14 DAY TRIAL // Xiaomi is one of the largest Chinese handset makers, but the company is less present in more developed markets like Europe and North America.
This might change with time since many Chinese retailers deliver Xiaomi's products anywhere in the world at no shipping price and for very low prices.
The sequel to the Redmi Note, one of the best selling smartphones launched in China in the last couple of years, seems to live up to its predecessor's name.
We've spent some time with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 and can confirm that this is one of the best mid-range phablets you can buy. It offers amazing value for the price you pay and packs high-quality components that you can find in Sony, LG and Samsung smartphones.
So, we're about to review Xiaomi's latest mid-range Android phablet and one of the best-selling smartphones in this specs-range. Special thanks to GearBest for providing us with the review unit.
Design - a step up from its predecessor
Xiaomi fans familiar with the original Redmi Note phablet know that the Chinese company used a glossy plastic that, it thought, would appeal to customers. Unfortunately, that means the smartphone is prone to fingerprints and grease.
The good news is Xiaomi did not make the same mistake, and the Redmi Note 2 features a matte finish back cover, which will remain clean for a lot longer.
The huge 5.5-inch display covers the entire front side of the phone. Below the large screen, there are three red touch controls, while above there are a 5-megapixel secondary camera and a host of sensors.
There are no buttons on the left edge, but the right side features the volume rocker and the usual power/lock key. The 3.5-mm audio jack, the IR blaster, and the secondary mic have been positioned on the top side of the smartphone. The microUSB port and the primary mic can be found on the bottom side.
The 13-megapixel camera on the back side features a standard LED flash just below while at the base of the battery cover there's an average-sized loudspeaker grille. The back cover can be easily pulled out to reveal a 3,060 mAh battery, two SIM card slots, and one microSD card slot.
Overall, Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 seems very light (160g) for its size (152 x 76 x 8.3mm). It's easy enough to handle with just one hand, despite the fact that it sports a large 5.5-inch display.
While not the best-looking smartphone available on the market, Xiaomi managed to provide customers with a comfy experience while handling the Redmi Note 2.
Display and camera - average performance, no extra protection
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 sports a 5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display that supports full HD (1080p) resolution and 441ppi (pixel per inch), which is more than decent for the price you pay. Such devices usually come with 720p displays, but Xiaomi made an effort to include a slightly better display inside the Redmi Note 2.
Although the overall quality of the image is average, we can't blame Xiaomi for making compromises so that it can keep the price as low as possible. The contrast and color accuracy aren't that good unless you choose the “warmer” option, but then the brightness level will slightly decrease.
If you plan on using your phone's display on the “normal” or “cool” options, your color accuracy won't be that good. On the other hand, you will need maximum brightness when outdoors in strong sunlight.
Xiaomi doesn't mention anything about Corning Gorilla Glass or other strong material that could protect the 5.5-inch display, so we must assume the Redmi Note 2 doesn't come with such protection.
Moving on to the camera, the Redmi Note 2 packs a 13-megapixel photo snapper, which is now the standard for mid-range Android smartphones.
Quality-wise, the main shooter ticks all the right boxes with slightly above average results. We've attached some picture samples taken with the Redmi Note 2 in the gallery section, so you will be able to notice that the contrast and dynamic range are above average.
The amount of noise is on a low level, but the pictures also offer quite enough details for a 13-megapixel camera.
The 13-megapixel camera features hybrid autofocus, so you will be able to take pictures much faster using the phase-detection function included.
On one pane, you will get advanced modes like Scenes, Gradient, Manual, Beautify, Panorama, and Timer while on another one you can choose from no less than 12 filters with live previews. The primary pane shows you the viewfinder, LED flash, front camera key and shutter.
The 5-megapixel camera in the front is perfect for taking high-resolution selfies, but don't expect anything other than that.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 can record 1080p video at 30fps. The results aren't what we have expected, but we've seen worse. We've attached a video sample for your viewing pleasure.
Power and performance - one of the best in its class
The Redmi Note 2 comes equipped with a 64-bit MediaTek MT6795 Helio X10 processor clocked at 2GHz, coupled with a PowerVR G6200 graphics processing unit and 2GB of RAM.
Our synthetic benchmarks show that the Redmi Note 2 is miles ahead the original model thanks to the powerful chipset inside. In fact, Xiaomi mid-range smartphone can easily compete with HTC and Samsung mid-range devices that come with Snapdragon 615 CPUs and Adreno 405 GPUs.
Xiaomi's choice to include the PowerVR G6200 (Rogue) inside the Redmi Note 2 is very smart since this GPU works very well with full HD (1080p) displays and it's also a cheaper alternative to Qualcomm's GPUs.
Overall, Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 is one of the best performers in its class, so if you plan on gaming a lot but can't afford a high-end smartphone, this is a great alternative.
It's even worth mentioning the smartphone comes with 16GB of internal memory that can be expanded up to 32GB via microSD card slot.
Menu and software - deep level of customization, but a lot of bloat too
The international version of Redmi Note 2 comes with Android 5.0.2 Lollipop operating system and MIUI 6 on top of it. The Chinese model, on the other hand, runs MIUI 7, which offers quite a few upgrades to the previous version of the user interface.
Even so, Xiaomi tweaked Android quite a lot by adding lots of customization options to Redmi Note 2 users. You can even choose the notification color of every alert you receive on your phone (calls, messages, emails, etc.).
Those who are not familiar with Xiaomi's MIUI will wonder where the app drawer is. Well, MIUI does not have an app drawer, so all installed apps will appear on the homescreen.
There are no shortcuts or icons, as each application that you download can be uninstalled by simply moving it to the bin appearing at the upper part of the screen.
You can have unlimited panes, so there's no limit to how many apps and games you can install on the phone as long as you have enough storage space.
MIUI further includes some themes that will change the homescreen wallpaper, lockscreen style, system font and even the sound profile.
The notification area features two transparent panes, one with all notifications, and another one that includes customizable quick toggles and a shortcut to Settings menu. Additionally, the Redmi Note 2 does not come with any Google services and apps, unless you get the international version.
However, Chinese retailers usually include Google Play store on each Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 device they are selling, but that's all you're going to get.
Unfortunately, the Chinese model of Redmi Note 2 comes with a lot of bloatware too, some of which have been identified as malware (i.e. Fun Weather).
Overall, I would have given Xiaomi a 7 out of 10 for MIUI, but the addition of so much bloatware is totally disappointing.
Battery life - average on calling, but disappointing when browsing the web
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 is powered by a high-capacity 3,060 mAh battery, which is rated by the manufacturer for up to 6 days of standby time or up to 11.5 hours of talk time.
During our tests, the Redmi Note 2's battery did not last for more than five days in standby mode. Even more, we noticed that web browsing causes the phone's battery to drain much faster than usual.
We got decent battery life when we did not use web browsing for more than 1 hour per day, as well as 1 hour of calls and 1 hour of video playback, so if that's what you plan on doing as well, then the Redmi Note 2 will get you around two days of continuous usage.
Overall, this isn't disappointing as we've seen worse. Also, two days of use is the average these days for mid-range Android smartphones, so the Redmi Note 2 doesn't stand out from the crowd but it isn't left behind either.
Connectivity - LTE compatible with both SIM cards
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 is a dual-SIM smartphone, and what's more important, is that both microSIM cards can be used with LTE networks, but you can't have them both connected to LTE networks at the same time.
Other than that, all the other connectivity features are pretty standard for a mid-range Android smartphone. The only exception might be the fact that Redmi Note 2 comes with IR blaster.
It further features wireless screen mirroring (Miracast), Wi-Fi support, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with AGPS and GLONASS, FM Radio and microUSB 2.0, which supports USB OTG (on-the-go) as well.
The only thing that didn't find its way onto the Redmi Note 2 is NFC (Near Field Communications) connectivity.
