Xiaomi Redmi 2 vs Xiaomi Redmi 1S vs Meizu m1 note

Xiaomi have announced the long overdue replacement to the Redmi 1S, but is this update really enough to compete with the likes of the Meizu m1 note and previous Redmi 1S?

With a true update taking a very long time to surface, and after seeing what other manufacturers are now offering we were hoping for a lot more from the Redmi 2. Don’t get us wrong, the Redmi 2 is a great phone for the money, but not the update we expected and not much to entice current 1s owners to upgrade.

The Xiaomi Redmi 2 will officially go on sale on January 9th, then will enter other markets (India, Malaysia etc) at a later date. At 699 Yuan in China the price is pretty good and is less than the 999 Yuan Meizu m1 note, but specifications haven’t changed all that much from the previous Xiaomi Redmi 1S.

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To make the comparison between the 3 phones easier to see check out the Xiaomi Redmi 2 vs Redmi 1S vs Meizu m1 note table below.

[table id=187 /]

As you can see from the specifications, the main differences between the Redmi 2 and 1S are the slight slimming down in dimensions, newer processor, dual 4G support and slightly larger battery and fast charging. Those are nice features, but not really enough for someone to update their 1S to a Redmi 2.

Compared the the Meizu m1 note, the Redmi 2 is down on spec in every possible aspect. The m1 note has better front and rear cameras, are higher resolution display, larger battery, newer octaocre 64bit processor, and only costs 300 Yuan more (in China).

Based on the specifications what would you do?

[poll id=”4″]

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Andi

- - - MaxPower
      January 4, 2015
      Not according to them : w w w . mi.com/en/redmi1s/#param
      The one you meant is 4g TD-LTE which works only for China mobile
Airyl
January 4, 2015
I’d rather wait for the other Chinese brands to join in before making a decision. The JiaYu S3 is still the most inviting 64-bit phone I’ve seen, Elephone’s P7000 looks stunning, ThL has yet to release anything, so goes for iOcean and UMi.

James
January 4, 2015
I am very disappointed by the new Redmi’s specifications. I know that it is a budget phone but Xiaomi already have the Redmi 1S and Redmi 1S LTE. In my opinion, they should have released a new Redmi with better specs like using the Snapdragon 615 64 bits processor coupled with 2GB of RAM and a replaceable 2500mAh battery. A retail price around 220$ for international buyers would have been perfect!
- Heros
  January 4, 2015
  - James
    January 4, 2015
    You are right but Redmi Note 2 is a phablet! Most of the people are looking for 4,7 to 5 inch phones or even less. In my case, I will wait for Meizu M1 4,6″ version and the Iuni U4 before to decide what to buy.
    - peters
      January 4, 2015
      most people? in muy opinion, in asian market people look for 5.5, then in europe and usa want smaller
      xiaomi and meizu are officially for chinese people (We (usa and european) can only buy them through resellers)

Angry Mobile Nerd
January 4, 2015
Look at all the Xiaomi hipsters abandoning ship.
That’s the problem with bottom feeders — absolutely no brand loyalty. They’re like doves to bread crumbs; in the end they don’t care who’s tossing it or what type of bread it is, as long as it satisfies a need.
I respect Meizu more than Xiaomi because Meizu has more dignity and pride with their products. They knew they didn’t have to make a product as cheap as the Redmi to make a product more desirable than a Redmi (or Xiaomi Note for that matter).
- Ryan
  January 4, 2015
  - Angry Mobile Nerd
    January 4, 2015
    Looks like I just found the ships’ captain. Get over it, bragging about owning a Xiaomi phone is like bragging about shopping at Wal-Mart — it’s not as cool as you think.
    - Airyl
      January 4, 2015
      Isn’t that just the logical thing to do? I mean, if I liked Samsung and they disappointed me with the Galaxy S5, I’d just buy a different phone. It’s not like doing the logical thing makes you an undignified betraying rat.
      - Angry Mobile Nerd
        January 4, 2015
        I’m talking about the people who actively advocate brands (ie. hipsters, fanboys, etc…) but then abandon the brand for another the moment a competitor comes out with something more appealing.
        Actually before the m1 launch mostly everyone was happy with their Redmi, but now that the m1 is out all of a sudden their Redmi doesn’t look as good and now want a m1.
- trapchan
  January 4, 2015
  the problem is, the quality of Redmi 1S didn’t meet expectation. it’s only great on paper, but real world performance is very unacceptable. Check the complaints on MIUI forum. If it really deliver though, I bet people will be loyal. It’s like how iPhone worked. If people happy, they will continue to buy it.
  - Airyl
    January 4, 2015
    - trapchan
      January 5, 2015
      There’s a lot of Redmis which one you’re talking about?? Ask them to play Asphalt 8. The hardware should be plenty fast to run Asphalt 8, but with Redmi 1S, you just can’t.
      - $3003525
        January 5, 2015
        How many people play Asphalt!? Few, specially with low end phones.Redmi 1s is supergood for target price/use.
- MaxPower
  January 4, 2015
  At the end it’s all about marketing. Xiaomi is using these low-end devices to crowbar themselves into new markets. They did it in Malaysia, India, and soon Brazil and more countries. Let’s not forget that they sell these devices at the same price you would buy them in China. Try to buy a Meizu through their international store. This M1 will cost at least 250$! We can argue as much as we want, but I’m sure they will sell these redmi 2 like candies.and last but not least kudos to xiaomi that is still offering low-end sub 5″ phones. 5.5″ phones are not for everybody.

geekwannabe
January 4, 2015
I would say it would be fairer to compare Meizu M1 Note against Redmi Note as both are selling at 999 yuan and both are 5.5 inch devices. Currently the Redmi Note would lose out in specs but once Redmi Note 2 (following its little sibling’s footsteps) upgrades its internals to 64 bit era then things would be about even. As XiaoMi and Mediatek have fallen out maybe the Redmi Note 2 might even be using Snapdragon 615 when it comes out…

realjjj
January 4, 2015
The Redmi 1S 4G is 599 CNY and so is the Lenovo K3 both are more relevant in this comparison than the Meizu, that one is in a different price band.
Guest
January 4, 2015
Redmi 1s have lte.. Is it right !!
- Guest
  January 4, 2015
  Sir Redmi 1s is not having LTE…however Redmi2 does…
- Andi Sykes
  January 4, 2015
  There is an LTE and 3G version of the Redmi 1S http://item.mi.com/buyphone/hongmi1s
- Guest
  January 5, 2015
  They sold 61 million phones in 2014, must be doin something right. Elephone ? We’ll see in a year about quality control. Specs is not equal to user experience

Enzo
January 4, 2015
I would not buy any of the phones in the article.
The reason: the Redmi range comes with really old hardware. Snapdragon 410 is worse than Meidiatek MT6732! Which in turn is not groundbraking. And only 1 GB of RAM is really odd, given the size of Xiaomi as a company.
Meizu m1 note is too big for my tastes, though. And i do not like the resolution of the screen. Why should i pay more for something that drains (the not so powerful) battery faster, when 1280×720 is perfect for me?
For the record: i will buy Elephone P6000 in a couple of days.
- Ex Post Facto
  January 4, 2015
  - realjjj
    January 4, 2015
    http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/compare/1637677?baseline=1546611
    Main point being that the Note is outdated, an A53 core clocked at or above 1.5GHz is a significant gain. It’s early for the new chips so better wait a bit , lots of new devices will show up before the Chinese new year in mid february.

Guest
January 4, 2015
@andi
You should compare it with soon coming Meizu Note M1 mini instead of the 5.5″ version.
- Michael Ogbonnaya
  January 4, 2015
  Even the Meizu Note M1 mini still tramples the Redmi 2 too in every possible aspect.
- Airyl
  January 4, 2015
  It hasn’t even been released yet.
- Andi Sykes
  January 4, 2015
  It will be worth comparing. Major issue with Meizu though is that they aren’t competitive for international pricing. Hope we see that change.
- Guest
  January 4, 2015
  Andi, What has international pricing got to do with anything? Xiaomi dont even sell internationally at all so I would give meizu the win in that respect anyways. If meizu make the M1 mini a 4.7 inch 720p screen and retain the other specs I can see it being cheaper or as cheap as this non upgrade of Xiaomis
- Angry Mobile Nerd
  January 5, 2015
  It’s similar to the business I’m in; if we feel a market segment isn’t very important or critical, or we don’t have the capacity but we still want to get our feet wet, what do we do? — We jack up the price. This way the people outside our territory who really want to get one can still get one, but at the same time we’re not going to get flooded with orders we can’t fill.
  Most (all?) other Chinese OEM’s won’t even sell direct to international customers. Meizu does, albeit at a hefty markup.
- January 22, 2015
  @Gizchina:disqus I am hearing that the GPS on the Meizu M1 note is very poor, compared to phones with Snapdragon CPU. Can you confirm?
highwind
January 4, 2015
Cant vote, the “No, I dont care for wanna-be-hipster-phone that comes in childish toy colors” option is missing…

peters
January 4, 2015
the real comparising will be meizu m1 note with the future xiaomi redmi note 2
Miko
January 4, 2015
Spec-wise it seems that meizu wins here but as Leo said, I would like to see the mini version too.
The only thing that might make people buy the Xiaomi offers is the lower price but even for that I’m not so sure.

Guest
January 4, 2015
It is rather like comparing apples and pears..Meizu M1 is also 44% more expensive, and hence has better specs. Xiaomi here is targeting the average phone user, who would normally like the compact form factor of Redmi 2, combined with i am sure the lower power consumption of Snapdragon 410.
- MaxPower
  January 4, 2015
  You couldn’t explain that better. They are simply offering LTE to those millions of customers that already chose redmi 1s. What people don’t understand is that not everybody are willing to pay extra money for a better phone when they just need a basic one. Plus not everybody is happy with a 5.5” phablet. Once the new redmi NOTE will be released then you can compare it with the meizu NOTE.
- Andi Sykes
  January 4, 2015
  The 1S already had LTE
- MaxPower
  January 4, 2015
  Not according to them : w w w . mi.com/en/redmi1s/#param
  The one you meant is 4g TD-LTE which works only for China mobile

Airyl
January 4, 2015
I’d rather wait for the other Chinese brands to join in before making a decision. The JiaYu S3 is still the most inviting 64-bit phone I’ve seen, Elephone’s P7000 looks stunning, ThL has yet to release anything, so goes for iOcean and UMi.
Chrisanthos Nonis
January 4, 2015
redmi 2 is going to replace 1s, is a small upgrade for a low budget phone. If I was going to buy a smartphone, I would choose redmi 2 , simple.

Guest
January 4, 2015
I am very disappointed by the new Redmi’s specifications. I know that it is a budget phone but Xiaomi already have the Redmi 1S and Redmi 1S LTE. In my opinion, they should have released a new Redmi with better specs like using the Snapdragon 615 64 bits processor coupled with 2GB of RAM and a replaceable 2500mAh battery. A retail price around 220$ for international buyers would have been perfect!
- Guest
  January 4, 2015
  that was supposed to be redmi note 2.
- Guest
  January 4, 2015
  You are right but Redmi Note 2 is a phablet! Most of the people are looking for 4,7 to 5 inch phones or even less. In my case, I will wait for Meizu M1 4,6″ version and the Iuni U4 before to decide what to buy.
- peters
  January 4, 2015
  most people? in muy opinion, in asian market people look for 5.5, then in europe and usa want smaller
  xiaomi and meizu are officially for chinese people (We (usa and european) can only buy them through resellers)

Faux-News
January 4, 2015
Although M1note is better even though its not a proper comparison size wise, but Xiaomi will this time probably have made a intentional change in strategy as they would want to have the device actually deliverable to consumers in larger extent while m1note would be one of those which will take months and hard to obtain.

Angry Mobile Nerd
January 4, 2015
Look at all the Xiaomi hipsters abandoning ship.
That’s the problem with bottom feeders — absolutely no brand loyalty. They’re like doves to bread crumbs; in the end they don’t care who’s tossing it or what type of bread it is, as long as it satisfies a need.
I respect Meizu more than Xiaomi because Meizu has more dignity and pride with their products. They knew they didn’t have to make a product as cheap as the Redmi to make a product more desirable than a Redmi (or Xiaomi Note for that matter).
- Guest
  January 4, 2015
  Go suck my balls you Meizu bumchum.
- trapchan
  January 4, 2015
  the problem is, the quality of Redmi 1S didn’t meet expectation. it’s only great on paper, but real world performance is very unacceptable. Check the complaints on MIUI forum. If it really deliver though, I bet people will be loyal. It’s like how iPhone worked. If people happy, they will continue to buy it.
- MaxPower
  January 4, 2015
  At the end it’s all about marketing. Xiaomi is using these low-end devices to crowbar themselves into new markets. They did it in Malaysia, India, and soon Brazil and more countries. Let’s not forget that they sell these devices at the same price you would buy them in China. Try to buy a Meizu through their international store. This M1 will cost at least 250$! We can argue as much as we want, but I’m sure they will sell these redmi 2 like candies.and last but not least kudos to xiaomi that is still offering low-end sub 5″ phones. 5.5″ phones are not for everybody.
- Angry Mobile Nerd
  January 5, 2015
  Looks like I just found the ships’ captain. Get over it, bragging about owning a Xiaomi phone is like bragging about shopping at Wal-Mart — it’s not as cool as you think.
- Airyl
  January 5, 2015
  I’ve met almost too many people who were happy with their Redmis.
- Airyl
  January 5, 2015
  Isn’t that just the logical thing to do? I mean, if I liked Samsung and they disappointed me with the Galaxy S5, I’d just buy a different phone. It’s not like doing the logical thing makes you an undignified betraying rat.
- Angry Mobile Nerd
  January 5, 2015
  I’m talking about the people who actively advocate brands (ie. hipsters, fanboys, etc…) but then abandon the brand for another the moment a competitor comes out with something more appealing.
  Actually before the m1 launch mostly everyone was happy with their Redmi, but now that the m1 is out all of a sudden their Redmi doesn’t look as good and now want a m1.
- trapchan
  January 5, 2015
  There’s a lot of Redmis which one you’re talking about?? Ask them to play Asphalt 8. The hardware should be plenty fast to run Asphalt 8, but with Redmi 1S, you just can’t.
- Guest
  January 5, 2015
  How many people play Asphalt!? Few, specially with low end phones.Redmi 1s is supergood for target price/use.

trapchan
January 4, 2015
Where’s the option to not get all of it. Redmi 1S, used to have it. Unacceptable CPU performance and lacked RAM (only 200~MB left on fresh OS out of 1GB ??). It’s a trash. M1 Note, too big, screen defect issue. Redmi 2, maybe CPU performance will be better, but with 1GB RAM and running MIUI 6, I bet lack of RAM issue will exists like it’s predecessor. So, no, not getting any of it.
Still waiting a phone with metal build, 4,5″ – 5″ screen HD, 64bit chip, 2GB RAM, and shipped with Lollipop on board, 2300+ mah battery, also support OTG / USB host. And priced <$200
- Airyl
  January 5, 2015
  - trapchan
    January 5, 2015
    It’s still just a rumor, the specs, the renders, it’s still unofficial. But thanks for pointed it out, looking forward to it. I hope it will deliver the expectation.
    - James
      January 5, 2015
      Man, I am exactly like you I mean I need a new phone but I really don’t know what to buy. I am not looking for a flagship at 400-500$ but a mid range phone with pretty decent specs and a good battery life (replaceable). With a final price around 250$ without shipping costs for international buyers would be fine. Some dudes suggested me to buy the MI4 but 16GB storage might not be enough and I don’t have the budget for the 64GB version. Iuni is planning to release the Iuni U4 which is a 5″ version of Iuni U3. The Iuni U2 looks amazing for its actual price with killer specs but the battery is 2200mAh for a 4,7inch screen. My concern about the Iuni U2 is its battery life and available roms. I really hope that Jiayu will release the S4. There is also the Meizu K52. Let’s see!

ReinoldFZ .
January 4, 2015
The only downside to me is the non removable cover to change the battery in the meizu (they don’t last forever) and esthetically I’d like a black version but aside that it seems to me more attractive to buy.
zhongtiao1
January 4, 2015
What I would like to see is a high spec phone with a smallish 4″ screen.

geekwannabe
January 4, 2015
I would say it would be fairer to compare Meizu M1 Note against Redmi Note as both are selling at 999 yuan and both are 5.5 inch devices. Currently the Redmi Note would lose out in specs but once Redmi Note 2 (following its little sibling’s footsteps) upgrades its internals to 64 bit era then things would be about even. As XiaoMi and Mediatek have fallen out maybe the Redmi Note 2 might even be using Snapdragon 615 when it comes out…

realjjj
January 4, 2015
The Redmi 1S 4G is 599 CNY and so is the Lenovo K3 both are more relevant in this comparison than the Meizu, that one is in a different price band.

Guest
January 4, 2015
I would not buy any of the phones in the article.
The reason: the Redmi range comes with really old hardware. Snapdragon 410 is worse than Meidiatek MT6732! Which in turn is not groundbraking. And only 1 GB of RAM is really odd, given the size of Xiaomi as a company.
Meizu m1 note is too big for my tastes, though. And i do not like the resolution of the screen. Why should i pay more for something that drains (the not so powerful) battery faster, when 1280×720 is perfect for me?
For the record: i will buy Elephone P6000 in a couple of days.
- Ex Post Facto
  January 4, 2015
  I’m currently trying to decide between Redmi Note 4G and the P6000.
- realjjj
  January 5, 2015
  http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/compare/1637677?baseline=1546611
  Main point being that the Note is outdated, an A53 core clocked at or above 1.5GHz is a significant gain. It’s early for the new chips so better wait a bit , lots of new devices will show up before the Chinese new year in mid february.

provokanter Tabellenführer
January 4, 2015
Cant vote, the “No, I dont care for wanna-be-hipster-phone that comes in childish toy colors” option is missing…
balcobomber25
January 4, 2015
Why make major changes when you already had a very good phone? This has been Apples and Samsungs strategy for the past few years. The changes they did make are minor but they are also some of the biggest complaints of the original: LTE, bigger battery, a bit thinner and a bit lighter, more color options all for the same price. This is still one of the best entry level phones on the market.

peters
January 4, 2015
the real comparising will be meizu m1 note with the future xiaomi redmi note 2
roni24
January 4, 2015
- Airyl
  January 4, 2015
Chrisanthos Nonis
January 4, 2015
redmi 2 is going to replace 1s, is a small upgrade for a low budget phone. If I was going to buy a smartphone, I would choose redmi 2 , simple.

Faux-News
January 4, 2015
Although M1note is better even though its not a proper comparison size wise, but Xiaomi will this time probably have made a intentional change in strategy as they would want to have the device actually deliverable to consumers in larger extent while m1note would be one of those which will take months and hard to obtain.

trapchan
January 4, 2015
Where’s the option to not get all of it. Redmi 1S, used to have it. Unacceptable CPU performance and lacked RAM (only 200~MB left on fresh OS out of 1GB ??). It’s a trash. M1 Note, too big, screen defect issue. Redmi 2, maybe CPU performance will be better, but with 1GB RAM and running MIUI 6, I bet lack of RAM issue will exists like it’s predecessor. So, no, not getting any of it.
Still waiting a phone with metal build, 4,5″ – 5″ screen HD, 64bit chip, 2GB RAM, and shipped with Lollipop on board, 2300+ mah battery, also support OTG / USB host. And priced <$200
- Airyl
  January 5, 2015
  JiaYu S4?
- trapchan
  January 5, 2015
  It’s still just a rumor, the specs, the renders, it’s still unofficial. But thanks for pointed it out, looking forward to it. I hope it will deliver the expectation.
- Guest
  January 5, 2015
  Man, I am exactly like you I mean I need a new phone but I really don’t know what to buy. I am not looking for a flagship at 400-500$ but a mid range phone with pretty decent specs and a good battery life (replaceable). With a final price around 250$ without shipping costs for international buyers would be fine. Some dudes suggested me to buy the MI4 but 16GB storage might not be enough and I don’t have the budget for the 64GB version. Iuni is planning to release the Iuni U4 which is a 5″ version of Iuni U3. The Iuni U2 looks amazing for its actual price with killer specs but the battery is 2200mAh for a 4,7inch screen. My concern about the Iuni U2 is its battery life and available roms. I really hope that Jiayu will release the S4. There is also the Meizu K52. Let’s see!

ReinoldFZ .
January 4, 2015
The only downside to me is the non removable cover to change the battery in the meizu (they don’t last forever) and esthetically I’d like a black version but aside that it seems to me more attractive to buy.
zhongtiao1
January 4, 2015
What I would like to see is a high spec phone with a smallish 4″ screen.

balcobomber25
January 4, 2015
Why make major changes when you already had a very good phone? This has been Apples and Samsungs strategy for the past few years. The changes they did make are minor but they are also some of the biggest complaints of the original: LTE, bigger battery, a bit thinner and a bit lighter, more color options all for the same price. This is still one of the best entry level phones on the market.

Guest
January 4, 2015
- Airyl
  January 5, 2015

Abir
January 5, 2015
I am somewhat disappointed here, I wanted a 2nd android phone to replace my Jiayu G2 and was looking at the Redmi 2 but now thats not going to happen. Think the processing package is adequate but just 1gb of RAM? comon Xiaomi this isint 2012 anymore and MIUI is such a bloated UI already. This phone is targeted solely at the lower end user who has to have LTE. End of story.
P.S- Why compare it to the Meizu Note? These 2 phones are as different as chalk and cheese.

Guest
January 5, 2015
I am somewhat disappointed here, I wanted a 2nd android phone to replace my Jiayu G2 and was looking at the Redmi 2 but now thats not going to happen. Think the processing package is adequate but just 1gb of RAM? comon Xiaomi this isint 2012 anymore and MIUI is such a bloated UI already. This phone is targeted solely at the lower end user who has to have LTE. End of story.
P.S- Why compare it to the Meizu Note? These 2 phones are as different as chalk and cheese.
Antonio Rossi
January 5, 2015
the bad thing with xiaomi is the poor support towards the redmi series… whenever I decide to change my redmi 1s for a new better one I’ll probably get myself a meizu or Huawei honor

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