Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 has actually already been released

• 

  [Deactivated] on 01/01/2018 - 08:30

  +1

  Unboxing & full review of the Redmi 5 Plus by TechTablets if anyone is interested. Yep would've really preferred the latest CPU's like the SD 630 or 636. Other than the rear camera and screen aspect ratio, there aren't any significant differences between this and the RN4X.

• 

  Clear on 01/01/2018 - 09:21

  +1

  Xiaomi don't really have much reason to properly update the phone as the RN4 and RN3 before it sold like hotcakes in a lot of their primary markets like India. It's like Malibu Stacy with a new hat. Refresh it a little and it'll sell well.

  Their obsession with SD625 is frustrating but it performs well and is power efficient. Qualcomm have a history of releasing new chips that are good on paper and plagued with overheating issues. Also helps keep the price down since they're buying in bulk. On a plus side it's more Dev friendly than MediaTek.

  • 

    illumination on 03/01/2018 - 00:01

    Xiaomi don't really have much reason to properly update the phone as the RN4 and RN3 before it sold like hotcakes in a lot of their primary markets like India.

    Would see this as a reason to keep the audience happy with a big update!

    Fair enough to your other points though.

• 

  pyramid on 01/01/2018 - 09:24

  Still rocking 2 yr old Redmi note 3 with Google camera mod and Android 8.1 via custom Rom.

• 

  Kangal on 01/01/2018 - 13:05

  -2

  I don't recommend this phone, the processor is too slow for 2016, let alone 2018, and the bezels are too large.

  Just realise that 18:9 screens are bad.
  A 6.0inch 18:9 screen is actually just 5.5inch 16:9 screen with extra ends on the top and bottom.

  Most content, and all videos are 16:9. Including the video you capture on the device.
  It's a very unoptimised setup.
  And when you use the device in those many scenarios where the extra length (giggity) isn't utilised… it means the device has been made longer for no reason.
  You still have bezels in the form of letter-boxing or poorly/un-used screen estate.
  It's much better to have a 80% StB 16:9 phone vs 85% StB 2:1 phone.
  Here's the maths:
  85% 6in 2:1 phone= (136.3 x 68.2mm) x 85% StB = 72.0 x 151.9 mm = same screen size
  80% 5.5 inch 16:9 phone= (121.8 x 68.5 mm) x 80% StB = 72.0 x 144.2 mm = same screen size
  ….so you see the 2:1 phone is about 7.7mm's longer despite having the same usable screen size!!!!

  start rant#
  The basic design of a smartphone is very important, and its worthwhile to point out the best practices:
  - To start with, keep the 3.5mm aux headset port. Upgrade the microUSB 2.0 to a USB-C specced to 3.2, no need for microHDMI anymore as we have dongles for it as well as built-in miracast and Chromecast for monitors.
  - The front can be used for a myriad of things. There's facial recognition, but we should use fingerprint readers under the display instead. Wireless charging can be used by having the phone trickle-charge through the glass front, if the rear has a metal back or magnets.
  - And I reckon, a metal back is superior, so we can also use strong magnets on the left sides of the phone's back, to magnetically attach keyboards and gamepads in landscape orientation. They could recognise contact with NFC, and pair with Bluetooth 5 to improve latency, range, and battery life. Other accessories can connect too like MobilePrinters, Credit Card Scanners, Camera lenses, Flashes, or to stick your phone to surfaces like a fridge. Pogo ports have failed to live up to their expectations, so going wireless is the easier option to implement.
  - Now let's talk about camera bumps. These are a no-no, they should be flush with the device, and even a little recessed with a decent sapphire-glass to prevent scratching and cracks of the lens.
  - And yes, I said lens. Best cameras on smartphones are single-cameras, there's a sharp point of diminishing returns with dual-cameras… where having two sensors will double the cost, complexity, thickness, and space used… but it won't give you a +100% increase in photo quality, but somewhere around a paltry 20%. This goes for the front-camera also. That space can be used to squeeze in a larger battery.
  - Whereas double-speakers will give you double the sound loudness and clarity, and the doubling price and space used is minuscule compared to the lens. Just point them where they belong, at each ear.
  - Having two speakers now gives you a symmetrical front. I suggest having the side buttons symmetrical, and having the OS support 180' orientation so that you can pick up calls in any way (no upside-down) like on the Alcatel Idol 3.
  - In terms of build material, a titanium-alloy side (Essential PH1) is the best for sturdiness its very expensive. Perhaps it can be utilised as the side-frame. Anodised Aluminium-7000 (OnePlus 5t) holds the right properties for the back, or as a unibody (back and sides). Glass is too fragile and prone to cracking from drops. Wood is too inconsistent to use in mass-scale at this precision level. Leather is also imperfect. Whilst kevlar and carbon fibre don't hold rigidity too well. The best seems to be Light Metal (aluminium) and a Durable Plastic (polycarbonate), however, I'd lean more towards Light Metal to uphold the ingress protection. Although I'd like to see how a Magnesium-alloy chassis holds up in these heavy small objects that are prone to velocity.
  - Next, flat-sides with metal that wrap around the glass (like LG G6) is also much more desirable than curved-metal (S8) or non-protective metal (HTC Ultra/iPhone 8). It makes your palms grip better to the device, and gives you more freedom in case fit and finish.
  - On top of that, I would recommend phones with flat-faces (like Nexus 5X) over ones with curved-faces (like iPhone 6/SGS7/SGS8).
  It increases the surface area we interact with, and more importantly allows people to use Tempered Glass Protectors.
  - And while we're talking displays, OLED is better than LCD. They are more brighter, accurate, have higher contrast, and can use less battery life when displaying Black, Red, Orange, Green colours (as opposed to White, Yellow, Blue, Purple). This is a no-brainer for many.
  - Now, let's talk about resolution. 1280x720p resolution is decent and useable, but some people can see individual pixels (ie loss of Retina Display effect) and you miss out on the widely popular 1080p content playback. So 1920x1080 seems to be the best resolution for expensive phones. It will have the same effect as a 1440p or 2160p screen to the user, but it will stress the storage, memory, and cpu less. Not to mention the GPU which will be much less taxed. These in turn increase the responsiveness of the device and increase battery life. And then there's the screen itself. The extra resolution would use much much more battery. And it might mean having to settle for a screen that's less bright and less accurate. Not to mention it being much harder to do QC on these higher density screens. Anything higher than 1080p is pointless except for VR, and even that/mobileVR is pointless compared to the PS4 Pro-VR and the new Windows VR headsets.
  - I believe batteries should be non-accessible, so that we get IP68 waterproofing. However, that doesn't mean they should be non-serviceable. Parts should be assembled so that they don't break while disassembling and replacing. However, the battery should be good quality and of decent capacity (4,000mAh) to ensure we can squeeze out 3 days of battery life. Fast-charging will help alleviate most of the drawbacks from losing the removable battery.
  - Okay, now let's finalise with the phone's hardware specs: storage, memory, processor. In terms of storage, at the base we should have 64GB UFS 2.0, but also have an option to upgrade to a 256GB model for a premium. I doubt many would pay the extra $300 for it, so a microSD slot seems like a good side option. I would opt for a dualSIM tray, despite dualSIM's being a niche, and having the second SIM tray be convertible to a microSD slot like most phones do today (unlike flagships like S8).
  - Memory is also important, I would opt for 4GB LPDDR4 on the base level… then skip to 8GB for an upgraded model. The middle spot seems pointless, just like the time we had three-core processors. So that brings us to the processors. First of all, I will stick to the Qualcomm Snapdragon family for simplicity's sake (they are decently manufactured and allow people to root and mod their devices). Secondly, the chipsets from 2015-2017 (QSD 625, 650, 652, 653, 820, 821, 835) are obsolete. And whilst the new QSD 640 and QSD 670 are great, there are some options which are very similar but offer much better value.
  - The processors of choice should be: At the minimum spectrum the QSD 636 SoC (its much faster than the old chipsets, almost QSD 820, and uses less power). At the medium spectrum the QSD 660 SoC (its almost as fast as the Exynos 8890, a great mid-spot). At the high-end get the QSD 845 (you should go all-in, just no way around it).
  end rant#

  The older Redmi Note 3 Pro is a better device from a practicality point of view, but its too old today.
  I don't recommend either for the budget savvy. Although the new device isn't bad per se. Just look for deals on OzBargain instead. Something like the SGS7 used for $300 is better imho, just needs a protective case on it. The OnePlus 5 is also decent, only if you can find one at a heavily discounted price.

  • 

    Clear on 01/01/2018 - 13:31

    You do realise the Redmi series is budget? They fit as much as they can in and sell for near cost price while still being affordable. So many of the things you mentioned would push it into the flagship range.

    Xiaomi's market is not wealthy countries like Australia. They're operating in less developed countries like India where most people can't afford high end phones, and other budget brands have dominance.

    • 

      nocure on 01/01/2018 - 13:41

      +4

      What did he say?

      • 

        Clear on 01/01/2018 - 13:42

        Samsung Galaxy Mix 9 X for $200 instead of $2000.

      • 

        nocure on 01/01/2018 - 13:43

        +1

        @Clear:
        That makes it clearer, thanks

      • 

        Clear on 01/01/2018 - 14:53

        -1

        @nocure: I think MrClown disagrees with us on that one. Really making a clown out of himself.

      • 

        Kangal on 01/01/2018 - 15:13

        -1

        @Clear:

        Yes, I know it is budget.
        However, there's this strange trend going on with smartphones lately, not sure if you know about it or not.
        It's about removing headphone jacks, making the battery smaller, increasing prices, making the phones taller, using glass bodies, and an unoptimised aspect ratio. I wanted to throw some water over the hype.

        I'm of the mind that there's no such thing as a bad product, only a bad price.
        If they sold this for $100, I'd say despite its flaws, buy it.
        If they sold this for $400, I'd say "tell em his dreaming".
        ….it's all relative, hence why that big portion in the middle is not mandatory read (I put it under the heading of RANT).

        But if you look at the maths on that page, it adds up correctly. So its not a pointless post, its actually informative.

      • 

        nocure on 01/01/2018 - 15:20

        +3

        @Clear:

        https://youtu.be/BLXtHU_HGXs

  • 

    illumination on 03/01/2018 - 00:02

    TLDR man lol

    • 

      Kangal on 03/01/2018 - 00:14

      All gud. But you do know Bozo the Clown, right?

      • 

        illumination on 03/01/2018 - 00:58

        Nope

      • 

        Kangal on 03/01/2018 - 08:37

        @illumination:

        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/353015#comment-5478393

• 

  illumination on 03/01/2018 - 00:03

  Ok here we go. Apparently there is still a Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 to come, in Q2 2018.

• 

  tinyorca on 24/01/2018 - 14:10

  I'm looking for a new phone for my daughter (currently Samsung J1 Mini) as it is forever running out of storage even though it's rooted and has an SD card due to apps not being able to be moved to the SD card. Gearbest have the Xiaomi Redmi 5A 2Gb/16Gb for AU$115.02. There is also a Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A for AU$138.30 - is the main difference the size?

  I'm not sure which is best to buy for her so any suggestions would be great. Thanks,

  • 

    illumination on 24/01/2018 - 14:13

    Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A is an entry level phone from a specs point of view.

    In addition, you've said your daughter is running out of space. I would highly recommend you do not get another phone with 16GB! This is the exact mistake with buying my 16GB Redmi Note 4.

    Personally I would recommend you either get the Redmi 5 Plus. 4GB/64GB version for ~$224 or the 3GB/32GB version (unfortunately expired, but keep an eye out).

    • 

      tinyorca on 24/01/2018 - 14:30

      Ok thanks - hers only has 8GB so it is double what she has now. More would be better of course!

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  nosrad on 20/03/2018 - 23:24

  This post is proven wrong.