Don’t listen to music without a headset, though.
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: Xiaomi launched its first phablet model Redmi Note (3G) in India last week via Flipkart at a price tag of Rs. 8,999 ($145). Like all other Xiaomi devices, Redmi Note sales didn’t last long as 50,000 units of the device got sold out in less than 6 seconds.
One of the biggest advantages of Xiaomi devices is the impeccable hardware specifications offered at a low price. But does the performance of Redmi Note match the hype created around its spec sheet. The American Bazaar put the new Redmi Note into the heat test to check whether the device reaches up to the expectations of users.
Look
The first impression on seeing the Redmi Note (3G) inside the soft cardboard box was “Xiaomi has done it again.” The device is a real biggie with 5.5-inch touchscreen display with 720 x 1280 pixels and 267 ppi pixel density. Unlike its predecessor Redmi 1S, this device has a brighter display, but when it comes to the built quality and overall look and feel of Redmi Note, it’s the least interesting device compared to the earlier Xiaomi models, Redmi 1S and Mi3.
Redmi Note front looks almost a replica of the Redmi 1S but coming to the rear Xiaomi has used a glossy plastic sheet, which looks sturdy inside. But one can feel plastic while touching on the edges of the device. Xiaomi has placed three captive buttons towards the bottom of the 5.5 inch display, illuminated in reddish orange. Also, the white back cover of Redmi Note seems to look plain with a silver MI logo, 13 MP camera and flash. Changing the color of the back cover would have added a rich feel to the device. The power buttons along with the volume rockers comes on the right side of the device and the left side is left untouched without any buttons. On the top, we have the female audio jack and on the bottom are Micro-USB port and microphone.
Under-the-hood
To insert the SIM card, users have to peel off the back cover. One should be very careful while doing this because the back cover is so slippery that the device even fell off in the maiden attempt. On removing the back cover, one can find the 31,00 mAh removable battery. Users have to remove the battery before inserting the SIM cards or even the MicroSD card, which one thought could have been avoided during the design.
User Experience
On turning the device on, Xiaomi Redmi Note welcomes users with the MUI 5.0 customized home screen, which has an Apple iOS like interface. All applications are arranged in a grid with the number of home screens increasing as you install more apps. The 1.7GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6592 SoC coupled with 2 GB RAM is doing a good job as we couldn’t find any lag while opening applications. The touchscreen felt very responsive and the display quality, even though at 267ppi, gave stunning visual treat.
Xiaomi offers a slew of themes for users to download via its cloud system. On changing the theme, the system icons along with the some app icons undergoes change but never questions the user’s senses. Xiaomi also has enabled customization of its visual effects where in users can adjust the transition and animation of wallpapers. Users who don’t like the colorful layout can opt for a lite version which has a very simple tile-based interface with larger text. This mode will be handy for children and elderly people.
The lock screen of Redmi Note is very simple as users can directly enter the dial mode, message mode, and camera mode just by tapping on the lock screen button. Owners of Redmi Note can also set privacy setting for the device which will restrict guest users from seeing messages, call history, photos etc. But the Redmi Note lacks parental features such as setting restrictions on a particular app to restrain kids from using it.
Camera
The 13 MP camera performed exceptionally well in daylight conditions with macro photos outperforming landscape in delivering detail. The autofocus of the 13 MP rear camera seems to have a bit of delay, so tapping on the screen looked a better option for focusing. The shutter speed of Redmi Note is average and the white balance in auto mode was wavering too much, at times making the image darker. But the overall image quality of the device was better than many of the Indian smartphone brands that boast a 13 MP camera. The 5 MP front camera also produced good images in daylight conditions, but the images were a bit grainy under low light.
Display and Speaker
The 5.5 inch display looks very bright in low light conditions but suffered when exposed to daylight as it became hard to read. The single speaker in the rear wasn’t that impressive – the music muffled when placed rear down.
Performance
If you are looking for performance and not concerned about the look and feel, the new Redmi Note is the device for you. Our benchmark results showed stunning results with the AnTuTu benchmark score reaching 31,969 and Quadrant results reaching 16,083, which is above the results produced by Xolo Q1100, Asus Zenfon 5 and moreover the new Moto G Second Generation.
One area that Redmi Note lacked performance was with its graphics, but a majority of MediaTek devices face the same issue. The 3D Mark Ice Storm score of Redmi Note is just 13.1 Fps and that makes only 5950 points. Most of the other competitors of Redmi Note, including the Asus ZenFon 5 got better results in the test.
Battery
The 3,200 mAh battery of Redmi Note can last for more than a day and in our test the battery was fully charged in matter of less than two hours. When we tested it with the microUSB charger of other smartphones, the charging completed way too slow and the battery drained far more quickly. So it is advised to use only MI charger along with the Redmi Note. Also, Xiaomi has done the troubleshooting of the heating issue experienced by many Mi 3 and Redmi 1S users.
ROM
Redmi Note has an inbuilt storage capacity of 8 GB, expandable up to 32 GB using a microSD card. The Xiaomi’s MIUI OS on top of the Android Jelly Bean takes close to 2 GB internal memory making the available internal storage just 6GB.
The Verdict
Xiaomi Redmi Note is by all standards the best smartphone available in its price range till now. Even though the smartphone lacks the ergonomic design, Xiaomi has done a reasonably good job by assembling high-end hardware under-the-hood of Redmi note.
The 13 MP camera is sharp and gives excellent results in daylight conditions. The front camera is no exception. The processor does a reasonably good job as there is no lag what-so-ever even while using multiple applications. The only major concern is for avid gamers as some Full HD games failed to render smoothly in Redmi Note. The same issue was noticed while playing Full HD videos. But this is a common issue for all MediaTeK powered devices. The battery backup is great and users don’t have to bother carrying a power bank even if they play games and surf internet frequently.
The Redmi Note with its 5.5 inch display is the best smartphone for people who like reading e-books. The device is a big disappointment for people who listen to music without headsets as the single speaker in the rear doesn’t produce the best results. Adding to this, users have to purchase a headset separately as it is not bundled along with the device.
A 4G LTE version of Redmi Note will soon release via Airtel stores in India. This device is powered by Snapdragon 400 Processor, which is good at rendering graphics. The 4G version of Redmi Note costs just Rs. 1000 more, which makes it Rs. 9,999 ($161).
If you want to experience phablet for the first time, Xiaomi Redmi Note is the best device that can cater to a range of your daily computing needs. We definitely recommend this device for selfie enthusiasts and e-book readers. If you are a frequent gamer or like to watch Full HD movies in the smartphone, we would recommend you to buy the 4G LET version of Redmi Note.