Rememeber back then when I shared my opinion during my Redmi 5 Plus Review and Redmi 5 Review, that I have predicted that the Redmi Note series is no more, and indeed it was no more as Redmi Note 5 is simple the Redmi 5 Plus being renamed to Note series just to satisfy consumers but problem is that it still sports the old Snapdragon 625. But the release of the Redmi Note 5 Pro quite caught many of us off guard, me included as Xiaomi has shocked the world again especially in the MWC 2018 where this said phone has took home the award as the Best of MWC 2018 presented by AndroidHeadline. This is the worlds first phone to ever sport the newly minted Snapdragon 636, and indeed Xiaomi took the spotlight again, taking a commanding lead over other manufacturers in being the first to release it.




Redmi Note 5 Pro Specs Sheet

• 5.99-inch Full HD+ display @ 2160 x 1080 pixels, 403ppi, 84% NTSC Color Gamut, 450 NIT Brightness
  
• 1.8GHz Snapdragon 636 Octa-core CPU Qualcomm SDM636 Kryo 260
  
• Adreno 509 GPU
  
• 4GB / 6GB RAM
  
• 64GB Internal storage
  
• Expandable via microSD, up to 128GB (uses SIM 2 slot)
  
• 12MP 1.25μm Rear Camera, f/2.2 Aperture, PDAF, single tone flash, face recognition, HDR, Sony IMX 486 Sensor
  
• 5MP secondary lens, 1.12μm, f/2.0 Aperture, Samsung Sensor
  
• 20MP front-facing camera, 1.0μm, f/2.2 Aperture with soft flash, 1080p, Smart Beauty 4.0, Sony IMX 376 Sensor
  
• Dual-SIM (Nano + Nano)
  
• 4G LTE, 4G+
  
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, 2.4G 5G Wifi
  
• Bluetooth 5.0, Bluetooth HID
  
• GPS w/ A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
  
• Fingerprint scanner
  
• Micro USB Port
  
• 4000 mAh battery
  
• Android 7.1 on MIUI 9
  
• 158.6mm x 75.4mm x 8.05mm
  
• 181grams
  
• Available in Black, Gold, Lake Blue, Rose Gold
  
  

Official Video Trailer:







Whats in the Box:


The box is pretty much like the one being presented by Mi A1




My first time to hold a India released Xiaomi Phone


Presenting Redmi Note 5 Pro black variant




Unit, Charger, Micro USB Cable, Sim Ejector Pin, Smoked Black Case, Manual




Nano Sim 1, Nano Sim / Micro SD Sim 2 Slot


Rounded head QC 2.0 charger


Micro USB Cable


User Manual.

Video Unboxing:


Design

The Redmi Note 5 Pro has revamped its design in front, sporting the 18:9 screen ratio, the bezel has gone way smaller than the Redmi Note 4X, and it is pretty similar to the front screen of the Redm 5 Plus (China) / Redmi Note 5 (India) only that some of the sensors above the screen has different placement. I can say that the front was a game changer for the Note Series and possibly it is going with the trend that the Mi MIX has set in the smartphone industry, as bezeless as possible. Now people can enjoy near bezeless phone without spending as much as the Mi MIX or Iphone X. Beneath the bezel we believe that the capacitive buttons can still fit in but Xiaomi has decided to let it go on screen instead. At the back view, there is no denying that the camera placement plus design is quite similar to the Iphone X, this probably is one of the turnaround in the Redmi Note Series wherein it got a crossbreed of premium look and feel from another flagship in a midrange phone. How great is that?


The front is pretty elegant now that the bezel has trimmed down a lot from its predecessor the Redmi Note 4X


Well, the back has received a boost as well, thanks to uhmm.... Iphone X design.


We love the way the camera was placed, downside is that its pretty much embossed, prone to scratch.


Mi Logo traditionally printed at the lower half of the phone.


The 3.5mm audio jack, micro usb port, mic and louspeaker crowded at the lower portion of the phone.


Volume rocker and power button sported on the rightside on the phone


Noise cancellation Mic and IR Blaster on top


Sim Card tray on the left side, supports 2 Sim card or 1 Sim + 1 Micro Sd Card


20MP Selfie Camera with front flash




New Endorser?

Redmi Note 5 Pro vs Redmi Note 5


Lets take a side by side look at the two phones, they are both identical almost in weight and dimension, at front its also almost the same well except the displacement of the sensors on top of the screen.




Looking below, the 3.5mm audio jack is present for the Redmi Note 5 Pro while on Note 5 its not down there.




The audio jack is present on top for Redmi Note 5.


Sim card tray on the left for both


Volume Rocker and Power button on the right for both unit


The main difference is all at the back.


Dual camera for Note 5 Pro while its single lens for Note 5







Snapdragon 636

The very first to deploy the SD 636, I was able to fully test the power of the Redmi Note 5 Pro to the extent, running games and multitask, in my opinion this unit did a very good job in multitasking, as well as playing some decent games, we even did play NBA2k18 and the graphics rendered was quite good on an all screen display phone. I was able to finish 2 full games playing nothing but basketball and the unit responded well, it wasnt laggy after playing for quite sometime.

Surfing, Chatting, Calls and Navigating were all done at the same time and it was quite stable not seeing the unit clamp down due to too many task being done at the same time. The Snapdragon 636 did lived up to its hype and for sure I was able to feel the improvement from the overly used SD 625.



AnTuTu gave a score of 112,601 points to the Redmi Note 5 Pro 4GB RAM 64GB Variant, which is quite a big jump over the Redmi 5 Plus scoring a 63,711 on our review. Again like I always say, benchmarks should not be the determining factor in purchasing the phone, it's the actual experience and performance that matters most. But I can really say that this SoC is something worth considering.

For more specs of the Snapdragon 636, check it out here:
https://www.qualcomm.com/products/qualcomm-snapdragon-636-mobile-platform


Face Recognition

One fun feature that you might probably want to try out on this device would probably trying to unlock your phone with the use of your face. This feature was first deployed on the Mi Note 3, and I was able to test it too. Face unlock is pretty fast and very snappy, on a dark area it did have a hard time trying to unlock my face in the dark. I wonder if my son will try to unlock my phone and scan my face while I am sleeping, security flaws hehe.

Connectivity

The Redmi Note 5 Pro supports 5 different LTE bands (this is based on India settings), it's easy to switch to LTE network inside the settings but once your do the second sim will be running on GSM connectivity only. You can freely choose which sim you want to use your LTE data, since this is a Dual LTE, Dual standby smartphone. We have experienced no problem surfing using LTE or 3G in our home country in the Philippines as well as dual standby mode is working seamlessly. Wireless connectivity via Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac is also smooth and it also supports Wi-Fi Direct. Wireless screen mirroring is also available via the Miracast protocol, tethering data is also working perfectly. Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, and GLONASS are all present and working pretty good. We also have a smooth navigation using Google Maps while cruisin in the city using the Redmi Note 5 Pro.

Here are the supported bandwidth by the Redmi Note 5 Pro based from the official website in Mi India.

• 
  
  • 4GFDD-LTE
    TDD-LTE1/3/5
    40/41 (120MHz)
    
  • 3GWCDMA1/2/5/8
    
  • 2GGSM2/3/5/8
    
    
    

Audio and Video

• MP4
  
• M4V
  
• MKV
  
• XVID
  
• WAV
  
• AAC
  
• MP3
  
• AMR
  
• FLAC
  
• APE
  
  

Supports H.265 / HEVC (Main profile), H.264 (Baseline / Main / High profile) and MPEG4 (Simple profile / ASP) video formats such as PCM, AAC / AAC + / eAAC +, MP3, AMR - NB and WB , APE, WAV and other audio formats

We did watch some good movies on this unit and some anime and we were impressed with the display ratio that it has to offer. The screen resolution was good as we tried to render 4K movies on this unit. Sounds was also good on loudspeaker but we used Mi Pistons In Ear Pro to watch the movie all the way till finish line. Listening to music via streaming app was also seamless, no lag was experienced.

Camera

Everytime we get our hands on a new phone, its always boils down to the camera. This probably is the most important part of the phone, how good it will capture the memories for you? The camera on the Redmi Note 5 Pro will definitely be a revolution for Xiaomi as this is the first time that this phone was debuted first in India before China, I mean its the first time that a Sony IMX Camera Sensor is present in a midrange series like the Redmi Note. Now all eyes on India's New Camera Beast please!

The camera takes pretty good photos in daylight and in low light areas it has vastly improved from Redmi Note 4X, there is no questions asked as you cannot compare Sony with Omnivision camera sensors right? The best performance is outdoors, taking crisp and great photos. Bokeh / Portrait mode was a good integration on this unit, it was expected from the Sony IMX 486 Sensor.

The manual mode from the camera, is quite disappointing, it only sported the White Balance and ISO controls. The Focus and Exposure Time is nowhere to be found. Neither can you use the Zoom and Wide Angle lens manually.












Sample Unedited Photos:




The head of the hen is quite blurred as it is moving rapidly, there must be no Image Stabilizer present.


4x Optical Zoom.




Macro Shots


2x Optical Zoom, almost perfect.

































































































































Finally, my first selfie using a 20 MP front facing camera, say cheese!!


This camera was said to be built for Indian, but an Asian taking a selfie on this one aint half bad at all.

Battery Performance

We were able to achieve a not so bad battery rating for this unit since its a Snapdragon (Qualcomm is known for their battery efficiency), we lasted a day on normal usage without hitting the charging port or power bank. PC Mark Battery Stress Test rated it at 12 hours 38 minutes SOT, which is quite impressive already for a new SoC in the market. We were able to test the input ampere at 2.1A with the supplied cable and charger. The SoC is capable of QC 3.0 but due to price segmentation, Xiaomi has decided not to pay the royalty for this feature and just use a Micro USB Slot with QC 2.0 charging capacity.





Other Benchmarks:





















Mi 6 vs Redmi Note 5 Pro:

Many have been asking me to pit the Redmi Note 5 Pro against the Mi A1. I think its unfair to challenge Sony Imx sensors against Omnivision. Thats why we pitted two smartphones using the Sony IMX Camera Sensors. Behold the results:














Now based on initial observation, both cameras too the subject well, its only that the Redmi Note 5 Pro is a little more exposed, plus it kinda take photos a little more brighter than the normal surrounding. In this matchup, I can say the Mi 6 has to be the winner.

Conclusion


After playing around with the Redmi Note 5 Pro for quite a while, its comes down to my final verdict, was it a worthy upgrade from Redmi Note 4X? By no doubt on my mind I can look you straight in the eyes and tell you its a big Yes. In terms of processor, design and camera its pretty much a runaway winner with its price range. With the SD 636 equipped, you dont really have to worry much about those hell of a task you will let your smartphone do for you. The camera is outstanding, but it is not better than the Mi 6 thats for sure. This unit will surely live up to its hype and it definitely will be India's camera beast!

Grab yours now for 13,999 Rupees from Xiaomi India Webstore

Redmi Note 5 Pro