Xiaomi’s Redmi brand today introduced the Redmi Note 8 smartphone at an event in China along with the Redmi Note 8 Pro. This is the successor of the most popular Redmi Note 7 that was first introduced in China back in January, and is one of the first in the price range to offer 48MP Quad camera setup. We got to check out the smartphone at the event. Here is our first impressions.
The Redmi Note 8 features a 6.3-inch (2340 × 1080 pixels) Full HD+ dot drop display with up to 90% screen-to-body ratio. The company said that it has received low-blue-light eye protection certification by Germany’s TÜV Rheinland. Inside the notch there is a 13-megapixel camera. Powered by the latest Snapdragon 655 11nm Mobile Platform, it has up to 6GB (LPDDR4x) RAM and up to 128GB storage. It runs Android Pie with MIUI 10 on top.
Coming to the button placements, the power button and the volume rockers are on the right, Dual SIM slot is on the left, and the company doesn’t miss out on the IR sensor, which is on the top, along with the secondary microphone. The USB Type-C Port, dust-proof speakers grill and the 3.5mm audio jack are present on the bottom. It is 8.35mm thick and weighs 190 grams due to the glass back and a large battery.
The Redmi Note 8 sports a 48-megapixel Samsung ISOCELL GM2 sensor, which we had seen on the Redmi Note 7 Pro. It has a 8MP ultra-wide lens with a 120° field of view, 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth sensor, similar to the Redmi Note 8 Pro.
The phone has a 2.5D Glass back looks premium and has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. There is a fingerprint sensor on the back, which is 30% smaller than the predecessor, but it unlock faster, says the company. It has a splash-resistant coating and packs a 4000mAh battery with 18W fast charging via USB Type-C.
The Redmi Note 8 comes in Black, Blue and White colors, starts at 999 yuan (US$ 139 / Rs. 10,025 approx.) and will go on sale in China from September 17. Hope we can expect the Note 8 along with the Note 8 Pro sometime in October.
Srivatsan contributed to this post