Redmi Note 7 review

The Redmi series is so relevant for Xiaomi that the Chinese company decided to separate this line into a separate brand [like it already happened for the POCOPHONE. The first device of this new series is the Redmi Note 7 (Check on Amazon.com).

Package

The first Redmi phone has fairly standard equipment inside the box. We find the 5V/2A power adapter, a USB/USB-C cable and also a very welcome semi-transparent gray silicone cover.

Build and Ergonomics

The Redmi Note 7 has the classic design of Xiaomi smartphones. The profile is in polished metal and on the back, there is a flat glass sheet, interrupted only by the dual-camera sensor in the upper corner. The smartphone is not very light, weighing 186 grams, but overall it is a well-balanced device that is easy to use in everyday life. It is also very well built, although it certainly lacks a bit of character, in this price range, you can’t have everything.

Hardware

The Redmi Note 7 is a powerful and complete smartphone especially considering its price range. It sports a 2.2GHz octa-core Snapdragon 660 processor, an Adreno 512 GPU, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal memory. There are also two variants with 64GB of internal memory, and 4 or 6GB of RAM. All of them have the ability to expand the internal memory, by giving up the second NanoSim slot. Connectivity-wise we have dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 and an infrared port. The LTE is supported goes up to 450 Mbps (i.e. 4G+). On the rear, we also have a fingerprint reader. This device also supports face unlock, which is accurate, but not very fast. There is also an audio jack located on the top.

Camera

This Redmi Note 7 is the first smartphone in this price range to have a 48-megapixel camera. This camera is top of the range territory, something that this smartphone is obviously not. We have to admit that we were positively surprised by the quality of this camera, which is probably the best at the lower end of the market. The main camera has a ƒ/1.8 aperture and is accompanied by a second 5-megapixel ƒ/2.4 sensor for depth of field calculations. It is a very interesting pairing that allows you to shoot very defined images, with well-balanced colors (that are not distorted by the artificial intelligence) and with a good blur effect if you activate the portrait mode. It is important to know that 4 in 1 pixel are always interpolated to achieve this definition and that the final photos (at least at the moment) all measure 12 megapixels. For those who don’t want to give up on the super-resolution, the only way is to shoot in Pro mode. A night mode is also coming as an update. Currently low light photography quality is on par with that of a low-end smartphone. Videos are good and can be recorded at up to 1080p at 60fps. They appear therefore extremely smooth but suffer a little from digital noise and lack of definition. Also very good is the 13-megapixel selfie camera.

Display

This Redmi Note 7 has a wide 6,3-inch diagonal with FullHD+ resolution (2340×1080 pixels) and is made with IPS technology. It is a beautiful big and bright display with a small notch that houses the front camera. The frames are not too small, but they have come a big way if you think that just a year ago it was unthinkable to have a similar screen on a Redmi smartphone.

Software

This Redmi smartphone is launched with Android Pie and customized with the MIUI 10.2 interface. It runs smoothly and you can now use the now-famous navigation gestures. There is also the ability to copy the app or create a secure space to protect your content. In addition to the one-hand mode, we now find a new gaming mode that blocks out the distractions during your gaming sessions.

Autonomy

One of the highlights of the Redmi series is definitely their battery life and this Note 7 is no exception. It is equipped with a 4000mAh battery that supports fast charging. The autonomy is close to two full days.

Final Verdict

The Redmi Note 7 (Check on Amazon.com) is probably the best price/quality smartphone ever made by Xiaomi.