Asus Zenfone 2 vs Xiaomi Mi 4i: Battle of the budget pure mid-rangers

Of late, major smartphone brands are coming out with handsets catering to the mid-range buyer community, rather than just targeting the elite sector. Budget smartphones are constantly on the rise and are even incorporated with high technical specifications at affordable prices.

Predominant among the above category of devices is the recently launched Asus Zenfone 2 (ZE551ML) and the Xiaomi Mi 4i; both of which fall into the "pure mid-range" smartphone category and also cater to both budget as well as elite smartphone buyers across the world.

Here is a technical comparison of the two smartphones so as to understand how the handsets stack up against each another.

Asus Zenfone 2 vs Xiaomi Mi 4i

Display

Asus Zenfone 2 (ZE551ML) incorporates a comparatively bigger 5.5in IPS display with capacitive touchscreen and is protected by the Gorilla Glass 3 screen protector. This display has resolutions of 1080 x 1920 pixels; along with pixel density of approximately 403 pixels per inch (ppi).

On the other hand, the Xiaomi Mi 4i comes with a comparatively smaller 5in display that has an identical (to Zenfone 2) 1080 x 1920 pixels and an almost similar 441 ppi pixel density.

Both the smartphones support multitouch and 16 million colours.

From the above it is clearly evident that both smartphones draw level as far as providing a decent display is concerned. The Zenfone 2 does not get any brownie points just because it has a bigger display than the Mi 4i.

Hardware

The Zenfone 2 is driven by a 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Atom processor that varies based on the RAM configuration (Zenfone 2 is available in both 2GB as well as 4GB RAM variants). The 2GB RAM edition incorporates a relatively inferior 1.8GHz quad-core Intel Atom processor.

On the other hand, the Mi 4i has onboard 1.7GHZ quad-core Cortex A53 and 1.1 GHz Cortex A53 CPUs over a Qualcomm MSM8939 Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC

The Xiaomi Mi 4i emerges a clear winner as far as offering a decent computing experience is concerned by virtue of a combined octa-core processor experience over a superior SoC when compared to the Zenfone 2.

Memory

As discussed above, the Asus Zenfone 2 lets users choose between the 2GB and 4GB RAM variants, and also comes in three internal storage editions viz 16GB, 32GB and 64GB variants. The internal storage within 16GB and 32GB variants can be expanded up to 64GB with the help of an external MicroSD card slot.

However, Xiaomi's Mi 4i is inferior in the memory aspect, as the handset comes in only a 2GB RAM variant that provides a fixed internal storage of 16GB. The smartphone does not support an external MicroSD card.

Therefore, the Zenfone 2 (ZE551ML), with its variety of memory options should offer people obsessed with storing movies and other multimedia content on their smartphones, plenty to cheer about.

Camera

Asus' Zenfone 2 features a 13MP rear camera that comes with dual-LED flash and supports geo-tagging of images. The camera supports shooting 1080p videos at 30 frames per second (fps). The handset also features a 5MP front camera.

On the other hand, Xiaomi's Mi 4i also incorporates an identical 13MP camera that has dual-LED flash and supports geo-tagging of images. Like the Zenfone 2, the Mi 4i's primary camera supports shooting 1080p videos at 30 fps. An identical 5MP camera also adorns the smartphone.

Both the handsets should offer the selfie-generation lots to cheer about as far as their identical 5MP front cameras are concerned.

Battery

The Zenfone 2 packs in a fixed 3,000 mAh Lithium-Polymer battery, whereas the Xiaomi Mi 4i comes with a removable 3120 mAh Lithium-Ion battery.

Software

Both the handsets run on Google's recent Android Lollipop operating platform; with the Asus Zenfone 2 running Android 5.0 (with Asus ZenUI on top) and the Xiaomi Mi 4i (with MIUI 6.0 on top) running the comparatively newer increment Android 5.0.2.

So, it is clear who the winner is as far as providing a decent user interface and a smooth experience is concerned.

Release date and price

Asus Zenfone 2 (ZE551ML) is currently available for purchase online in Europe for €349 ($376, £254), and in the US for $219 (£147).

Xiaomi Mi 4i, as of now has been released only in India; but will be released globally soon. The smartphone is available for purchase online in India for Rs 13,000 (£135).

Going by the above analysis, both the handsets draw level in most of the technical aspects; but buyers can accord the benefit of doubt to Xiaomi's Mi 4i if a value-for-money device is what they are looking for, rather than a simple budget smartphone.