Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 launched with waterdrop-style notch, 48MP rear camera, price starts at around Rs 10,000

Redmi is now a sub-brand of Xiaomi. Like Poco. Xiaomi made this announcement in China on Thursday, while launching the first product under its new Redmi by Xiaomi sub-brand, called the Redmi Note 7. The Redmi Note 7 is unlike any other Xiaomi phone we’ve seen in the past, even more so by Redmi standards. 

The Redmi Note 7 boasts of a fresh design language and a waterdrop-style notch, akin to rival phones from Honor and Realme. The Redmi sub-brand and the Redmi Note 7, in fact, seem to be designed from ground up to take on the Huawei and Oppo sub-brands respectively. A dual tone gradient design was therefore inevitable, but Xiaomi could have at least not fallen for the waterdrop-style notch. Remember, this is the same company that seemingly pioneered the bezel-less design trend we see today. On the back of originals like the Mi Mix. 

Having said that, the Redmi lineup was in dire need of an overhaul. Even though the Redmi phones – until the Redmi Note 7 happened -- offered great value for money, they had also become boring over the years. With respect to design and with respect to core hardware: and in the meantime, brands like Realme and Honor have come up and shown that an affordable phone may not necessarily have to be boring. The decision to branch Redmi into a separate sub-brand and introduce a phone like the Redmi Note 7 is clearly intended to break stereotypes, a fresh start if you may, to take on competition with fresh vigor. 

The Redmi Note 7, to that effect, has an all-glass body and will be available in a choice of fancy colours including blue and red.  

The design may not be the most original, but the Redmi Note 7 packs something that no other phone does in and around its price point – the Redmi Note 7 starts for as low as Rs 10,000. The Redmi Note 7 is the first phone in its category to sport a whopping 48MP rear camera. There’s also a 5MP secondary camera for depth-sensing. On the front, the Redmi Note 7 comes with a 13MP camera. As is the norm with most Xiaomi phones lately, cameras on-board the Redmi Note 7 are also infused with lots and lots of AI or artificial intelligence. 

Moving on, the Redmi Note 7 has a 6.3-inch 1080p+ display with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor with up to 6GB RAM and up to 64GB storage, Android Pie-based MIUI 10, and a 4,000mAh battery with support for Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 4. The dual-SIM phone charges via USB Type-C and retains the headphone jack as well.  

The Redmi Note 7 has been launched in China at a starting price of CNY 999 (which roughly translates to Rs 10,385) for the base version with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage going all the way to CNY 1,399 (roughly Rs 14,539) for the top-end version with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage. There is also a 4GB RAM and 64GB storage version of the Redmi Note 7 that will sell for CNY 1,199 (roughly Rs 12,460.) There is no word if and when Xiaomi will launch the Redmi Note 7 in India.

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