Redmi Note 7, analysis: if this is the first step of the new Xiaomi brand, we want to see the rest of the way

Xiaomi surprised us not too long ago when he decided to split one of his most famous phone lines, the Redmi, to turn it into a brand with its own entity. The new Redmi was soon receiving their first issue, a Redmi Note 7 that for the first time did not carry the Xiaomi brand in front of the name but in the form of the last name "by Xiaomi" to indicate kinship, but not direct dependence.

This Redmi Note 7 debuted as expected with its leaks. A mid-range phone with a power similar to that of the Mi A2 but with distinctive features, such as its 48-megapixel rear camera. The Redmi Note 7 has now gone through our analysis table in its Chinese version with 6GB and 64GB that is not sold in Spain, at least for now. Join us to see how it went in this detailed analysis.

Video analysis of Redmi Note 7x

Redmi Note 7, the technical specifications

SCREEN - 6.3 inches 19.5: 9
                 Resolution FullHD + 2,340 x 1,080
                 LTPS Incell

PROCESSOR - Snapdragon 660 at 2GHz

VERSIONS -3GB / 32GB
                     4GB / 64GB
                     4GB / 128GB
                      6GB / 64GB
                       MicroSD
Battery       -4000 mAh
                      18W fast charge
REAR CAMERA    48 megapixels f / 1.8
                               5 megapixels f / 2.4
                                Flash Dual LED

FRONTAL CAMERA -  13 megapixels f / 2.2

SOFTWARE        -Android 9 Pie
                               MIUI

OTHERS  -   Rear fingerprint reader
                     Face unlocking
                       Headphone jack

PRICE  - 10,999 Rs

Design: more care than usual for its category

There is a fact that we will probably repeat several times during this analysis because it will help us always keep in mind what price category we are moving. We will talk about a Redmi Note 7 that, in its most basic version, which has 3GB and 32GB of internal memory, will be sold at a price of 10,999 rs . A price difficult to reach by the competition and that only differs from its older brothers in this, in RAM and storage. In the rest we will talk about identical twins.

Glass body and plastic frame for the Redmi Note 7

So when we talk about an exquisite design, we do it knowing that we move in the lower price bands of the market. And yet, the Redmi Note 7 sports a plastic frame and glass body whose rear part is signed by Corning with its Gorilla Glass 5. The cover, for example, used by the Xiaomi Mi 8, the top of the manufacturer's range in last year. In addition, we enjoyed a pretty striking color, especially the Twilight Gold model, as called by its manufacturer, which is the one we have analyzed here.

We are not facing a phone precisely lightweight, although 186 grams for its 6.3 inches 19.5: 9 screen is a fairly lightweight. 8.1 millimeters stand out in their measurements, the thickness of a model very comfortable in hand and with an excellent grip, and that sometimes allows us to even manipulate it with one hand despite its dimensions. The glass also helps in part to ensure that the model does not get too hot, although in more demanding moments some temperature is appreciated, it never bothers.

In terms of distribution, we are talking about a fairly basic structure. Volume keypad and power on the right frame, USB C charging port on the bottom, headphone jack on the top and back for the camera, located in the upper left corner, and the fingerprint reader centered on the part middle top of the phone. On the front, almost all screen. We move around an 81/82% front taken advantage of by the panel, which has a small 'notch' in the shape of a drop of water.

With better anti-fingerprint treatment, the Redmi Note 7 would have been almost round in its design section

Great work in general of Redmi in the design of his new Note 7, which spends all the time pretending to be more than what it is, and getting it in many moments. Even being aware of having a mobile phone of 150 euros, the feeling that it is tied with much more expensive models is constant, and of course, the color makes it a mobile that gives pleasure to teach. A pity that, being crystal, is almost condemned to spend his life wrapped in a carcass that protects his integrity. But if you are brave and want to risk a break, Note 7 of Redmi is very worthwhile.

Screen: the LCD can perform very well in economic lines

And it is the case of this Redmi Note 7, whose screen is a 6.3-inch LTPS Incell that does what they do all of time to this part, stretch the frame to the maximum by cutting the panel in half. The 'notch' that we have in hand is one in the form of a drop of water, so the loss is minimal, although we will discover later that MIUI does not manage the free space on both sides of the cut in the most optimal way.

The resolution of this panel is FullHD +, which means that with its 19.5: 9 ratio we have 2,340 x 1,080 pixels. In short, approximately 409 pixels per inch of density, more than enough to read and see all kinds of content without appreciating pixels on the screen, and with remarkable warmth and sharpness for this type of panels. In addition, the screen comes covered by Gorilla Glass 5, which is always appreciated in terms of durability.

The penalty of this Redmi Note 7 is that MIUI does not manage too well space on both sides of the notch

As for the resolution of color, little to object to this screen mounted by the Redmi Note 7, which incidentally allows us to vary the saturation and contrast through the software of MIUI itself. Live tones but without the extra depth of the AMOLED, and with a pleasant feeling all the time, especially for well-calibrated whites with the default setting of the system.

And speaking of brightness, the behavior of the panel is quite good, even though it is an economical telephone. A fairly fast automatic brightness gives us the right amount of light at all times, and maybe we can just put the glue that the minimum level of brightness is perhaps too minimal, especially when we face applications with dark interfaces and lose Contrast with the fall of light.

6.3 inches for a large screen with a resolution and brightness more than adequate

The viewing angles are quite good, allowing us to use the mobile without problems in almost all angles, even having it on the table something removed from us. Perhaps it should be noted that the oleophobic layer responds to that of a mobile of this category, and it could be improved. Although the footprints do not become uncomfortable in most situations, the sun itself can appreciate something more than the bill, although a simple rub against the clothes will suffice to have it again impeccable.

Finally, note that MIUI incorporates a few improvements that raise the level of the screen, as we always claimed double touch to turn the panel, we can activate when we want . Or as the possibility that the panel is turned on when we put the mobile in an upright position, when rescuing it from a table or taking it out of the pocket. This way we can save ourselves touching the screen, the power button or the fingerprint reader to wake it up, ideal if we activate facial recognition.

Performance: the little brother also gives a lot of war

Although our country has only been touched by the Redmi Note 7, at least for now, the new generation of Redmi is actually two, this one and the Pro model with the Snapdragon 675. The phone we have in our hands carries a Snapdragon 660, more than powerful to perform in almost everything we demand, and that is also accompanied by 6GB of RAM in this Chinese version that has not yet been sold here but could arrive in the near future.

To these 6GB of RAM, we add 64GB of internal storage, enough for almost everything, and if we need an extra we can always go to microSD memory. But here we have come to talk about performance and that's what we're going to talk about, although the Snapdragon 660 is already anything but unknown in the mobile market. It is, in fact, the brain of the Xiaomi Mi A2 or the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite, catalog partners of this Redmi Note 7 until very recently.

When we talk about the Snapdragon 660 we do it knowing that although it is not a new chip, it still maintains a high enough level to do almost everything we ask of it. And the Redmi Note 7 shows that we can play heavy games without hardly blinking beyond taking a little more time to load them than normal. The same applies to applications, which, being light or demanding, all are executed at a good speed and with sufficient fluidity. Probably good fault has the 6GB of RAM associated, but everything is included in the package.

So you can see how this Redmi Note 7 behaves in objective numbers, we leave you the classic benchmarks with the most popular synthetic tests, as well as a list compared with other similar models on the market.

In the performance section, we also dedicate a space to talk about the fingerprint reader in case the phone has it, and here we have it. Not only that but also facial recognition that, everything is said, is quite fast although it does not work 100% with all the angles and postures. The unlocking with the fingerprint is supersonic and it is enough to support the finger to be already at the desk of the phone. The model nevertheless has an important downside, or we consider it like this: nothing of NFC around here. Without mobile payments. A pity, because the price of the device would invite to expand Google Pay at full speed. In this model is not, by the way, talk about the Chinese Note 7.

Software: MIUI feels better, even in Chinese

As we have said before, this Redmi Note 7 is the Chinese version, specifically the one with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. That implies an extra power but in exchange, we lose the international ROM of the phone, which although it can be installed in a relatively simple way, we have not installed for obvious reasons. It is a phone for analysis that has to go back to the manufacturer.

The changes with respect to the international version, and that we enjoy in Spain, seem quite clear. We lose the Spanish language in the configuration to be the local ROM of China, and we have software completely in Chinese, in addition to others who can put in English, as Xiao AI, do not work far from their borders and their servers.

Thus, the start of the phone is somewhat more complex than usual because we come across an MIUI 10.2 that only has Chinese and English, and that from the beginning does not incorporate anything from the Google apps ecosystem. That not only affects Gmail or Photos, but also the Play Store. Nothing that can not be solved by accessing Xiaomi's own store and downloading the installer package, but still an added nuisance to the configuration of the phone.

Changing the Chinese ROM for a global ROM of Xiaomi is not as complex as it seems, something that facilitates imports

For the rest, MIUI is still in top form, and the redesign experienced with the 10 version based on Pie feels wonderful to this Redmi Note 7 that is fun to handle with gestures, although we can deactivate it at any time by going to the settings. Of course, we maintain access to all its native features, such as themes, the brand's app store or the forum.

We can not avoid noticing, however, that advertising begins to enjoy a preeminent position in the layer of the Chinese, and is something that in the future can be a problem. But for now, everything is very well taken care of although it could be lightened a bit, and we are facing a layer that provides benefits for the user despite, as we said before, some details can be polished. As the space on both sides of the 'notch', something wasted.

Battery: for a while, for a long time

We talked about the Redmi Note 7 highlighted in design but there are a couple of aspects where it still has to face. One is photography, which we will talk about later, and another is autonomy, in which we are already. 4.000 mAh offers us the new Note 7 of Redmi, that although it does not offer wireless (bad) load, it does make available fast (good) load. The charger that includes the box is 10W but if we can get a more powerful one, we will notice the change. In our case, we have used it with an 18W charger and we could return the battery to life from zero in approximately 100 minutes.

If the average use of around 7 hours of the screen is not to excel, what is necessary?

Your lifetime, high. This internal battery has allowed us to move continuously over six hours of the screen even outdoors, which always increases the brightness and consumes more by taking advantage of the data connection. The most demanding day ended the day abroad with 6: 20h effective use and 3% still available to connect it to the charger. In the days of most normal use, up to 5 hours of the screen and almost 40% of battery to be able to wait for the next day to load it.

We have obtained, however, a much more striking figure although we should not consider it as a norm since there were very specific circumstances of low demand of the processor despite the many hours of the screen. Specifically, 8: 30h at the end of the day, almost all the time browsing and social networks, but with little use of the camera and no use of games with demanding graphics engines such as Unity or Unreal. For the rest, an excellent battery of this Redmi Note 7 that will please the most demanding in this field.

Camera: improper sensors of this price level, for good

We come to another of the strengths of this Redmi Note 7, your photographic equipment. But before commenting on its performance, let's talk about the equipment itself, what the device offers us. Specifically, we are facing a double rear camera with a 48-megapixel sensor, a GM1 signed by Samsung, with an aperture lens f / 1.8 and another 5-megapixel sensor whose only function is to take depth readings. It will be the sensor responsible for helping the phone capture images with bokeh.

Eye with 48-megapixel mode: produces JPGs that border the 15MB in size

With the Snapdragon 660, we are also facing a phone that can capture 48-megapixel photographs without problems, although in this Chinese version we see that they only activate in Pro mode and in turn press the 48MP button. In the phone, with international ROM we will not have problems to capture images at 48 megapixels from the automatic mode, which is an extra plus. Although we must be careful, because these pictures can reach 15MB in memory, it is important to know this to choose the right storage model between 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB.

So, if we go to Pro mode we will have 48 megapixels and if we capture them with the automatic mode we will only have 12 megapixels. But let's talk about how they behave, and this is where the surprise really is. We come across photographs of a very high quality that are really improper of a mobile phone whose basic model, which also shares these cameras, part of the 149 euros in Spanish territory. Clear pictures with good light and behave well when it is missing, although here we can not help but see that the night mode does not lend a hand too remarkable to improve the captures.