Why Redmi Note 5 is better than Vivo Y71

Vivo has launched its latest smartphone called the Vivo Y71 in India. Priced at Rs 10,999, the Vivo Y71 is one of its most affordable smartphones featuring a thin-bezel design with a 5.99-inch display in the 18:9 aspect ratio in the country. The smartphone also runs the latest Android 8.1 Oreo operating system out-of-the-box.

Vivo claims that the Y71 offers an 84.4 percent screen-to-body ratio, which quite interestingly, is more than the iPhone X. Although we beg to differ with Vivo on this one since we can see significant bezels on the top and bottom of the device.

Also, just like the iPhone X, Vivo Y71 also does not offer a fingerprint scanner. Instead, it relies on face recognition for unlocking the phone. The iPhone X is definitely not the phone that Vivo Y71 will be interested in taking on. The closest, and perhaps the toughest, completion for the Vivo smartphone will be the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 which starts at Rs 9,999.

So let's see how the Vivo Y71 stacks up against the reigning king of the budget smartphones market in India.

Vivo Y71 vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 specifications

The Vivo Y71, as mentioned before, flaunts a 5.99-inch Full HD+ (2160x1080p) FullView display with a screen aspect ratio of 18:9, which Vivo claims offers 12.5 percent more content than the standard 16:9 aspect ratio displays.

The Redmi Note 5 also packs a 5.99-inch full-screen display with FullHD+ resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio.

Powering the Vivo Y71 is an underwhelming Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 quad-core chipset, which is quite old considering that it was the same SoC used in the phones like the Redmi 3S Prime almost 2 years back. The processor is paired with 3GB of RAM and just 16GB of storage, which fortunately is expandable up to 128GB via microSD card.

Redmi Note 5 is powered by a better and more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa-core SoC and comes with 3GB or 4GB of RAM depending on the variant with 32GB or 64GB of expandable storage.

Being the camera expert that it is, Vivo has equipped the Y71 with impressive shooters. The handset features a 13MP rear camera that comes with PDAF and a 5MP selfie camera. The rear camera comes with lighting optimization feature that aids in low-light conditions, while the front camera is equipped with Vivo's AI beauty features that identify age, gender, skin tone and more to help enhance the image.

In comparison, the Redmi 5 features an almost identical camera setup with a 12MP primary rear camera with f/2.2 aperture, 1.2-micron pixel size, and PDAF. The front camera is a 5MP shooter which comes with a dedicated selfie flash and Xiaomi's Beautify 4.0 feature.

It also needs to be mentioned that Vivo Y71 comes with Face Unlocking, and apart from unlocking the phone, the Y71 also uses its facial recognition to lower the volume of incoming calls, alarms, and message alerts when the user looks at the phone.

The Redmi Note 5 has neither of these features.

In terms of battery packs, the Vivo Y71 is fuelled by a 3360mAh battery with Vivo Smart Engine feature that the company says will improve battery performance.

The Redmi Note 5, like its predecessors, packs a generous 4000mAh battery which will help you sail through a day or two of moderate usage.

Talking about the software, the Vivo Y71 comes with the latest Android 8.1 Oreo out-of-the-box with the company's custom FunTouch UI on top. Whereas the Redmi Note 5 still runs Android 7.1 Nougat with Xiaomi's MIUI 9.5 optimization.

Why the Redmi Note 5 is a better bet than Vivo Y71

As you can see from the specifications above, the Redmi Note 5 has more pros compared to the Vivo Y71. Except for the dated Android version, the phone offers the same display size, identical camera setup, a better processor which translates to better performance, more storage (32GB vs 16GB) and a bigger battery.

Also, the Redmi Note 5 3GB RAM + 32GB storage variant at Rs 9,999 is Rs 1,000 cheaper than Vivo Y71. If you are not a big fan of Xiaomi's flash sales, the Vivo Y71 could be an option.