Home Reviews Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro Review: Not Much Has Changed

Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro Review: Not Much Has Changed

5

At the start of every year Xiaomi makes a big splash with a new Note phone. These ambitious Notes are equipped with surprisingly aggressive chipsets that give them a head start, and the competition is left playing catchup for a considerable duration of the Note’s life cycle. Perhaps that’s all in the past now. (Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro Review हिंदी में पढ़े)

The much-awaited Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro is now official in India, well ahead of its schedule we must say. Earlier, the Redmi Note 6 Pro was announced in a few other markets including Indonesia and Malaysia, and the one launched in India carries the same specs – which aren’t all that different compared to the Note 5 Pro.

Can it carry the Redmi Note legacy forward? Has Xaiomi done enough to call it a worthy upgrade? Let’s find out answers to these burning questions in our full Redmi Note 6 Pro review.

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Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro India Price and Specifications

Model Redmi Note 6 Pro 
Display 6.26-inch FHD+ (2280×1080 pixels) 19:9 IPS display

Gorilla Glass (version unspecified)

Processor 1.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 636 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 509 GPU
RAM 4GB/6GB
Internal Storage 64GB, expandable up to 256GB (microSD)
Software Android 8.1 Oreo- MIUI 10
Back Camera 12MP+5MP AI dual rear camera, LED flash, PDAF, f/1.9 aperture (main camera), 1.4-micrometer pixels, Electronic image stabilization
Front Camera 20MP + 2MP, AI portraits
Dimensions and Weight 157.9 x 76.38 x8.2mm; Weight: 182g
Battery 4000mAh built-in battery 10W charger, Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0
Others Hybrid Dual SIM, Dual VoLTE, WiFi, Bluetooth 5, IR Blaster
Price in India Rs.13,999 – 4GB +64GB

Rs. 15,999 – 6GB+ 64GB

What’s In The Redmi Note 6 Pro Indian Retail Box:

  • Handset
  • 10W wall charging adapter
  • MicroUSB cable
  • soft silicone case (TPU)
  • SIM ejector tool
  • User guidebook

Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro Review: Design and Build Quality

The design has never been the forte of Xiaomi phones. The company continues to use a combination of metal and plastic for the back panel. Some cosmetics changes that have been made but the overall look and feel isn’t all that different from the Redmi Note 5 Pro. It’s still more of the same thing.

One of the biggest change is the broad notch on the display, which has somewhat become an industry norm in 2018. The notch features dual selfie cameras, a slightly smaller earpiece, and a notification light. I guess notches have gained acceptance by now, but we personally are averse to the broad ones that render the status bar useless.

Apart from that, there are some minor changes like the placement of headphone jack and secondary mic (noise cancelation) which has been moved from bottom to top and sits there alongside Xiaomi’s signature IR blaster.

Like the Redmi Note 5 Pro, there’s a volume rocker and power key on the right edge while dual SIM tray gets a place on the left edge.

Overall, the phone has almost the same in hand feel as the Redmi Note 5 Pro – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro Review: Display

The Redmi Note 6 Pro is first Xiaomi Note series phone that comes with a notch screen. This means that the new Note has a 19:9 aspect ratio. The Redmi Note 6 Pro boasts a 6.26-inch IPS LCD screen that supports 1,080 x 2,280 pixels resolution and 403 Pixels per inches (PPI). The screen is shielded by Gorilla Glass but the exact generation is not known.

As for the display quality, the panel seems to deliver good viewing angles. The color calibration is very similar to what you get on most other Xiaomi phones out there. The whites have a bluish cast – a bit more than what we usually comfortable with. However, thankfully Xiaomi’s MIUI offers manual controls to adjust color temperature and contrast.

As per Xiaomi, the Note 6 Display brightness max out at 480nits which is better than its predecessor. Outdoor visibility is certainly workable. Overall, the Redmi Note 6 Pro display is pretty apt for an affordable phone.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro Review: Performance and Software

Performance (or use of alluring chipsets) is the primary factor responsible for the popularity of Xiaomi’s Notes. These phones have always managed to deliver unsurpassable cost to performance ratio in their respective classes, which is what helped them become a household name.

Having said that, Xiaomi in recent times has shifted to a two-year hardware upgrade cycle. For instance, the Redmi Note 4, the Redmi Note 5, and Redmi 6 Pro all rely on the same CPU. And it looks like the company will be holding on to the SD 636 a bit longer.

We’d have expected something on the lines of SD 660 (Since the Realme 2 Pro already does offer it), but it looks like Xiaomi is reserving Snapdragon 675/ 660 for later. We might see those in a slightly higher priced phones early next year.

The Note 6 Pro is motored by octa-core Snapdragon 636 chipset, where graphics load is taken care by the Adreno 509 GPU. Like all Note series phones, the Note 6 Pro also ships in multiple storages and RAM combinations that includes 4GB+64GB, 6GB+64GB where the RAM is LPDDR4X and storage based on eMMC 5.1 type.

Just like the Redmi Note 5 Pro, there is no performance related issues with the device. It is smooth and switching between apps doesn’t really take much time. As for gaming, we tested almost everyone’s favorite PUBG at default settings and it manages to pass the test comfortably.

As for software, Xiaomi is not one of the most active brands when it comes to Android upgrades. In India, the Note 6 Pro is the first phone to run MIUI 10 out of the box, but the OS is still based on Android 8.1 Oreo. The MIUI 10 is features loaded and offers options like face unlock, navigation gesture and reading mode,  dual apps, split screen mode and lot more.

On the downside, the phone only has DRM L3 certificate that means Redmi Note 6 Pro doesn’t support HD streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime services. Currently, it also doesn’t support Project Treble. Like most Xiaomi phones, the Note 6 Pro also has preinstalled bloatware like Dialy Hunt, Phone and UC browser which has been reported as insecure by Indian government agencies.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro Review: Camera

The Redmi Note 6 Pro lifts the camera hardware from the Chinese Redmi version of Redmi Note 5 Pro.  The back panel houses a 12MP Samsung sensor coupled with 5MP Samsung depth sensor. These are aided by f/1.9 and f/2.2 aperture lenses, respectively and the primary sensor gets dual pixel PDAF. The company claims the back camera sensors pack 1.4µm and 1.12µm large pixels to ensure better low light performance.

Xiaomi has upgraded the selfie camera and now it has an extra basic depth sensor (20MP +2MP). This is the same setup that Xiaomi also offered in recently announced Mi Max 3. In our test, it actually performed slightly better than the Redmi Note 5 Pro.

There was no visible shutter lag and images turned out well. In daylight shot, we noticed good contrast and color reputation. There’s portrait mode available for both front and back cameras are just ok. In low light, the camera does try hard but fails to mitigate the noise.

Selfie camera performance is pretty decent. The added 2MP depth sensor is more of a marketing stunt, though.

Overall, the Redmi Note 5 Pro has been one of the best camera phones in its class for the entire year, and it will now be replaced by the Note 6 Pro.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro Camera Samples

Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 pro Camera sample: Xiaomi’s new light trail feature in action To access this feature you have to take a shot in potrait mode and then take on the camera icon at the top right corner of the preview window.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro camera sample: Xiaomi has also introduced Studio lighting feature in its camera and there are a number of options to select from.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro signage shot with the new ‘Note’.
Another indoor shot was taken with the Redmi Note 6 Pro and it turned out well.
Redmi Note 6 Pro Camera Sample 1 (Image has been resized for web)
Redmi Note 6 Pro Camera Sample 2 (Image has been resized for web)
Redmi Note 6 Pro Camera Sample 1 (Image has been resized for web)

Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro Review: Battery, Audio and Call Quality

The battery backup on Note 6 Pro continues to be what you’d expect of a Note. The phone packs a 4000mAh battery which performs excellently in day-to-day usage. We used it as a daily driver for a week and it constantly lasted for more than a day on a single charge. Each day we could manage about 7-8 hours of screen on time. Even though the phone comes with Quick Charge 3.0 support, Xiaomi bundles it with a 10W charger that takes more than 2 hours to clock 0 to 100 – which is not bad considering the size of the battery.

The phone features a mono loudspeaker which is decently loud. The good old 3.5mm audio jack is still there and so is the FM Radio. Like all other Sandragon 636 based phones in India, it too supports dual 4G and dual VoLTE. The Call quality is decent but the earpiece on its predecessor was slightly louder resulting in better calling experience.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro Review Verdict: Should You Buy It?

The way it went with Notes was that the use of a blockbuster chipset made all other minor flaws seem forgivable and gave them a clear-cut advantage. The Redmi Note 6 Pro lacks that killer punch and doesn’t shine beyond Redmi Note 5 Pro’s shadow. And that even makes it a little uninspiring.

The Note 6 Pro is essentially a refined version of the Note 5 Pro like OnePlus 6T is of OnePlus 6, and the biggest difference is the Notch – and it’s frankly a little late in the game for that. The Redmi Note 5 Pro users don’t have much reason for an upgrade.

At the same time, once the dust settles, this might not matter as much.

The chipset is still good enough to serve most of our needs, the camera is better than what the competition offers, and the big battery convenience is still there. And that should be enough for most people. Or for the first time buyers.

Meanwhile, we will be waiting for the promised Xiaomi’s SD 675 phone which we expect to launch in early 2019.

Pros:

  • Display
  • Reliable performance
  • Excellent battery life
  • Good cameras
  • Cons:
  • Bloatware
  • Design
  • Average call quality
  • Still No Type-C Port

5 COMMENTS

  1. I’ve a couple of questions:

    1. I’m used to iPhones and Pixels only. I see that in Xiaomis the SMS messages and OTPs come in different apps – “Messages” and “Notifications”. Is there a way to combine both of them under “Messages”.

    2. I frequently travel out of the country where there is no AirTel or Jio signal but I need my OTPs available there. Is there a way to automatically forward the OTPs/SMSes to a different phone number?

    Thanks much!

    • Check under Settings>>System Apps>> Messaging. As far as I remember, Messages and notifications are not segregated by default but there is an option to club those under message settings. As for the second question, not that I know of. You can sync messages to the Mi cloud and access them from any place but you have to receive them on your phone first, but other than that I guess you will have to check OTPs on mail.

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