In this NoypiGeeks spec comparison, we’ll be talking about two smartphone brands that seem to be at the opposite poles of one another in terms of popularity here in the Philippines.
We’re talking about the recent budget friendly releases of Realme and Honor — the Realme 5i and the Honor 20 Lite, respectively.
First up on the list is the Realme 5i. The Realme 5i is the downgraded version of the vanilla Realme 5. It features a quad-camera set up, a humongous battery and a very stylish yet elegant design.
Next up is the Honor 20 Lite. Probably its main feature is its 32-megapixel selfie camera, which is very uncommon in budget friendly phones these days.
Out of the two phones, which one should you get? Is opting for the commonly known brand the best move? Or would investing on the up and coming brand here be the better option? These are the questions we would like to answer in this Realme 5i versus Honor 20 Lite specifications and features comparison.
| Realme 5i | Honor 20 Lite | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Android 9 Pie ColorOS 6 | Android 9 Pie EMUI 9.0 |
| SIM | Dual SIM Dual Standby | Dual SIM |
| Display | 6.5-inch HD+ IPS display 1600 x 720 pixel resolution ~269ppi Corning Gorilla Glass 3+ 89% screen-to-body ratio | 6.21-inch FHD+ IPS display 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution ~415ppi 90% screen-to-body ratio |
| Processor | 2.0GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 octa-core | 2.2GHz Kirin 710 octa-core |
| RAM | 3GB/4GB | 4GB |
| GPU | Adreno 610 | Mali-G51 MP4 |
| Storage | 32GB/64GB/128GB expandable up to 256GB | 128GB expandable up to 256GB |
| Front camera | 8-megapixel | 32-megapixel (f/2.0) |
| Rear Camera | 12-megapixel (f/1.8, PDAF) 8-megapixel (ultra-wide, f/2.25) 2-megapixel (depth sensor) 2-megapixel (macro) LED flash AI Scene Detection Chroma Boost Super Nightscape | 24-megapixel (f/1.8) 8-megapixel (ultra-wide, f/2.4) 2-megapixel (depth sensor, f/2.4) LED flash AI Scene Detection 480fps slow-mo |
| Audio | Headphone jack Single speaker | Headphone jack Loudspeaker |
| Security | Rear-mounted fingerprint scanner Face unlock | Rear-mounted fingerprint scanner Face unlock |
| Connectivity | 4G LTE WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band Bluetooth 5.0 GPS, BDS, Galileo, A-GPS microUSB | 4G LTE WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/, dual-band Bluetooth 4.2 GPS, GLONASS, BDS, A-GPS microUSB |
| Dimensions | 164.4 x 75.6 x 9.3mm | 154.8 x 73.64 x 7.95mm |
| Weight | 198g | 164g |
| Colors | Green Blue | Phantom Red Phantom Blue Midnight Black |
| Battery | 5,000mAh 10W fast charging | 3,400mAh 10W fast charging |
| Price | 4GB/64GB: VND3,690,000 (~Php8,100) | Php9,990 |
Let’s start this comparison by talking about their display. The Realme 5i has the bigger screen as it has a 6.5-inch LCD display compared to the 6.2-inch LCD display of the Honor 20 Lite. In addition, the 5i is also protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass 3+ while there’s no indication if the Honor 20 Lite is protected by Gorilla Glasses as well.
Processor-wise, the Realme 5i takes the win thanks to its Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 and Adreno 610 GPU. On the other hand, the Honor 20 Lite has a respectable HiSilicon Kirin 710 chip and Mali G51 MP4 GPU.
On the memory front, the Realme 5i has a 3GB and 4GB RAM variant while the Honor 20 Lite has the lone 4GB Variant. And in terms of internal storage, Realme has a 32GB and 64GB variant to choose from while the Honor 20 Lite only has a 128GB storage option. Thinking the internal storage space is not enough? You can always expand your storage up to 256GB for both phones.
Now when it comes to cameras, this is where the two devices vary by a large-scale. The Realme 5i has a quad-camera set up that’s composed of a 12-megapixel main shooter, 8-megapixel (ultra-wide), 2-megapixel(depth sensor) and 2-megapixel (macro) cameras.
Meanwhile, the Honor 20 Lite has a triple camera set up only which comes with a 24-megapixel main shooter, 8-megapixel (ultra-wide) and 2-megapixel (depth sensor) sensors.
See also: Realme 5i vs Realme 5: What’s the difference?
At the front, the Honor 20 Lite houses a 32-megapixel selfie camera while the Realme 5i only has an 8-megapixel one. That’s a very huge gap, although that doesn’t necessarily mean that Honor’s front camera perform better.
As for the battery, Realme 5i has a 5,000mAh battery with 10W charging while the Honor 20 Lite only has a 3,400 mAh capacity and similar 10W charging speed.
Other similarities between the two phones include a rear mounted fingerprint scanner, face unlock feature, and a micro USB connector.
Finally, let’s talk about price. The Honor 20 Lite is currently priced at Php9,990 while there’s no confirmed price of the Realme 5i yet. The only information we have is for the 4GB/64GB variant price from Vietnam which is VND3,690,000 (~Php8,100).
In this match up, the Honor 20 Lite is definitely ahead in terms of camera specs and that’s understandable because of the price difference. But other than that, the Realme 5i is the overall better choice thanks to its more budget friendly price tag.