The real battle of the budget smartphones in India has just begun. The year kicked off with Lenovo launching the A6000, and this week both Motorola and Xiaomi bring their much-talked-about new budget smartphones to India. Interestingly, all three smartphones are priced at Rs 6,999. We’ve put them in the ring, to check which one emerges as the winner, at least on paper.

As expected, Xiaomi has launched the Redmi 2 that will hit store shelves on March 24 via the usual flash sale. The smartphone sports a 4.7-inch HD IPS display with 1280 x 720 pixels of resolution, with a pixel density that goes up to 312ppi. It is 9.4mm thin with matte touch backcover, along with fingerprint and grease resistance. Under the hood, it comes powered by a 64-bit 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor paired with 1GB of RAM and Adreno 306 GPU. The Redmi 2 is a 4G dual-SIM handset where both  the slots support 4G. It comes with USB OTG and runs on Xiaomi’s own MIUI 6 skin over Android 4.4 KitKat.Some other specs include 8GB onboard storage, 8MP rear camera, 2MP front-facing and support for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS besides 4G LTE (TDD/FDD) network support. It will be available in pink, yellow, green, grey and white colour variants.The company also plans to launch a Limited Edition soon with 16GB storage and 2GB RAM.

The all-new Moto E sports a 4.5-inch display with 540 x 960 pixels resolution, and runs the latest Android flavor – 5.0 Lollipop. The 3G version of the Moto E is powered by 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 32-bit processor and a 400MHz Adreno 302 GPU. It also includes 1GB of RAM. It comes with an internal storage of 8GB that can be further expanded up to 32GB via microSD card slot. In terms of camera, it gets a 5MP rear snapper along with an auto focus sensor and includes features like geo-tagging, panorama, and HDR. It also comes with a front-facing VGA camera.The LTE version has a 1.2GHz quad-core 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor and a 400MHz Adreno 306 GPU. The 4G LTE version is expected to be launched in India by May. Check out our first impressions of the new Moto E.

The Lenovo A6000 comes with a large 5-inch 720p HD display and is powered by a 64-bit, 1.2GHz Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor, paired with 1GB of RAM. The A6000 is a  dual-SIM smartphone, which supports 4G LTE, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0, and weighs 128 grams. The Lenovo A6000 comes with stereo speakers, which work on Dolby Digital Plus technology. It has an internal storage of 8GB, expandable up to 32GB. It also gets an 8MP rear camera and a 2MP front-facing camera. It runs Android 4.4 KitKat, which sports the Vibe UI 2.0 skin. It comes with a 2,300mAh battery, which Lenovo claims can provide up to 13 hours of calls and up to 11.5 days on standby. Check out our first impressions of the new Lenovo A6000.

Take a look at the comparison chart below:


Conclusion

All three smartphones – the Redmi 2, Moto E second gen and Lenovo A6000 – carry the same price tag, so it all boils down to what they have to offer. To begin with, the Lenovo A6000 brings a large screen experience with its 5-inch display, but the Redmi 2 offers the sharpest and best display among all three. However, the A6000 is highly portable at 128 grams, compared to other two.

All three support similar connectivity options (Moto E lacks USB OTG) and similar storage space with expandable storage space up to 32GB. In terms of battery, Moto E still lags with a 5MP rear and VGA front-facing cameras. In terms of performance, Lenovo and Xiaomi have employed Snapdragon 410, while Motorola goes with Snapdragon 200.

However, the Moto E steals the show when it comes to the OS, as it runs stock Android – the latest iteration 5.0 Lollipop.  Moreover, it is offered by a more seasoned OEM. The Moto E 4G variant is yet to launch in India, which could give the others a head start.

On paper, Redmi 2 comes across as the winner. Though the Moto E doesn’t shine when it comes to the specs, it comes from a more seasoned OEM and we can expect a decent performance.