The Xiaomi Mi4i and Asus Zenfone 2 have without a doubt been the most talked about smartphones over the past couple of months. Asus' newest Zenfone is certainly its best till date, while Xiaomi has a lot of hopes from its first 'made for India' device. Here we draw a quick comparison between the 2GB RAM variant of the Zenfone 2 alongside the Xiaomi Mi4i using benchmarks and a couple of camera samples.
Everybody's favourite AnTuTu benchmark ranks the Zenfone 2 slightly higher than the Xiaomi Mi4i. This, despite the fact that both devices have 1080p displays, but Asus boasts a bigger size. The OnePlus One has only been included to give you a perspective on the next most powerful device.
The Geekbench 3 test breaks down performance into single and multi-core tests. The Xiaomi Mi4i's octa-core processor allows it to edge past the quad-core processor in the multi core test, but the Asus device is still ahead on single core performance.
The major difference though is visible in the GPU performance, where the Asus Zenfone 2 leaves the Mi4i well behind, thanks to the PowerVR processor on the Zenfone.
The 3D Mark test, which is essentially a graphics test that takes into account the entire power package, sums up the performance difference aptly. The Asus Zenfone 2 is much superior to the Mi4i in terms of perfomance.
Camera
Left Xiaomi Mi4i, right Asus Zenfone 2
The Zenfone 2 can't outperform the Mi4i in the camera department though. The Xiaomi device remains the best camera smartphone under 15k. The Zenfone 2 lacks the details that the Mi4i can provide. The Asus camera isn't bad, but it is well inferior compared to the Xiaomi Mi4i.
Xiaomi Mi4i top, Asus Zenfone 2 bottom
You can see the slightly washed out effect on the yellow, pink and blue colours here in the photo shot by the Asus phone. These images were taken under fluorescent lights, and that's one condition where the Zenfone 2 seems to struggle.
On the video test, the Zenfone 2's battery lasts almost 14 hours, which is better than both the OnePlus One and the Xiaomi Mi 4i. However, this shows that the Intel processor is heavily optimised for video viewing and the Zenfone 2 will provide good battery life to those who watch a lot of videos on their phone.
The Geekbench 3 battery test on the other hand shows that during regular usage, the Zenfone 2 isn't as good as the Xiaomi Mi 4i.
The major differences between the Asus Zenfone 2 and the Xiaomi Mi 4i lie in the camera and performance, and as you can see, both have their own strengths and weaknesses. We'll continue this comparison and come up with a more in depth analysis soon.