#SmartphonesFaceoff: BlackBerry Evolve v/s Xiaomi Mi A2
What's the story
In a bid to stay relevant in the smartphone market, BlackBerry has launched Evolve and Evolve X smartphones in India at Rs. 24,990 and Rs. 34,990, respectively. However, India's fast-growing smartphone market is not an easy battlefield. In the sub-Rs. 25,000 segment, Evolve will face huge competition from the upcoming Xiaomi Mi A2, amongst others. Here's how the two phones fare against each other.
Information
Understanding the price factor here
The BlackBerry Evolve has been priced at Rs. 24,990 in India. On the other hand, Mi A2 is set to launch in the country on August 9. And while Mi A2's pricing is currently not known, it is expected to arrive under Rs. 25,000 mark.
Design
At a glance
BlackBerry has relinquished the physical keyboard on the Evolve to settle for a traditional design with thickish bezels, as compared to Mi A2's edge-to-edge display. On the back, Evolve sports a rubberized back-panel with rectangular edges while Mi A2 has an overall slimmer profile with a curved metallic back panel and rounded corners. The winner is Mi A2 for its slimmer and modern design.
Display
All about the screen
As the latest phones, both the BlackBerry Evolve and Xiaomi Mi A2 sport a 5.99-inch LCD HD+ display with a pixel density of 403ppi, an 18:9 aspect ratio, and a 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. Clearly, spec-wise both the phones are tied. But bearing in mind the frontal design of the phones, the Mi A2's screen stands out more than BlackBerry Evolve's.
Primary Camera
For the shutterbugs
The Mi A2 gets an AI-powered dual camera setup comprising 12MP+20MP Sony sensors with an aperture of f/1.75, phase-detection autofocus and dual-tone LED flash. On the other hand, the Evolve sports dual 13-megapixel sensors with f/2.0 aperture, dual tone LED flash and PDAF. Notably, Mi A2 offers more megapixels, a higher aperture allowing for better low-light photos and fairly decent AI-based image enhancements.
Selfie Camera
For the love of Selfies
Up front, the Mi A2 gets a 20-megapixel Sony IMX376 sensor with f/1.75 aperture, fixed focal length, LED flash and AI-powered features such as Portrait Mode, Scene Recognition, and Smart Beauty 4.0. The BlackBerry Evolve sports 16-megapixel sensor with fixed focus, f/2.0 aperture, and a selfie flash. Again, Mi A2 is a better option given the extra megapixels, wider aperture, and AI-powered features.
Internals
All the important stuff
The Mi A2 is powered by a Snapdragon 660 processor with an AI engine, paired with 4GB/6GB of RAM and 32GB/64GB/128GB of internal storage. The BlackBerry Evolve gets a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 chipset, paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD card). Clearly, with the latest Snapdragon 660 processor, the Mi A2 is a no-brainer.
Sensors & Software
Lifeblood of your smartphone
Both the phones come with a standard array of sensors including an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, gyroscope, proximity sensor and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. While both the phones run stock Android Oreo 8.1, Evolve has an edge given its safety and privacy-related features. Notably, Mi A2 will get at least two years of updates, being an Android One smartphone. You be the judge.
Battery & Connectivity
Staying connected
Connectivity options on Mi A2 and BlackBerry Evolve are quite identical - 4G LTE, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11a/c, GPS+GLONASS, and USB Type-C. However, the difference is significant in terms of battery. The Mi A2 packs a 3,010mAh battery with support for QuickCharge 3.0 while Evolve gets a bigger 4,000mAh battery pack. The BlackBerry phone scores its second point here.
Our result
How things stack up!
While Evolve does come with expandable storage, a bigger battery and has a slew of privacy and safety features, these aren't just enough to win BlackBerry many customers. Hence, with the latest and more powerful processor, extra RAM (depending on the variant), better front and rear cameras, and an overall new design, the Xiaomi Mi A2 is hands down a winner here.