As different as chalk as cheese – that is the best way to describe the two smartphones. While the Honor 9 Lite is a sleek and compact glass wonder, the Redmi Note 4 is a metal clad no-nonsense industrial powerhouse.

The biggest USP of the Honor 9 Lite is its sleek and compact design. Not only does the glass unibody design feel premium but it helps the Honor 9 Lite stand out amongst all the metal clad smartphones out there. The 9 Lite is also surprisingly compact and pocketable despite having a 5.65-inch screen. The Redmi Note 4 is no slouch either – it has a full-metal body with polished antenna lines at the back together with 2.5D glass at the front which not only looks good but also enhances in-hand feel. All in all, the 9 Lite takes this round as it looks fresher and more modern.

As we wrote in our official review, the 5.65-inch FullHD+ display is the star of the show on the Honor 9 Lite – it is bright, punchy and has great viewing angles. The fact that it has an aspect ratio of 18:9 and flows from edge to edge is just icing on the cake. The Redmi Note 4’s 5.5-inch FullHD display is not bad per se, but it is outclassed by the 9 Lite’s panel in terms of colour reproduction and vividness

Performance – this is where the Redmi Note 4 strikes back. While the Honor 9 Lite handles day to day use with aplomb, it struggles when pushed. The Redmi Note 4 on the other hand is powered by the ultra-reliable Snapdragon 625 chipset which allows it to handle almost everything thrown at it easily. Power users should definitely stick to the Redmi Note 4.

The software experience on both smartphones is a bit of a hit and miss. Honor’s EMUI 8.0 which is based on Android 8.0 Oreo is quite a bit faster than EMUI 5.1 and is cleaner and more streamlined to boot. However, it is still cluttered and bloat-ridden. Xiaomi’s MIUI follows the same script – it has become much more streamlined that before but still cannot come close to stock Android in terms of simplicity.

On the imaging front, the Honor 9 Lite comes with a 13+2MP dual camera setup at the front as well as the back. The Redmi Note 4 on the other hand comes with a 13MP rear camera alongside a 5MP selfie shooter. While both smartphones struggle in low light, the 9 Lite has the slight edge in well-lit scenarios – images have more detail and look sharper. Colour accuracy is however better on the Note 4. The situation with teh front cameras is more or less similar with the 9 Lite slightly edging out the Note 4. While you can take bokeh shots with the 9 Lite – which is not possible on the Note 4 – the achieved depth of field effect leaves a lot to be desired.

All in all, the 9 Lite is an extremely solid and sleek looking budget smartphone from Honor that feels more modern than the Redmi Note 4. Having said that, the Note 4 still holds its own in areas such as performance. While power users should definitely stick to the Note 4, others will be very well serviced by Honor’s glass wonder which ticks almost all the right boxes.