InFocus has launched a new device called InFocus A2 owing to the popular demand for budget smartphones in India. The launch was announced by the company via its official Twitter handle on Thursday.
The low-price high-value smartphone competes against industry leaders in the Rs 5,000 price range, but can it win?
Xiaomi Redmi 5A is one of the most popular budget smartphones in India priced at Rs 4,999, which is Rs 1,000 cheaper than its launch price for the first 5 million customers. InFocus A2, which is priced at Rs 5,199, is a Redmi 5A-rival at its best.
A wider range of options means confusion for customers. To bring in some clarity, we are comparing Xiaomi Redmi 5A with the newly-launched InFocus A2 one spec at a time.
Design and display
Xiaomi Redmi 5A has the company's signature design with a polycarbonate unibody. There's a 5-inch HD IPS LCD display and navigation buttons are placed at the bottom bezel. As compared to InFocus A2, the Redmi 5A is aesthetic in terms of looks.
InFocus A2 also bears a plastic unibody design with rounded edges and a 5-inch HD display. There's a 2.5D curved glass on top to give the phone a better look. The navigation buttons are also placed on the bottom bezel, like in the Redmi 5A.
The phones are identical in terms of display size and resolution, but design can be a personal preference.
Camera
Xiaomi Redmi 5A steals the show here. The Redmi 5A sports a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with PDAF, f/2.2 aperture, LED flash and 5-element lens.
On the front, there's a 5MP snapper with f/2.0 aperture, Smart, Pro Beautify feature for better selfies.
InFocus A2, on the other hand, matches Xiaomi's offering with a 5MP front-facing camera equipped with features beauty levels, camera filters, pro mode and FaceCute feature. On the rear, there's a 5MP snapper, which loses the pixel battle to Xiaomi Redmi 5A.
Performance
Xiaomi Redmi 5A is powered by a Snapdragon 425 quad-core chipset paired with 2GB RAM, Android 7.1.1 Nougat-based MIUI 9 and 16GB onboard storage with microSD card support. The setup is pretty standard for a phone its range.
InFocus A2 uses a different chipset — the Spreadtrum SC9832 quad-core SoC — which by the looks of it is on a par with the Snapdragon 425.
The RAM and storage configurations are the same as the Redmi 5A. To offer a customised experience, the A2 runs the 360 UI on top of Android 7.0 Nougat.
We haven't tested the new InFocus smartphone to comment on its performance, but the on-paper configuration looks pretty decent but nothing extraordinary.
Battery
Xiaomi Redmi 5A features a 3,000mAh battery, which the company claims can provide up to eight days of power backup on standby. InFocus A2 sports a smaller 2,400mAh battery, which is not a match for that of the Redmi 5A.
Since both phones are 4G VoLTE-enabled, users taking advantage of the internet apps and high-speed browsing will see the InFocus smartphone running out of juice sooner than the Redmi 5A. Again, this is based on the theoretical values and not a hands-on review.
Availability
Xiaomi Redmi 5A is available on Mi Store and Flipkart and the handset has a huge demand online. The company just unveiled a new Rose Gold version in addition to the Dark Grey and Gold hues.
InFocus A2, which comes in black or gold colours, can be bought at offline stores near you. You can use the company's store locator to find the nearest retailer.
If you'd like to take advantage of some launch offers, use the MobiKwik wallet to pay for the Rs 5,199 smartphone and get Rs 300 back in the form of SuperCash. Buyers also get up to 30GB free 4G data on Reliance Jio's network with the phone.
Verdict
Xiaomi Redmi 5A is a better choice if you consider camera and battery. InFocus A2 wins some with its bundled offers and the new design aspect that it brings to the table.
But Xiaomi Redmi 5A has more bonus points as compared to its rival, so we'll side with Xiaomi's offering on this one.
