Xiaomi’s got another phone for Indian buyers this week, the Redmi 5, which succeeds the Redmi 4 from last year. The phone comes with three RAM options (2, 3 or 4GB) and prices starting from Rs 7,999. The latest Redmi phone is also the company’s first Redmi phone to come with an 18:9 screen, which makes it taller with a wider screen estate.
We know how popular Redmi phones are with Indian consumers, so we decided to jot down the crucial upgrades that Redmi 5 offers. Here’s everything you need to know about the new Redmi 5.
Design
For me, the Redmi series has undergone significant changes year after year. Last year’s Redmi 4 was the refined version of the Redmi 3S, but this year, there are changes all-around. First up, you’ll notice the size of the phone, being comparatively taller than the Redmi 4.
As mentioned in the details above, Redmi 5 gets a 5.7-inch form size, with a slim-design profile (which comes at a cost). The 18:9 ratio screen covers the majority of the front side. For the first time, the design at the back remains identical to its predecessor.
Mind you, the phone still doesn’t carry a bezel-less display but for what it costs, we can hardly nitpick. The Redmi 5 has been trimmed down from 8.7-mm thickness to 7.7-mm this year. This ensures you can easily hold the phone, even though the weight of Redmi 5 bumps up from 150 gram to 157 grams.
Not sure if the physical soft-touch buttons have been retained, instead you get a virtual soft button within the screen now.
All in all, if you keep both Redmi 4 and Redmi 5 together, you’ll notice a big difference in the way they book look.
Display
Redmi 5 packs the biggest-ever screen we’ve seen on a Redmi phone till date. The 5.7-inch display offers 1440x720-pixel resolution, mostly skewed at this value because of the 18:9 ratio screen.
Screen quality wise, I don’t expect the Redmi 5 to offer a drastic improvement on what we had with the Redmi 4. Nevertheless, people might just love watching videos on the long screen, especially with YouTube now supporting pinch-to-expand view feature on mobile.
While Xiaomi claims to have marginally improved the high-definition contrast of the Redmi 5, to the naked eye, it’s not that apparent.
Hardware and Software
Being an upgraded device means the Redmi 5 sees improvement in performance and camera quality. The phone has moved from Snapdragon 435 to Snapdragon 450 processor, paired with 2,3 or 4GB RAM. This ensures you can look at variants with 16,32 or 64GB storage, depending on your budget.
MiUi 9 that you get with the Redmi 5, is still based on Android 7.1 Nougat version, and we have no clue when the phone will get updates for Oreo. It’s still a dual-SIM phone, with hybrid SIM slots, which also lets you expand storage up to 128GB.
However, for the first time, Xiaomi has used the term ‘fast charging’ with the Redmi 5, and we’re excited to see how fast the phone can really be charged up. As we mentioned earlier, the phone has been trimmed down drastically, mostly because the Redmi 5 now packs a 3300mAh battery.
When you compare that with the 4100mAh unit on the Redmi 4, clearly Xiaomi has prioritised going sleeker with this phone. Having said that, with Snapdragon 450 in tow, the company claims that the battery life will not see a massive drop. They’re still happy sticking with microUSB 2.0 port for this one, instead of the USB Type C which has sort of become the standard.
Camera
You might be thinking that from the 13-megapixel sensor to 12-megapixel unit on the Redmi 5 is a downgrade, but is it? As Xiaomi pointed out in its product briefing on Wednesday, the Redmi 5, even with its lower megapixel count, carries the larger 1.25 Um pixels (as seen on the Redmi Note 5).
This will ensure that images clicked with the Redmi 5 are likely to deliver better details than what we would see from the Redmi 4.
On the front, nothing has been changed, as you get the same 5-megapixel shooter from the Redmi 4. We’ll test out those claims in our detailed camera comparison in the coming weeks.
Redmi 5 – Worth the Upgrade?
So, the Redmi 5 does get a lot of changes compared to its predecessor this year. Taller screen profile with sleeker design, fast processor, with improved cameras do make for an interesting upgraded device.
Having said that, you still get a Mi phone that’s running on Android 7.1 Nougat, a smaller battery in tow, which strangely cannibalises with the Redmi Note 5. If you’re in the market for a budget phone, with the latest features like 18:9 screen on your wish-list, then the Redmi 5 is worth looking at. But only if you can navigate through Xiaomi’s famed flash open sales to get one.
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