Heroes of might and cheap: Xiaomi Mi 4 vs Huawei Honor 6 vs ZTE nubia Z7 mini specs comparison

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Heroes of might and cheap: Xiaomi Mi 4 vs Huawei Honor 6 vs ZTE nubia Z7 mini specs comparison
A time has come, when brand-name juggernauts like Samsung, Sony, LG or HTC, are still releasing their flagships for north of $600 starting price without a contract, while Chinese newcomers like Oppo, Xiaomi or Huawei, are outing very similar handsets for half the price. The newly announced Xiaomi Mi 4, as well as the Huawei Honor 6 and ZTE Nubia Z7 mini before it, will be available very soon, and they sport most everything that the big boys like the Galaxy S5, HTC One (M8), or the Xperia Z2 have to offer.

Granted, don't expect fingerprint scanners, waterproof chassis, or OIS tech, but if you don't care about those, you will be getting svelte and powerful 5-inchers, saving a few Benjamins in the process. Starting off with the design and dimensions, the Mi 4 is indeed about 1 mm narrower than its competitors, which shouldn't make that much of a difference in your hand. The thinnest and lightest, however, is Huawei's Honor 6, despite that it too features a metal rim around its sides. In addition, the Honor 6 and Z7 mini sport a microSD card slot extensions, so you can get the cheapest 16 GB versions, and build on that. The Mi 4 strikes back with an infrared sensor at the top, though, coming to replace your multiple remote control units.

As for the silicon inside, while Huawei's homebrew Kirin 920 has yet to prove itself in battle, the Snapdragon 801 processors in the Mi 4 is the same one would find in the Galaxy S5, for instance, so you won't be longing for much more performance out of the handset. Moreover, both Huawei, and Xiaomi, one-up the S5 by offering 3 GB of RAM instead of two. All phones come with 13 MP Sony camera sensors that are the newest IMX214 models in the Honor 6 and the Mi 4. Xiaomi's phone takes the photography prowess up a notch with 4K video recording, and an 8 MP wide-angle front camera that boasts a Sony sensor Exmor sensor, too.

The Z7 mini has a slower Snapdragon processor than the Mi 4, 2 GB of RAM instead of 3 GB, and a modest 2300 mAh battery, compared to 3000+ in the other two, but it also comes at the most affordable price - about $240 without a contract in China, while the Xiaomi Mi 4 takes off with a $320 tag for the 16 GB model, and $400 for the 64-gigger. Huawei Honor 6 is the most "expensive" of the three, if this word can be used about such value-for-money propositions at all. Huawei pegged it at $370 for the 16 GB one, and $410 for the 32 GB unit, but you also get a memory card slot for expansion. Which one of these affordable flagships from China would you pick?

Xiaomi Mi 4 Honor 6 nubia Z7 mini

Design

Dimensions
5.48 x 2.70 x 0.35 inches
139.2 x 68.5 x 8.9 mm
5.50 x 2.74 x 0.30 inches
139.6 x 69.7 x 7.5 mm
5.55 x 2.73 x 0.32 inches
140.9 x 69.3 x 8.2 mm
Weight
5.26 oz (149.0 g) 4.59 oz (130.0 g) 5.04 oz (143.0 g)
Features
Touch sensitive control keys
Keys
Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Black, White Black Black, Yellow, Green, Blue, Red, White

Display

Size
5.0-inch 5.0-inch 5.0-inch
Resolution
1920x1080px, 441 PPI 1920x1080px, 445 PPI 1920x1080px, 441 PPI
Technology
IPS LCD IPS LCD
Screen-to-body
72.20 % 69.48 % 70.50 %
Colors
16 777 216 16 777 216
Features
Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

Hardware

System chip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 8974-AC (28 nm) HiSilicon Kirin 920 (28 nm) Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974-AA (28 nm)
Processor
Quad-core
2500 MHz
Krait 400
Octa-core
1700 MHz
ARM Cortex-A15 and ARM Cortex-A7
Quad-core
2000 MHz
Krait 400
GPU
Adreno 330 Mali-T628 MP4 Adreno 330
RAM
3GB (LPDDR3) 3GB (LPDDR3) 2GB (LPDDR3)
Internal storage
64GB 16GB 16GB
Storage expansion
microSDHC up to 32 GB microSDHC up to 64 GB
OS
Android (6.0 Marshmallow, 4.4.3), Xiaomi MI UI Android (5.1 Lollipop, 4.4), Huawei Emotion UI Android (4.4.2), nubia UI

Battery

Capacity
3080 mAh 3000 mAh 2300 mAh
Type
Li - Polymer Li - Ion Li - Ion
Charging
Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0

Camera

Rear
Single camera Single camera Single camera
Main camera
13 MP (Autofocus, CMOS image sensor)
Aperture size: F1.8
Sensor size: 1/3.06"
13 MP (Autofocus, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F2.0
13 MP (Autofocus, CMOS image sensor)
Aperture size: F2.0
Flash
LED LED LED
Video recording
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps)
HDR
Yes 3840x2160 (4K UHD), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
Front
8 MP 5 MP 2 MP, Video capture: 1920x1080 (Full HD)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.0 4.0 4.0
WLAN
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
802.11 b,g,n,dual-band
Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
USB
microUSB, USB 2.0 microUSB, USB 2.0 microUSB, USB 2.0
HDMI
Yes
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass GPS, A-GPS, Glonass GPS, A-GPS, Glonass
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass
Other
Infrared, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Loudspeaker
Features
Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback
Screen mirroring
Wireless screen share,MHL DLNA DLNA
Radio
FM FM
Additional microphone(s)
Noise cancellation Noise cancellation

Cellular

4G (FDD)
Bands 1(2100), 3(1800), 7(2600), 20(800 DD) Bands 1(2100), 3(1800), 7(2600)
4G (TDD)
Bands 38(2600) Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300)
3G
Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100) Bands 2(1900) Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100)
Data Speed
LTE, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s
Dual SIM
Yes
SIM type
Micro SIM Micro SIM

Phone Features

Notifications
Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3, WAV), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone
Other features
Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording

Buyers information

MSRP
$ 400

Availability

Officially announced
Jul 22, 2014 Jul 08, 2014
See the full Xiaomi Mi 4 vs Honor 6 vs nubia Z7 mini specs comparison or compare them to other phones using our Phone Comparison tool


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