Xiaomi has today launched the Redmi Note 5 smartphone in India. It is the successor to last year’s Redmi Note 4 and comes with some significant improvements over its predecessor. The new Redmi Note 5 comes with a refreshed design and a bigger 18:9 edge-to-edge display. Another positive thing about the device is that it has been priced the same as the Redmi Note 4.
Xiaomi had launched the smartphone in China back in December as Redmi 5 Plus and now that has been launched in India as the Redmi Note 5. The new Redmi Note 5 is all set to go on sale via Flipkart starting at Rs. 9,999 for the 3GB variant. Here, we will tell why you should buy the new bezel-less Redmi Note 5.
Reasons to buy Redmi Note 5
Refreshed Design
Xiaomi continues with the same metal unibody design for the Redmi Note 5. However, it feels more premium as its solid unibody metal design which is taller and yet thinner than the Redmi Note 4. As the device comes with an 18:9 aspect ratio 5.99-inch display, the one handed usage of the phone is easy.
Up front, there are minimum bezels on the top and bottom and the device come with on-screen navigation buttons. The back of the phone is almost similar to the Redmi Note 4 with metal back, camera module, LED flash and a fingerprint sensor below the camera module.
Bigger 18:9 Display
Xiaomi has opted for a bezel-less 18:9 display for its budget phone. The Redmi Note 5 comes with a 5.99-inch HD+ (2160 x 1080 pixels) LCD display with 2.5D curved glass which is a significant upgrade over the Redmi Note 4.
During our initial testing, we found that the display of Redmi Note 5 is sharp, thanks to the FHD+ resolution. There is no stickiness on the display and it offers good brightness levels and good visibility under sunlight in all viewing angles.
Upgraded Cameras
The Redmi Note 5 comes with a single 12MP rear camera with f/2.2 aperture, PDAF and LED flash for better focusing and low-light imaging The rear camera also has features like HDR and panorama.
The main upgrade comes to the front camera, the 5MP selfie camera now comes with an LED selfie light for better low light selfies. It also has in-built Beautify 3.0 feature for refined selfies. Both the cameras can record FHD videos i.e. 1080p@30fps. Here are some camera samples from the Redmi Note 5.
Camera Samples
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- Redmi Note 5 day light
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- Redmi note 5 daylight
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- Redmi Note 5 low light
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- Redmi note 5 artificial light
MIUI 9
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 comes with Android 7.1 Nougat with the company’s custom latest MIUI 9 skinned on top. The latest version of MIUI comes with some cool features such as notifications shades, split screen, icon animation, and smart photo editing tool. However, it is not yet clear when the company will roll out the Android 8.0 Oreo update to this phone.
Powerful Hardware
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 is powered by a similar octa-core Snapdragon 625 chipset that was also present in Redmi Note 4. It is paired with either 3GB or 4GB RAM and 32GB or 64GB internal storage. The storage is also expandable via microSD card. The Snapdragon 625 performs well during intensive tasks and in daily average usage the phone will not face performance issues. Moreover, to provide the power the phone packs a massive 4,000mAh battery.
Pricing
Despite having latest features and refreshed design, the Redmi Note 5 is priced same as its predecessor. The phone comes in two variants and the 3GB+32GB model is priced at Rs. 9,999 and the 4GB+64GB model is priced at Rs. 11,999 only. Going by its specs and design, the pricing seems very good and could be the main reason you should buy this budget phone.
Conclusion
Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 4 was the most popular phone in India last year. Now, the Chinese smartphone maker has brought the new Redmi Note 5 which is priced same as the Redmi Note 4 despite coming with a refreshed design, display and camera. Although the phone still comes with the same old hardware, the Redmi Note 5 is still a good device to buy in the budget segment in India.
