REDMI 6 PRO
Efficiency All Around
The Redmi series from Xiaomi is
now known to offer some of the best smartphones at sub ₹10k. For 2018, Xiaomi has launched three new phones: Redmi 6A, Redmi 6
and Redmi 6 Pro. Redmi 6 Pro is the first phone in the range with a notch style
display.
That being said, Xiaomi is a bit
late to adopt the notch display for smartphones compared to the competition.
Redmi 6 Pro is only their second such device in India (first was the Poco F1) to
offer a notch display. The notch houses the speaker, front camera and various
sensors. We liked that Xiaomi has managed to provide a notification LED too.
You’ll find it on the bottom chin and while the position is unusual, many will
appreciate Xiaomi offering this feature.
As with many notch displays, the
screen has an aspect ratio of 19:9. You get a 5.84-inch IPS display with a
resolution of 2280 X 1080 pixels giving you a 432 ppi pixel density and 79.5%
screen to body ratio. Overall, we felt the screen has good viewing angles and
excellent brightness. For those who do not like the notch, you can always hide
it in the settings menu. The only thing we did not like was the fat chin on the
bottom of the display.
Build quality is similar to what
we have seen on Redmi 4 and Redmi 5. The metal unibody design is sturdy and
feels good in the hand. Around the back is a dual camera module (it sits flush
with the body) and ergonomically located fingerprint scanner. However, at 8.8mm
and 178 grams, the phone is on the bulkier side, especially considering the
display size. This is the compromise you have to make to get a large 4,000mAh
battery.
The phone is powered by the
Snapdragon 625 processor which is found on a number of Xiaomi smartphones now.
Even though the processor is almost 2 years old, it is still a good performer.
Our review unit is the 4GB RAM + 64GB storage variant which is priced at ₹12,999. We faced no issue in day to day usage and managed to run PUBG
mobile at low settings (there were some frame drops, but the game was
playable). Battery life is fantastic as expected — the 4,000mAh battery
regularly lasted us over a day and half of usage. With battery saving enabled,
you will easily cross 2 days of battery life if you’re not into gaming.
The primary camera on the Redmi 6
Pro is a 12MP + 5MP unit with f2.2 aperture and 1.25um pixels — this is a very
similar setup to the Redmi Note 5 Pro. Thanks to the larger pixels, camera
results in daylight are great: excellent detail (especially in macro shots),
good dynamic range and rich colours. In portrait mode, the edge detection is
one of the best we have seen in this price segment. The same goes for the front
5MP camera — daylight selfies were superb and the edge detection in bokeh shots
was great. In low light, the camera performance falls flat. Detail drops off
and there is a lot of visible noise. It’s the same story with the front camera.
Another small issue is that the phone skips 4k video recording.
In terms of security, the rear
fingerprint scanner that works great and there’s also face unlock. Once setup,
the face unlock feature works well as long as there is enough light. It won’t
work in low light or in the dark. On top is an IR blaster to use the phone as a
universal remote using the Mi Remote app — we have always liked this feature on
Xiaomi phones.
As a top-of-the-line Redmi phone
(barring Redmi Note series), Redmi 6 Pro checks all the right boxes. It will
suit a majority of users who want a good all-rounder without spending too much.
From a notch perspective, the only competition this phone has is the Honor 9n
which costs ₹1,000 more (₹11,999 for the 3GB/32GB and ₹13,999 for
the 4GB/64GB). The Honor 9N has a stylish glass rear design and a better 16MP
front camera, but a smaller 3,000mAh battery. If you don’t want the notch,
consider the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 which is ₹10,999
(3/32GB) and ₹12,999 for 4GB + 64GB. It has a 6-inch 18:9 display, Snapdragon 636,
stock Android and a larger 5,000mAh battery.
Karan.Bajaj@timesgroup.com
ET20SEP18
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