Samsung Galaxy M20 vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro: Which one should you buy?

The Samsung M series smartphones are set to go on sale February 5 2019. Samsung hopes that the M series smartphones will aid them in knocking Xiaomi off the top spot in India’s budget smartphone market space. Both the M10 and M20 will aim to give the customers a price-to-performance ratio, previously only seen in Xiaomi’s budget phones. And, while the M10 is the cheaper of the two phones, it’s the M20 that truly stands out for its price. But how does the M20 fair against its main competitor, Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro? Let’s find out:

Two very different chipsets power the Galaxy M20 and Redmi Note 6 Pro. The M20 is equipped with Samsung’s Exynos 7904 SoC and the Note 6 Pro features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 SoC. While the Snapdragon 636 offers better single core and multi-core performance than the Exynos 7904; the M20’s 5000 mAh battery does provide a slight improvement in battery life over the Note 6 Pro’s 4000 mAh.

Both the M20 and Note 6 Pro feature a dual-rear camera setup. The Galaxy M20 uses a 13MP snapper with an f/1.9 aperture and 1.12-micron sensor, supporting PDAF and is assisted by a single LED flash. The Note 6 Pro boasts a 12MP primary camera with an aperture of f/1.9 and a sensor size of 1.4 microns. The 5MP secondary sensor on both phones, however, the Note 6 Pro’s secondary camera features depth sensing to create pictures with a depth-of-field effect. Additionally, the Note 6 Pro features a 20MP+2MP front camera setup, while the M20 supports an 8MP sensor. With photos on the front camera of the Note 6 Pro offering natural colours and good white balance, the M20 just can’t keep up with or without beauty mode.

The M20’s 6.3-inch display with a 1080 x 2340 resolutions and Note 6 Pro’s 6.26-inch 1080 x 2280 resolution screen aren’t that far apart. The Note 6 Pro’s all-metal build does feel a bit more premium than the M20’s polycarbonate build, likely making it less accustomed to scratches and dents. But if you’re a stickler for screens, its worth noting that the water-drop notch on the M20 does look far better than the traditional notch, which can be quite distracting.

The Samsung Galaxy M20 has come at a time when Xiaomi has already taken over the budget smartphone space. Considering both smartphones fall in the Rs 10,000 to 15,000 price range, Samsung hasn’t created a masterpiece; and the Note 6 Pro is clearly the better of the two phones. But Galaxy M20’s fresh design, waterdrop notch, big battery and a good camera, does show that Samsung is taking the budget market space very seriously, which is a massive win for the Indian consumer.