Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 sets new benchmarks in budget smartphone category

Xiaomi recently unveiled the company's most anticipated budget smartphones of the year 2019- the new Redmi Note series smartphones in India. The new budget smartphones- Redmi Note 7 and Redmi Note 7 Pro brings some amazing features to the table at a very aggressive price-point. Priced at just Rs. 9,999, Redmi Note 7 is one-of-the best budget handset for masses in the Indian market.

The handset has already started making waves in the smartphone industry. As per Xiaomi, the company had managed to sell over 2,00,000 units of the Redmi Note 7 through its first flash sale that took place on Flipkart.com, Mi.com, and Xiaomi's official stores- Mi Home stores. The second flash sale will start on March 3, 2019 along with Redmi Note 7 Pro which made its global debut in the Indian market just last week.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Specifications and Features

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 offers a vibrant Full HD+ LCD display with a tiny teardrop notch at the top. The smartphone is powered by the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC aided by 3GB and 4GB RAM options. Additionally, Redmi Note 7 also offers the big 4,000 mAh battery unit that comes with Qualcomm's Quick Charge 4.0 Fast charging technology.

In addition to the capable hardware, the new Redmi Note 7 series handsets also run the latest MIUI 10 based on Android 9.0 Pie. The company has added some new and useful software features that make the overall smartphone experience quite intuitive and user-friendly.

These include 'Dual apps' which allows you to run two accounts simultaneously on one app. You can define app permissions to limit usage of phone's hardware and software features within 'Permissions'. Individual app locks can also be set to prevent unauthorized access in your absence. You can set gestures to experience a full-screen viewing experience. The rich theme store allows you to install new themes, wallpapers, icons to name a few.

The lockscreen has also received new upgrades. Xiaomi has added a new wallpaper Carousel that gives the lock screen a visual makeover with a difference. Powered by Glance, the lock screen sports visually rich, informative content on various themes that include news, sports, wildlife, lifestyle, entertainment and fashion to name a few. This feature could change the way millennials consume content on their phones.

There is no app to tap into or content to search for. Every time you wake up the phone, the wallpaper changes, bringing with it new content that informs and entertains at the same time, without having to make any effort - an incredible user experience.When done reading the information, you can simply swipe left and right to access the phone's notifications and settings respectively. It will be interesting to see if Xiaomi will extend this feature to every device in the future.

As far as camera is concerned, the Redmi Note 7 features a 12MP+ 2MP rear camera setup. For selfies, the smartphone has a 13MP front-facing shooter with AI beautification and Studio Portrait lighting effects. While we haven't got to test Redmi Note 7 in detail, we are currently using the Redmi Note 7 Pro variant which also features the same set of software features, display and battery power.

What differs is the rear camera hardware which offers a 48MP+5MP setup working on Sony IMX 586 sensor usually seen in flagship smartphones. We have got some promising results from the Redmi Note 7 Pro's camera. Above is sample of the image output. Stay tuned for our full review of Redmi Note 7 Pro and Redmi Note 7 in the coming week.