Design of Redmi Note 8 Pro
Xiaomi has changed the design of the Redmi 8 series smartphones and the Redmi Note 8 Pro has also benefited from it. Redmi Note 7 Pro ,ReviewCompared to the Redmi Note 8 Pro, the Redmi Note 8 Pro has a bigger 6.3-inch display. The phone has a waterdrop notch on the front panel and the selfie camera is housed in it.
The earpiece is placed just above the display. For protection, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 has been used in the handset. The power and volume buttons are on the right side of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro. We found that the power button is well placed but you have to stretch your hand a little for the volume button.
There are two trays on the left side of the Redmi Note 8 Pro, the first has a nano-SIM slot and the second has a separate space for a nano-SIM slot and a microSD card slot. Xiaomi has provided a microSD card slot especially for the Indian market, remind you that this feature is not present in the Chinese variant of Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro.
Corning Gorilla Glass 5 has been used on the back panel of Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro. The handset has curved edges to ensure a good grip in the hands. The camera module has been placed in the middle, for your information, let us tell you that Xiaomi has placed the fingerprint sensor in the camera module itself.
The Redmi Note 8 Pro has an LED flash on the right side of the camera module and a macro camera just below it. The USB Type-C port, loudspeaker and primary microphone are located at the bottom of the Redmi Note 8 Pro, while the IR emitter and secondary microphone are located at the top of the phone. Xiaomi has provided an 18-watt fast charger and a clear plastic case in the retail box.
Redmi Note 8 Pro specifications and software
Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro has a 6.53 inch full-HD + (1080×2340 pixels) display with 19.5: 9 aspect ratio. This handset has been launched with HDR support. There was no problem in using the phone outdoors as the display is quite bright. Xiaomi has used the MediaTek Helio G90T processor in Redmi Note 8 Pro.
This chipset will compete with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G processor. The Helio G90T is an octa-core processor, for graphics there is an ARM Mali-G76 MC4 integrated GPU with a speed of 800 MHz. To maintain the operating temperature on this processor, Xiaomi has used liquid cooling with dual pyrolytic sheets.
The price of Redmi Note 8 Pro starts at Rs 14,999. This price is for the 6 GB RAM and 64 GB storage variant. There are two more variants of the phone. The 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage variant of this Xiaomi phone will be sold for Rs 15,999. The price of 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage variant is Rs 17,999.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro uses UFS 2.1 storage instead of eMMC 5.1, which is common in this price segment. It is possible to expand the storage up to 512 GB with the help of a microSD card. Talking about connectivity in Redmi Note 8 Pro, it includes Bluetooth version 5, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, dual 4G VoLTE and four navigation systems.
The battery of Redmi Note 8 Pro is 4,500 mAh, apart from this Xiaomi said that this latest handset has selfie-cleaning speakers. Redmi Note 8 Pro also runs on MIUI 10 based on Android 9 Pie. Let us tell you that our review unit runs on the September security patch. Like other Xiaomi smartphones, many apps will be pre-installed in Redmi Note 8 Pro.
Along with some Google apps, the Redmi Note 8 Pro comes with apps like Amazon, Facebook, WPS Office, Netflix, Dailyhunt, Gaana and Opera Mini. The Xiaomi handset also comes pre-installed with games like Ludo Master, Block Puzzle Guardian, Pop Shooter Blast and Dust Settle. The Redmi Note 8 Pro also has the GetApps app store which gives you suggestions for new apps.
You will also find apps like Xiaomi’s Mi Community, Mi Pay, Mi Store and Mi Credit pre-installed in the device. Apps like Music and Mi Video keep sending spammy notifications throughout the day. Users can also switch from the traditional three-button navigation layout to swipe-based navigation if they want. Since the MediaTek Helio G90T supports dual-wake, Xiaomi has also added Amazon Alexa support along with Google Assistant.
Redmi Note 8 Pro performance and battery life
Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro is the first smartphone to come to India with the new MediaTek Helio G90T processor. We have the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant of the handset for review. The handset does not slow down even after heavy load, the handset launches apps quickly. Due to the 8GB RAM in Redmi Note 8 Pro, there is no need to close apps in the background.
We found that the fingerprint sensor in the smartphone unlocks the phone quickly. We did not face any problem in using the phone outdoors as the display is bright. Let us tell you that the speakers of the handset produce loud sound. To check the performance of the handset, we played PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty Mobile.
PUBG Mobile was set to High preset by default and graphics were set to HD and frame rate to High. We had no issues playing the game at these settings. We played the game for 36 minutes and noticed that the battery was drained by 12 percent. The Redmi Note 8 Pro was slightly warm at the end of the gaming session. We set the graphics to HDR and frame rate to Ultra and the game ran smoothly.
However, the phone did get warm after 20 minutes of gaming on these settings. Battery life on the Redmi Note 8 Pro is good. In our HD video loop test, the 4,500mAh battery lasted for about 14 hours. Our usage included an active WhatsApp account, some camera samples, and playing PUBG Mobile and Call Of Duty Mobile.
At the end of the day, the phone still had 40 percent battery left. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro comes with an 18-watt charger in the retail box that charges the phone’s battery up to 32 percent in 30 minutes and 62 percent in an hour.
Redmi Note 8 Pro cameras
The camera of Redmi Note 8 Pro has been upgraded a lot compared to Redmi Note 7 Pro. Redmi Note 8 Pro is the company’s first 64 megapixel camera phone, it has an aperture of f / 1.79 and 0.8 micron pixels. This sensor clicks 16 megapixel shots in default mode as it uses 4-in-1 pixel binning technology.
The second is an 8-megapixel wide-angle sensor, its aperture is F / 2.2, apart from this a 2-megapixel macro camera will also be available. The fourth sensor is a 2-megapixel depth sensor. The phone also has a 20-megapixel selfie camera on the front panel. Xiaomi has not changed the camera app of Redmi Note 8 Pro and it is the same as we have seen in many other smartphones of Xiaomi.
There is a button in the camera app with the help of which you can switch between the primary camera and wide-angle. The button for switching to the macro camera is given above along with the AI button. There is HDR, AI, flash and filter on the top. Apart from the standard photo and video mode, the smartphone has Portrait, Night, Panorama, Pro, Short Video, Slow Motion and 64MP shooting mode.
In daylight, the photos taken with the Redmi Note 8 Pro were sharp and the details were also captured well. The camera automatically enables HDR for bright scenes and this helps in getting the right exposure. The field of view was wide in the photos taken with the wide-angle camera but it lacked details compared to the primary sensor.
In low light, AI quickly identifies the scene and sets the camera accordingly. Shots taken with the primary camera at night captured details well. Photos taken with the handset with Night mode enabled were bright, and details were also captured better. Close-up shots taken with the primary camera had good background separation and natural bokeh effect.
Even in low light, the primary camera focuses quickly and captures shots with good detail. Shots taken using the macro camera also captured good detail but the resolution is only 2 megapixels. Xiaomi has placed the macro camera below the flash. In portrait mode, the Redmi Note 8 Pro gives you the option to set the level of blur before taking a shot.
The phone maintains a good distance between the subject and the background. Colours were also accurate when shooting in portrait mode. During the day, the single selfie camera on the phone takes sharp shots but we found that the contrast was boosted a bit. You also get the option to take selfie portraits and this too does a decent separation. Selfies taken in low light lacked a bit of detail.
The primary camera is capable of recording video at 4K 30fps and the selfie camera at 1080p 30fps. If you want, you can also shoot videos with the help of the wide-angle camera or macro camera. Videos made during the day came out stabilized but shimmer effect was seen in videos made in low light.
Our decision
Redmi Note 7 Pro In the upgraded version of Redmi Note 8 Pro, Xiaomi has provided powerful hardware which is not usually seen in this price segment. The MediaTek Helio G90T processor also takes care of your gaming needs. In terms of performance, it also beats Snapdragon 712 and Snapdragon 730 processors.
Xiaomi has also launched other smartphones such as Realme 5 Pro And Realme XT ,ReviewThe camera hardware has also been upgraded to compete with the Realme 5 Pro. Let us tell you that Realme 5 Pro and Realme XT also come with good camera performance. Overall, the Redmi Note 8 Pro is worthy as an upgrade to Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 7 Pro smartphone. For those users who are thinking of buying a gaming device, the Redmi Note 8 Pro is a good option.