When Xiaomi launched Xiaomi Redmi 5 and the Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus, we had mixed feelings about these devices. In fact, The Redmi 5 series did offer a huge improvement over the Xiaomi Redmi 4 series, but what about the Xiaomi Redmi Note lineup? Is the company planning to put an end to that series, which made them the number one smartphone brand in India? It looks like the company hasn’t forgotten the good old Xiaomi users and here we have them at the most detailed article on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5, which is expected to launch in India in early 2018 (by the end of January).
To start with the design and aesthetics, the smartphone follows the rules set by the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4. The phone offers a metal unibody design with plastic antenna caps on the top and bottom. However, the brand has made necessary changes to make this device set apart from the competition.
Though the camera placement is similar to that of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, instead of one camera, now we have to. Finally, this will be the first Redmi smartphone (in India) to show some dual camera action out of the box. Due to the secondary camera, the fingerprint scanner has been moved down a further, however, due to taller design(spoiler alert), it will not make much of a difference what so ever.
The things that we discussed are the back case design, the front-side of the phone also packs a lot of surprise elements and it also a head turner. As a matter of fact, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 is expected to feature a 6.5-inch to a 6.7-inch edge to edge display with FHD+ 2160x1080p IPS LCD panel and the narrowest bezels on an any Redmi branded smartphones. In fact, if the phone falls downwards facing the display, then it will break into pieces for sure if you are not using a tempered glass + bumper case.
This is very forward thinking design and thanks to Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 for inspiring other smartphones to cut down the bezels-fats, which causes unnecessary troubles. So, This smartphone will have the minimalistic bezels, which are required for the placement of the camera and main earpiece with other additional sensors.
This display will be driven by Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 Octa-core Mobile Solution paired with either 3 GB or 4 GB RAM with 32 GB or 128 GB onboard flash storage with a dedicated micro SD card slot (up to 128 GB). Like always, the phone will also have dual SIM card slots with 4G LTE and VoLte capability out of the box. Thanks to the Snapdragon 630, this will be the first Redmi smartphone to offer latest Bluetooth 5.0 with the ability to connect to multiple Bluetooth devices at the same time. Additional features like the dual-band WiFi, NFC, and Analogue FM Radio can also be expected on the smartphone.
Going in-depth of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5’s dual camera, we are likely to see the same dual 12 MP camera setup like the one found on the Xiaomi Mi A1 (the first Android One powered Xiaomi smartphone) with the standard set of features like X2 optical zoom, portrait mode and 4K video recording capability. For the selfie camera, we might also see an upgrade from 5 MP shooter to an 8 MP shooter with the assistance selfie flash unit. As many people appreciate the cameras on the Xiaomi Mi A1, this shit is going to get better this time.
Thanks to that taller and bigger display, the phone will also get a bigger 4000 mAh Li-ion battery to back these up. This time around, we are expected to see a USB type C port with support for fast charging and USB OTG support with a dedicated 3.5 mm headphone port. In terms of operating system, the device will run on Android Nougat 7.1.2 with MiUi 9 skin on the top. Like most of the Xiaomi Redmi phones, this one will receive Oreo update in the future.
Talking about the last thing that matters a lot, the pricing. According to speculations and the prices of the Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus (which goes up to ₹ 13,000). The Xiaomi Redmi 5 is expected to cost ₹13,000 for the entry-level model and the premium model will cost anywhere around ₹15,000.
So, it looks like Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 has all the good reason to upgrade from Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 in every aspect. So, if you are into this new 18:9-aspect ratio game, then, wait for few more weeks and you will not be sorry for your decision.