Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro or Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro

[The Sly Fox]

Time to get myself a new smartphone, I been looking for one with high specs and good camera but mid-price range, and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro or the newer Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro have caught my attention. From what I've read online and the reviews I've watched on YT these seem like excellent phones for very reasonable prices.

Do any of you more techy guys have anything to say good or bad about the Xiaomi Redmi range?

Are there any other similar priced phones I should consider instead of Xiaomi?

And I'll be in Bangkok next week, where is the best place for me to see and buy either the Note 6 Pro or Note 7 Pro?

Thanks in advance.

[wadman]

I have a Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro.  Have had it for about 1 year.  Paid around 220USD for it at the time.  Overall, it's amazing value for the money, and I have no complaints considering the price I paid.

But...having said that, let me nickpick away:

- the screen is IPS (rather than AMOLED), which means it isn't as bright.  It's more than fine using it indoors, but it's decidedly wimpy outside in sunlight.  Surprisingly, I don't use my phone a lot outside, so it hasn't been that big an issue.

- most Xiaomi phones have only the Asian 4G and LTE bands.  Notably band 4 is missing, which is a very commonly used band in North America.  Make sure that the 4G/LTE bands WORK WELL in your home country too.

- Xiaomi phones come with MIUI, which doesn't have an appdrawer.  Rather annoying.  I downloaded the Poco launcher, problem solved.

I don't know how much you use your phone, and whether you are a power user.  If you are, you might consider the Poco F1 phone, also made by Xiaomi.  Retails for around 315-350 USD (higher in Europe).  The trump card is that it has a Snapdragon 845 SoC inside, which was last year's best chip.  That's amazing value for the price.

Between the Note 6 Pro, and the Note 7 Pro, I would easily go with Note 7 pro.  Much better SoC (processor) on it.

  

[The Sly Fox]

Thanks for your reply. Home country is Australia, so phone will be used in Aust, Thailand, elsewhere in SE Asia. 

[rob63]

A wide angle camera for me is a must. Especially for pov video. Until recently, I have been using the LG G5, simply for it's fantastic camera.  Phone technology has matured and I see no need to get an expensive flagship phone, other than bragging rights.

I am waiting for the xiaomi mi 9 to come out. Other potential wide angle, mid range purchases are:

Honour view 20

Vivo V15 pro

Vivo Nex

Oppo Find X

Oppo F11 Pro

Samsung Galaxy S10, LG V40, Huawei Mate 20 Pro, Huawei P30 Pro are all far too expensive. The inflated price does not directly correlate to increased performance.

 

[Soi7]

I had a Xiaomi Note 3 phone was ok but camera was shit unless you had perfect lighting so I replaced it with the LG V20 that is a fantastic phone

[rob63]

On 14/03/2019 at 06:43, Soi7 said:

I had a Xiaomi Note 3 phone was ok but camera was shit unless you had perfect lighting so I replaced it with the LG V20 that is a fantastic phone

Agreed. Almost all phones over $100 dollars have the same features, gps, bluetooth, 4G etc. For me the separator is the camera. In my opinion LG phones have the best camera software. Camera software is hugely important. Only Samsung and LG make the grade. But if the newer chinese phones can shoot video in wide angle, and switch between wide angle and closeup during filming, I'd rather pay $500 less.

[ZRHuser]

1 hour ago, rob63 said:

Almost all phones over $100 dollars have the same features, gps, bluetooth, 4G etc. For me the separator is the camera

Processor and memory play a big role as well. Only the higher end phones do have them. I would wait for the new Xiaomi Mi9 wich will be out very soon (or already is). Cheapest high end phone with great specs, outstanding camera too.

[rob63]

1 hour ago, ZRHuser said:

Processor and memory play a big role as well. Only the higher end phones do have them. I would wait for the new Xiaomi Mi9 wich will be out very soon (or already is). Cheapest high end phone with great specs, outstanding camera too.

I get what you are saying. If you are playing high end games on a phone, i would totally agree. But for normal everyday use, the difference i notice is negligible. 

Btw, i fully agree with you on the Mi9. I'm waiting for that phone. If it has a usable wide angle lense for video, I'll definitely buy it.

[wadman]

4 hours ago, rob63 said:

I get what you are saying. If you are playing high end games on a phone, i would totally agree. But for normal everyday use, the difference i notice is negligible. 

Btw, i fully agree with you on the Mi9. I'm waiting for that phone. If it has a usable wide angle lense for video, I'll definitely buy it.

Depends on what range of phone you are buying (low end, mid level, flagship) and whether you are more of a power user or causal user.

My previous phone was a Samsung J7 2016, which has a snapdragon 450 processor. It didn't help that it only came with 2+16 GB in memory. And I am a pretty intensive user. After 6 months, after loading it will all kinds of apps and widgets, it slowed down so much that it became pretty much unusable. That's when I bought the xiaomi redmi note 5 pro. 

[rob63]

1 hour ago, wadman said:

Depends on what range of phone you are buying (low end, mid level, flagship) and whether you are more of a power user or causal user.

My previous phone was a Samsung J7 2016, which has a snapdragon 450 processor. It didn't help that it only came with 2+16 GB in memory. And I am a pretty intensive user. After 6 months, after loading it will all kinds of apps and widgets, it slowed down so much that it became pretty much unusable. That's when I bought the xiaomi redmi note 5 pro. 

I can appreciate what you say in theory. I have gone from an LG G5 (brilliant camera) to an Oppo As3? It cost about $120 and has 2GB. The camera is shit, but as long as I don't have too many apps open, it works just fine. I use it mainly for web surfing, social apps, diary and notepad. If it had a wide angle camera, I would be totally satisfied.

[JAI DEE MAK]

I switched from samsung to huawei a few years back .

No regrets whatsoever higher spec and better camera(s) for same price.

JDM

[leanshots]

I use Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro and I am very much satisfied with this model