This year it is very hard for other smartphone manufacturers to beat Xiaomi in the affordable segment. The Chinese giant released a lot of affordable mid-rangers and entry-level phones which are currently among the best sellers of 2019. The latest cheap phone launched is Redmi 8A and it belongs from the most affordable Xiaomi line-up if we exclude the Redmi Go. Its value for money is huge thanks to its great camera, big battery, and high performance, that is why it is a very hot device and it is hard to find a rival. After comparing it with Realme C2 and Honor 8A, here is another comparison with entry-level smartphones from the concurrence: the new Samsung Galaxy M10s and Realme 3i.
Xiaomi Redmi 8A vs Samsung Galaxy M10s vs Oppo Realme 3i
| Xiaomi Redmi 8A | Samsung Galaxy M10s | Oppo Realme 3i | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT | 156.5 x 75.4 x 9.4 mm, 188 grams | 158.4 x 74.7 x 7.8 mm, 169 grams | 156.1 x 75.6 x 8.3 mm, 175 grams |
| DISPLAY | 6.2 inches, 720 x 1520p (HD+), 271 ppi, IPS LCD | 6.4 inches, 720 x 1560p (HD+), 268 ppi, Super AMOLED | 6.2 inches, 720 x 1520p (HD+), 271 ppi, IPS LCD |
| PROCESSOR | Qualcomm Snapdragon 439, octa-core 1.95 GHz | Samsung Exynos 7884B, octa-core 1.6 GHz | MediaTek Helio P60, octa-core 2 GHz |
| MEMORY | 2 GB RAM, 32 GB – 3 GB RAM, 32 GB – micro SD dedicated slot | 3 GB RAM, 32 GB – micro SD dedicated slot | 3 GB RAM, 32 GB – 4 GB RAM, 64 GB – micro SD dedicated slot |
| SOFTWARE | Android 9 Pie, MIUI | Android 9 Pie, One UI | Android 9 Pie, Color OS |
| 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 | 12 MP f/1.8 8 MP f/2.0 front camera |
Dual 13 + 5 MP f/1.9 and f/2.2 8 MP f/2.0 front camera |
Dual 13 + 2 MP f/1.8 13 MP f/2.0 front camera |
| BATTERY | 5000 mAh | 4000 mAh | 4230 mAh |
| ADDITIONAL FEATURES | Dual SIM slot | Dual SIM slot | Dual SIM slot |
Design
Redmi 8A adopts a brand new ergonomic design with gradient colors and a stripe in the middle of the rear cover which reminds of Oppo Reno smartphones. It is definitely too elegant and it almost does not look like an entry-level phone. It does not have a fingerprint scanner and it relies on face unlock, but this solution makes the rear side cleaner and even more elegant. Realme 3i is another beautiful phone with its diamond-like rear pattern which is available in gradient hues as well. Samsung Galaxy M10s has a traditional plastic body with a single color, so it offers nothing special in terms of design.
Display
Samsung Galaxy M10s wins the display comparison as it is the only to sport a Super AMOLED panel, despite its resolution is only HD+. Besides providing better colors thanks to the AMOLED technology, Samsung Galaxy M10s also offers a wider 6.4-inch panel which is more comfortable for advanced users. Both Realme 3i and Redmi 8A have an IPS panel with the same diagonal and the same HD+ resolution, as well as a waterdrop notch.
Specs & Software
The presence of the Helio P60 chipset and a higher-end memory configuration makes the Realme 3i more powerful and smoother than Samsung Galaxy M10s and Redmi 8A. It is the only to sport up to 4 GB of RAM and up to 64 GB of internal storage. The silver medal goes to Redmi 8A because it has a Snapdragon 439 chipset which delivers better and more stable performance than the Exynos chipset found on the Galaxy M10s. But you should not notice big differences between their performance, while Realme 3i is definitely superior with all the usage patterns. Samsung Galaxy M10s, Redmi 8A, and Realme 3i are all shipped with Android 9 Pie out of the box, customized by the custom user interfaces One UI, MIUI, and Color OS, respectively.
Camera
If we consider both the rear and the front camera departments, Realme 3i offers a more complete and improved camera experience. Its dual rear camera with bright focal aperture and an additional depth sensor is more suitable for most of the scenarios, while the higher resolution of the front camera allows capturing more detailed selfies. But photo quality is not everything: Samsung Galaxy M10s has an ultrawide sensor which is considered much more useful than depth sensors. So if you need it, go for the Galaxy M10s as the photo quality does not differ so much.
Battery
With its mammoth 5000 mAh battery, Redmi 8A is able to deliver three days of battery life with moderate usage, and it is the longest-lasting phone not only in this comparison since it lasts more than most of the smartphones out there. It even supports a nice fast charging technology with a max power of 18W, so it does not take a lot of hours to fully charge it despite its huge capacity.
Price
Realme 3i is available at about €100/$110 in India, Samsung Galaxy M10s starts from about €110/$120, and Redmi 8A costs €100/$110 in its base variant with 2 GB of RAM. Despite Redmi 8A rocks a way bigger battery, Realme 3i is a more convincing device due to its higher performance, good cameras, fingerprint reader and more. Even Samsung Galaxy M10s is a very nice device, especially for its ultrawide sensor and its AMOLED display, but overall I would personally choose the Realme 3i for the above-mentioned specifications.
Xiaomi Redmi 8A vs Samsung Galaxy M10s vs Oppo Realme 3i: PROs and CONS
Oppo Realme C2
PROs
- Nice performance
- Micro SD dedicated slot
- Big battery
- Good cameras
CONS
- Worse chipset
Samsung Galaxy M10s
PROs
- Bigger and better display
- Fingerprint scanner
- Good performance
- Good cameras
- Micro SD Dedicated slot
CONS
- Smaller battery
Xiaomi Redmi 8A
PROs
- Micro SD dedicated slot
- Huge battery
- Good cameras
- Fast charging
CONS
- No depth sensor
