Redmi A1 vs Realme C30 – Specs Comparison

Last week, Redmi released its latest budget smartphone in the Indian market, the Redmi A1. The phone, part of a new series from the brand, focus on bringing good value for money in the INR sub-7000 market, targeting the likes of the Redmi 9A Sport and the Realme C30. We’ve already compared the Redmi A1 with the 9A Sport in a previous comparison, so today, let’s take a closer look at how the model fares against the brand rival, the Realme C30. Unlike the 9A Sport, the Realme C30 is a newer device launched back in June 2022. So, it’s better suited to be a competitor to the Redmi A1 which was also announced very recently. 

Redmi A1 vs Realme C30

DESIGN

As we have mentioned in our previous comparisons, designs on cheaper phones have come a long way from being boring and monotonous to looking a lot more premium and unique. The same applies to the two models we have for comparison today, the Redmi A1 and the realme C30. But the two phones adopt different approaches in their designs. 

The Redmi A1 comes with a more toned-down look featuring fresh colors and rounded corners, giving it a simple but premium look. It does not look cheap and the light green and blue color options, in particular, feel pretty good. 

On the other hand, the realme C30 features a more unique design, featuring a striped pattern that goes along its entire height on the back. Clearly, you’ll be able to distinguish the C30 immediately and with two color options of Lake Blue and Bamboo Green, you get a design that stands out in its price segment. 

As for the dimensions, the Redmi A1 is slightly bigger than the Realme C30, despite having similarly sized screens. The Redmi A1 measures 164.9 x 76.5 x 9.1mm while the Realme C30 measures 164.1 x 75.6 x 8.5mm. As you can see, the C30 is both thinner and narrower than the Redmi model. Moreover, the C30 is also lighter at 182 grams instead of the 192 grams on the Redmi model. 

Both designs are pretty good for a $100 smartphone. But end of the day, it’ll be your personal choice on what design you prefer, so we leave it up to you to decide which is a better pick in this department. 

DISPLAY

Given that these are $100 smartphones, their specs and displays are going to be very similar. The Redmi A1 comes with a 6.52-inch IPS LCD panel with 400 nits brightness and an 81.4% screen-to-body ratio. On the other hand, the Realme C30 also features a 6.5-inch IPS LCD panel with 400 nits brightness and an 82% screen-to-body ratio. Both of them have HD+ displays featuring 1600 x 720-pixel resolutions. 

Clearly, the two phones are tied in the display department. 

SPECS

The two phones come with entry-level chips that are standard in the budget segment. The Redmi A1 features the MediaTek Helio A22 chipset with quad-core architecture clocked at 2.0GHz. On the other hand, the Realme C30 comes with an octa-core Unisoc Tiger T612 chip clocked at 1.8GHz. While the octa-core design should give the Realme model slightly more power, don’t expect any significant difference in their real-life performances. 

Both phones will struggle with any kind of intensive gaming, so better not to get them for gaming purposes. One advantage of the Realme  C30 is that it gives you a higher-end storage option if you are willing to shell out more. While the Redmi A1 maxes out at 2GB RAM and 32GB of storage, the Realme C30 can go up to 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage. However, if you are planning to shell out more for the higher storage variant, make sure to check out other options in the price range with better specs.  

Both the phones rely on Google’s Android GO Edition, given their entry-level hardware. The Redmi A1 comes with the Android 12 Go edition without MIUI while the Realme C30 features the older Android 11 Go edition. 

CAMERAS

Cameras are never the strong point of entry-level smartphones and the same is the case with the two smartphones we are comparing today. The Redmi A1 comes with a dual camera setup, a primary 8MP shooter, and a 0.3MP secondary shooter. The setup is supported by dual LED flash. You can imagine that the secondary camera won’t be of much use but the primary shooter should be able to capture decent samples in daylight. 

The Realme C30 brings a single camera setup of 8MP and a single LED flash. 

On the front, both phones have a basic 5MP camera for selfies and video calls. 

CONNECTIVITY

The two phones feature Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 5.0 with LE support. Unfortunately, they both still come with microUSB 2.0 slots. Also, given their entry-level profile, both phones do not feature a fingerprint sensor. 

BATTERY

Both phones feature a 5000mAh battery on board, with a 10W charger in the box. 

PRICING

The Redmi A1 was launched in a single 2GB + 32GB memory configuration priced at ₹6,499 ($81) in India. On the other hand, the Realme C30’s 2GB RAM and 32GB storage variant retails for a similar ₹6199($78) in India. 

Both phones are pretty much tied up in most departments. The Realme C30 will have a slight advantage in terms of sheer processing power, thanks to its octa-core chip, but it also features an older version of Android Go Edition. On the other hand, the Redmi A1 comes with the latest Android 12 Go edition without MIUI’s bloatware on top.

But the real distinguishing factor between the two devices will be the design. So it really boils down to whether you like Redmi or Realme’s design better and whether you want slightly faster processing power but is fine with an older version of Android Go. 

Redmi A1 vs Realme C30: Pros and Cons

Redmi A1

Pros 

• Fresh Design
• Clean Android 12 Go OS

Cons

• Slower Chip

Realme C30

Pros 

• Unique Design
• Lighter Profile
• Faster Chip

Cons

• Older Android Go Edition