Redmi is now a Xiaomi subbrand and the company is launching a lot of smartphones back to back recently. A month ago, the company launched the Redmi Note 7 and Redmi 7 in the Nepalese market. Soon after that, they also launched the Redmi Y3, that too under our favorite sub-Rs 30,000 category. Among few, the Redmi Note 7 is a Snapdragon 660 that people are interested in. We’ve been using the Redmi Note 7 for over a month now. So how does it hold up? Is it as good a deal? Is it worth all the hype? Let’s find out in today’s full review of the Redmi Note 7.
Design
The Redmi Note 7 looks stunning! The rear side of the phone looks somewhat like the Huawei Nova 3i with similar camera array. The new Ruby Red color of the smartphone can astonish anyone. The fingerprint sensor is on the rear side which, for me, is in a perfect position.
The Redmi Note 7 also has a glass on glass design sandwiched by a plastic frame. The phone feels premium in hand and I could find none of my friends complaining about the build of the phone. The Redmi Note 7 is really beautiful and will surely turn some heads!
Although the glass back does make the phone a bit slippery, the in-hand feeling is a positive trade-off. Also, the glass back is prone to fingerprints and smudges. In our review period, the phone got some scratches on the front as well as on the back. This means that to Gorilla glass 5 too can be scratched in day-to-day normal use. So if you want your phone to look new for long, you better get a protective case.
The Redmi Note 7 sports a big 6.3-inches display with a tiny notch that Xiaomi calls a “Dot Notch”. The usual power button and volume rockers are on the right side of the phone. We found all the buttons easy to reach with good tactile feedback. The dual SIM tray is on the left side of the device. The bottom houses a microphone, a USB Type-C port, and speaker grills. The top portion of the phone, on the other hand, has the 3.5mm audio jack, a secondary noise cancellation mic, and an IR Blaster.
Display
The Redmi Note 7 is a big phone with a huge 6.3-inches Full HD+ I{S LCD display. Despite having a huge display, the Note 7 doesn’t feel unwieldy. The phone is quite easy to hold! The display of Redmi Note 7, despite being an IPS panel, is pretty vibrant with a variable scale of brightness. The images are sharp, colors are good, and viewing angles are excellent. Watching Youtube videos and firing up a quick game was a pleasant experience on this device. Playing games like PUBG, Mobile Legends and Asphalt 9 on this device were divine.
Performance
We have seen the Snapdragon 660 in a lot of phones like the Mi A2, Mi 8 Lite or even the Realme 2 Pro. The Snapdragon 660 is undoubtedly one of the best mid-range chipsets in the market. The Redmi Note 7 is a capable smartphone and handles day-to-day tasks with ease. Gaming performance too on this phone has been a pleasant experience. All the games including heavyweight titles like PUBG, Asphalt 9, Mobile Legends ran without a hitch. The phone did get a bit warm to the touch after a while. That said, it is nothing to be alarmed about. If you love playing games, Redmi Note 7 is an amazing option.
The 64GB of onboard storage could be sufficient for some, but for me, it just isn’t. Given the Camera specs, the 48MP shots, and videos can take up a lot of space. The size of a single 48MP image is more than 10MB and I ended up using more than 80% of available storage in just a month. However, we cannot complain given the aggressive pricing of the phone.
Camera
One of the biggest selling point of the Redmi Note 7’s got to be its cameras. The phone really shined in that department. At the rear, the Redmi Note 7 has a 48MP Samsung ISOCell GM1 primary sensor with f/1.8 aperture and 1.6-micron size pixel. There’s also a 5MP depth sensing unit which comes handy while shooting portraits.
At the front, the Redmi Note 7 has a 13MP shooter with an f/2.0 aperture. The camera app is a typical Xiaomi type with an AI scene recognition along with HDR and color filters. There are different camera modes including 48MP, Portrait, Panorama, Night, and Pro.
The camera AI in the Redmi Note 7 could detect human, plants, buildings, food, text, and pets that we pointed the camera at. In daylight, the Redmi Note 7 does a better job in setting the exposure and it automatically enables HDR while shooting against the light. Under good light, the phone takes crisp and clear images with colors mostly on point. The f/1.8 lens makes some shallow depth-of-field shots which looks amazing. Under low light, the phone continues to impress like its predecessor, the Redmi Note 6 Pro. There is also a dedicated Night Mode that uses multi-frame noise reduction to get much better low light shots. The low lights shots are good, given the 1.6-micron size pixels and a wide f/1.8 lens.
The Samsung GM1 lens basically shoots 12MP shots and interpolate to 48MP to provide more detail. It is worth noting that Xiaomi has camera2api enabled. which means G-Cam work and the night sight can take the low lights to a whole new level. Talking about selfies, the 13MP f/2 lens seems reasonably good. Despite not having the secondary depth sensor from the Redmi Note 6 Pro, it doesn’t seem to have made much of a difference as the portrait mode still works well.
There is still no 4K video shooting in the Redmi Note 7 but there is a 1080p 60fps support with no stabilization. However, the phone uses EIS for the 1080p 30fps recording that provides super stable videos with still a lot of details.
Software
The Redmi Note 7 runs of MIUI 10 built on top of Android 9.0 Pie. The UI is super snappy and has a lot of functions. The MIUI 10 is good but the ads are going to be an issue but if you can look past it, you are good to go. MIUI has always been my favorite custom UI! And the MIUI version on the phone just proves why that is. Everything works seamlessly with no signs of lags or stutters. Even visually, the UI looks more modern than any of the custom skins available on other phones. I also appreciate the theming capabilities the phone offers! You can personalize the phone just the way you want. All in all, MIUI is just as feature packed and good looking as its predecessors. You will have no trouble working your way around!
Day-to-day Performance
The Redmi Note 7 delivers a solid performance that should be more than enough to satisfy most everyday smartphone users. The fingerprint scanner to the back is both fast as well as accurate. Also, the face unlock is here to stay with an acceptable speed. That aside, on its own, the Redmi Note 7 is a premium looking and feeling smartphone.
Verdict: Redmi Note 7 Review
The inclusion of a Dot Notch, USB Type-C and the 48MP camera is a good move on Xiaomi’s part. So, do I recommend the Redmi Note 7? Yes, absolutely. If you are looking for a great mid-tier smartphone under Rs 30,000 in Nepal, the Redmi Note 7 is an amazing option. It checks all the right boxes that make up a worthy mid-tier smartphone.
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