Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro review

Xiaomi is on a roll in India. Almost everything that it has touched, off late, has had a tendency to magically transform into gold. Quite literally. One of the biggest reasons behind Xiaomi's sudden -- but not surprising -- rise to fame is the way it likes to do things in India. All its products, making their way to India, are seemingly inspired by what consumers -- more specifically its Mi fans -- want and not by what Xiaomi wants to sell. The Redmi Note 5 Pro is a classic example. It's globally launching in India, which means, India will be the first market to get it. The rest of the world will be getting it later. Which in itself is a big statement, highlighting Xiaomi's seriousness for the Indian market.

The Redmi Note 3, launched in 2016, was the first phone in its price category to ship with a Snapdragon 650 processor. It was powerful, sure, but at the same time it also drew flak for its questionable efficiency. The Redmi Note 3 was prone to overheating when put to test. And, it had disappointing cameras. Which is why, Xiaomi chose to use a Snapdragon 625 inside its successor, the Redmi Note 4. And upgraded cameras. The rest as they say is history.

But then there was a consumer group that was left wanting on power. The Redmi Note 4 wasn't enough for that audience. That's where the Redmi Note 5 Pro steps in. Xiaomi calls it the spiritual successor of the Redmi Note 3 and I can't agree more. But there's more to it than meets the eye. Not only does the Redmi Note 5 Pro cram in -- enough -- raw power, also it's very efficient at heat management. In fact, it wouldn't be wrong to say that the Redmi Note 5 Pro is the most powerful and the most power efficient phone in its price category. While the Redmi Note 3 and the Redmi Note 4 meant two different things for two different sets of people, the Redmi Note 5 Pro aims for a more balancing act. And that is what makes all the difference.

Design and build quality

The Redmi Note 5 Pro starts off right where the Redmi Note 4 left. Which means, if you've ever crossed paths with the Redmi Note 4, you'll be right at home with the Redmi Note 5 Pro. At the same time, the Redmi Note 5 Pro brings in two major changes, that -- like it or not -- are fast becoming the new norm even among phones that don't necessarily cost a bomb. The Redmi Note 5 Pro is both bezel-less and comes with dual cameras on the rear. While the former allows Xiaomi to offer a bigger screen in a pint-sized form factor, the latter, well, let's just leave that for later. For now, all you need to know is, that the dual camera setup on-board the Redmi Note 5 Pro will remind you of the dual camera setup on-board a certain phone from a certain company that shares its name with a fruit that apparently keeps doctors away. But the latter will cost you a bomb, the former mere peanuts.

While the Redmi Note 3 and the Redmi Note 4 meant two different things for two different sets of people, the Redmi Note 5 Pro aims for a more balancing act. And that is what makes all the difference

Bezel-less screens and dual cameras aside, the Redmi Note 5 Pro looks every bit as sleek and premium -- if a little dated -- as last year's Redmi Note 4. It comes with an almost full-metal body -- with top and bottom ends being plastic with brushed metal finish -- curved 2.5D Corning Gorilla glass (unspecified) with rounded edges and polished antenna lines. Being longer and narrower than being wider means the Redmi Note 5 Pro fits easily into your hands, as against the Redmi Note 4 which, owing to its sizeable width, was quite a handful. It's a little heavier but the extra weight adds some firm reassurance to the whole package. The Redmi Note 5 Pro, it seems like, can take a beating or two. My review unit survived a few accidental falls here and there, so I can really vouch for that.

The Redmi Note 5 Pro has an always-on fingerprint scanner on the back which is ridiculously fast (and accurate) and on-screen buttons/soft keys for navigation. The power button and the volume rocker are on the right and offer decent tactile feedback, while a dual-SIM hybrid card slot lies on the left. The Redmi Note 5 Pro, in addition, has a bottom-firing mono speaker out and an IR blaster for controlling smart home appliances -- including the 55-inhc Mi TV 4 -- through the Mi remote app.

There's not much to complain about the Redmi Note 5 Pro as far as all-round design and hand-feel is concerned. Having said that, the Redmi Note line-up is now in dire need, of a major design reshuffle, especially with companies like Honor upping the ante. Also, that dual camera system on the rear, I wish that it sat a little more flush with the body, much like it is in Xiaomi's Mi A1. As a consolation though, Xiaomi will be offering the Redmi Note 5 Pro, in as many as four different colours. Xiaomi makes some brilliant black phones, but going forward, it wouldn't be surprising, if rivals start feeling the blue as well. Pun intended.

Display

The Redmi Note 5 Pro (along with the Redmi Note 5) is Xiaomi's first mainstream bezel-less phone in India. The company, to recall, also sells the Mi Mix 2 in the country, but that's a more premium offering. The Redmi Note 5 Pro (along with the Redmi Note 5) brings bezel-less screens to the masses. This allows Xiaomi to increase the screen real estate without increasing the all-round footprint of the phone. The Redmi Note 5 Pro, to that effect, comes with a 5.99-inch 'full-screen' FHD+ display with a 2160x1080p resolution and 403ppi pixel density. Because Xiaomi has shaved off much of the bezels on the top and bottom and also on the sides, the Redmi Note 5 Pro feels much smaller than regular 6-inch phones. Also, it supports an unusual aspect ratio of 18:9, as against the more traditional 16:9.

The Redmi Note 5 Pro has a great build, a gorgeous bezel-less display, blazing fast performance, gobbles of RAM and storage, fantastic cameras, and outstanding battery life

The quality of the panel here is quite good, even slightly better than the Mi A1. It handles -- and reproduces -- colours well. In fact, colours on-board the Redmi Note 5 Pro -- because of their slight affinity towards the warmer end of the spectrum -- look more pleasing to the eyes, than counterparts, and also there's an option to manually correct contrast and an in-built reading mode for comfortable night-time reading. Brightness levels are quite adequate too, but be warned, that Xiaomi's aggressive power saving software algorithms tend to tone down the brightness levels -- when set in auto -- way below permissible limits at times. This means hampering screen legibility, even more so when you're out in direct sunlight. You'll be better off setting it to manual during such times.

Performance and battery life

Not only is it globally launching in India, the Redmi Note 5 Pro also marks the global debut of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 636 processor, which means that it will be the first phone in the world to ship with this processor. The Snapdragon 636 is notable for bringing Qualcomm's Kryo 260 CPU cores into the Snapdragon 63X range, bringing more raw CPU power into the mid-range segment. The Kryo 260 CPU inside the Snapdragon 636 can deliver roughly 40 per cent more power than the Snapdragon 630 inside phones like the Moto X4, according to Qualcomm. Additionally, the Snapdragon 636 also crams in a bumped up Adreno 509 GPU that gives it a 10 per cent performance boost over the Adreno 508 inside the Snapdragon 630, Qualcomm adds. Based on a 14nm finfet manufacturing process, the Snapdragon 636 is quite efficient too, unlike the 28nm-based Snapdragon 650: in addition to bringing a faster X12 LTE modem and support for LPDDR4 RAM among other improvements.

The Redmi Note 5 Pro, more specifically, is powered by a 1.8GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor clubbed with up to 6GB of RAM and up to 64GB of storage which is further expandable by up to 128GB via a hybrid micro-SD card slot. While the Snapdragon 650-based Redmi Note 3 was all about raw power, the Snapdragon 636-based Redmi Note 5 Pro is about power, and thermal efficiency. And the results are markedly superior. Not only does the Redmi Note 5 Pro ace synthetic benchmark scores with flying colours, it's also quite the beast in real world usage. In fact, it wouldn't be wrong to say that the Redmi Note 5 Pro is the most powerful and the most power efficient phone in its price category. Period.

The Redmi Note Note 5 Pro is quick and responsive in every sense of the word. There have been no visible lags or stutter while navigating between home screens and/or multitasking in my review unit. Just so you know, I have been using the base 4GB RAM and 64GB storage version, and it has managed to handle almost every task that I have thrown at it -- both basic and hard-grinding -- with a marginal hickup or two on occasions: but mostly it has been smooth sailing. Frankly speaking, the 6GB RAM version of the phone is an overkill, and is only meant for those, seeking bragging rights. It doesn't add anything extra to the storage, and also it costs Rs 3,000 more.

The Redmi Note Note 5 Pro, courtesy the Adreno 509 GPU, also excels at graphical intensive tasks like gaming, although you're likely to have some frame rate issues at maxed out settings during extended playback. Good thing is, it runs as cool as a cucumber, while at it 9 out of 10 times. Even while charging.

Not just raw power and thermal efficiency, the Snapdragon 636 brings improved battery scores too and the Redmi Note 5 Pro already houses a mammoth 4,000mAh battery inside. The battery, as a result, will just not die on this one. While users with a more generalized usage pattern will get at least two days out of the Redmi Note 5 Pro, even hardcore users should get close to one and a half days with ease. Just like any other Xiaomi phone, the Redmi Note 5, also boasts of impressive standby time. Sadly, it comes with a micro-USB 2.0 port and no fast charging -- when the Snapdragon 636 can support Quick Charge 4.0 -- which feels archaic in 2018. Just so you know, it takes up to two and a half hours to fully charge the Redmi Note 5 Pro. Not to mention, micro-USB 2.0 means, slower (and only one way) data syncing as well.

Phone calls made with the phone are of excellent quality and I have not encountered any odd call drop issues with my review unit. The bottom-firing mono speaker on-board the Redmi Note 5 Pro can get very loud, but there is some distortion at peak volume.

Camera

The Redmi Note 5 Pro is also Xiaomi's second dual camera phone in India. It comes with a dual camera system on the rear consisting of one 12-megapixel sensor with f/2.2 aperture and another 5-megapixel sensor with f/2.0 aperture. Both are RGB. While the primary sensor has a 1.25um size to capture more light, the secondary sensor assists in portrait shots or photos with shallow depth of field. The set-up is different from the one on-board Xiaomi's Mi A1 where the secondary sensor -- in addition to assisting in portrait shots -- is also a telephoto lens. The dual camera system, in the Redmi Note 5 Pro, further comes with phase detection autofocus and a dual-LED (dual-tone) flash. There's EIS for videos but videos are capped to 1080p at 30fps.

The Redmi Note 5 Pro, if I were to sum it up in a sentence, is the best camera phone in its price category, unless you're looking specifically for a portrait camera. In that case, the Mi A, should be your go-to device. For everything else, the Redmi Note 5 Pro, hits every other phone -- including the Mi A1 -- out of the ball park.

The phone captures some good-looking photos in good light with good amount of detail and mostly spot-on (if a little oversaturated) colours. Dynamic range is mostly spot on too. What really sets the Redmi Note 5 Pro apart from other phones in its price category -- and past Redmi Note phones -- are its blazing fast focus locking and shutter speed. The same is true about photos taken in tricky light situations. If that wasn't enough, the Redmi Note 5 Pro camera also manages to pack quite a punch in low light. Although there's noise associated with these photos, the amount of detail captured in some of them easily surpasses expectations. Photos taken in such situations also manage to hold on to colours quite well. As for portrait shots, well, I've seen better from Xiaomi. But then, the Redmi Note 5 Pro, is capable, if not downright amazing in this regard.

On the front, the Redmi Note 5 Pro, sports a 20-megapixel camera with LED flash. It's quite good too, and manages to capture enough detail in selfies with colours that are mostly true to source. Having said that, the Oppos and Vivos, have nothing to worry about for now, if you know what I mean. The front camera, on-board the Redmi Note 5 Pro, is also capable of shooting portraits, although portrait mode courtesy the front cam, is software-based. It's a hit or miss, but again, it's nice to have the option available. Moreover, the Redmi Note 5 Pro is also set to get face unlock by the end of March 2018, Xiaomi has announced.

Software

While it's good to know that Xiaomi will be bringing more features to the Redmi Note 5 Pro in the days to come, it's a little disappointing that it still runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat (based MIUI 9) out-of-the-box. MIUI 9 has a ton of features on top of Android, according to Xiaomi. It's as fast and functional as stock Android too, it adds. The MIUI 9 update, in addition to Xiaomi's custom built features, brings back key Android nuggets like split-screen multitasking and Google Assistant, something that was missing in the previous iteration, as well. But then again, it's based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat and that can be a problem for Xiaomi. That can be a problem for any OEM for that matter.

The reason why it sticks out like a soar thumb, in the case of the Redmi Note 5 Pro, is because Xiaomi is claiming nothing short of the best smartphone experience on it, and the software experience on it, is far from it. Then there are phones like the Honor 9 Lite, that cost less and ship with Android Oreo.

If you can live with that, well I am happy to report that MIUI 9 offers all the bells and whistles that you'd want from a fully-functional operating system, including themes. Popular features like dual apps (imagine, running two WhatsApp accounts on one phone), secure folder (imagine, two different home screens one for home another for work) and scrollable screenshots (imagine longer screenshots of complete webpages that can be edited at will) have been kept intact, while adding new ones that add a breath of fresh air to Xiaomi's colourful user interface. The software, in fact, is so familiar and so slick, you'll be hard pressed to figure if Xiaomi has made changes to it, to utilize the new 18:9 aspect ratio. All Xiaomi apps -- and there are lot and lots of them here -- have been resized to fit, but, the same cannot be said about all third-party apps. Which is a common thing for bezel-less phones anyways.

Should you buy it?

The Redmi Note 5 Pro is a fabulous phone. In fact, it's so good, it's challenging my loyalties for the Android One-backed Mi A1. It's got a great build, a gorgeous bezel-less display, blazing fast performance, gobbles of RAM and storage, fantastic cameras, and outstanding battery life. It's certainly not perfect. Its archaic software and micro-USB port are perhaps its biggest shortcomings. It could have done with a hint of originality in design as well. It could have done with dedicated slots for dual-SIM and micro-SD too. But here's the thing: there's no such thing as a perfect smartphone. Even more, in the particular price category, that we're dealing with here. It's safe to say that in that price category, the Redmi Note 5 Pro is the best smartphone that you can buy.The Redmi Note 5 Pro starts at Rs 13,999 for the base 4GB RAM and 64GB storage version while the top-end version with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage will be available for buying for Rs 16,999. That's typical Xiaomi, as some would say. And just like any other Xiaomi phone, the Redmi Note 5 Pro also punches way above its weight. It's so good, and yet so very accessible.

But with great power also comes great responsibility. While good hardware is always appreciated, good hardware with dated software is also frowned upon. You can be X, Y or Z, it really doesn't matter. Simply because hardware can only take you so far. A great number of deeds done by Xiaomi -- in the past -- have revolved around it paying heed to consumer demand. And consumers are making their stand clear: they also want good -- read updated -- software. It's about time, Xiaomi starts thinking about that aspect too.