The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 promises to offer the 48 MP photographic capabilities of flagship smartphones at a fraction of the cost.
Let’s find out if they deliver on that promise, and learn how they did it!
The Official Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Launch Briefing
Let’s start with the official launch briefing by the affable Allen An, Country Manager of Xiaomi Malaysia and Singapore!
Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Specifications
| Specifications | Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.3-inch IPS display - 1080 x 2340 pixels (409 ppi) - 84% NTSC colour gamut |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Operating System | Android 9.0 Pie |
| Platform | Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 AIE |
| Processor | 4 x Kryo 260 Gold (2.2 GHz) 4 x Kryo 260 Silver (1.8 GHz) |
| Graphics Processor | Qualcomm Adreno 512 (850 MHz) |
| Memory | 3 GB / 4 GB LPDDR4x memory |
| Storage | 32 GB / 64 GB / 128 GB microSD card slot (share with SIM2) |
| Front Camera | 13 MP sensor |
| Rear Cameras | Dual Lens Camera - 48 MP camera with f/1.8 aperture - 5 MP depth sensor - single LED flash |
| Connectivity | WiFi : 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (dual band) Bluetooth : BT 5.0 USB : USB 2.0 Type C |
| SIM Support | 2 x nano SIM cards Dual SIM, Dual Standby capable Hybrid SIM tray |
| IR Emitter | Yes |
| Fingerprint Sensor | Yes, Rear Mounted |
| Other Sensors | Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Distance, E-Compass, Ambient Light |
| Battery | 4,000 mAh lithium-ion battery - supports 10 W fast charging |
| Dimensions | 75.21 mm wide 159.21 mm tall 8.1 mm thick |
| Weight | 186 grams |
| Colour Options | Space Black / Neptune Blue / Nebula Red |
Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Models + Prices
Xiaomi is offering three Redmi Note 7 models :
- 3 GB RAM + 32 GB storage : RM 679 / ~US$ 167 / ~£126
- 4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage : RM 799 / ~US$ 196 / ~£148
- 4 GB RAM + 128 GB storage : RM 949 / ~US$ 233 / ~£176
Here are some direct purchase links :
Sales kicked off on 27 March 2019, with three colour options – Space Black, Neptune Blue and Nebula Red.
For the first time ever, Xiaomi will cover the Note 7 with an exclusive 18-month warranty!
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Unboxing The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 (Price Check) comes in a simple white cardboard box. Let’s unbox it, and see what we find inside!
When you fully unbox it, you will find the following items :
- One Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 smartphone
- One Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 clear TPU bumper case
- One set of Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 documents
- One Xiaomi MDY-09-EW USB charger (10 watt)
- One USB Type C data and power cable
- One SIM tray extractor pin
While we always like it when brands include a bumper case, this bumper case falls short of our expectations. We will explain it in our close-up look at the Redmi Note 7 and the bumper case.
Next Page > Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 – Up Close, Key Features
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The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Up Close!
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 (Price Check) has a new design build around a large 6.3-inch Dot Drop display.
This display has a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2380 pixels, and covers 84% of the NTSC colour gamut!
The Redmi Note 7 is protected in the front and back by Corning Gorilla Glass 5, which allows it to survive a 1.6 meter drop up 80% of the time!
Disappointingly, the bundled TPU bumper case was neither well-designed. It lacks an oleophobic coating and so is easily-smudged by fingerprints.
Critically, it does not protect the display or the camera bump at all, as the final part of this video will show. It can only protect against falls on the sides of the phone…
On the left side, you will only find the SIM tray.
The Power and Volume control buttons are both located on the right side.
The 3.5 mm audio port is located at the top – the most ideal location. Xiaomi also retained the IR emitter, so you can use it as a remote control!
We are very glad that Xiaomi chose to use the newer, bidirectional Type C USB port, instead of the old micro-USB port.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 (Price Check) is not water-resistant, but has watertight seals for its buttons and ports to reduce the impact of accidental water splashes.
Dot Drop Display
Covering most of the front is a large 6.3-inch IPS display with what Xiaomi calls a “dot drop” notch.
The display has a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels, with a pixel density of 409 ppi.
It boasts a high contrast ratio of 1500:1, with a wide colour gamut of 84% of NTSC.
The dot drop notch allows for a larger display area, specifically space for more notifications. Barring the complete removal of the notch, this is about as good as it gets!
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Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
Launched in May 2017, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 is a powerful mid-range mobile SoC. It combines eight Qualcomm Kryo 260 processor cores, with an Adreno 512 GPU, a Snapdragon X12 modem, a Spectra 160 camera ISP and a Hexagon 680 DSP.
There are two processor clusters – a high-performance cluster of four Kryo 260 Gold cores running at 2.2 GHz, and a low-power cluster of four Kryo 260 Silver cores running at 1.84 GHz. The Kryo 260 Gold is a semi-custom version of the Cortex-A73, while the Kryo 260 Silver is a semi-custom version of the Cortex A53.
Performance-wise, the Snapdragon 660 is up to 20% faster in processor performance than the previous year’s Snapdragon 653, and up to 30% faster in graphics performance.
13 MP + 48 MP Cameras
Hidden in the dot drop notch is a 13 MP front camera. It can capture high-resolution photos but is limited to 720p videos.
At the back, it boasts a new 48 MP main camera built around the Samsung ISOCELL Bright GM1 BSI (backside illuminated) CMOS sensor. It has a bright and wide f/1.8 aperture, and is supported by a 5 MP depth sensor and a single LED flash.
The ISOCELL GM1 sensor supports the Samsung Tetracell technology, allowing it to merge four pixels into one large 1.6 μm pixel. This allows it to greatly increase light sensitivity in low-light conditions, delivering 12 MP pictures that are much brighter and clearer.
The depth sensor does not actually take any pictures. Instead, it lets the camera to more accurately differentiate the subject from its background, allowing for more realistic software bokeh effects.
There is no optical image stabilisation, but the camera supports electronic image stabilisation (EIS).
Next Page > More Features, Setup, Battery Life + Recharging Speed
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Fast Fingerprint Sensor
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 (Price Check) has a fast fingerprint sensor located at the back, just adjacent to the rear camera bump.
In our tests, it was very fast and accurate, taking only 10 finger presses to record a fingerprint. It also supports 360-degree recognition, which makes it easy to activate.
The Redmi Note 7 does not support facial recognition, so the only alternatives to using the fingerprint sensor is to draw a pattern, or key in a PIN or password.
Hybrid SIM Tray
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 (Price Check) supports Dual SIM, Dual Standby capability. However, it only comes with a hybrid SIM tray.
The hybrid SIM tray allows the second nano SIM slot to double as a microSD slot. You can either use two nano SIM cards, or one nano SIM card with a microSD card.
Ergonomics
Thanks to its Dot Drop notch, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 (Price Check) is not a large device. In fact, it is about the same size as the Realme 3, and approximately the size of a traditional 5.7-inch device. This is why it fits even smaller hands and pockets.
The Redmi Note 7 has a nice 6.3-inch IPS display with a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. That gives it an ultra-wide / ultra-tall 19:9 aspect ratio, which will result in some pillarboxing – a black bar will be present on the left and right sides of the video clip.
Setting Up The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 (Price Check) runs on Android 9.0 Pie, so it is really easy to setup. It should take you no more than 7 minutes to set it up as a new device.
Available Memory & Storage
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 (Price Check) comes with memory options of 3 GB and 4 GB of LPDDR4x memory. Our review sample came with the full 4 GB. MIUI 10.2 does not allow us to check the amount of free memory, but we used AIDA64 to confirm that it has 2.23 GB (55%) of free memory.
This is eerily similar to the Realme 3. If you opt for the 3 GB model, you will probably have 1.23 GB of available memory to use. That’s still more RAM than entry-level smartphones come with!
Xiaomi offers three storage options globally – 32 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB. Our review sample came with 64 GB, of which just under 52 GB (81%) is available for use.
This is enough space to store about 14,000 photos or 6.5 hours of 1080p videos. If that’s not enough, you can top it up with a microSD card (up to 256 GB).
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Battery Life
We tested the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7’s battery performance using PCMark. It basically ran the PCMark work tests until its battery capacity dropped to 20%.
| Work 2.0 | Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 | OPPO R17 Pro | Realme 3 | Honor Play |
| Battery Capacity | 4,000 mAh | 3,700 mAh | 4,230 mAh | 3,750 mAh |
| Battery Life | 12 hours 19 mins | 11 hours 54 mins | 10 hours 35 mins | 9 hours 56 mins |
| Battery Utilisation | 5.41 mAh / min. | 5.18 mAh / min. | 6.66 mAh / min. | 6.29 mAh / min. |
| Review Links | OPPO R17 Pro Review |
Realme 3 Review |
Honor Play Review |
|
| Price Check | MY | MY | US | MY | MY | US | UK |
Thanks to its large 4,000 mAh battery, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 (Price Check) has a battery that exceeds 12 hours! This is not just screen-on time. It’s running the Work 2.0 benchmark over, and over again, for over 12.25 hours!
This is really surprising, because the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 is 2 years old, and is known for its higher power consumption. The same processor was used in the Realme 2 Pro, which lasted only 7 hours with a 3,500 mAh battery!
Battery Recharging Performance
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 (Price Check) supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 4, which allows for faster charging.
It comes with the MDY-09-EW fast charger with a 10 watt power output. Let’s see how fast it recharges the 4,000 mAh battery!
| Recharging Speed | OPPO R17 Pro | Honor Play | Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 | Realme 3 |
| Battery Capacity | 3,700 mAh | 3,750 mAh | 4,000 mAh | 4,230 mAh |
| Charger Output | 50 Watts | 18 Watts | 10 Watts | 10 Watts |
| Recharging Time | 33 Minutes | 92 mins | 133 minutes | 190 minutes |
| Recharging Speed | 90 mAh / minute | 32.6 mAh/ / minute | 24.0 mAh / minute | 17.8 mAh / minute |
| Review Links | OPPO R17 Pro Review |
Honor Play Review |
Realme 3 Review |
|
| Price Check | MY | US | MY | US | UK | MY | MY |
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 (Price Check) took 2 hours and 13 minutes (133 minutes) to recharge its battery from 20% to 100%.
This is good performance for its 10 watt charger, recharging its battery 35% faster than the Realme 3‘s 10 watt charger.
Its battery life : recharging ratio of 5.6 : 1 is pretty good. A rule of thumb – for one hour of battery life, you will need to charge it for 11 minutes.
Next Page > Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Photo + Video Samples
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Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Camera Performance – Photo Samples
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 (Price Check) has a 48 MP main camera with a bright f/1.8 aperture, and a 5 MP depth sensor.
The ultra-high resolution sensor has pretty small pixels – just 0.4 µm in size, so by default, Xiaomi combines them to form a very large 1.6 µm pixel for a reduced 12 MP photo resolution.
At the default 12 MP resolution, the photos are 4000 x 3000 pixels in size, with file sizes between 3.5 MB and 6 MB.
Here are 10 high-resolution unedited photo samples for you to check out. Click on them to load the full-sized photos. You can also download them to examine up close.
The image quality was excellent, and it was more so at night – the details captured were crisp and clean of noise. However, note again that they were taken at the default 12 MP resolution.
There are some caveats though. The wide f/1.8 aperture naturally creates a narrow depth of field, with a nice bokeh effect. But in many cases, you will end up with an out-of-focus subject because of two issues :
- trouble autofocusing on the subject in some cases, and
- the inability to focus at short distances
In other words, it cannot take macro or close-up shots. You need to put some distance between the camera and your subject.
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Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Camera Performance – Video Samples
Despite its ultra-high resolution 48 MP sensor, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 (Price Check) only supports 1080p video recording. Here are two video samples.
Video Sample #1 : Piano Performance
Despite being limited to 1080p, we liked how it is at least electronically-stabilised, which makes for a shake-free video.
The Redmi Note 7 keeps a good focus on the pianist, Mr. Yang I-Deun, who is well-exposed. However, you can see that bright background is over-exposed and washed-out.
Its audio recording was pretty good. It was a little bright, but had a much wider range than we would expect from a smartphone at this price range. It also had pretty decent noise cancellation capability.
Video Sample #2 : Street Market
Thanks to its electronic image stabilisation (EIS) capability, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 delivers a pretty smooth, jerk-free video as we walked through the street market.
Although noise cancellation was pretty good, we noted some wind noise. Still, it was better than what we would expect at this price point.
Next Page > Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Performance, Verdict, Price + Availability
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Work Performance – PCMark
We tested the Redmi Note 7’s performance using PCMark, which simulates work applications like web browsing, playing video, writing text and editing photos.
| Work 2.0 | Realme 3 | Honor Play | OPPO R17 Pro | Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 |
| Performance Score | 7309 | 7361 | 6475 | 6415 |
| Web Browsing | 7779 | 7695 | 6572 | 5684 |
| Video Editing | 5292 | 5499 | 5387 | 5099 |
| Writing | 7479 | 6649 | 5617 | 6433 |
| Photo Editing | 13871 | 13326 | 10740 | 11091 |
| Data Manipulation | 4921 | 5764 | 5331 | 5255 |
| Review Links | Realme 3 Review |
Honor Play Review |
OPPO R17 Pro Review |
|
| Price Check | MY | MY | US | UK | MY | US | MY |
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7’s Snapdragon 660 held up pretty well, considering it is a two-year old platform. In fact, it was just a little slower than the newer Snapdragon 710 that powers the OPPO R17 Pro.
Gaming Performance – 3DMark
We then tested the Redmi Note 7’s gaming performance using 3DMark, using the Ice Storm Unlimited test.
| Ice Storm Unlimited | Honor Play | Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 | Realme 3 | OPPO R17 Pro |
| Gaming Score | 31622 | 26746 | 20205 | 15354 |
| Graphics | 37351 | 29525 | 19444 | 15788 |
| Physics | 20576 | 20118 | 23414 | 14005 |
| Graphics Test 1 | 208.9 fps | 164.1 fps | 119.9 fps | 136.5 fps |
| Graphics Test 2 | 132.8 fps | 105.4 fps | 65.3 fps | 45.8 fps |
| Physics Test | 65.3 fps | 63.9 fps | 74.3 fps | 44.5 fps |
| Review Links | Honor Play Review |
Realme 3 Review |
OPPO R17 Pro Review |
|
| Price Check | MY | US | UK | MY | MY | MY | US |
Despite its age, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 is still good for gaming. It actually beat the MediaTek Helio P60 that powers the Realme 3 by 32%, and was just 15% slower than the Honor Play‘s Kirin 970.
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Our Verdict
Xiaomi has always had the reputation for creating smartphones with exceptional value, and excellent design. Yet they seemed to have stumbled with the design of the Redmi Note 7, and its bumper case.
The large camera bump is so 2015, and the subdued colour gradient looks flat. The cheaper Realme 3 actually looked more premium! Even worse, the bundled bumper case fails to protect the camera bump or even the display.
But Xiaomi did not disappoint when it came to delivering value, and the Redmi Note 7 delivers it aplenty!
Not only does it come with a large 6.3-inch IPS display with Full HD+ resolution, both the front and back are protected by Gorilla Glass 5.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 (Price Check) also boasts an ultra-high resolution 48 MP main camera, paired with a 5 MP depth sensor. Can you name another smartphone in the same price range with such a high-resolution camera?
Sure, it does not support 4K video recording, but at least it supports electronic image stabilisation which allows you to record smooth, jerk-free videos.
It also comes with a large 4,000 mAh battery that lasts over 12 hours in our tests. This is despite using a 14 nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 mobile SoC, which is known to be a little power-hungry.
If you are looking for a mid-range smartphone with a 48 MP main camera at less than RM 1,000 / $240 / £190 / €215, there is really only one choice – the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7!
Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Price + Availability
Xiaomi is offering three Redmi Note 7 models :
- 3 GB RAM + 32 GB storage : RM 679 / ~US$ 167 / ~£126
- 4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage : RM 799 / ~US$ 196 / ~£148
- 4 GB RAM + 128 GB storage : RM 949 / ~US$ 233 / ~£176Xiaomi
Here are some direct purchase links :
Sales kicked off on 27 March 2019, with three colour options – Space Black, Neptune Blue and Nebula Red.
For the first time ever, Xiaomi will cover the Note 7 with an exclusive 18-month warranty!
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