[b]Redmi Note 7: Redmi on a League of its Own![/b]
by mitch002
After a very successful launch on January 10th 2019, Redmi has finally separated itself from Xiaomi, therefore becoming an independent brand of its own. Now that it has been said and done, Xiaomi's stock fell from 13HKD to 10HKD per share as market analyst probably fears the success or failure of this major move since Redmi has been with the flagship brand since the beginning with the popular Redmi 1s being the legendary unit under its resume.
Being independent definitely has its advantages and disadvantages, now Redmi has to start a new structure on its own that should distinct itself from motherbrand Xiaomi. The Redmi will strive to become the best cost friendly yet high performance phone in the market, while the Xiaomi Brand will target the more premium users. Will Redmi be successful on its own? We shall see in the near future but as far as this unit is concerned, it got sold out in 8 minutes during the first Redmi Note 7 flash sale on January 15th. Amazing!
Redmi Note 7 Specs Sheet
- 6.3-inch FHD+ IPS LCD display @ 2340 x 1080 pixels, 409ppi, 81.4% Screen to Body Ratio, 19.5:9 Ratio
- Corning Gorilla Glass 5
- 2.2GHz Snapdragon 660 Octa-core CPU Qualcomm SDM660 (14nm) [4 x 2.2Ghz Kryo260 & 4 x 1.8Ghz Kryo260]
- Adreno 512 GPU 650MHz
- 3GB / 4GB / 6GB RAM
- 32GB / 64GB Internal storage
- Expandable via microSD, up to 256GB (uses SIM 2 slot)
- 48MP 1.6μm Rear Camera, f/1.8 Aperture, PDAF, face recognition, HDR, AI Portrait Mode, Night Scene, Samsung S5kgm1
- 5MP 1.12μm secondary lens, depth sensor, f/2.4 Aperture, Samsung S5k5e8
- 13MP front-facing camera, 1.12μm, AI Smart Beauty, 1080p, AI Portrait Mode, Omnivision Sensor
- Hybrid Dual-SIM (Nano + Nano/Micro SD)
- 4G LTE, 4G+, VoLTE
- Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4G/5G Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Display
- Bluetooth 5.0
- GPS w/ A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou Positioning
- Fingerprint scanner
- USB-C Port
- 4000 mAh battery
- Android 9 on MIUI 10
- 159.21mm x 75.21mm x 8.1mm
- 186grams
- Available in Black, Sapphire Gold, Neptune Blue
Design
The Redmi Note 7 has a design of its own, not copied from its predecessor unlike Redmi Note 6 being a knockoff from the Redmi Note 5 Pro. The Redmi Note 6 made a very quiet global debut while the new Redmi Note 7 sure created a lot of noise and hype in the mobile world. This phone has taken a notch up since it has a striking resemblance with the Mi 8 Lite, now the pricing has been released, and I guess Mi 8 Lite sales will be on the decline for sure. Redmi has since boasted its deployment of the Corning Gorilla 5 glass both front and back (if you ask me, Im not quite sure I can say the back is a glass since its nowhere near the glass back of the legendary Mi 5) plus its not as slippery as a glass back should be. The sides are definitely plastic and the teardrop notch is definitely the "In" thing this 2019 as the Apple-ish notch trend has start to fade away. The game changer is definitely the gradient back but the weakness for me is the screen to body ratio at 81.4% which is Redmi could have done better, but price starts at 999 RMB, who am I to complain?
Unboxing Now!
Can you Spot the Difference?
Photo Session with 4 Note 7 Sealed Box! OMG!
Redmi Note 7 Inked at the side of the Box
Complete Specs at the Back
Redmi Note 7, Manuals (the Mi Logo in the manual is just aint right), USB C, QC 2 Charger, Protection Case
This is the correct box, minus the Mi Logo on the upper right corner
Bootup logo: Redmi by Xiaomi
Gotta love the Neptune Blue
Finally, a logo of its own at the back
USB Type C Finally! Loud Speaker and Mic In
Volume Rocker and Power Button
IR Blaster, 3.5mm audio jack (thank you Redmi) and noise cancellation mic
Teardrop notch
Sim Card slot
Handsome Model
Lets test the King Kong Glass!!! I mean Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Gotta Catch Em All!
Twilight Gold, Black, Neptune Blue
All Present!
Super Protuded Camera, Lei Jun said its the cause of the big 48MP Sensors
Which color is your favorite?
Video Unboxing Review
Snapdragon 660
The 3rd Xiaomi manufactured phone to use the SD 660 after the Mi Note 3 and the Mi 8 Lite. Redmi sure did take everything up a notch, the best SoC that any Redmi has ever sported is the SD 636 which won the MWC 2018 award inside the Redmi Note 5. I did place the Redmi Note 7 under multitasking mode and it simply performed without any hitch, of course coupled with a 6GB RAM it shouldnt be a problem at all. Trying some games like NBA 2k19 and PUBG, both ran without any slowing down during game play, thanks to the powerful SD 660.
Wallpaper for the Redmi Note 7
Surfing, Chatting, Calls and Navigating were all done at the same time and it was quite stable not seeing the unit lag down due to too many task being done at the same time. It was about time that the Redmi took things more seriously and use a SoC of this caliber, so good job Redmi Team.
AnTuTu awarded it with a 140146 Points.
Connectivity
The Redmi Note 7 Pro supports 12 different LTE bands, it's easy to switch to LTE network inside the settings and whats good on this unit now is that you can also set 2nd Sim on LTE as well since it now deploys the Dual 4G technology (but 5G is still not available on this unit) on this unit but it should consume battery faster. 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 as we were able to cast it to the Mi TV 4C, 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 Wazw while cruisin in the city using the Redmi Note 7.
Detailed Network Band Supported on Redmi Note 7:
Audio and Video
MP4 M4V MKV XVID WAV AAC MP3 AMR FLAC
Supports H.265/HEVC (Main profile), H.264 (Baseline/Main/High profile), MPEG4 (Simple profile/ASP), VC-1 (Simple/Main/Advanced profile)
Video formats such as PCM, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, MP3, AMR-NB and WB, FLAC, WAV, etc.
Google Play
Just install this package I have attached.
xiaomi-miui.gr/community/index…e86b0e74cb62d70c450d352ff
Camera
Everytime we get our hands on a new phone, its always boils down to the camera. Especially this unit that sported a 48MP makes me want to take it out immediately and test the camera out of the box. The Samsung ISOCELL Sensor did live up to its hype and it really pulled of a stunner in the camera category.
The camera takes pretty good photos in daylight and in low light areas it is quite better than the Mi 8 Lite in terms of camera performance. The manual mode from the camera has quite improved a lot from Redmi Note 6 Pro since you can maximize the 48MP on the Manual/PRO mode. You cant use the Zoom and Wide Angle lens manually in this unit since its not available in the Pro mode, thats the limitation I saw in this camera. Watermarks is also present on this camera but its weird that its still Mi Dual Camera wherein it should already be Redmi Dual Camera watermark dont you think. Video can run up to 1080p 60FPS on this camera.
Actual Samples
48 MP Camera Samples Full Resolution
Download here: xiaomi-miui.gr/community/index…e86b0e74cb62d70c450d352ff
Selfie Camera
Taken in total dark streets in Quezon City
Low Light
With a Mi Fan (Poco F1 User) while Im Reviewing the Redmi Note 7
Look! Techbeans!
Video Sample
Battery Performance
We were able to achieve a good 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 13 hours 40 minute SOT, which is almost at par with the rating we got for the Redmi Note 6 Pro. Now we have tested the charging time, we were able to charge from 15% to 100% within 1 hour and 5 minutes as we monitored it closely while charging. The maximum ampere that we have achieved is 2920mAh on the QC 3.0 Charger that came with my Mi MIX 3.
More Benchmarks
Camera2API is working properly on this unit
Redmi Note 7 vs Mi MIX 3 Camera Showdown
You know I didnt plan on doing this battle since its not really of the same level comparison, but for the sake of comparing the camera goodness of the Redmi Note 7, here goes the samples:
Conclusion
After playing this unit for a few days, I was really quite impressed with the Redmi Note 7, seldom does the Redmi series really excites me since the Redmi Pro, this one took the curiosity out of me especially the 48MP camera and the dual CG5 protection. With all those King Kong Videos circulating around in China about the Redmi Note 7 about its duarability, it even comes with a 18 months warranty, 6 months more than your average warranty. The processor is nothing new to me as it was already seen in the Mi Note 3 and the Mi 8 Lite, but the camera did great and impressive shots, the 48MP enables me to fully zoom into the nity gritty details of the object. Even the charging time is pretty impressive using a QC 3 charger, well have yet to test its QC 4 support since I have yet to get hold of a QC 4 charger. Redmi took the market by storm and we expect this to last for a while since the demand is high and the supply is not really that abundant. I would like to congratulate the Redmi Team for a job well done on the Redmi Note 7, hope to see more surprises from your team in the future.
3/32GB 999 RMB
4/64GB 1199 RMB
6/64GB 1399 RMB
Redmi Note 7
