A short pictorial review of largest smartphone in Xiaomi's portfolio, the Redmi Note

1. Xiaomi
Redmi Note
Review in pictures
The #1 gadget research website in India

2. 2
Standard plasticky build…
The Redmi Note is the largest smartphone offering in Xiaomi’s stable
Usual rectangular design with plastic as building material
Dual-tone finish of black in the front and white at the back is a nice touch
The Android navigation buttons are backlit and their red colour makes them unique
There’s considerable length of bezel around the display
DESIGN

3. 3
… that could’ve been better
The device weighs 199g, making it quite heavy
Moreover, because of plastic build, it feels chunky
The phablet is also quite thick, with its frame measuring 9.4mm
The glossy back panel is a fingerprint magnet and also makes it slippery
Prying the back cover open exposes the removable battery, two SIM slots and a
microSD card slot
DESIGN

4. A large pitch to play
The Redmi Note’s pull factor is its display, which measures 5.5-inches
The large display makes the device ideal for consuming multimedia content
as well as web browsing and reading eBooks
Though the resolution is 720p, the display offers good viewing angles and
vivid colours
Sadly, there’s no protective layer on top of its display
DISPLAY

5. An all-rounder in software…
Runs the dated Android
4.2 JellyBean
The customised MIUI v5
skin is on top, which offers
similar features to its
siblings
The interface is completely
altered, right from lock
screen to home screen as
well as icons
Even the default apps don
a different look
The Security suite offering
granular control of the
device’s various aspects,
deserves a special mention
USER INTERFACE

6. … that offers numerous customisation options
The interface puts
complete control in the
hand of the user
You can change the
different long-press
commands for each of
the navigation buttons
Lock screen actions
performed by these
buttons can also be
configured
The colour of the
notification light can
also be changed for
different types of
notifications
USER INTERFACE

7. Superb camera credentials…
Boasts a 13-megapixel
primary sensor with f/2.2
aperture, supported by an
LED flash
MIUI’s custom camera app has
a number of features and
modes on offer
The app also comes with a
number of live filters
For selfies, the smartphone
comes with a 5MP camera
The rear shooter can record
videos in 1080p resolution.
The front snapper is able to
shoot videos at 720p resolution
CAMERA

8. … that result in a good imaging experience
Quality-wise, the images display
ample detail and reproduce good
colours.
However, once you start zooming
in, they start losing their
sharpness and there’s also colour
spill over.
HDR mode works well to brighten
up the scene.
Night shots are about average
with subjects being captured well,
but plenty of noise present.
The front shooter is quite good for
taking selfies or making video
calls.
Long shot
Close up
CAMERA

9. A compelling powerplay
Powered by a MediaTek MT6592 SoC offering eight Cortex-A7 cores clocked at
1.7GHz and a Mali-450MP4 GPU
The chipset is supported by 2GB RAM.
Delivers smooth performance in all tasks.
It played processor-intensive games like Asphalt Overdrive and Riptide GP2
without breaking a sweat, although it heats up quickly.
PERFORMANCE

10. Eight gigs of storage with room for expansion
Gets 8GB of onboard
storage.
Users will be able to
access about 5.6GB* for
installing apps or saving
personal content.
It can be extended further
by making use of a
microSD card of up to
32GB.
The smartphone also
supports flash drives with
the USB OTG capability.
PERFORMANCE
*We’re using the Chinese version, the available storage can
change based on the preloaded content in the Indian device

11. Plays the long innings
Powered by a removable
3,200mAh battery
Lasts more than an entire
working day even with
heavy usage
With light usage, you can
expect it to give you more
than a day and a half
worth’s backup
There are a number of
options to extend the
battery life further
You can also restrict the
CPU speed in case you
aren’t performing
processing-intensive tasks
PERFORMANCE

12. At a glance…
5.5-inch display with a resolution of
1,280 x 720 pixels, 267ppi
1.7GHz octa-core processor
2GB RAM
8GB internal memory, expandable
up to 32GB
13-megapixel primary camera with
LED flash, 5MP secondary camera
Dual-SIM compatibility (3G support
on primary SIM slot only)
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS
3,100mAh battery
Android 4.2 JellyBean with MIUI v5

13. Pros and cons
Large screen
MIUI is customisable
Decent camera
Powerhouse internals
Good battery life
Chunky build quality
No protective layer on top of
display
Older build of Android

14. Pricing & verdict
“The Redmi Note is yet to land in India, but if our
experience with it is anything to go by, it looks like
that the device will score a hat-trick for Xiaomi in
the country. Sure, its build quality could have been
better, and there’s a notable competition in the
form of Micromax Canvas Nitro and ASUS Zenfone
5. But, if you’re looking for a phablet with the
promise of good performance and imaging
capabilities, the Redmi Note is a no brainer. A solid
battery life and intuitive MIUI are an added bonus.”
Price:
Rs 9,999
(Expected)