The entry-level segment of the smartphones market is expanding every day more and now even more people are preferring affordable devices to flagships compared to the past years. Vivo, Oppo, and Huawei are the most important manufacturers of affordable smartphones alongside Xiaomi. Vivo Y91 just hitten Indian shelves with a very interesting price tag and it seems to be a unique entry-level device judging from its specifications. Here, we will compare it with other interesting low-end devices launched recently which raised a consistent amount of hype in the last period: Realme C1 from the new Oppo’s sub-brand and the new Honor Play 8A.
Vivo Y91 vs Oppo Realme C1 vs Huawei Honor Play 8A
| Vivo Y91 | Oppo Realme C1 | Honor Play 8A | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT | 155.1 x 75.1 x 8.3 mm, 163 grams | 156.2 x 75.6 x 8.2 mm, 168 grams | 156.28 x 73.5 x 8 mm, 150 grams |
| DISPLAY | 6.22 inches, 720 x 1520p (HD+), 270 ppi, IPS LCD | 6.2 inches, 720 x 1520p (HD+), 271 ppi, IPS LCD | 6.09 inches, 720 x 1560p (HD+), 290 ppi, IPS LCD |
| PROCESSOR | Qualcomm Snapdragon 439, octa-core 1.95 GHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon 450, octa-core 1.8 GHz | MediaTek Helio P35, octa-core 2.3 GHz |
| MEMORY | 3 GB RAM, 32 GB – micro SD slot | 2 GB RAM, 16 GB – micro SD dedicated slot | 3 GB RAM, 32 GB – 3 GB RAM, 64 GB – micro SD slot |
| SOFTWARE | Android 8.1 Oreo, Funtouch OS | Android 8.1 Oreo, Color OS | Android 9 Pie, EMUI |
| CONNECTIVITY | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS |
| CAMERA | Dual 13 + 2 MP f/2.2 and f/2.4 8 MP f/1.8 front camera |
Dual 13 + 2 MP f/2.2 and f/2.4 5 MP f/2.2 front camera |
13 MP f/1.8 8 MP f/2.0 front camera |
| BATTERY | 4030 mAh | 4230 mAh | 3000 mAh |
| ADDITIONAL FEATURES | Hybrid Dual SIM slot | Dual SIM slot | Hybrid Dual SIM slot |
Design
It is very rare that a Vivo handset comes with an ugly design: in the last years, the company managed to release incredibly beautiful and innovative devices. Vivo Y91 wins the design comparison with its very high screen-to-body ratio, its waterdrop notch and its gradient colors that you can see on the back cover. It is also the only device of this trio to feature a fingerprint reader, that is placed on the back side of the phone. But some may like the Honor Play 8A more due to its cleaner design and an even smaller notch, but it comes with slightly thicker bezels. Realme C1 is nothing so exciting with its plastic body and its pretty big notch, but it seems to have better build quality.
Display
Oppo Realme C1, Vivo Y91, and Honor Play 8A are all equipped with low-end HD displays, so do not expect a huge image quality. You will not see a noticeable difference in both level of detail and color reproduction, so you can choose by basing on your tastes. Note that Honor Play 8A has a slightly smaller screen that is more comfortable to use with one hand, while Realme C1 has the Gorilla Glass 3 protection that should make it more sturdy.
Specs & Software
Even though it is more affordable than Vivo Y91, the Honor Play 8A is equipped with the most powerful chipset, so it is the handset that will provide the best performance. It comes with the new Helio P35 by Mediatek which can be compared with the Snapdragon 632 by Qualcomm, 3 GB of RAM and up to 64 GB of internal storage that you can furtherly expand with a micro SD. Vivo Y91 and Realme C1 come with low-end Snapdragon 400 series chipsets that can not compete with the Helio P35.
Camera
Despite not being a dual camera setup, I liked a lot the rear camera of the Honor Play 8A because of the high detail captured and decent performance in low light, that is the weakest point of mobile phones, especially entry-level ones. But Vivo Y91 has a better selfie camera and it is also better at capturing depth info thanks to its secondary sensor. Realme C1 has a rear module with similar performances to Vivo Y91, but the front camera is inferior.
Battery
If you want the longest battery life, you should go either for the Vivo Y91 or the Realme C1. The former as a slightly smaller battery but a more efficient chipset, while the latter has a bigger one but an older 14 nm chipset that has a higher consumption. But more or less, they have similar battery life and it is incredibly long given that they have HD+ displays and low-end specs. Honor Play 8A has a much smaller battery so it is not able to compete with these devices and it can last about one day with slightly above-average battery life in every scenario.
Price
In our opinion, Vivo Y91 is slightly better than Honor Play 8A and Realme C1 due to its big battery, good cameras, the fingerprint reader and a slightly more attractive design. But its price is a lot higher: it costs about €200/$227, while its rivals can be found at just €100/$115 more or less. That is why we think Honor Play 8A has the best value for money with its better performance and good cameras.
Vivo Y91 vs Oppo Realme C1 vs Huawei Honor Play 8A: PROs and CONS
Oppo Realme C1
PROs
- Bigger battery
- Micro SD dedicated slot
- Good build quality
- Affordable
CONS
- Lower-end cameras
Vivo Y91
PROs
- Big battery
- Good design
- Great front camera
- Fingerprint reader
CONS
- Price
Huawei Honor Play 8A
PROs
- Very affordable
- Good rear camera
- Nice hardware
- Android Pie
- Micro SD dedicated slot
CONS
- Smaller battery
