There has been a huge shake-up 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.
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.
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 Play | Poco F1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Android 8.1 Oreo EMUI 8.2 | Android 8.1 Oreo MIUI 9.6 Poco launcher |
| SIM | Dual SIM Dual Standby Hybrid | Dual SIM Dual Standby Hybrid |
| Display | 6.3-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 |
| Processor | 2.4GHz HiSilicon Kirin 970 octa-core | 2.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa-core LiquidCool cooling system |
| RAM | 4GB | 6GB/8GB |
| GPU | Mali-G72 MP12 GPU Turbo technology | Adreno 630 |
| Storage | 64GB expandable via microSD up to 256GB | 64GB/128GB/256GB UFS2.1 expandable via microSD up to 256GB |
| Front camera | 16-megapixel 3D Portrait Lighting | 20-megapixel f/2.0 |
| Rear Camera | 16-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 |
| Security | Fingerprint scanner Face Unlock | Fingerprint scanner Infrared Face Unlock |
| Audio | Single Speaker Headphone Jack | Stereo Speakers Headphone Jack |
| Connectivity | HSPA+, 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 |
| Dimensions | 157.9 x 74.3 x 7.5mm | 155.5 x 75.3 x 8.8mm |
| Weight | 176g | 180g |
| Colors | Midnight Black Navy Blue Violet | Steel Blue Rosso Red Graphite Black Kevlar (Armored edition) |
| Battery | 3,750mAh non-removable Fast charging | 4,000mAh non-removable Quick Charge 3.0 |
| Price | Php15,990 | 6GB/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) |
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.
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.
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On the back, the Honor Play has a more pixel-packed 16-megapixel + 5-megapixel primary cameras with a f/2.2 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.
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.
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.
it will be available in sept. 6 in phil. all mi authorized and also lazada online shopping..im very exited with Poco f1 too.
digital tunnel sm tarlac
but the problem is we still dont know if poco will launch here in PH. And Play is currently dominating midranges here.
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
Nice comparison. I have to set aside Asus Zenfone 5 for these phones. Which one to buy? I am still undecided.