One of our best midrange phones of 2018 is the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite boasting good balance in performance and features. But is the Realme U1 enough to take its spot especially when both are sporting above 20MP selfie cameras?
Table of Contents
Realme U1 and Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite Differences
Realme U1 Advantages
- polycarbonate build(resistant to drops)
- smaller notch
- Helio P70 (12nm)
- dedicated microSD slot up to 256GB
- 25MP selfie camera
- 3500mAh battery
- audio jack
Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite Advantages
- glass and aluminum build
- Adreno 512 GPU
- 2160p @ 30fps, 1080p @ 60/120fps video recording
- Wi-Fi ac
- Bluetooth 5.0
- USB Type-C
- Quick Charge 3.0
Realme U1 and Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite Similarities
- 1080p resolution
- IPS LCD panel
- dual main camera setup
- above 20MP selfie camera
- microSD expansion
- Android 8.1 Oreo
- rear-mounted fingerprint scanner
Which is a better buy between the Realme U1 and Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite?
Despite the glass vs polycarbonate difference, both midrange devices look almost strikingly similar. Turn them up front and the Realme U1 will have a slightly larger screen real estate thanks to its smaller notch.
The same can be almost said with the performance if not only for the slightly more efficient Helio P70 (12nm) on the Realme U1.
For the main camera, it’s going to fall under each brand’s post-processing on images as well as the selfie camera with 24MP and 25MP for the Mi 8 Lite and Realme U1, respectively. The noticeable difference, however, is the ability of M8 Lite to record up to 2160p and 1080p @ 120fps.
Interestingly, only the Realme contender sports an audio jack. But on the flip side, the Xiaomi contender is already using USB Type-C port. While the former has a larger 3500mAh battery, the latter has support for Quick Charge 3.0 for quicker top-ups.
At Php13,990, the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite offers great value for the money. But for Php11,990, the Realme U1 isn’t too shabby at all. You can buy a quality case or headphones for the extra Php2,000.
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| Specs | Realme U1 | Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite |
| Display | 6.3-inch IPS LCD, 1080 x 2340, 409ppi, 19.5:9 ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | 6.26-inch IPS LCD, 1080 x 2280, 403ppi, 19:9 ratio |
| Dimensions | 157 x 74 x 8 mm , 168 g | 156.4 x 75.8 x 7.5 mm, 169 g |
| Chipset | Mediatek Helio P70 (12nm) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (14 nm) |
| GPU | Mali-G72 MP3 | Adreno 512 |
| Memory | 64 GB, 4 GB RAM or 32 GB, 3 GB RAM + microSD up to 256GB | 64/128 GB, 6 GB RAM or 64 GB, 4 GB RAM + microSD slot |
| Main Camera | 13 MP, f/2.2, AF 2 MP, f/2.4, depth sensor |
12 MP, f/1.9, 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF + 5 MP, f/2.0, 1.12µm, depth sensor |
| Front Camera | 25 MP, f/2.0, 1/2.8″, 0.9µm | 24 MP, 0.9µm |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi Direct, hotspot, BT 4.2, A2DP, aptX, LE, microUSB 2.0, headphone jack | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspot, BT 5.0, A2DP, LE, USB-C |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Ion 3500 mAh battery | Non-removable Li-Po 3350 mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 |
| OS | Android 8.1 (Oreo) with ColorOS OS 5.2 | Android 8.1 (Oreo) based on MIUI |
| Official Price | estimated at Php9,990 – 3GB/32GBPhp11,990 – 4GB/64GB | Php13,990 – 4GB/64GB Php16,990 – 6GB/128GB |
