After the so-called best-buy Redmi Note 7, Xiaomi announced the even more affordable Redmi 7 that will sell in China for less than €100. It carries a very affordable and entry-level price even though it offers superior specifications to the typical low-end handset. But is it the best device in its price range or there are better alternatives? Among its most quoted rivals, there are the Realme 3 by Oppo and the Asus Zenfone Max M2. With this comparison, we will try to let you find out if you can get a better device than the Redmi 7 at a similar price or the new Xiaomi’s affordable phone is the number one.

 

Xiaomi Redmi 7 vs Asus Zenfone Max (M2) vs Oppo Realme 3

Xiaomi Redmi 7 Oppo Realme 3 Asus Zenfone Max M2
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT 158.7 x 75.6 x 8.5 mm, 180 grams 156.1 x 75.6 x 8.3 mm, 175 grams 158.4 x 76.3 x 7.7 mm, 160 grams
DISPLAY 6.26 inches, 720 x 1520p (HD+), 269 ppi, IPS LCD 6.22 inches, 720 x 1520p (HD+), 270 ppi, IPS LCD 6.3 inches, 720 x 1520p (HD+), 267 ppi, IPS LCD
PROCESSOR Qualcomm Snapdragon 632, octa-core 1.8 GHz  MediaTek Helio P60, octa-core 2 GHz or MediaTek Helio P70 octa-core 2.1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 632, octa-core 1.8 GHz
MEMORY 2 GB RAM, 16 GB – 3 GB RAM, 32 GB – 4 GB RAM, 64 GB – micro SD dedicated slot 3 GB RAM, 32 GB – 4 GB RAM, 64 GB – micro SD dedicated slot 3 GB RAM, 32 GB – micro SD dedicated slot
SOFTWARE Android 9 Pie, MIUI Android 9 Pie, Color OS  Android 8.1 Oreo
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 12 +2 MP f/2.2
8 MP front camera		 Dual 13 + 2 MP f/1.8
13 MP f/2.0 front camera		 Dual 13 +2 MP
8 MP front camera
BATTERY 4000 mAh, fast charging 4230 mAh, fast charging  4000 mAh
ADDITIONAL FEATURES Dual SIM slot, P2i nano hydrophobic coating Dual SIM slot  Dual SIM slot

Design

Are you searching for a beautiful and futuristic phone? If so, you should absolutely go either for the Xiaomi Redmi 7 or the Oppo Realme 3. They come with stunning rear sides with gradient colors and waterdrop notches which help to reduce the bezels around the display. I would personally choose the Xiaomi Redmi 7 because it even offers a hydrophobic coating, while the Realme 3 does not provide any kind of water resistance.

 

Display

Unfortunately, you get a below-average display in each case. These panels stop to the HD+ resolution and they do not provide a high level of detail, but they are still sufficient for everything. You may like the Oppo Realme 3 and the Xiaomi Redmi 7 more because of their smaller notches, but all of these devices offer more or less the same display quality. All of them come with an IPS LCD panel, the same pixel density, and a similar screen-to-body ratio.

 

Specs & Software

The hardware side may seriously make you take a decision. The Realme 3 comes with a MediaTek SoC, but even though people like MediaTek chipsets less than Snapdragon ones by Qualcomm, the Helio P70 found on the Realme 3 is much more powerful than the Snapdragon 632 that you can find on the Redmi 7 and Asus Zenfone Max M2. So, you would get definitely better performances with the Realme 3. Note that Realme 3 also comes in a more affordable version with Helio P60, and that is the one with a similar price tag to the Redmi 7. Asus Zenfone Max M2 and Redmi 7 come with the same chipset and the same memory configurations, except for the lower-end 2/16 GB variant which is only available with the Redmi 7. Oppo Realme 3 and Redmi 7 come with Android Pie out of the box and highly customized user interfaces, while Asus Zenfone Max M2 is still based on Android Oreo out of the box. However, the update to Android Pie for the Asus Zenfone Max M2 is already confirmed.

 

Camera

We still had no chance to test the cameras of the Redmi 7 but, judging from the specs on the paper, Asus Zenfone Max M2 is a better camera phone. It has a brighter focal aperture for the main rear sensor, 4K video recording and even a selfie camera with a front-facing LED flash. The second place should go to the Realme 3 which comes with the same bright aperture and a front camera that may be even better. Things may change after we tested the Redmi 7 that is the only phone of this trio which can record 1080p videos at 60 fps. It does not seem excellent on the paper, but the software will play an important role here.

 

Battery

The battery is the strongest point of all the devices from this trio. They all come with a huge battery compared with their components which have a low energy consumption. The Oppo Realme 3 has a slightly bigger battery than its rivals, but it does not mean that it will last more on a single charge as Redmi 7 and Asus Zenfone Max M2 are equipped with a very efficient Snapdragon 632 chipset, while Realme 3 comes with a more powerful Helio P60/P70. Anyways, you should get similar battery life in most of the scenarios, so we do not suggest you choose one of these handsets by basing on the battery life only. Note that Xiaomi Redmi 7 and Oppo Realme 3 come with 10W fast charging, while the Asus Zenfone Max M2 does not, so it takes a little bit more to fully charge.

 

Price

If you live in China or India, you will soon be able to get a unit of the Xiaomi Redmi 7 for just €92 in its base variant with 2 GB RAM and 16 GB of internal storage, while Realme 3 and Asus Zenfone Max M2 start from about €115 and €110 respectively, in their 3/32 GB configuration. I would go for the Realme 3 due to its higher-end chipset.

 

Xiaomi Redmi 7 vs Asus Zenfone Max (M2) vs Oppo Realme 3: PROs and CONS

Asus Zenfone Max M2

PROs

  • Great battery life
  • Micro SD dedicated slot
  • Thin body
  • Front-facing flash

CONS

  • HD display

 

Xiaomi Redmi 7

PROs

  • Hydrophobic coating
  • Big battery
  • Good design
  • Affordable price
  • Micro SD dedicated slot

CONS

  • HD display

 

Oppo Realme 3

PROs

  • High performance
  • Big battery
  • Micro SD dedicated slot
  • Good cameras

CONS

  • HD display

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