Huwai released Honor N9 as an answer to Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 5 pro in June 2018. The Honor 9N is a brilliant phone starting from Rs 11,990 and goes up to 13,999 for its highest model compared to Xiaomi Redmi note 5 pro which starts from 14,999 and goes up to 16,999 for its highest model.
| Release date | June 2018 | February 2018 |
| Form factor | Touchscreen | Touchscreen |
| Dimensions (mm) | 149.20 x 71.80 x 7.70 | 158.60 x 75.40 x 8.05 |
| Battery capacity (mAh) | 3000 | 4000 |
| Colours | Lavender Purple, Black, Robin Egg Blue, Sapphire Blue | Black, Gold, Lake Blue, Rose Gold |
| Display | ||
| Screen size (inches) | 5.84 | 5.99 |
| Touchscreen | Yes | Yes |
| Resolution | 1080×2280 pixels | 1080×2160 pixels |
| Pixels per inch (PPI) | 432 | 403 |
| Hardware | ||
| Processor | 2.36GHz octa-core | 1.8GHz octa-core |
| Processor make | HiSilicon Kirin 659 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 |
| Expandable storage up to (GB) | 256 | 128 |
| Camera | ||
| Rear camera | 13-megapixel | 12-megapixel |
| Rear Flash | LED | LED |
| Front camera | 16-megapixel | 20-megapixel |
| Front Flash | – | LED |
| Software | ||
| Operating System | Android Oreo 8.1 | Android 7.1.1, upgradable to Android Oreo 8.1 |
| Skin | EMUI 8.1 | MIUI 10 |
Design
The Honor 9N beats the Redmi Note 5 pro with a much better design. The 9N looks like a premium smartphone of 2018. It has a notch at the top, which houses several features like the front camera. It has a 19:9 display with thin bezels all around, and a back panel made up of glass. It is very comfortable to hold in one hand and the power and volume buttons are easily accessible, despite having a 5.84-inch display. on the other hand, Note pro 5 has an outdated look, with thick bezels. It is a much larger phone and does not match the compactness and one hand usage of Honor 9N. It has a metal back panel which is no longer fashionable in 2018.
Performance, Software and Battery.
The Redmi Note 5 Pro has a 1.8 GHz, Octa Core, and Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor while the Honor 9N runs on a 2.36 GHz, Octa Core, HiSilicon Kirin 659 processor. Both processors are fast and capable of high-end gaming.
The Redmi Note 5 Pro has a RAM of 4GB or 6GB however, there is no variation in storage options since both have 64 GB memory, expandable up to 128 GB. The Honor 9N has various options of RAM and storage- 3 GB RAM + 32 GB storage and 4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage. The storage in Honor 9N can be expanded up to 256 GB.
The Honor 9N runs on EMUI 8.1 which is based on Andriod Oreo 8.1. Whereas, the Redmi Note 5 Pro runs on MIUI 10 based Android Oreo 8.1. However the preinstalled software in Note 5 Pro is Android 7.1.1, which is later upgradeable onto Android Oreo 8.1.
The Redmi Note 5 pro has a better battery with 4000mAh capacity compared to Honor 9N’s 3000mAh capacity.
Camera
The Redmi Note 5 pro has a 12 MP Primary Camera and a secondary 5 MP sensor. It also has a 20 MP front camera for selfies. The camera is good enough in its price range but has an inconsistent camera quality and its nothing when compared against Honor H9’s camera.
Honor is known for building phones with a good camera. The Honor 9N comes with a comprising of a 13 MP primary camera and a 2 MP secondary camera sensor. It has superior and consistent camera quality and takes decent selfies. There are numbers of features- the wide aperture mode, flash controls, moving picture mode. The pro mode is also available in the Honor 9N. It is one of the latest features in 2018 smartphones, where the user can control and tweak the ISO, the exposure, focus and shutter speed, just like in a DSLR camera. The video mode also has a pro video mode, night shot, time-lapse, filters, watermark, light painting, panorama and more. To top it off, there is the added feature of AR- augmented reality.
Display
The Redmi Note 5 has a 5.99-inch display that is larger than Honor H9’s 5.84-inch display. However, the 9N provides 1080 x 2280 pixels and ~ 432 PPI, much better quality and resolution than what Redmi Note 5 Pro provides in 1080 x 2160 pixels and ~ 403 PPI.
Pricing
Honor 9N begins from Rs 11,990 for the 3GB RAM +32GB storage variant, and goes up to 13,999 for the 4GB RAM + 64GB storage variant. Also, there is a 4GB RAM+128GB storage option at Rs 17,999.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro is priced at Rs 14,999 for the base model of 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage and it goes up to Rs 16,999 for the top-end model of 6 GB RAM and 64 GB.
Conclusion
The Huawei Honor 9N beats the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro in every aspect except battery capacity, which is still decent enough to run for a whole day. The Honor 9N comes in more reasonable price than the Note 5 pro and is worth buying if you are searching a smartphone in the range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000.