angle lens and a 2x photo zoom on its rear cameras. Since we do not have a unit for the Mi A1 yet, we cannot provide sample photos for it but we have sample photos from the GR5 2017 here.
As for the battery life, The GR5 2017 has a slightly larger battery compared with the Mi A1, however, it doesn’t mean that it outlasts the latter.
Both smartphones have good mid-range specs so it’s still a win-win situation for users who plans to buy either one of them. One disadvantage of Xiaomi phones, however, is that there are little to no official concept stores of this brand in the country yet so users will rely on other resellers (many of which doesn’t have warranties).
The Huawei GR5 2017 is priced at Php11,990 (see price listing here) while the Xiaomi Mi A1 is priced at RMS14,999 (~Php12,000 without the tax) and has just started outing on India last September 12.
Which smartphone would you choose? Let us know in the comments section below.
