Redmi 7 first impressions: Premium looks complemented by decent cameras

Glossy rear panel with a dual-tone paint job

Xiaomi Redmi 7 brings a unique dual-tone glossy rear panel with a matte black frame. The shimmering curved rear panel acts as a fingerprint magnet like most of the devices with glossy back panels. The matte black frame adds to the visual appeal of the Redmi 7.

The rear dual-lens camera setup is stacked vertically on the top-left corner accompanied by an LED flash. A fingerprint scanner is also mounted at the back with an ideal positioning for unlocking the device. The Redmi logo is inscribed at the bottom completing the look of the device.

As for the placements of ports and keys, the volume rockers along with the power key are located on the right side. And, the left side of the device only has a SIM card tray. A 3.5mm audio jack is located on the top and a microUSB port is sandwiched between the speaker grills at the bottom.

The polycarbonate material used to design the Redmi 7 is of good quality and it feels premium to hold. Overall, the smartphone offers an attractive design with decent build quality.

 

Display: Dot Notch with Corning Gorilla Glass 5

In the display department, the Redmi 7 sports a tall 6.26-inch display with an HD+ resolution of 720 x 1520 pixels. The 2.5D glass has rounded edges with an aspect ratio of 19:9 and a Dot Notch on top. The notch is slightly bigger than the standard waterdrop notch seen on some other recently launched smartphones. A Corning Gorilla Glass 5 layer protects the display from accidental drops and scratches.

The display is vibrant and colorful and delivers a clear output. However, you will be able to stream videos max at 720P on YouTube and other streaming platforms. The brightness levels of the device are optimum and you will be able to watch your content clearly under direct sunlight.

Camera: Dual-lens primary setup with AI scene detection

The Redmi 7 makes use of a dual-lens primary camera module at the rear panel. The camera setup has a 12MP main sensor with f/2.2 aperture and a pixel size of 1.25um which is paired with a 2MP depth lens. The camera supports AI scene detection (33 scenes). The camera supports various modes such as HDR, Portrait, and Pro mode, etc.

The video recording supported by the device is of 1080p@60fps. For selfies and video calling, the Redmi 7 is equipped with an 8MP front camera. The front snapper supports AI Portrait mode and AI Beauty 4.0 mode to enhance the selfie quality. The camera interface is simple and you can easily scroll through all the options.

In terms of performance, the rear camera captures some impressive images. The pictures taken using the primary camera setup has an ample of details with balanced colors. Edge detection is also good and the images didn't pixelate with maximum zoom. The selfies are also of decent quality and the additional features like the AI Beauty 4.0 to make the image even better. We still need to test the performance of the camera in challenging lighting situations. Overall, the Redmi 7 offers a good camera setup which clicks some impressive images with ample light.

Snapdragon 632 processor with Android Pie OS

The Redmi 7 is powered by Qualcomm's mid-range octa-core Snapdragon 632 processor that clocks at 1.8GHz. This is the same chipset used on the Redmi Y3 and some other popular devices such as Motorola G7 Power and Asus ZenFone Max M2, and others. This processor is based on the 14nm FinFET process and is combined with Adreno 506 GPU to render high-resolution graphics.

The device ships with a dedicated card slot which can accommodate a MicroSD card with 512GB storage. In the software department, the device runs on Android Pie OS topped with MIUI 10 skin. It has some bloatware and comes pre-installed with third-party apps such as Amazon and Dailyhunt and others. However, you can uninstall these apps to improve the overall user experience and keep the device lag free. We still need to test the device with gaming and other tasks to give feedback on its performance.

Battery: 4000mAh battery

Xiaomi Redmi 7 is fuelled by a capacious 4000mAh non-removable battery unit, but there's no fast charge support. As per the company, the device can give a backup of an entire day with a single charge and moderate usage. We will test the battery and push the device to its limits and come up with the exact number of hours this device can last.

Verdict

With the launch of Redmi Y3 and Redmi 7, Xiaomi is all set to disrupt the affordable smartphone segment once again and continuing its trend of producing bang for buck products. Similar to the Redmi Note 7 series, the latest smartphone by the Chinese tech giant also comes with capable hardware.

All these features come together to make the Redmi 7 a competent device in this price bracket. With a price tag less than 10K, the Redmi 7 will compete with popular devices such as Realme 3, Galaxy A10 and others. We will be sharing a comprehensive review of this device soon, so stay tuned with us.