Xiaomi-Poco-F1-vs-Honor-Play-Specs

There has been a huge shake-upĀ in the midrange smartphone segment lately. In an attempt to one-up each other, Android OEMs are doing crazy things to remain on top. The result? Better devices for the consumers.

A few weeks back, Huawei’s sub-brand released the Honor Play. The device got the attention of both smartphone enthusiasts and average consumers alike, likely because of its amazing value it provides for the price.

If you haven’t heard of it, the Honor Play’s best feature is its flagship-level HiSilicon Kirin 970 chipset which is essentially at the same level as other high-end phones out there.

Honor-Play-NoypiGeeks-8210316

During its launch, that smartphone dominated all of the midrange devices in the industry. Including the offerings from the Xiaomi camp, which used to be the people’s go-to brand for bang for the buck handsets.

But the thing about Xiaomi is, they don’t easily give up. This is probably why they came up with the Xiaomi Pocophone F1, another midrange smartphone with flagship specs.

xiaomi-pocophone-f1

Just like the Honor Play, the Poco F1 is equipped with a processor that we’re only used on seeing in high-end devices. It’s being powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset, something that we never expected to see in a midrange device this year.

To know which one is better on paper, we’re doing our Xiaomi Poco F1 versus Honor Play specifications and features comparison. We’re about to see which between these two devices will rule this price segment. Other than their processors, which one of them has the best overall features? Let’s all figure that out.

Honor PlayPoco F1
Operating SystemAndroid 8.1 Oreo
EMUI 8.2
Android 8.1 Oreo
MIUI 9.6
Poco launcher
SIMDual SIM
Dual Standby
Hybrid
Dual SIM
Dual Standby
Hybrid
Display6.3-inch FHD+ IPS
2340 x 1080 pixel resolution
~409ppi
19:9 aspect ratio
6.18-inch FHD+ IPS
2246 x 1080 pixel resolution
~403ppi
19:9 aspect ratio
Processor2.4GHz HiSilicon Kirin 970 octa-core2.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa-core
LiquidCool cooling system
RAM4GB6GB/8GB
GPUMali-G72 MP12
GPU Turbo technology
Adreno 630
Storage64GB
expandable via microSD up to 256GB
64GB/128GB/256GB UFS2.1
expandable via microSD up to 256GB
Front camera16-megapixel
3D Portrait Lighting
20-megapixel
f/2.0
Rear Camera16-megapixel +
2-megapixel
PDAF
f/2.2
AI scene detection
LED flash
12-megapixel +
5-megapixel
f/1.9
PDAF
AI scene detection
LED flash
SecurityFingerprint scanner
Face Unlock
Fingerprint scanner
Infrared Face Unlock
AudioSingle Speaker
Headphone Jack
Stereo Speakers
Headphone Jack
ConnectivityHSPA+, 4G LTE
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 4.2
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
FM Radio
NFC
USB Type-C
HSPA+, 4G LTE
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 5.0
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Galileo,QZSS
FM Radio
USB Type-C
Dimensions157.9 x 74.3 x 7.5mm155.5 x 75.3 x 8.8mm
Weight176g180g
Colors Midnight Black
Navy Blue
Violet
Steel Blue
Rosso Red
Graphite Black
Kevlar (Armored edition)
Battery3,750mAh
non-removable
Fast charging
4,000mAh
non-removable
Quick Charge 3.0
PricePhp15,9906GB/64GB: Rs. 20,999 (~Php16,000)
6GB/128GB: Rs. 23,999 (~Php18,000)
8GB/256GB: Rs.28,999 (~Php22,000)
8GB/256GB: Rs. 29,999 (~Php23,000)

Honor-Play-NoypiGeeks-82103112

Without a doubt, both the Honor Play and the Poco F1 are the best midrange smartphones that you can get today. But between these two, the specs table above clearly favors Xiaomi’s offering more.

As stated earlier, these two devices sport high-end chipsets. However, the Snapdragon 845 chipset found on the Poco F1 is proven to be a champ in handling resource-intensive processes and workloads.

But that doesn’t mean that the Kirin 970 is a lousy chipset. This thing is geared towards handling AI tasks, a characteristic that greatly compliments the Honor Play’s features.

xiaomi-pocophone-f1-specs

In addition, the Honor Play supports the GPU Turbo technology, which enhances its gaming capabilities while also lowering the battery consumption.

But still, the Poco F1 might do a better job of handling day-to-day work and more, thanks to its better processor and bigger RAM capacity. It also uses a fast UFS 2.1 storage, which is a rare find in midrange smartphones.

Moving on, the Poco F1 has a sharper 20-megapixel selfie camera and an IR sensor that helps the face unlock feature to see in the dark. Meanwhile, the Honor Play only has a 16-megapixel front sensor, but it was able to compensate with its novelties features such as 3D Portrait Lighting, Face stickers and more.

Honor-Play-NoypiGeeks-8210314

Related

On the back, the Honor Play has a more pixel-packed 16-megapixel + 5-megapixel primary cameras with a f/2.2Ā aperture. The Poco F1 is only equipped with a 12-megapixel + 5-megapixel sensor, but it does have a wider aperture of f/1.9. The cameras on both phones have AI scene detection capabilities.

xiaomi-pocophone-f1-kevlar

A few extras on the Poco F1 is its stereo speakers. This allows the user to enjoy media consumption better, and improve your gaming experience as it gives directional audio in titles like PUBG Mobile and other games.

The Poco F1 also has a marginally larger battery. It comes with a 4,000mAh battery while the latter only has a smaller 3,750mAh capacity.

Honor-Play-NoypiGeeks-8210318

To wrap it up, the Honor Play’s Php15,990 price tag makes it one of the most compelling smartphones in the midrange segment right now. The Pocophone F1’s official price in the Philippines is yet to be announced, but judging by its SRP in India, it will roughly the same or a little bit more than the Honor Play. Well, not unless you opt for the more premium model, which is still a great catch for the price.

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5 Comments

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  1. it will be available in sept. 6 in phil. all mi authorized and also lazada online shopping..im very exited with Poco f1 too.

  2. but the problem is we still dont know if poco will launch here in PH. And Play is currently dominating midranges here.

  3. Kirin 970 & Mali-G72 MP12 is no match to SD845 Adreno 630, even there’s a turbo or put some nitro into it :)

    Its like a drag race between Mio vs Dodge Tomahawk

  4. Nice comparison. I have to set aside Asus Zenfone 5 for these phones. Which one to buy? I am still undecided.