Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro & Redmi Note 7 First Impressions: Xiaomi's budget series is back with a bang

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro

The marquee feature of Redmi Note 7 Pro is the 48MP primary camera sensor which has created enough hype even before the phone's launch event. The camera features a big 1/2 inch large stacked CMOS sensor for 4x dynamic range. The camera works on Sony IMX586 sensor, which is usually seen on high-end premium phones. The camera combines 48 Million pixels, wide F/1.79 aperture and a 6pc lens for brighter shots.

Good use of Artificial Intelligence

The camera software offers AI scene detection to recognize 33 different scenes to enhance the final output. You also get AI Portrait 2.0 Mode with features like light trails, adjustable bokeh and studio lighting offering 8 effects. The camera on Redmi Note 7 Pro can also record 4K videos at 30fps. The camera supports EIS for video recording and is paired with a single tone dual-LED flashlight.

Xiaomi showcased a couple of images shot by Redmi Note 7 Pro and compared the results with OnePlus 6T and iPhone XS. Though the shots captured by Redmi Note 7's camera displayed better detailing upon zooming the images to the maximum level, some images showed washed out colors and overexposed results at brighter spots in the frame. We tested the Redmi Note 7's camera for a brief duration and it looked quite promising. The camera felt highly responsive to light and captured detailed shots. Redmi Note 7 might turn out to be the best camera smartphone in the sub 15K price segment. However, it is too early to give a verdict on the camera performance. We will evaluate the camera in our comprehensive review of Redmi Note 7 Pro.

For selfies, Redmi Note 7 Pro features a 13MP camera with AI beautify, AI Portrait, AI Scene detection, etc. You also get Face unlock supported by the front-facing shooter.

Striking and Durable design

Redmi Note 7 Pro will surely turn heads in the design department. The phone looks and feels really premium in hands, and also has better-built quality when compared to Samsung Galaxy M20 and Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2. There's 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on both front and back to take care of durability. Redmi Note 7 Pro and Note 7 come with glossy curved frame and rounded corners for a seamless design. Both the smartphones are splash-resistant but not officially certified for water-dust damage. Importantly, Redmi Note 7 and Note 7 Pro are also the first Redmi devices to feature a Type-C port for faster data transfer and charging speeds. Both the handsets retain the 3.5mm headphone jack and IR blaster to help you control other smart TVs.

Redmi Note 7 Pro will be available in Neptune Blue, Nebula Red, Space Black color variants. Xiaomi says that the Neptune Blue and Nebula Red gradient patterns have been achieved by adding a 6-layer at the back panel of the device.

6.3 inches Dot Notch display (Both Redmi Note 7 and Note 7 Pro)

There is no difference in the display department and both the smartphones feature a 6.3-inches FHD+ display with a teardrop notch, which Xiaomi calls a Dot notch screen. The display on Redmi Note 7 Pro and Redmi Note 7 is surrounded by 1.95mm bezels and offers 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The display resolution is 2,340x1080p and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. Xiaomi claimed that they have used the best quality LCD screen in this price segment to offer unmatched viewing experience even under direct sunlight. We were not able to test the display outdoors but the LCD panels looked really bright and vibrant indoors. Xiaomi says that the new Redmi note 7 phones boast a sunlight display for enhanced viewing experience in harsh lighting situations. We will test such claims in our comprehensive review of the Redmi Note 7 series handsets.

Hardware- (Redmi Note 7 Pro)

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro is backed by Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 Chipset which is built on 11 nm Finfet technology. The octa-core CPU uses the latest Kryo 460 architecture and is aided with 4GB and 6GB LPDDR4X RAM. For gaming, you get Adreno 612 GPU. The chipset also gets Qualcomm's Spectra 250 ISP to support the 48MP resolution. As far as battery life is concerned, Redmi Note 7 Pro and even Note 7 draw power from a 4,000 mAh battery unit. The phone comes bundled with 18W charger in the box to offer Qualcomm Quick Charge 4.0 fast charging speeds.

Software- MIUI 10 on Android Pie

Redmi Note 7 and Note 7 Pro runs on MIUI 10 based on Android 9.0. The UI is quite similar to Xiaomi's recent devices and worked smoothly on the new handsets. We will soon give you a detailed hands-on of Xiaomi's MIUI 10 and its features.

Price & Availability: Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro

Redmi Note 7 Pro will be made available in two variants, 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM and 6GB RAM+ 128GB internal storage at Rs. 13,999 and Rs. 16,999 respectively. The smartphone will be available by March 13, 2019, on Mi.com, Mi Home and Flipkart.com.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7

Coming onto Redmi Note 7, the smartphone is essentially a Lite variant of Redmi Note 7 Pro. What is different is the underlying processor and rear camera hardware. Redmi Note 7 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 AIE chipset, which is based on Kryo 260 architecture. Xiaomi claims that unlike some other smartphone manufacturers who have offered an under-clocked version of Snapdragon 660 in their products, Redmi Note 7 is backed by the full-performance SD 660 AIE chipset.

As far as camera hardware is concerned, Redmi Note 7 boasts a 12MP+2MP camera setup. The front camera uses the same 13MP selfie camera with AI Beautify, AI Scene detection and other features that are provided with Redmi Note 7 Pro. The camera on Redmi Note 7 is also very capable and showed crisp results during our brief testing.

All other features including display, battery, connectivity, software, and design are exactly the same. Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 will be available in Onyx Black, Ruby Red, and Sapphire Blue color variants.

Price & Availability: Xiaomi Redmi Note 7

Redmi Note 7 will be made available in two variants, 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM and 4GB RAM+ 64GB internal storage at Rs. 9,999 and Rs. 11,999 respectively. The smartphone will be available by March 6, 2019, on Mi.com, Mi Home and Flipkart.com. Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 will also be made available on Mi preferred partner stores.

Verdict

With the launch of Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 and Redmi Note 7 Pro, the budget smartphone market in India has become a lot more exciting. The new Redmi duo will fight the recently launched Samsung's Galaxy M series phones- M10, M20 and M30, which are the first-ever budget Samsung phones that can give a fight to Xiaomi Redmi series. Both the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 variants are feature packed and are priced very aggressively. We will soon give you comprehensive reviews of both the Redmi smartphones.