Review of Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 - a mid-budget phablet with a claim to originality

Xiaomi plays well in the budget and middle segment, from year to year the company's devices are very balanced for its price. Let's see if the company succeeded in continuing this trend in 2018 using the example of Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 .

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Specifications

What are the Redmi Note

As usual, Xiaomi has produced such a zoo of devices that the devil will break his leg. You can meet Redmi 5 Note, Redmi 5 Note Pro, Redmi 5 Plus on the market.

Let's try to figure it out:

• Redmi Note 5 Pro is currently announced for India only. It has a 20 megapixel front module, there is no global firmware for this phone and it does not support LTE B7 networks, which is very critical for our market.
• Redmi Note 5 is equipped with a paired vertical camera (like the iPhone X), it can be either with global firmware or with Chinese one. Supports our LTE frequencies.
• In some regions, the Redmi Note 5 is actually selling the Redmi 5 Plus with one main camera and a Snapdragon 625 processor.

If there is a desire to delve into the topic even more, I found an explanation indicating specific indexes of the models . I'm on the review of Redmi Note 5 in the basic version of 3/32 GB with pre-installed global firmware.

What is in the box

The device is delivered in a compact box. The kit fully corresponds to the positioning of the device:

• USB cable
• power supply (5 V, 2 A)
• clip
• waste paper

It is a pity that the complete power supply does not support fast charging, however, no one bothers to buy a suitable one separately.

Design and ergonomics

I will not argue, Xiaomi had never disdained to copy the design of Apple products before. This is perfectly visible throughout the entire MIUI shell, in the appearance of the Xiaomi A1, which is painfully similar to the smaller iPhone 7 Plus.

In the case of Redmi Note 5, the external resemblance to the iPhone X has been brought to almost absurdity. The vertical module of the camera completely slicked from the apple gadget is of no practical use, and looks like a mockery.

If earlier owners of Xiaomi smartphones could be baptized as practical people who choose balanced devices for a reasonable price, then they will often glance at owners of the new laptop with a sarcastic grin.

Yes, I know that a similar design has been distorted, including ASUS (Zenfone 5), Huawei (P20 line) and a dozen less well-known Chinese brands. Such thoughtless copying to the detriment of user experience is very sad for me.

If you turn off the sad snob mode, the appearance of the device is quite interesting and fresh. The frames around the display, reduced by comparison with the previous Redmi Note, and a new aspect ratio of 18: 9 allowed to pack a six-inch screen instead of a 5.5-inch device.

The body is made of anodized aluminum, the controls are arranged in a classic way.

The top and bottom panels of the tablet are similar to metal ones, but in reality this is a well-disguised plastic. The solution is simple, but it copes with its task, and the appearance does not spoil much.

A fingerprint scanner is located on the back of the device. This is very convenient when you often get a smartphone out of your pocket, but it causes outrage when you need to unlock the device lying on the table. The scanner works in a split second, there is nothing to complain about.

For the 6-inch device, Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 is well balanced. It is easy to hold in your hand, you can intercept without risking dropping. The arrangement of control elements on the body is generally familiar. All buttons are on the right side. SIM slot and memory card - on the left. The last one is hybrid, that is, you have to choose between the second SIM card and the microSD card.

The device got rid of the physical buttons under the display - another noticeable improvement. But what Redmi Note 5 didn’t get rid of was the old microUSB port and 3.5 mm headphone jack. And that ... damn good! After all, the charging cable can be found in every home, and the sound quality of wired headphones has not been canceled. But those who want to get high-quality sound without wires will have to be a little confused. To enable support for apt-X, you need to install a pair of crutches .

The infrared port, which is familiar to the owners of Xiaomi, has not gone anywhere, and it means you can still forget about the consoles for controlling home appliances.

On the bottom of the smartphone is a single multimedia speaker. The sound quality I would rate as average, while it is loud enough not to miss a call on a busy street.

Screen

The display occupies 77.5% of the area of ​​the entire frontal space of the gadget. The viewing angles are wide, which is typical for most IPS-matrices. There is no graininess of the picture, while in terms of color reproduction, light blockages are noticeable in cold tones. Screen calibration could be better.

Traditionally, for Xiaomi devices, the color rendition can be changed to your liking in the settings. Brightness reserve allows you to work with phablet on the street, automatic adjustment works quickly.

Cameras

The paired module consists of 12 and 5 megapixel Samsung cameras with an f / 1.9 aperture. The first one is universal, the second one is included in portrait photography and is used to blur the background. Also, the manufacturer claims the use of artificial intelligence in the camera.

What came out of it: the device shoots well with its money. In the daytime, get decent frames with high detail. Portrait mode correctly captures a person in the frame and blurs the background. Sometimes it looks even too unrealistic, but the fact remains that the system works.

Photo examples

More examples of photos in full resolution are available here .

Undoubtedly, if you put a couple of flagships next to it, it will become noticeable that Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 is no longer so good and loses on detailing especially indoors and with a lack of light. What is even more out of the rut - the speed of shooting. “Nout” needs to think about a second after clicking the shutter of the camera.

Comparison of Redmi Note 5 and Samsung Galaxy 7 images:

Round 1

Redmi note 5

Galaxy S7

Round 2

Redmi note 5

Galaxy S7

Comparing images of Redmi Note 5 and Apple iPhone 6s:

Round 1

Redmi note 5

iPhone 6s

Round 2

Redmi note 5

iPhone 6s

The quality of shooting a 13 megapixel front camera is average, sometimes it blurs the picture or distorts the face, even when the filter is turned off. Video can be shot in FullHD at 30 frames per second with optical stabilization.

Iron and software

Iron filling of the smartphone is a good average level. The eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 operates at frequencies up to 1.8 GHz paired with the Adreno 509 video accelerator. The new tandem provides good performance in everyday tasks, but in heavy toys like WoT, Dead Trigger 2, PUBG frame rate at maximum graphics settings is not suitable for a comfortable game. We'll have to reduce the quality of textures to medium.

Many benchmarks

The chip is practically not heated, so the smartphone can be used for a long time without feeling discomfort. A little warm body becomes somewhere after 10-15 minutes of the game, but all within the bounds of decency.

In my version of the smartphone 3 GB of RAM is installed. For multitasking, this is enough; you can keep 3-5 applications in the background and switch between them. True self switching occurs with a slight delay.

The key problem of the speed of the device is connected, as it seems to me, with the optimization of the shell. Applications start painfully for a long time - sometimes you have to wait up to 3-5 seconds. A stock launcher now and then twitches when you open the search window. At the same time, the overall scrolling in the system is smooth.

MIUI desktops

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 runs on Android 8.1.0 with a proprietary shell MIUI 9th version. On global firmware, both Google services and a full set of language packs are preinstalled.

Interface

Of the new shell chips, I can note the gesture control, which makes it possible without the onscreen buttons. From the old - continues to delight the possibility of a sophisticated setting of everything and everything: from notifications for each application to the appearance of icons on the desktop.

Experiment lovers are still open to pure Android and custom firmware via unlocking the bootloader. But this is all at your own peril and risk, as they say.

Autonomy

A 4000 mAh battery, an energy efficient chip and software brought to mind allow the phablet to work from one charge for 1.5-2 days of active use with 5-8 hours of active display. If you do not torment the smartphone from morning to evening, then you can stretch the pleasure for 3-5 days with four hours of active screen.

It looks like this

This means that you can not deny yourself neither to watch a video nor to play games. Where some smartphones die under full load before lunch, Redmi Note 5 lives until late in the evening and still leaves a charge in the morning.

An interesting fact related to the charging of the smartphone is that its controller supports the Quick Charge 3.0 protocol. A detailed debriefing can be found in the topic on w3bsit3-dns.com . However, the difference in charging speed in fact is not very noticeable, and the potential wear of the battery may be higher.

findings

For its price - just over $ 200 in official retail - Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 can be called a very attractive purchase. It has excellent autonomy, modern “frameless” design, good performance in everyday tasks and quite decent camera.

The design of the device, which is open to the amateur, raises questions, and the lack of NFC in the era of the spread of contactless payments is also distressing. As for the shell and the speed of work, I think these nuances will be corrected in the next software updates, yet the device is still quite fresh.

What you liked:

• fast fingerprint scanner
• microUSB and 3.5 mm jack
• chip performance in most tasks
• camera capabilities
• autonomy
• manufacturer failure from the touch buttons below the display

What did not like:

• very controversial design
• no NFC chip
• application launch speed

Related Links

Talk on w3bsit3-dns.com

Where can one buy?

At the time of this writing, the cost of Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 varies from 190 to 230 dollars . Version 4/64 with the coupon IT $ MPnote5 will cost exactly $ 200.

Thanks for attention!