REVIEW: Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 is the best value for money phone under Rs 10,000

Brands launching lite(r) versions of ir more premium high-end – re, expensive - phones isn’t new. But it’s t every day you see a brand coming up with a lite(r) version of ar lite-ly priced phone. t unless brand in question is Xiaomi. idea of a Redmi te 7 Pro and a Redmi te 7 may seem outlandish – why on earth would anyone care about a vanilla Redmi te when re’s a Pro Redmi te out to bag for a couple of thousand rupees extra? - but Xiaomi believes it can still pull this off. This is surely t first time that it is doing it – and it surely won’t be last. 

But while difference between Redmi te 5 and Redmi te 5 Pro was like night and day, it’s a lot harder to differentiate between Redmi te 7 and Redmi te 7 Pro – especially for an aver buyer. This also means, it is a lot easier to recommend Redmi te 7 over Redmi te 7 Pro for most buyers – even though Redmi te 7 Pro may seem better on paper. For a couple of thousand rupees extra, you’ll be getting slightly better performance – including slightly better camera performance. But what if I tell you, you’ll be getting more bang for your buck, should you get Redmi te 7 inste? Caught your attention w, have I? 

Photo by Saurabh Singh

Redmi te 7 looks exactly like Redmi te 7 Pro – which instantly makes it best-looking phone that you can get south of Rs 10,000. Like Redmi te 7 Pro, Redmi te 7 also boasts of Xiaomi’s all-new aura design – which is a combination of glass and plastic. While front and back are all-glass, outer frame is all-plastic (so are power button and volume rocker). And it is ordinary glass but Corning Gorilla Glass 5 - on front as well as on back. Both of which are a first for any phone south of Rs 10,000. 

w, I have been using Redmi te 7 for over two weeks w, and I have been able to keep my unit free of any scratches or unwanted wear and tear – but Corning Gorilla Glass 5 is prone to occasional scratch or two (it is better designed to survive falls and stress), which is where bundled clear case comes handy. 

Photo by Saurabh Singh

Redmi te 7 Pro is also water-resistant, sort of – like Redmi te 7 Pro. All ports and buttons on-board Redmi te 7 – SIM card tray, USB -C port, 3.5mm jack and speaker – are protected by watertight seals. se watertight seals, in turn, ensure phone is protected against accidental spill and light rain. All this when coupled with phone’s P2i hydrophobic coating makes Redmi te 7 resistant to light splashes of water/rain. While it’s never visable to test limits of any phone – even, true water-resistant ones – it's nice to see Xiaomi offering such durability-related intricacies at such low-price points. 

Being a vanilla Redmi te, Redmi te 7 lacks one thing though – Redmi te 7 lacks a Redmi te 7 Pro-like light-bending grient finish. Inste, Redmi te 7 is available in a slew of solid colours - Onyx Black, Ruby Red and Sapphire Blue. But again, that’s  deal breaker. 

Photo by Saurabh Singh

All in all, Redmi te 7 is well-built like any or Xiaomi phone – but fact that it makes an all-glass design accessible to an even wider audience is its real USP. Redmi te 7 looks and feels like an expensive phone, but it isn’t expensive at all. Its all-glass body does weigh quite a bit, but those familiar with Redmi te 6 Pro/Redmi te 5 Pro wouldn’t mind that. 

Redmi te 7, in dition, has a rear mounted fingerprint scanner which is ridiculously fast and accurate, and re’s also Xiaomi’s signature IR blaster built into phone so you can control smart home appliances including company’s Mi TVs through Mi remote app. 

Photo by Saurabh Singh

On front, Redmi te 7 has a 6.3-inch LTPS 1080p+ display with a teardrop/waterdrop style tch - Xiaomi is calling it a dot tch – which is again same as Redmi te 7 Pro. Much like Redmi te 7 Pro, colours look a little muted (especially by default) on Redmi te 7 but brightness levels and viewing angles are quite good.  

In terms of core hardware, Redmi te 7 comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor, making it one of most powerful phones in India at its price. Xiaomi says it is using processor’s full 2.2GHz clock speed unlike rivals that have been using a ‘lite’ version of this processor. This is paired with up to 4GB RAM and up to 64GB stor which is also expandable (via a hybrid slot).  dual-SIM phone runs Android Pie based MIUI 10 and supports dual 4G LTE.  

Photo by Saurabh Singh

Basic day-to-day tasks are handled well by Redmi te 7 – in fact, y’re handled better than any or phone in and around its price point. Basic games are handled well as well – so are graphical games like PUBG at medium settings. But somehow Redmi te 7 doesn’t feel like a fast phone – which is surprising considering good hardware that is inside phone. Although I did t encounter any random app crashes, I can’t say same about lags. Every w and n, Redmi te 7 is prone to slowing down, and slowing down happens across board – all way to pull-down tification panel. 

Xiaomi’s MIUI is kwn for some aggressive background task manment – it is kwn to kill off apps out of blue from time to time. But somehow things seem worse in a phone like Redmi te 7 – clearly hinting at improper software optimization. Xiaomi needs to fix that.  

Photo by Saurabh Singh

Speaking of which, Xiaomi also needs to tone down on MIUI s – y're everywhere and re’s way to get rid of m without referring to a tutorial of some sort.            

s are new to MIUI (in India) but Xiaomi software was always up to mark when it came to all-round stability – sly, that’s t case with MIUI 10 inside Redmi te 7. In fact, its software maybe its weakest point – but since we're dealing with software, hopefully, Xiaomi has a fix on way soon. 

Photo by Saurabh Singh

same half-baked software also mars all-round camera experience in Redmi te 7 – even though Redmi te 7 has capable camera hardware. 12MP primary rear camera of Redmi te 7 can capture some good-looking photos with occasional softness in good lighting with good amount of detail and mostly spot-on – if a little oversaturated – colours. Dynamic range could have been better, but overall, Redmi te 7 should suffice for most users. 2MP secondary depth camera can capture decent portrait shots in good light with good-eugh edge separation and smooth creamy background blur.  

Redmi te 7 can also capture good photos in tricky light – re’s also a new stey handheld night mode for enhanced low light photography which is Xiaomi’s take on night mode.  

Photo by Saurabh Singh

front-facing selfie camera, which uses a 13-megapixel sensor, does a good job too especially when lighting is equate – although details could have been better. 

Coming to strongest suit of Redmi te 7 – which is a strong suit for any Xiaomi phone for that matter. 4,000mAh battery inside Redmi te 7 can easily last a full day with moderate us – even one and a half days should you tone things down furr. In a first for any phone at its price point, Redmi te 7 also supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 4.0 through USB -C (although, Xiaomi isn’t bundling a fast charger in box). 

Photo by Saurabh Singh

Xiaomi Redmi te 7: yay or nay? 

So, should you buy Xiaomi Redmi te 7?  answer is a resounding yes. Redmi te 7 isn’t perfect, but at its low price, it doesn’t really matter. Redmi te 7 starts at Rs 9,999 for base variant with 3GB RAM and 32GB stor, going all way to Rs 11,999 for top end version with 4GB RAM and 64GB stor. For price, you get a best in-class design, a modern waterdrop tch display, good all-round performance with capable cameras, and outstanding battery life. Its software is a work in progress – but n again, that’s t something that can’t be fixed in future. 

Long story short, Redmi te 7 is best value for money phone under Rs 10,000 – and it’s so good that you won’t be missing out on much should you get it over Redmi te 7 Pro.   

Also Re:  Xiaomi Redmi te 7 Pro First Look: Budget Flagship