Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro

Many Android flagships in 2017 boasted of taller screens with nearly no borders as their headlining feature. Naturally, we started seeing this trend trickle down to the mid-range and entry-level segments, with phones like the InFocus Vision 3  and Honor 9 Lite to name a few. Xiaomi has been a favorite in the budget space and now it's joining the party.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Review) has been the ranked as the top-selling smartphone in 2017, so expectations for the Chinese manufacturer’s brand new offerings for 2018 are incredibly high. The new Redmi Note 5 (Review) has big shoes to fill and from what we’ve seen, it manages to do so pretty well. Xiaomi has also launched a more powerful model with a better camera, and it's called the Redmi Note 5 Pro. This is the first phone to debut Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 636 mobile platform, which supports full-HD+ displays and features Qualcomm's own custom Kryo CPU cores. While all of this sounds great on paper, the big question is whether it’s worth the premium over the standard Redmi Note 5. 

The volume and power buttons are on the right of the phone and are slightly out of reach when you’re holding the phone normally, but feel solid. Up top, there's an IR emitter just like on previous Redmi Note smartphones. At the bottom of the phone, we have a 3.5mm headphone socket, microphone, Micro-USB port, and a speaker grille. Once again, It’s a bit disappointing to not have a Type-C port. Considering that this is the ‘Pro’ model, we would have appreciated the newer connector. On the left, we have a hybrid dual-SIM slot which can accommodate two Nano-SIMs or a microSD card (up to 128GB) in the second slot.

The metal back reminds us a lot of the Redmi Note 4, with its matte finish and slightly tapering edges. The fingerprint sensor lines up comfortably against your finger when you hold the phone, and authentication is quick. The camera bump is very noticeable, and let’s face it, its design has been, shall we say, "heavily inspired" by the iPhone X (Review). Even the arrangement is the same, with the two camera sensors flanking the dual-LED flash. The bump also means that this phone rests at an awkward angle when you place it on a flat surface. The back is otherwise plain, save for a printed Mi logo towards the bottom.

Final word 
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro offers plenty of reasons to spend that extra bit of money on the Redmi Note 5. The list of improvements includes a better set of cameras, slightly better battery life, and a more powerful processor - all of which make the user experience just a bit nicer. The weight of the phone is something you will have to get used to, and even though it isn’t very striking to look at, the build quality is solid. We love the new taller display, which is sharp and has very good sunlight legibility.

Portrait mode works very well for the front and rear cameras, and this is backed by solid battery life and very good overall app and system performance. Given that this is a ‘Pro’ model, we would have liked to see more features, such as a bundled fast charger, USB Type-C port, and maybe a more distinctive design which would have set this phone apart from the non-Pro model. Having Android Oreo out-of-the-box would have also been a nice touch for enthusiasts, who Xiaomi is targeting here.

At a starting price of Rs. 13,999, this phone is pretty hard to beat. You have Xiaomi’s own Mi A1 (Review) at the same price, which is also a good pick especially if you’re looking for a stock Android interface like on the Google Pixel series. The Moto G5S Plus (Review) has long been one of our top picks at this price point, but now, there’s really no matching the Redmi Note 5 Pro in terms of performance and features at this price.