The most accessible range of Xiaomi, Redmi, welcomes a new protagonist with the Note 5. This phone wants to be a champion of the photo on the entry level, without compromise. This is what we will check. With the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5, the king of the middle class is back. Xiaomi kept us waiting. At the beginning of the year, we were the only ones who were waiting for the Redmi Note 5, while all others thought that Redmi 5 Plus was the Redmi Note 4X’s successor. Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 with a Snapdragon 636, provides a similar user experience as smartphones with Snapdragon 835 for the threefold price. The difference in performance can only be seen in the benchmark tests, and when it comes to pictures taken in daylight, you really have to concentrate to identify which photos were taken with a Oneplus 5T or with a Galaxy S9. In terms of battery life, most flagship smartphones cannot keep up with Redmi Note 5.

Technical Specifications OF: Xiaomi Redmi Note 5
Version of the OS Android 8.1
Interface MIUI
Screen size 5.99 inches
Definition 2160 x 1080 pixels
Pixel density 403 dpi
SoC Snapdragon 636 at 1.8GHz
Processor (CPU) ARMv8
Graphics Chip (GPU) Adreno 509
RAM memory 4GB
Internal memory (flash) 32 GB, 64 GB
MicroSD Yes
Camera (backpack) 1:12 megapixel sensor, 2 megapixel sensor
Camera (front) 13 megapixels
Video recording 1080p
Wireless Yes
Bluetooth 4.2 + A2DP + LE
Networks LTE, HSPA, GSM
Supported bands 2100 MHz (B1), 800 MHz (B20), 1800 MHz (B3), 2600 MHz (B7)
SIM 2x nano SIM
NFC No
Ports (Inputs / Outputs) microUSB
Geolocation Yes
Grams 4000 mAh
Dimensions 158.6 x 75.4 x 8.1 mm
Weight: 181 grams
Colors Pink, Blue, Black, Gold
Price $209.99

Unboxing

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 bundle is at least extended: the smartphone comes with a USB cable, a 5 V, 2 A power adapter, and a transparent cover and a key for removing cards.

Design

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 received the case with exactly the same design as most of its predecessors for the Redmi family. This neat, streamlined on all sides “remnant” is distinguished by the fact that it has not an all-metal body, but a composite one.

It consists of a metal center, the main part and two plastic inserts on the ends. Inserts on the texture and color are slightly different from the metal part, but it does not throw it into the eyes. The corners of the case are noticeably rounded, the rear surface narrows to the side, complementing the streamlined shape. There are no complaints about the quality of materials and assembly – everything is clearly adjusted, does not creak under compression, the body is monolithic. Matte metal surfaces of the case can be quite slippery, and a complete cover will come to the rescue.
The camera module on the backside slightly protrudes outward, but overall the back surface is so wide that the smartphone does not sway when touched by the screen, it lies on a solid surface steadily. The rear camera is double, a bright double flash fits well between its two eyes. The platform of the fingerprint scanner is conveniently installed on the back panel under the index finger, it is easy to find by touch, it stands out well tactile because it is slightly recessed. There are no complaints about the scanner’s work, it works clearly, without failures.

The front panel, fortunately, received an LED event indicator. Even more pleased that the company did not blindly copy the proverbial “bangs”, as most manufacturers have done now, adopting far from the best of Apple’s solutions. The corners of the screen are rounded here, and the ratio of its sides is 18: 9. Below the screen, there are no hardware buttons, but still, there is a fairly wide band of empty space, it does not paint the design.

Side keys are installed on one face, which is convenient. The buttons do not have any complaints either: the dimensions and stiffness are normal, the buttons are metal, it looks all reliable and durable. The connector for the cards is hybrid, it can simultaneously install two Nano-SIM cards or one Nano-SIM and one memory card. Hot swapping of cards is supported. A 128GB test card was easily recognized by the device, but it is not recommended to format it as an internal storage, and therefore no additional memory is used to install application files, only for storing multimedia files (photo, video, music, etc.).

On the upper end, in addition to the auxiliary microphone, you can also find such a useful element as the infrared transmitter used to emulate the remote control. Very convenient and useful in everyday life functionality. At the bottom, we again see a set of interface connectors in retro style: the USB port is represented by a Micro-USB connector, but the usual 3.5 mm audio output for headphones is preserved. The main speaker is also displayed here. To tell the truth, it is already orderly tired of this long transition on Type-C! When, finally, will the stock of Micro-USB run out in Chinese factories?

Produced Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 in four colors: black, golden, blue and pink. All options, except black, the front panel is white.

Display

For your beautiful eyes, the Redmi Note 5 is equipped with a large 5.99-inch IPS LCD screen supporting a maximum definition in Full HD ratio 18: 9, which naturally gives 2,160 x 1,080 pixels. Because it is equipped with an ambient color temperature sensor, the Redmi Note 5 is able to adapt its screen settings on the fly to match the lighting in your environment. These eye-to-eye impressions are therefore provided with this automatic setting activated in a halogen-lit office.

To the eye, the Redmi Note 5 seems to have a very good screen. The colors are well contrasted without being too forced, and I do not notice any color dominating the other. Nothing seems burned, but everything is cold enough. The maximum brightness also seems very good, enough to cash a sun in the face.

Hardware & Performance

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 now houses a modern Snapdragon 636 with 8x Kryo 260 cores. The octa-core processor is the little brother of the Snapdragon 660, which secures a great performance in the Mi Note 3. The CPU works with 4×1.8GHz in the performance cluster and 4×1.6GHz in the energy saving cluster. A nice energy efficiency is provided thanks to the up-to-date 14nm process. With the current “lightning fast” MIUI 9.5 system, the performance is simply awesome. Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 gets dangerously close to SD835 devices in terms of daily performance. On the other hand, you notice a clear difference to SD625 devices like Redmi 5 Plus or Redmi Note 4X. The system runs smoothly and even micro lags are not noticeable.

Games like Asphalt 8 and Nova 3 run perfectly fluently. Even PubG mobile fans will be satisfied, even though here you notice the difference in performance to the more expensive Snapdragon 835 devices. However, these high-end smartphones lose their battery capacity quite fast – Redmi Note 5 loses only 17% of the capacity after 2 hours of PubG Mobile. It also doesn’t get warmer than 37°. The LPDDR4X RAM has a nice speed of 4GB/s and the internal storage (eMMC 5.1) has a pleasant reading/writing speed of 206/230MB/s. You can get the 3/32 and the 4/64GB version as global version. Theoretically, there could be presented a 6GB version, but the increase in performance won’t be worth the extra charge. Our 4GB version can handle 20 apps in the buffer storage before is starts to partly reload the apps when being opened again. Thanks to the high speed, this is not a problem.

Software

As you know, Xiaomi phones take advantage of the manufacturer’s historical interface: MIUI. This is given in version 9.5, based on the latest major Android 8.1 Oreo update. MIUI requires, do not expect to find an application drawer, or even the slightest option to activate one. Here, all applications are displayed on the desktop, and the system is reworked to be more graphically pleasing than the average. It must be admitted that its large colors are seductive.

Note especially as software add on the Redmi Note 5 the ability to activate gesture navigation. With a slide from bottom to top, you can go back to the home. By remaining supported at the end of the same gesture, you find the applications in progress. And finally, dragging from the edge to the left or the right allows you to make precedent.

Rear Camera

The main camera uses a dual module: the main one has a sensor with a resolution of 12 megapixels and a lens with an aperture of f / 1.9, and an auxiliary one is a 5-megapixel sensor for portrait modes. There is fast phase autofocus and a double bright flash.

The camera perfectly copes with the foreground and backgrounds in common photos in good lighting, it does a good job of portraits with the blurring of the background (although it slightly zooms them). The detailing is high, the machine numbers on the pictures are readable, the sharpness throughout the field of the frame is satisfactory. Macro photography is also great for the camera, with focus and sharpness no problems. However, the traces of the work of the fierce shumodav can be found in the pictures even with excellent illumination, and in the shade, at dusk and in a poorly lit room, it breaks away completely, because of this it is unpleasant to see such pictures in full size. The color reproduction, however, remains true in all cases. In general, the quality of the camera is below average.

Video

The main camera can shoot video at a maximum resolution of 1080p at 30 fps, there are no more advanced modes. There is also no optical stabilization, but there is an electronic one, the work of which sometimes leads to the appearance of a “jelly effect” (rolling-shutter.

if the lens is abruptly translated, but the electronic stub generally treats the picture quite sparingly. With video shooting, the camera copes quite well for its level: the sharpness is normal, the detail is satisfactory, there are no complaints about the color rendition and auto balance of white claims. And even the sound (the eternally weak place of Xiaomi smartphones) is recorded in a surprisingly pure way, no distortion from the noise cancellation system was observed this time.

Front Camera

As the front camera uses a module with a resolution of 13 megapixels and a lens with aperture f / 2.0. There is a proprietary function for improving Beautify images. Xiaomi updates the version of its quite brightly, in Redmi 5 Plus it was version 3.0, and here – already Beautify 4.0. The work of the program with each version becomes less noticeable, the interventions are minimal, so, apparently, the algorithms really improve. However, already in the third version, everything was not bad, the differences from the fourth one are almost invisible.

The quality of the shooting is only average, the images are faded, the detail is not maximum, although there are no special complaints about the field’s sharpness. In total, the pictures are quite suitable for viewing on the screen of the smartphone itself, there is no need to desire more. This is not the top level of self-shooting, but nobody expected it here.

Battery

A non-removable rechargeable battery installed in Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 has a capacity of 4000 mAh. This is a lot, but here also the SoC is very economical, and with such a battery, the review hero demonstrates an outstanding level of autonomy in all work scenarios. In real life, the device behaves the same as most modern smartphones: confidently live to the evening charge, but more cannot be counted. Testing has traditionally been carried out at the usual level of energy consumption without using energy-saving functions.

With autoignition lasted until the battery is fully discharged for about 22 hours, and with a continuous viewing of video in high quality (1080p) with the same level of brightness through the home Wi-Fi network, the device functions for more than 15.5 hours, which is an excellent indicator. In the mode of 3D-games, the smartphone can work more than 6 hours depending on the specific game. Fast charging is not provided, from your own complete network adapter, the smartphone is charged for 2.5 hours with a current of 1.78 A at a voltage of 5 V. Wireless charging is also not supported by the smartphone.

Connectivity & Sound

Reception with Redmi Note 5 is very good and I never had problems. Voice quality is excellent and the additional microphone makes it possible to use the speakerphone, which did not pose any problems.
In terms of connectivity, Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 sets new standards for the middle class. Unique for the price range, the smartphone offers Bluetooth 5.0 and WIFI with ac-speed (dual-band: 2.4 and 5GHz). Bluetooth reception has a high range and the connection is constantly stable. WIFI also works without any problems.
The internal speaker is not the loudest, but for a mono speaker, it has good quality. Even at full volume there are no distortions or oversteering. Basses are slightly perceptible and sound quality is okay. Connecting good headphones to the headphone jack, you get a loud and clear sound.

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OTG is supported, whereas NFC is not, but that doesn’t make a difference. An FM radio is available for all radio lovers. The smartphone provides all necessary sensors: besides acceleration, proximity and brightness sensors, the phone also offers a gyroscope and a compass. In addition, there are an echo sensor and an infrared sender available. GPS determines the position up to 3-4m precise. Using the car as well as pedestrian navigation there were never any problems.

Conclusion & Verdict

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 has every chance to become a new bestseller of the company. Xiaomi products are historically considered in terms of accessibility with qualitative characteristics, Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 has a solid build quality, a great display, it runs fast, has an up-to-date system, the camera is really awesome in daylight, connectivity standards are way above average and the battery life is insane. The only niggle and an impudence is the old micro-USB port. Those looking for the best middle-class smartphone will not get past Xiaomi Redmi Note 5. Its design is successful and well finished, its cameras are very good for their price and it has excellent autonomy. In short: at this price, we would try to go ahead without warning. Right Now If you are interested to buy Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 You can go now on Gearbest and get it in just at $189.99 for 4GB 64GB Global edition with coupon code: IT$MPN564  in limited units and 3GB 32GB version at $189.99, too.