With its characteristic premium design and butter-smooth performance, there was nothing you could really hate much in the Redmi Note 7. Released last year, the Note 7 along with its big bro – the Note 7 Pro, stormed the mid-range market and set a name for itself. Don’t get it wrong, there were a handful of faults. However, no one could really argue with the fact that it was a pretty solid deal for the price point it was pinned at. The Redmi Note 7 Pro, in particular, was one of the top choices on the market.
After all, Redmi has done to establish a name for itself in the mid-range market, we’d be dead disappointed if the next in its prized Note series turned out to not be up-to-par. After all, the next successor of the Note line has pretty big mid-ranged shoes to fill. Following the recent launch of the Note 8 and Note 8 pro, we report with great satisfaction that hasn’t been the case.
Also Read: Redmi AirDots Review
The next-in-line to the Note 7: the Note 8 and the Note 8 Pro have finally launched in Nepal. Before we dive into the pricing and availability, let’s look over these newly launched gizmos and see how well they compare with the other names on the market right now.
Redmi Note 8 and Note 8 Pro: General Overview
The Redmi Note 8 comes in with a solid 6.3 inches of IPS LCD goodness. With a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and an 82% screen-to-body ratio, this phone is quite sleek to look at. The small tear-drop notch which houses a 13 MP selfie snapper seems to follow the recent trends and so looks a bit generic. On the rear, we have a quad camera setup consisting of a 48MP primary lens and a combination of 8 MP ultra-wide lens, 2 MP dedicated macro snapper and a handy 2 MP depth sensor. Both the screen and the rear are under the loving care of Cornering Gorilla Glass 5, which increases its resistance to scratches and spills by quite a bit.
The Pro variant, on the other hand, comes in at 6.53”, which makes it slightly larger than the normal version. Design-wise and display wise, it doesn’t really vary from the Note 8 all that much except for the shape of the notch, which seems to be a tiny bit wider. The camera section is where this Pro variant really shines. The Note 8 Pro comes in with a whopping 64 MP primary camera. The ultra-wide, macro and depth sensor lenses are the same as the normal variant. The selfie snapper also comes with an upgrade; there is now a 20MP lens dedicated to making sure that your selfies look cuter than ever before.
Hardware/ Software :
On the processor side of things, we have the Snapdragon 665 (11 nm) running things in Note 8, along with an Octa-core Kryo processor and Adreno 610 GPU. The Pro, on the other hand, gets a ‘better’ Mediatek Helio G90T (12nm) chipset along with an Octa-core Cortex processor and the Mali-G76 MC4. Needless to say, they will be capable of handling most heavy games with relative ease. Both the phones come with the company’s standard MIUI 10.0 on top of Android Pie (v9.0). The Pro packs a hefty 4500 mAh battery compared to the 4000 mAh on the Note 8. Both the variants have a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, an 18W fast charging setting, and a USB Type-C port.
Redmi Note 8 Specifications:
Display: 6.3 inches Full HD+
Resolution: 2280 x 1080 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~403 PPI density)
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 665
CPU: Octa-core (4×2.0 GHz Kryo 260 Gold & 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 260 Silver)
GPU: Adreno 610
OS: Android 9.0 (Pie); MIUI 10
RAM/Memory: 4GB/6GB RAM & 64,128GB internal storage, expandable up to 512 GB
Primary Camera: 48MP, f/1.8 wide + 8MP, f/2.2 Ultrawide + 2MP, f/2.4 dedicated macro camera + 2MP, f/2.4 depth sensor
Secondary Camera: 13MP, f/2.0
Battery: Non-removable Li-Po 4000 mAh battery
Redmi Note 8 Pro Specifications
Display: 6.53 inches Dot Drop Full Screen Display
Resolution: 2340 x 1080 FHD+, 19.5:9 ratio (~403 PPI density)
Chipset: Mediatek Helio G90T (12nm)
CPU: Octa-core (2×2.05 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55)
GPU: Mali-G76 MC4
OS: Android 9.0 (Pie); MIUI 10
RAM/Memory: 6GB/8GB RAM & 64,128GB internal storage, expandable up to 512 GB
Primary Camera: 64MP, f/1.9 wide + 8MP, f/2.2 Ultrawide + 2MP, f/2.4 dedicated macro camera + 2MP, f/2.4 depth sensor
Secondary Camera: 20MP, f/2.0
Battery: Non-removable Li-Po 4500 mAh battery
Pricing and availability:
The Price set by Xiaomi Nepal is very competitive in comparison to the International Market price which is really great for Nepali consumers. The Redmi Note 8 is set at a price of Rs.18,999 for 4/64GB variant and Rs.23,999 for 6/128GB variant, while the Note 8 Pro comes in with a slightly heavier price tag of Rs.26,999 for 6/64GB variant, Rs 29,999 for 6/128GB variant and Rs.32,999 for 8/128GB variant. They will be available for purchase from online stores from today and all the offline retailers after 3/4 days as mentioned in the launch event today.
Is the Pro upgrade worth it? As with all gizmos, it depends on your needs. If the base version suits your needs well then you’ll do well to consider buying the lower-priced Note 8. But if you’re willing to drop the extra bucks for the better camera, processor and display size, the Pro version might be right for you. But needless to say, this next successor of the Note series definitely deserves a spot in your list the next time you’re hunting for a new smartphone.
