Redmi Y2 vs Moto G6 Play vs Oppo Realme 1 vs Redmi Note 5: Which is the budget smartphone king?

Xiaomi has just announced the very selfie-centric budget smartphone, the Redmi Y2, in India for a price of Rs 9,999 for the 3+32 GB model and Rs 12,999 4+64 GB model. Now this phone has already seen the light of day in China, albeit under a different name.[caption id="attachment_4501041" align="alignleft" width="380"] The Xiaomi Redmi Y2[/caption]Back in 2014, Moto G was the budget smartphone to buy. It came with buttery smooth stock Android at a time when every other manufacturer was busy skinning their smartphones with custom operating systems.Now for quite some time, Xiaomi has been perhaps the king of budget smartphones in India, and rightly so given its philosophy of providing great hardware for low prices.However, it would seem that there is a new player in town which, at least on paper, could give Xiaomi a run for its money. There has been a lot of hype currently about the Realme 1 smartphone and it is tipped to be a more than worthy competitor to rivals Xiaomi and Honor in the under Rs 10,000 price range.While we haven't gotten around to reviewing the Oppo Realme 1 yet, we have reviewed the Redmi Y2 and concluded that it has a great selfie camera along with one of the best rear cameras in the sub-Rs 10,000 categories. Some more phones which can be considered as rivals to the Redmi Y2 are Xiaomi's own Redmi Note 5 and also the Moto G6 Play.A quick look at the spec sheet shows that Redmi Note 5 and Y2 have nearly the same hardware configuration of 3 GB/ 4 GB of RAM + 32 GB/ 64 GB of internal storage along with the Snapdragon 625 SoC. The Moto G6 Play has weaker Snapdragon 430 SoC that’s paired with 2 GB / 3 GB of RAM and 16 GB / 32 GB of internal storage. The Oppo Realme 1, on paper, tops all these phones in terms of hardware with its Helio P60 SoC along with 3 GB / 4 GB of RAM + 32 GB/ 64 GB of internal storage.But who amongst them is the budget smartphone king? Let's have a look at a comparison of their spec sheets. To be noted here, this comparison is only based on specs offered by the smartphone on paper. Real world tests may differ.

Smartphone	Xiaomi Redmi Y2	Realme 1	Moto G6 Play	Xiaomi Redmi Note 5
Display Size (inch)	6	6	5.7	6
Resolution (pixels)	1440 x 720	2,160 x 1,080	1440 x 720	2,160 x 1,080
Pixel Density (PPI)	269	403	282	403
Display Type	IPS LCD	IPS LCD	IPS LCD	IPS LCD
Dimensions(mm)	160.7 x 77.3 x 8.1	156.5 x 75.2 x 7.8	158.5 x 75.5 x 8.1	154.4 x 72.2 x 9
Weight (g)	170	155	175	180
Dual SIM	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
SIM Type	Nano-SIM	Nano-SIM	Nano-SIM	Nano-SIM
Connectivity Types	GSM / WCDMA / LTE	GSM / HSPA / VoLTE	GSM / HSPA / VoLTE	GSM / HSPA / VoLTE
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 625	Helio P60	Qualcomm Snapdragon 430	Qualcomm Snapdragon 625
CPU Cores	Octa-core	Octa-core	Octa-core	Octa-core
CPU Clock Speed (GHz)	8 x 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53	4 x 2.0 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4 x 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53	8 x 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53	8 x 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53
GPU	Adreno 506	Mali-G72 MP3	Adreno 505	Adreno 506
RAM	3, 4 GB	3,4 GB	2,3 GB	3, 4 GB
On-Board Memory	32, 64 GB	32, 64 GB	16,32 GB	32, 64 GB
Expandable Memory	Yes, up to 256 GB	Yes, up to 256 GB	Yes, up to 256 GB	Yes, up to 256 GB
Sensors	Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Compass	Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Compass	Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Compass	Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Compass
Rear Camera	12 MP, f/2.2 + 5 MP	13 MP, f/2.2	13 MP, f/2.0	12 MP, f/2.2
Autofocus System	Phase detection autofocus	Phase detection autofocus	Phase detection autofocus	Phase detection autofocus
Selfie Camera	16 MP	8 MP	8 MP	5 MP
Video Capture	1080p	1080p	1080p	1080p
Flash	LED	LED	LED	LED
OS Version	Android 8.1 Oreo	Android 8.1 Oreo	Android 8.1 Oreo	Android 8.1 Oreo
AI (Smart Assistant)	Google Assistant	Google Assistant	Google Assistant	Google Assistant
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
Bluetooth	v4.2, A2DP, LE, EDR	v4.2, A2DP, LE	v4.2, A2DP, LE, EDR	v4.2, A2DP, LE, EDR
NFC	No	No	No
Fingerprint Scanner	Yes, rear	No	Yes	Yes, rear
3.5 mm jack	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
FM Radio	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
USB Type	micro-USB	micro-USB	micro-USB	micro-USB
USB Standard	USB 2.0	USB 2.0	USB 2.0	USB 2.0
Battery (mAh)	3,080	3,410	4,000	4,000
Quick Charge	No	No	No	No
Colors	Rose Gold, Elegant Gold, Dark Grey	Diamond Black, Solar Red, Moonlight Silver	Deep Indigo, Silver, Flash Gray, Gold	Black, Gold, Blue, Rose Gold
Prices in India	Starting at Rs 9,999	Starting at Rs 9,999	Starting at Rs 11,999	Starting at Rs 9,999

So which phone seems to be the best? Well on paper the Oppo Realme 1 seems to steal all the glory from the Redmi Y2 and Redmi Note 5 in terms of hardware. The Moto G6 Play doesn't give much competition with its low-powered Snapdragon 430 SoC. In terms of camera the Redmi Y2 seems to be ahead of its competition with its 16 MP front camera and dual 12 MP + 5 MP setup at the back. The Redmi Note 5 and Oppo Realme 1 do have FHD+ displays, which is absent in both the Y2 and Moto G6 Play.It can be said that the Moto G6 Play, on paper, comes last when compared to the other three smartphones. The competition between the Realme 1, Redmi Note 5 and Redmi Y2 is close as each phone offers something that the other doesn't. However, the fact that Oppo is giving such intense competition in the budget segment should be a worrying factor for Xiaomi.