Now Recently Launched Redmi 5 Take only. it Redmi 5A ,review) And Redmi Note 5 ,review), but sometimes it becomes difficult to differentiate. The new phone has all the important features, that too in a sturdy and slick package. Xiaomi has adapted to the market by repeatedly offering powerful products at low prices. There are similar expectations from Redmi 5. Will this phone live up to expectations? Through this review we will try to find the answer to this question.
redmi 5 design
Xiaomi Redmi 5 looks very similar to Redmi Note 5, which was launched in India only last month. There is nothing shocking in this, because Redmi Note 5 came in the Chinese market as Redmi 5 Plus. If seen, Redmi 5 and Redmi Note 5 seem to be of the same family, but Xiaomi has launched Redmi Note 5 and Note 5 Pro ,review) together which now seems a bit awkward.
As expected, there is an 18:9 screen on the front panel. The display is tall. But even now plastic is clearly visible on the border. Especially there is a lot of space for the border on the forehead and lower part of the phone.
We received a black unit for review. This phone is also available in gold and rose gold colors for the customers. You can also choose the Lake Blue option to stand out in the crowd. The front panel of all these three variants is white, while that of the black unit is black.
Xiaomi claims that it has used 2.5D curved edge glass on the front. Plastic has been used on the sides, top and bottom. Most of the rear is metal. The main camera is in the middle on the rear. This one is going to bulge. About 1 mm outside the back surface of the phone. Below this is a single LED flash and below that the fingerprint sensor. The size of the body is such that there is no problem in reaching this sensor.
The power and volume buttons are on the right side and are easy to reach. There is a micro-USB port at the bottom. Speaker is present in only one grill. There is a headphone socket and infrared emitter on the top. On the left side is the hybrid SIM slot, meaning you have to choose between a second SIM card or a microSD card. We were disappointed to see a micro-USB port.
Considering the price, the build quality and finish of the phone impressed us. Our only complaint is the ring on the edge of the rear camera. It gets scratch marks easily. Apart from this, it is convenient to hold and use the phone in hands. The good thing is that fingerprints do not easily appear on the front or rear of the handset.
Redmi 5 specifications and features
Popular launches last year Xiaomi Redmi 4 ,review) compared to the new model is an upgrade in many ways. The most important among these is the long screen. Now the display is 5.7 inches. Remember that Redmi 4 handset comes with a 5 inch screen. The resolution of the new handset is HD+ (720×1440 pixels), which is enough for us.
The processor has become better. You will get Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 chipset. Considering the processor available in the price range of Rs 10,000, it is a very powerful chipset. Based on RAM and storage, you have three options – 2 GB RAM and 16 GB storage, 3 GB RAM and 32 GB storage and 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage. Rest of the specifications of all three variants are exactly the same. We have reviewed the variant with 3 GB RAM. We anticipate this will be the most popular option. Interested customers will be able to get more RAM and more storage than the initial variant by spending just Rs 1,000 more. At the same time, the price of the top variant is in the league of Redmi Note 5. You can buy the 32 GB variant of Redmi Note 5 cheaper than the 64 GB variant of Redmi 5.
The battery capacity is that of an average Android phone. It is of 3300 mAh and does not support fast charging. The rear camera is 12 megapixels which is equipped with PDAF, F/2.2 aperture and single LED flash. At the same time, a 5-megapixel sensor is provided on the front panel and it also has an LED illuminator. Redmi 5 supports Wi-Fi 802.1n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS and 4G VoLTE.
We were both surprised and disappointed that Xiaomi used Android 7.1.2 Nougat in the phone. Xiaomi’s custom skin is up to date, so MIUI 9.2.7 will be available. Many people are fans of Xiaomi’s MIUI skin, but according to us, it would have been better if there were new Android features like shortcut menu. Xiaomi says that there is support for bundled notifications and inlite replies in the notification shade.
You can do multitasking by running a few apps simultaneously. But it is important to have support. The first screen on the left of the home screen is called App Vault. There are a number of useful action shortcuts and widgets for selected apps. Me Drop is a clone of Apple AirDrop. With its help you will be able to transfer any file directly to another phone. However, the other phone must also have the Me Drop app.
Redmi 5 performance, camera and battery life
As expected, the performance is very smooth. We never had any problems. Whether the phone is being used for work or entertainment. Many apps now work fine on 18:9 screens. The rest of the apps run in letterbox style. There is not much difficulty in understanding MIUI. However, sometimes you’ll need to dig into the Settings app.
The phone performs its job reliably in everyday use. There was no problem in running all types of apps and games on this phone. The phone slowed down a bit only while playing selected powerful games. We also found that the phone did not get too hot even during multitasking.
During our time with the phone, we found that the screen was dull. Colors do not come out clearly. Videos and games look fine. But looking at the pictures it was clearly visible that he was not looking his best on screen. You can expect loud sound from the speaker, but clarity is lost at maximum volumes.
Battery life is strong. It lasted 13 hours 36 minutes in our video loop test. In normal use it lasted for more than a day. It would have been nice if there was fast charging. But considering the price such expectations are meaningless. After charging for half an hour, the battery was charged only 32 percent and after an hour it was 62 percent.
Like most budget phones, the Redmi 5’s camera is good, but not spectacular. Shots look good on the phone, but not on the big screen. The lack of detail is clearly visible when zoomed to full size. Photos taken even in sunlight were a bit dull and grains were visible. We managed to achieve some great depth effects in macro shots. But the photos became blurred when in motion.
Smart beautification mode already works while taking selfies. Sadly the photos don’t look natural. You will be able to record videos in full-HD resolution.
our decision
There is no doubt that Xiaomi Redmi 5 will prove to be a popular phone. This is a value for money product. Like before, once again this Chinese company has given such powerful specifications at a low price, which is not easy for other companies to replicate. The processor is so powerful that it will last for many years. You will get an 18:9 screen which is most in demand today. It seems that only the 3 GB RAM and 32 GB storage variant will sell the most. We would suggest you to buy the same variant, because today 2 GB RAM does not seem enough even for a cheap Android phone. Regretfully, we cannot tell you with confidence about the experience of 2 GB or 4 GB RAM variants.
We were impressed by the battery life and user experience of the Redmi 5. MIUI has many customized features, but the old version of Android is disappointing. The phone is expected to get MIUI 9.5 in the month of April. But it is also based on Android Nougat. The camera is not great by any means. If photography is a priority then you should consider buying a slightly more expensive phone.
It can be said with confidence that Xiaomi has once again set a new benchmark for budget smartphones. In such a situation, our eyes will be on the handsets of other companies.