Display and Processor
Display is the key highlight for both of these devices. Both feature a 720p HD display with great viewing angles and good colors, admirable in the price range. Xiaomi Redmi 1S has IPS LCD display, while Honor Holly features LTPS display which shouldn’t make much of a difference at the user end. The major difference will be in display size. While Redmi 1S offers 4.7 Inch display, Honor Holly has a bigger 5 Inch display size, The Xiaomi Redmi 1S is powered by 1.6 GHz Snapdragon 400 quad core SoC, while the Honor Holly runs on 1.3 GHz Quad core chipset (most likely MediaTek). Xiaomi is attempting to fix performance and heating issues with the latest update. Backed by 1 GB RAM, both devices are capable of decent day to day performance.
Camera and Internal Storage
We were impressed by Xiaomi Redmi 1S 8 MP shooter, although camera app did stutter a bit while recording full HD videos. In our initial testing, Honor Holly with its 8 MP sensor sourced from Samsung, didn’t turn out as impressive. Honor Holly is a clear winner with regards to internal storage. Xiaomi Redmi 1S has 8 GB native storage and apps cannot be transferred to SD card. The Honor Holly on the other hand offers 16 GB on board storage, with option to check SD card as default storage for apps. MicroSD card slot for further expansion is also present.
Battery and Other Features
Xiaomi Redmi 1S with 2050 mAh battery, doesn’t particularly impress with its battery backup. Heawei honor Holly has a similar 2000 mAh battery, but Huawei claims you can extract 24 hours of moderate and 48 hours of light usage out of it. These are tall claims and we would like to test them before believing them. Redmi 1S is presently running on Android 4.3 Jelly bean deeply hidden under heavy and feature rich MIUI. Honor Holly features more up to date Android 4.4 KitKat with huawei’s Emotion UI on top. MIUI receives regular updates which is a plus point for Redmi 1S.
Key Specs
Conclusion
Xiaomi Redmi 1S has slightly better camera, while Honor Holly promises better battery life, more Internal storage and Android KitKat. Both phones are quite sturdy, so build quality shouldn’t be a deciding factor. Both Redmi 1S and Honor Holly will sell exclusively on flipkart for 5,999 INR and 6,999 INR respectively.