The most important Chinese companies are focusing a lot on the global market in the latest years. The A series from Xiaomi created for the global market became so important that even Android One gained a lot of popularity thanks to this line-up. And now, the iconic series has a successor: Xiaomi Mi A3. But besides Xiaomi, even Oppo and Vivo released new mid-rangers for the global market. Oppo came up with the Reno Z, the most affordable variant of the Reno series, while Vivo launched the global version of the Vivo S1. If you live outside China, this specs comparison may be very useful if you are looking for a new mid-ranger.

 

Xiaomi Mi A3 vs Vivo S1 vs Oppo Reno Z

Xiaomi Mi A3 Vivo S1 Oppo Reno Z
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT 153.5 x 71.9 x 8.5 mm, 173.8 grams 159.53 × 75.23 × 8.13mm, 179.5 grams 157.3 x 74.9 x 9.1 mm, 186 grams
DISPLAY 6.01 inches, 720 x 1560p (HD+), 286 ppi, Super AMOLED 6.38 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), 404 ppi, Super AMOLED 6.4 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), 403 ppi, AMOLED
PROCESSOR Qualcomm Snapdragon 665, octa-core 2 GHz Mediatek Helio P65, octa-core 2 GHz Mediatek Helio P90, octa-core 2.2 GHz
MEMORY 4 GB RAM, 64 GB   – 6 GB RAM, 128 GB – micro SD slot 4 GB RAM, 128 GB  – micro SD slot 6 GB RAM, 128 GB – 6 GB RAM, 256 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB
SOFTWARE Android 9 Pie, Android One Android 9 Pie, Funtouch OS Android 9 Pie, Color OS
CONNECTIVITY Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5, GPS Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5, GPS  Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5, GPS
CAMERA Triple 24 + 8 + 2 MP f/1.8, f/2.2 and f/2.4
32 MP f/2.0 front camera		 Triple 16 + 8 + 5 MP f/1.8, f/2.2 and f/2.4
32 MP f/2.0 front camera		 Dual 48 + 5 MP f/1.7 and f/2.4
32 MP f/2.0 front camera
BATTERY 4030 mAh, fast charging 10W 4500 mAh, fast charging 4035 mAh, fast charging 20W
ADDITIONAL FEATURES Hybrid Dual SIM slot Hybrid Dual SIM slot  Dual SIM slot

Design

One of the best qualities of the Xiaomi Mi A3 is its amazing design alongside its build quality. Despite it is a budget phone, it is equipped with a glass rear back with very suggestive light effects which vary depending on light reflection, as well as an aluminum frame and the strong Gorilla Glass 5 protection. It is beautiful and it is even the most compact phone of the trio, despite the presence of a big battery. Even Oppo Reno Z and Vivo S1 come with an original design and solid materials, but they have a plastic frame instead of a metal one, so a less solid build quality and a less elegant design.

 

Display

While in my opinion, Xiaomi Mi A3 is the winner of the design comparison, it loses immediately when it comes to the display. The reason why we exclude it at the beginning is a too low resolution of the panel: someone considers Xiaomi Mi A3 a downgrade of the predecessor Mi A2 because it has just an HD+ resolution. Vivo S1 and Oppo Reno Z have Full HD+ and AMOLED display, so definitely better. Between these twos, Oppo Reno Z should be the winner because it is HDR10-compliant and it should be able to show richer colors.

 

Specs & Software

A lot of people associate Mediatek chipsets to low performances, but it is not so: MediaTek improved its processor a lot in the last period, despite it does not produce flagship chipsets anymore. As Master Lu showed, the Helio P90 is one of the best chipsets in terms of AI performance, and it is on board of the Oppo Reno Z. Further, we also believe that thanks to the Helio P90, Oppo Reno Z will perform better than Xiaomi Mi A3 and Vivo S1 in most of the scenarios. It even has more RAM: 6 or 8 GB depending on the chosen configuration, while Xiaomi Mi A3 and Vivo S1 stop at just 4 GB. Last but not least, Oppo Reno Z comes with up to 256 GB of internal storage (instead of 128 GB), but it lacks a micro SD slot. While Oppo Reno Z wins the hardware comparison, Xiaomi Mi A3 looks more interesting on the software side because it is Android One-powered, so it will have faster updates for a long time.

 

Camera

Xiaomi Mi A3 is the overall best camera phone of this trio. It is equipped with a rear triple camera including a 48 MP main sensor and an 8 MP ultrawide lens, as well as an amazing 32 MP selfie camera. Vivo S1 has a triple camera as well, but just a 16 MP main sensor with a reasonable quality. So the second place goes to the Oppo Reno Z and its 48 MP dual camera with a bright f/1.7 focal aperture.

 

Battery

In order to give you a definitive verdict on the battery life, we have to test the global version of the Vivo S1 (it just debuted, so we had no chance to test its battery life). It has the biggest battery, but there is to consider that Xiaomi Mi A3 has more efficient hardware components. So it will be a hard fight.

 

Price

Xiaomi Mi A3 costs €250/$282 globally, Oppo Reno Z starts from €330/$372 and Vivo S1 costs €230/$260. Due to its bigger and better display, its pretty nice cameras and its higher performances, Oppo Reno Z looks more interesting to me. But a lot of people may prefer the Xiaomi Mi A3 with its compact and premium design, a long battery life, Android One, and its outstanding cameras. Despite I would not go for it, the Xiaomi Mi A3 has more strong points.

 

Xiaomi Mi A3 vs Vivo S1 vs Oppo Reno Z: PROs and CONS

Vivo S1

PROs

  • Huge battery
  • Micro SD slot
  • Wide display

CONS

  • Average cameras

 

Xiaomi Mi A3

PROs

  • Good design and build quality
  • Android One
  • Micro SD slot
  • Amazing cameras
  • Long battery life
  • More compact

CONS

  • HD display

 

Oppo Reno Z

PROs

  • Higher performance
  • Better display
  • Faster charging
  • Big battery

CONS

  • No micro SD

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