Introduction
Xiaomi recently announced its next iteration of Redmi Note lineup dubbed Redmi Note 7 Pro. As the name suggests, the device is a successor to the previously launched Redmi Note 6 Pro. One of the key highlights of the phone is the 48MP rear camera, Snapdragon 675 processor, and a 4,000 mAh battery with 18W Fast Charging.
For those who’re not aware, Xiaomi’s Redmi lineup comprises budget smartphones, as they come with impressive features for the budget price tag. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro directly competes with the likes of Zenfone Max Pro M2 and Realme 3 Pro. Let’s find out more about the device in our comprehensive review of Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro.
Price in India, Variants, and Availability
Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro comes in two different storage variant – 4GB RAM + 64GB storage and 6GB RAM + 128GB storage. The base variant is priced at INR 13,999 while the top-end variant with 6GB of RAM will set you back INR 16,999. The smartphone is available for purchase through Amazon, Flipkart and Xiaomi’s official website.
Box Contents
The original box of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro comes with gradient colors on all sides. At the front, you’ll see the company’s branding on the top with the device name written in large font at the bottom. You can see from packing itself that the brand is clearly touting the 48MP rear camera of the device.
Opening the box, you’ll be greeted with some documentation and underneath is the thing which we’re desperately waiting for, i.e. the device itself. Sadly, Xiaomi has not added a fast charger to the box and to fully use the Quick Charge feature, you’ll have to buy the adapter separately.
A complete list of items you get inside the box:
– Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro Handset
– USB Type-C cable
– Power Adapter
– Sim Ejector Tool
– Warranty Documents
– Manuals
Key Specifications
Before we jump right into the detailed review of Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro, let’s have a look at the key specifications first.
– Display: 6.3-inch IPS LCD, 1080 x 2340 pixels
– Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 675
– Rear Camera: 48MP+5MP
– Front Camera: 13MP
– Battery: 4,000 mAh, 18W Fast Charging
Design, Build Quality
With the Redmi Note 7 Pro, Xiaomi tried to keep up with the latest design trends of this year. Unlike its predecessor, the smartphone now comes with an all-glass design with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back as well. Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro with its glass back looks modern, sophisticated, and somewhat premium.
Speaking of glass back, Xiaomi has made some tall claims while introducing the device. The brand is touting the fact that one can break walnuts using the phone’s rear panel without breaking the glass casing.
Although we didn’t try breaking walnut with our phone for obvious reasons, it did get hairline scratches during our regular usage. We would recommend you using a case right after you unbox it if hairline scratches bother you.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro comes with a semi-circular ‘Dot’ notch on the front with somewhat thin bezels on the side. At the back, there is a dual-camera setup placed vertically accompanied by an LED flash. The fingerprint sensor can be found on the back with the company’s branding on the bottom.
One thing we personally like about the Xiaomi devices is the fact that it always has an IR Blaster no matter what. At the top, you can see the 3.5-mm headphone jack while the USB Type-C port can be found at the bottom.
In terms of design and build quality, we find various improvements on Redmi Note 7 Pro over its predecessor. The addition of Dot notch and glass back with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 does make this device feel premium and durable in the hand.
Display
Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro boasts a decent 6.3-inch IPS LCD display having a resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels, 409 ppi density and 19.5:9 aspect ratio. Unlike Note 6 Pro, Xiaomi has now replaced the tradition wide ugly notch with what company is calling the ‘Dot’ notch.
There’s not much of a big difference between the display of the latest Redmi Note 7 Pro and its predecessor Note 6 Pro. You’re getting almost the same screen-to-body ratio and the resolution. With the competitors offering AMOLED display, Xiaomi is still stuck with the IPS LCD for some reasons.
There are some additional display features in the software such as Bluelight Filter and option to tweak color and contrast levels. I did notice some improvement in sunlight legibility. In conclusion, the Redmi Note 7 Pro’s display is perfectly fine and usable but having an AMOLED panel would definitely be great since other brands are offering it at this price.
Performance, Hardware
In terms of performance, Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro is powered by a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 chipset paired with up to 4GB LPDDR4X RAM and up to 128GB of onboard memory. For gaming, the processor is coupled with Adreno 612 GPU.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 processor is very much capable to give you an unmatched performance at this price. In fact, the processor uses the same Cortex A76 cores which can be found on the flagship Snapdragon 855 chipset. The Snapdragon 675 consists of two Kyro 460 cores clocked at 2.0 GHz and six Kyro 460 cores clocked at 1.7 GHz.
For a heavy multitasking user, this phone would definitely be able to meet all the demands. In our daily usage, we didn’t notice any lags, slow down or stutters under heavy loads or multi-tasking. We were able to play Pubg with decent fps with no lags whatsoever. In fact, Xiaomi claimed that it has tuned this device’s performance for Pubg specifically.
For this price, Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro manages to offer impressive, smoothest and fastest performance with optimized performance for Pubg specifically.
Software
The Redmi Note 7 Pro runs on the latest version of Android operating system i.e. Android 9.0 Pie with the company’s very own MIUI 10 skin on top. If you’re the one who easily gets bored by stock Android user experience, then you might like using the MIUI software. It looks fairly modern, comes with lots of features and customizations.
The disappointing thing is the fact that Redmi shows lots of unwanted advertisements all over the system applications. Not just that, you might also encounter some advertisements in the form of push notifications which is very annoying.
The overall software optimization feels pretty great in the Redmi Note 7 Pro. The only thing which could be a deal breaker for many is the presence of annoying ads everywhere.
Cameras
Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro comes with a dual camera setup at the back having a 48MP primary sensor and a 5MP secondary sensor. The Note 7 Pro is one of those budget phones which manages to give you a 48MP camera sensor at the budget price tag.
Another such camera feature is the Night Scene which is somewhat equivalent to Pixel’s Night Sight. We’ll talk about this in much more detail further.
It is worth noting that even though the device has a 48MP camera sensor, it took pictures in the 12MP mode. This is due to what is famously known as Pixel Binning technique. Redmi Note 7 Pro uses 4-in-1 pixel binning method in which a single camera combines four pixels into one meaning the 48MP sensor would produce a 12MP final image.
As expected, we were able to click some amazing and impressive shots using the rear cameras. The thing which I personally liked about the rear cameras are a lot of details, excellent dynamic range, and no apparent noise. The clicked pictures turn out to be very appealing even though I noticed oversaturation.
Night Scene acts as a cherry on the top for the camera performance of this device. The original low-light camera performance of this device seems pretty decent with detailed images and somewhat less noise. Turning on the Night Scene changed the entire scenario.
The pictures are now brighter and sharper making it look more appealing to the eyes. In most of the pictures, we noticed significant noise reduction when Night Scene is switched on.
When it comes to the rear cameras, Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro managed to offer exceptional performance both in low-light as well as day-light conditions. Not only that, it comes with all those bells and whistles like Portrait Mode, Artificial Intelligence and Bokeh Effects.
For selfies, the device is equipped with a 13MP snapper on the front. In daylight conditions, the device was able to churn out detailed selfies with good colour reproductions and decent dynamic range. Sadly, the same is not the case during lowlight conditions since we noticed a lot of graininess or noise.
At this budget price range, almost every other smartwatches suffer from similar front selfie camera problems. With that said, you would still get the best selfie camera with Redmi Note 7 Pro at this price.
Battery Life
Another impressive thing about this phone is the massive 4,000mAh battery capacity with the support of 18W fast charging. In a moderate usage, the device was able to last for an entire day on a single charge.
With moderate usage, we mean a couple of hours of video & audio streaming, constant use of text messaging service like Slack, few hours of gaming sessions and clicking tons of images and recording videos. The device should last you for at least an entire day if you’re a moderate user.
In some scenarios, you might be able to hit the 28 to 30 hrs of battery backup.
Xiaomi, this time, went with the 18W Quick Charge 4+ fast charging in order to get an edge over the competitors. Not only that, the smartphone maker opted for USB Type-C port which is always a welcome decision in our opinion.
Although the competitors are offering much larger battery capacity hitting the 5,000mAh mark, we still find the idea of 4,000mAh as a sweet middle. Plus, the fast charging is something which most of the manufacturer ends up ignoring at this price segment. In our opinion, Xiaomi did an amazing job when it comes to battery life.
Audio, Connectivity, Security
When it comes to the audio, Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro comes with a speaker at the bottom and a 3.5-mm headphone jack at the top. Although many would like the idea of having the jack at the bottom, the top position is still not a deal-breaker.
Coming to the speaker, it is decent, loud and clear like any other smartphone at this budget. Even with the earphones, you’ll be able to get pleasing audio quality.
Speaking of connectivity, the device comes with all the latest features like Bluetooth v5.0, dual-SIM with dual-VoLTE, USB Type-C Port and the iconic Infrared Sensor. In our daily usage, we found the IR Blaster to be surprisingly used more often than expected. So far, we faced zero connectivity issues whatsoever.
Coming to the security, the device is equipped with a fingerprint sensor at the rear. The fingerprint sensor is fairly accurate and fast with the ergonomic position.
Pros and Cons
Pros
– Speedy performance
– Impressive rear cameras
– Premium glass design
– Long-lasting battery with fast charging support
– Value for Money
Cons
– Annoying ads in the software
– No fast charger in the box
– Heating issues while extensive gaming
Unlike Note 6 Pro, Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro manages to offer various improvements over its predecessor. The addition of glass back, Dot-notch display, impressive rear cameras, and excellent battery life makes it an exceptional value for money deal. If you’re looking for a smartphone under the INR 15,000 price bracket, then you can definitely consider the latest Redmi Note 7 Pro. Although you would have to keep up with the annoying ads in the software.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for a device under the INR 20,000 price bracket, then you might want to look somewhere else. With offerings like Galaxy M40, Galaxy A50, and Realme 3 Pro, the Redmi Note 7 Pro feels a little tasteless due to the lack of good software experience.
Another major issue with the Xiaomi’s devices is the stock crisis. Getting your hands on Redmi Note 7 Pro might be the most difficult thing for you since it is out of stock most of the time. You’ll have to try out your luck in flash sales. If not, you can always go for other alternatives under the INR 20,000 price bracket.
