Thought on Xiaomi Mi 5 Vs Mi A1

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  scrimshaw on 03/10/2017 - 12:37

  +3

  I am not sure about this. One has dual camera and another has OIS. I am wondering how much worse picture taken without OIS compared to the one taken without.

  Search for pictures taken with any device using Flickr's search by device function.

  e.g https://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Xiaomi%20mi6, https://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Xiaomi%20mi5
  and https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=xiaomi%20mi%205x

  • 

    peuwayaqdq on 03/10/2017 - 14:27

    Thanks @scrimshaw. Unless the object is the same and taken around the same time and angle it would not be a direct comparison though?

    • 

      scrimshaw on 03/10/2017 - 14:47

      It wouldn't be, nope. GSM Arena also does camera reviews. They take the same shot of some color calibration sheet.

      here you go
      http://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=1&idPhone1=6948&i…

      To me, it looks like the Mi 5x takes better low-light pictures. You can see the noise in the Low Light image with Mi5.

      Mi A1 copes very well in low light conditions.

  • 

    outlander on 03/10/2017 - 14:49

    I find I care more about how cameras handle less than ideal conditions. Thats where optical stabilisation really shows its worth, but most tests I see don't factor user movement into the equation

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  PrimalNuke on 03/10/2017 - 18:21

  I've been currently trying to make this decision also. I ended up going with Mi 5 but had to hunt down a second hand black one because I hate the look of the black border bezel on the white.

  NFC is indispensable for me and the A1 is missing that. In terms of your criteria, I still think the Mi5 is the way to go.

  OS: I hate heavily skinned android so I will be installing LineageOS which is basically stock Android.
  Hardware: The 1gb ram won't make a huge difference, especially if you are running a light OS like LOS.
  Camera: To be honest, not a deal breaker for me but all reviews and comparisons I have read pointed towards the Mi5 again.

  • 

    peuwayaqdq on 03/10/2017 - 22:40

    What do you use NFC for? I have never used NFC before.

    • 

      PrimalNuke on 04/10/2017 - 05:47

      Android pay / Commonwealth tap and pay. It saves me from taking my wallet everywhere and losing that.

      • 

        AlienC on 24/10/2017 - 07:12

        Aren't you scared of skimmers? I mean i know they are rare but still.

        Unless you bought a case that somehow negates that like I do with my wallet with inbuilt rfid protection for my NFC debit cards.

      • 

        PrimalNuke on 24/10/2017 - 09:05

        @AlienC:
        Nah, it's connected to an everyday account that rarely had more than $200 in. Plus, the bank will always pay you back so I'm not that worried.

      • 

        AlienC on 25/10/2017 - 16:40

        @PrimalNuke: ah cool that's good.. smart thinking I think I need to do this.. the only thing i am really worried of is if they misuse my identity and put me in some annoying newsletters or questionable content.. I don't mind maybe some stupid survey or something but having to deal with the authorities can sometimes be a pain.

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  AlienC on 24/10/2017 - 07:33

  Personally RAM is what causes the slow downs on my device… I think.. have not been able to confirm this but if it is cpu or SoC then boy have I been choosing the wrong phones lol.

  I like to add a tonne of apps on my devices and have stuff running in the background all the time so I value RAM highly more so than processing power these days.

  But like I said if I am wrong and it is my SoC that is bottlenecking me then oh boy.

  I threw away a nvidia shield tab yes threw not sold because I got so frustrated at it after the nth time it froze and wouldn't let me load more stuff tbh it wasn't much so I am pretty sure it is RAM because the shield tab was a beast computing power wise still is just only has 2gb ram.

  Now with twice the ram but less SoC power than the nvidia shield tab in my Huawei Mediapad M3 8.4" (It has a Kirin 950 which is kinda equivalent to a Snapdragon 820 and Exynos 7420.. I still get slow downs when I type too fast or really overload it which I do but it still never really random app crashes unless I really force it, worst case scenario it shows down a little bit so that it can catch up).

  So for me RAM is most important so I would choose the A1 over the Mi5 but if you know you can stay safely within the 3gb ram limit which most should do and want that extra processing speed then obviously Mi5 is the way to go.

  I honestly can't think of many android specific things that having more cpu power would improve other than maybe just keeping more things at once running and improved video quality and gaming performance but I feel like between these new phones now from super low budget to mid ranged now most phones can handle anything you throw at it as long add you have enough memory to handle it but internal and ram wise.

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  peuwayaqdq on 24/10/2017 - 17:43

  I decided to get Mi5 but then at the price that I wanted the store didn't have stock anymore. So I decided to buy Mi Max 2. Received the item and quite happy with the build quality. Have not played with it much so can't say much.

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  justwaitingforamate on 25/06/2018 - 12:32

  I have the Mi5 an I love the hardware aspect but would love Android one, hate the Mi bloat and hassle of coneccting to PC, followed ever tute and still can only file share no real integration.