Xiaomi Redmi Note 5, Redmi Note 5 Pro, Vivo V9: Top affordable phones with top all-screen display

All screen displays are all the rage lately. What’s more, you don’t have to burn your pocket to get yourself a fancy new phone with a trendy new design that shaves the bezels and gives you visibly more real estate to work upon anymore. More and more companies are experimenting with the concept, and also bringing it to the affordable price segment. The list includes the likes of Xiaomi, Samsung and Huawei as also home-grown brands like Micromax and Lava.

There are so many options to consider, that when you’re out in the market to buy a new phone, things can get confusing. So, what do you do then? Well, you take hold of the list below and make your choice. Here are the top 5 phones with top all-screen display under Rs 30,000 that you can consider buying.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

The Redmi Note 5 brings bezel-less screens to the masses. This allows Xiaomi to increase the screen real estate without increasing the all-round footprint of the phone. The Redmi Note 5, to that effect, comes with a 5.99-inch ‘full-screen’ FHD+ display with a 2160x1080p resolution and 403ppi pixel density. Because Xiaomi has shaved off much of the bezels on the top and bottom and also on the sides, the Redmi Note 5 feels much smaller than regular 6-inch phones. Also, it supports an unusual aspect ratio of 18:9, as against the more traditional 16:9.

The quality of the panel is quite good, but, it’s not as good as the one on-board its more expensive sibling, the Redmi Note 5 Pro. Having said that, the panel is still good enough for its price segment, offering rich colours and more than adequate brightness levels. In fact, it’s a slight step-up, from the Redmi Note 4 and because it is also bezel-less, the Redmi Note 5 — in all its totality — offers a slightly better viewing experience than its predecessor. Viewing angles are quite good too, for its price.

Price: The Redmi Note 5 starts at Rs 9,999 for the base 3GB RAM and 32GB storage version while the top-end version with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage is available for buying for Rs 11,999.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro

The Redmi Note 5 Pro (along with the Redmi Note 5) is Xiaomi’s first mainstream bezel-less phone in India. The company, to recall, also sells the Mi Mix 2 in the country, but that’s a more premium offering. The Redmi Note 5 Pro (along with the Redmi Note 5) brings bezel-less screens to the masses. The Redmi Note 5 Pro comes with a 5.99-inch ‘full-screen’ FHD+ display with a 2160x1080p resolution and 403ppi pixel density. And an unusual aspect ratio of 18:9.

The quality of the panel here is quite good, even slightly better than the Mi A1 and also the Redmi Note 5. It handles — and reproduces — colours well. In fact, colours on-board the Redmi Note 5 Pro — because of their slight affinity towards the warmer end of the spectrum — look more pleasing to the eyes, than counterparts, and also there’s an option to manually correct contrast and an in-built reading mode for comfortable night-time reading. Brightness levels are quite adequate too, but be warned, that Xiaomi’s aggressive power saving software algorithms tend to tone down the brightness levels — when set in auto — way below permissible limits at times. This means hampering screen legibility, even more so when you’re out in direct sunlight. You’ll be better off setting it to manual during such times.

Price: The Redmi Note 5 Pro starts at Rs 13,999 for the base 4GB RAM and 64GB storage version while the top-end version with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage is available for buying for Rs 16,999.

Vivo V9

The most striking aspect of the V9 is its all screen and no bezel design even though a major part of it seems inspired, or rather blatantly copied from Apple. The V9 looks remarkably like Apple’s iPhone X, especially from the front. Just like the iPhone X the V9 also comes with a near edge-to-edge screen with a notch up-top. The notch allows Vivo to offer a screen-to-body ratio of almost a 90 per cent even though the V9 has a slight chin at the bottom, something that the iPhone X is lacking.

The Vivo V9 has an unusually tall screen and an unusual aspect ratio of 19:9. Vivo calls it Full View 2.0. And, in case if you haven’t noticed, it has a notch. Vivo says its notch is smaller than the iPhone X’s, but then, the iPhone X needs a bigger notch to house some fancy hardware, so I guess everyone’s a winner here. On a serious note, Vivo’s argument behind the notch is that it allows the V9 to offer more real estate without compromising on the bare essentials. While phones like the Samsung Galaxy S9 have significantly more bezels — in comparison to the V9 — phones like the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 have to make do with a grossly frustrating bottom-seated selfie camera. The V9, according to Vivo, offers the best of both worlds.

In terms of core specifics, the Vivo V9 comes with a 6.3-inch IPS LCD display with a full-HD+ resolution (2280×1080 pixel). The screen’s fairly bright and colourful, and also it has some good viewing angles for the most part. But there’s a slight reddish tinge to it, that’s more accentuated when you’re dealing with a white background. Vivo isn’t offering any manual control over contrast and saturation so you’re basically stuck with what comes out-of-the-box. There is an eye protection mode available though, that helps minimise eye fatigue for comfortable night-time reading. All in all, the prospects of getting an iPhone X-like look and feel at dirt cheap price, trump most of its limitations making you appreciate the finer things that it has to offer.

Price: The Vivo V9 is available for buying for Rs 22,990 and gets you 4GB RAM and 64GB storage for that price.

Samsung Galaxy A8+

The main USP of the Galaxy A8+, according to Samsung, is its Infinity display. Much like its top-tier phone(s), Samsung’s new mid-tier phone has an unusual 18.5:9 aspect ratio instead of a more traditional 16:9. The idea is to offer more screen in a pint-sized phone and to make every inch of that screen count. The Galaxy A8+, because it’s a mid-tier phone, has a 1080p+ resolution still, Samsung is using its proprietary Super AMOLED panel, which metes out rich and vibrant colours — not as pixel-popping as its more expensive siblings but more toned down, neutral and pleasing to the eyes — and viewing angles are also quite good. Brightness levels are quite good too.

The Galaxy A8+, although it doesn’t offer the flexibility to change screen resolution to conserve battery life like its high-profile siblings, it gives you as many as four screen modes to correct colour temperature, as well as a blue light filter for comfortable night-time reading. The Galaxy A8+ gets Samsung’s proprietary always-on display as well, so you can get customisable notifications directly on the screen — alongside a widget that shows date and time — without having you to power it up.

Price: Launched at Rs 32,990 the Samsung Galaxy A8+ can now be purchased for as low as Rs 28,990. This is for the 6GB RAM and 64GB storage version.

Huawei Honor View 10

The Honor V10’s 5.99-inch LCD panel has a resolution of 2160×1080 (Full-HD+) and an aspect ratio of 18:9. The Honor V10’s edge-to-edge display is excellent and is in fact one of the highlights of the smartphone. Viewing angles are quite good, colours appear bright and punchy, colour temperature is spot on and brightness levels are fairly adequate.

Price: The Honor V10 is available for buying for Rs 29,999 and this gets you 6GB RAM and 128GB storage.
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