Review Redmi Note 8 Pro: he SPLIT OF BAD !!!
We often wonder if the various smartphones presented by Xiaomi / Redmi, all make sense considering that often between them are a few tens of euros the price difference that distinguishes them. Among these, the company also brings the new to the Italian market Notes redmi 8 Pro, smartphone born for the daily gaming and that he chatted because of the adoption of a Mediatek SoC. Will it have met expectations? Let's try to understand it together in this review.
Starting from the design we can only speak well of this Redmi Note 8 Pro, which sports aprincely elegance thanks to a back covered by a protection Corning Gorilla Glass 5 which we also find on the front and a camera block, centrally positioned, donating a symmetrical appearance to the entire assembly. Under the block of the cameras, whose thickness is rather marked, there is also a place fingerprint sensor, the most responsive I've tried so far while moved to the right we find an LED flash and an additional lens used for macro shooting. However the step created by the camera lock can be mitigated by using the supplied cover.
The frame is made of rigid plastic, but due to the color it is easy to confuse it with aluminum, where we find, as usual, on the right the on / off button and the volume rocker, while the mirror tray is positioned with the possibility of to insert 2 SIM in nano format or giving up the Dual SIM Dual Standby feature, even one micro SD card to expand the built-in memory.
There is also a USB Type-C Input with OTG support in the lower part of the frame, flanked by jack from 3,5 mm, main microphone and from mono system speaker which offers good listening volume and excellent leveling of dynamic audio ranges even at high volumes without distortion (the same equipped on the Redmi Note 8).
We close with the upper side, where the housing is located second microphone for noise suppression and infrared transmitter. Redmi Note 8 Pro is not a compact smartphone, but net of its size (76.4 x 161.35 x 8.79 mm) and weight (199,8 grams), the grip is definitely good and not at all slippery. Everything is well balanced, leaving the feeling of having a phone made especially for your palm in your hands.
The size of Redmi Note 8 Pro gives us a IPS display with diagonal from 6,53 inches and resolution Full HD + (2340 x 1080pixel) in 19,5 format: 9, characterized by the presence of a small notch to drop in the upper part: I tell you right now that notifications are displayed permanently. The frames at a glance are definitely well optimized and contained, much more than devices from over 800 euros (true Apple?) And on the whole the visual experience we get by looking at this screen is certainly of the highest level and immersive. This is also due to the excellent quality of the panel, which net of not very deep blacks, gives us a good reproduction of colors and of the color range in general, with excellent contrasts and above all thanks to the generous brightness of the display we can guarantee a good visibility even in sunlight (500 nits).
To embellish the panel's excellent judgment the presence of the Widevine L1 certification, allowing the use of high definition content from streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Video, Youtube etc .. to which is added the support for HDR content, although in my case there is a bug (to understand if at the app or system level) that does not allow me to view HDR videos on the Youtube platform, while some of you have made me participate in the fact that everything worked for them wonderfully.
We come immediately to one of the main aspects of this smartphone, namely the camera lock which for this Redmi Note 8 Pro it is even composed of 4 modules rather 5 considering the frontal one. In the middle of the back cover there is a space composed of a block main module with 64 megapixel image sensor (Samsung ISOCELL GW1) resolution, followed by a second camera from 8 megapixel with wide-angle lens and third lens with 2 megapixel sensor with depth of field information gathering function. The fourth bedroom is positioned immediately below the flash, also offers one 2 megapixel resolution but is equipped with a macro lens.
Many have called the latter useless, in reality net of an obsolete resolution for the present day, the shooting results are impressive. I repeat not so much for the general quality but for the essence of the photo that we manage to pull out, succeeding in focus on a subject from a distance less than 2 cm, allowing to see it from a new point of view. If I had a tripod and an extra bit of imagination I would have pulled out real works of art. The real limit is that the sensor is very small and the lens is not very bright. For this reason it is good to limit the use of the macro to optimal light situations.
Even the wide-angle lens, gives good level shots, characterized by a good sharpness and good contrast, provided you have a good amount of light, since as dusk approaches, the quality degrades rapidly, so much so as to flaunt the naturalness of the colors, with a tendency to yellow / green. However, the presence of a wide lens in certain situations allows us to take home a shot that would have been impossible.
Finally we come to talk about the main camera, equipped with 64 MP sensor, though to be able to shoot at 64MP it is necessary to activate the appropriate mode or the manual one, Then in general we get a shot from 16 MP. Impressive level of software optimization that Xiaomi has donated to this Redmi Note 8 Pro, which returns very good photos of the day, but which they maintain an excellent quality even in the evening, often even without the aid of night mode.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PHOTOS IN THE ORIGINAL RESOLUTION
And we also come to the selfie camera, one 20 megapixel with f / 2.0 aperture lens that takes good quality photos in most situations while maintaining high detail and allowing the user to have fun with a whole series of functions designed specifically for sharing content on social networks, such as integration of animated filters in real time derived from TikTok. Unfortunately, with portrait mode, HDR stops working properly, often returning photos with a “burnt” background. We just have to finish the cameras chapter talking about the videos, which can be shot at maximum 4K resolution to 30 fps ma digital stabilization comes into play only at Full HD resolution at 30 fps with decidedly surprising results, but the quality is certainly at the top if we run in 1080p 60 fps (no EIS) mode. Overall, the speed of focusing and adjusting the exposure and the capture of audio from the microphones behaves well. The features complete the possibility of making time lapse videos and super slow motion to 960 fps (HD only).
Finally, we have heard a lot about the possibility of installing the GCAM also on this device, despite the software app derived from the Google Pixels is massively optimized for Qualcomm's ISPs. Well, we tried and we also have realized a guide on how to proceed with the installation, but at the moment I have not personally benefited from the GCam.
Read also: Redmi Note 8 Pro: here's how to install the GCam
Another chapter to be explored is the one related to the technical sheet, which on Redmi Note 8 Pro has made so much discussion. In fact the company has equipped this terminal with super fast memories, like it storage of type UFS 2.1 (in our case a cut from 128 GB) or the RAM of type LPDDR4X (in our case a cut from 6 GB), which guarantee a speed in data transfer but above all to render the more reactive and fluid system, even with the opening of multiple apps simultaneously. But what he did discuss was the adoption of a MediaTek processor, to be precise, theHelio G90T, octacore with 2Core A76 2.05 GHz structure and 6Core A55 2.00 GHz, which I assure you was a real revelation, a chip on which to be able to rely even for the most complex operations.
The performances are comparable to the Qualcomm counterpart, the Snapdragon 730 and indeed the everyday user experience is particularly rich in satisfaction even in gaming, where more demanding titles run smoothly to the maximum of graphic details, thanks to the Mali G76 MC4 GPU. Moreover the rumors that muddied the Redmi Note 8 Pro of overheating, are false: in fact, in the various days of use and general stress to which I submitted the device, this has no never complained of signs of overheating, lag and / or jamming, always returning the rapid opening of applications.
Honestly with this Redmi Note 8 Pro I have never regretted anything even for the completeness from the point of view of connectivity. In fact, on this smartphone we find an excellent one Double-band WiFi able to hook up the signal even in places where often other terminals struggle. We also benefit from a modern one Bluetooth 5.0, FM radio e GPS able to engage even the Galileo satellites, for better accuracy when browsing. Do not miss the NFC sensor for the various contactless payments and features associated with it but above all the presence of the 20 band and 4G + on both slots, with respectable download / upload speeds. The reception is very good, the signal is quickly hooked and maintained without problems and also the capsule returns a good sound on call with faithful timbre and adequate volume.
At the software level we have an OS based system Android 9 Pie with proprietary interface MIUI in the 10.4 version, but soon the new MIUI 11 as well as Android 10 should also reach this Redmi Note 8 Pro. At the moment I say that the company has matured for this device a ROM with no defects and in addition to the various goodies we already know about MIUI, we also find the adoption of the Dark Theme.
The hardware and software optimization, as well as the good performance of the MediaTek processor, make that on Redmi Note 8 Pro also autonomy is a strength. The battery from 4500 mAh lets get to get over 7 hours of active screen with quite intense use. In practice, for those who stress the device in an important way, a full day is guaranteed with a residual of approximately 20% of charge while for the common user the two full days will be a certainty. There is support for fast charging and in the package we find a charger from 18W which allows you to fully charge the battery of this Note 8 Pro in poco less than 2 hours.
Like any self-respecting review, I cannot fail to include the contents of the sales package that does not differ much from what was seen with other models of the brand, finding:
- Redmi Note 8 Pro;
- Power supply with 5V / 3A output - 9V / 2A - 12V / 1.5A European socket;
- Fast guide;
- Cable for USB Type-C charging and data transfer;
- Pin for removing the SIM tray;
- Soft silicone protection cover.
The conclusions for this Redmi Note 8 Pro are certainly more than positive. In my opinion it is not yet another smartphone that fits into the mid-market segment and honestly I already have it recommended to friends and relatives who were enthusiastic about it. The price difference compared to the Redmi Note 8 is more than justified considering the hardware features we have in addition, while the real rival could be the Mi 9T, whose price has fallen and is now constantly under the 300 euro offering perhaps a little more.
But with the arrival of Christmas on the doorstep the price difference could suffer a wider gap and then Redmi Note 8 Pro could really become a best buy, ideal for all uses, whose only limit could only be the poor support from the community of modding.
I'm not a technician in the field, but I needed a smartphone with large memory (6gb ram 128 GB rom), all the other of secondary importance. Thanks to various reviews, I bought it (219 Euro) and I find it exceptional for my needs. After luckily removing all the advertising that Xiaomi offers "treacherously", I find an excellent GPS sensor (the one I needed with priority), instant optical and biometric recognition, settings that are not exactly easy but conceptually identifiable much more than other systems. For what I need, the display is excellent, the speakerphone both as audio and as a microphone is perfect a lot... Read the rest »