The Xiaomi Redmi 6 India launch event has just begun, with the three smartphones -- Redmi 6, Redmi 6A and the Redmi 6 Pro being the focus. The event began with Xiaomi claiming that the top four selling smartphones in India being Redmi phones, led by Redmi 5A. The Redmi 6A was the first smartphone launched at this event. The company claimed that it has sold more than 3 million units of the Redmi 5A in Q2 2018, and that the phone was the bestselling Android phone worldwide in Q1 2018. The Redmi 6A launches in India with the 2GB RAM/ 16GB storage variant priced at Rs. 5,999 (introductory price for the next couple of months) and the variant with 2GB RAM and 32GB storage priced at Rs. 6,999. Redmi 6A will go on sale for the first time on September 19 on Mi.com. Redmi 6 3GB RAM/ 32GB storage variant has been priced at 7,999, with the 3GB RAM/ 64GB storage variant priced at Rs. 9,499. Redmi 6 will go on sale for the first time on September 10. Redmi 6 Pro comes in two variants 3GB RAM and 32GB storage priced at Rs. 10,999, and the Redmi 6 Pro's 4GB RAM and 64GB storage priced at 12,999.
The Redmi 6A has a 5.45-inch 18:9 display with HD+ resolution. The screen to body ratio on the Redmi 6A is at 80.5 percent, which is over 10 percent higher than the Redmi 5A. The smartphone comes in four colours -- Black, Gold, Rose Gold, and Blue. The Redmi 6A comes with a 12nm Helio A22 quad-core processor. The company claims that this allows the smartphone to deliver better power efficiency and less heating. Xiaomi claims that Redmi 6A's 3000mAh battery is similar in capacity to the Redmi 5A but the new phone delivers up to 40 percent more battery life in certain situations. The Redmi 6A's Helio A22 SoC performance is 33 percent better and it consumes 48 percent less power than the one in the Redmi 5A, Xiaomi claims. The Redmi 6A also has AI face unlock, and unlock with Mi Band or unlock in a trusted environment with the smart unlock feature. The Redmi 6A has a dedicated microSD card slot apart from two SIM card slots. The Redmi 6A has Dual VoLTE dual standby, which means that you could use both SIMs on 4G as long as the network supports VoLTE. The Redmi 6A ships with MIUI 9.6, based on Android 8.1 Oreo, and it will be upgraded to MIUI 10 soon, Xiaomi says. The Redmi 6A has a rear camera with a 13-megapixel sensor and PDAF and a 5-megapixel selfie camera. It also has electronic image stabilisation for less shaky videos.
The Redmi 6 also has a 5.45-inch HD+ display with an 18:9 display resolution. It ships in four colours -- Black, Gold, Rose Gold, and Blue. It has a dual-camera setup with a 12-megapixel sensor and a 5-megapixel secondary sensor. The Redmi 6 has an AI-powered portrait mode, an AI beautify mode, and electronic image stabilisation. The Redmi 6 ships with the Mediatek Helio P22 12nm octa-core processor clocked up to 2GHz. Xiaomi claims that the Redmi 6 is the only smartphone in this segment to provide a 12nm octa-core processor. The company claims that this SoC provides a 30 percent performance improvement over the Redmi 4 and a 48 percent reduction in power consumption compared to the same phone. The Redmi 6 ships with a 3000mAh battery, which the company claims offers an improvement of 11 percent in terms of call time and up to 21 percent for music and video playback. The Redmi 6 has a fingerprint sensor and AI face unlock. It can be unlocked with the Mi Band or automatically unlocked at a trusted location. Just like the Redmi 6, this has two SIM card slots and one dedicated microSD card slot. It ships with dual VoLTE, dual standby support. The Redmi 6 ships with MIUI 9.6, with an update to MIUI 10 coming soon, according to Xiaomi.
The Redmi 6 Pro chips with a 5.84-inch FHD+ display with a notch, with a 19:9 display ratio. You can opt to hide the notch via a software toggle, so if you hate the notch, you can disable it. The Redmi 6 Pro ships with an aluminium body. The Redmi 6 Pro ships in four colours, red, gold, black, and blue. The Redmi 6 Pro has a dual rear camera setup, The primary sensor is a 12-megapixel Sony IMX486, with the secondary 5-megapixel Samsung sensor. The company says Redmi 6 Pro's camera sensors are similar to those on the Redmi Note 5 Pro. The Redmi 6 Pro also has an AI portrait mode feature and electronic image stabilisation. The Redmi 6 Pro ships with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC and ships with a 4000mAh battery that promises 2-day battery life, according to Xiaomi. This smartphone ships with MIUI 9.6 and will be upgraded to MIUI 10 later, Xiaomi said. It features a fingerprint unlock, face unlock, unlock with Mi Band, and smart unlock at trusted locations. The phone has a dedicated microSD slot along with two SIM slots. Xiaomi is shipping a case in the box with the Redmi 6 Pro.
Redmi 6A, Redmi 6, and Redmi 6 Pro are manufactured in India, Xiaomi has claimed. The company has said that it's adding "dual graphite sheets" to reduce screen temperature by 2 degrees Celsius, and work better in India's heat.
Are Redmi 6A and Redmi 6 the best budget smartphones in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.
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