Introduction
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 is one of the cheapest phablets you can get and that will most likely put it on your radar sooner or later. It may be a mere blip if you're the kind of person who consciously avoids the extremes. But bargain hunters will probably zoom in for a closer look. And they might actually have a point.
The original Redmi Note sold out in a flash back in 2014, followed by its LTE-enabled version, and the upgrade, Redmi Note 2, is wasting no time either finding a place among the record-breakers. And that's even before it was available in India, which is a traditional Xiaomi stronghold, alongside its home market of China of course.
Xiaomi is certainly eyeing Europe and the US too and, although the company is cautious about an actual timeframe, it's been running a dedicated online store for accessories quite a while now.
There are two distinct types of Notes in the Xiaomi portfolio and things can get a little confusing. The Mi series is the place to get a premium phablet while the Redmi Notes are the budget-friendly alternative. That said, the Redmi Note 2 is certainly cheap but the level of equipment is trying to match the midrange offerings by the established brands.
Key features
- 5.5" IPS display of 1080p resolution; 401ppi
- MediaTek MT6795 Helio X10 chipset; octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 (16GB model) or octa-core 2.2 GHz Cortex-A53 (32GB model); PowerVR G6200 (Rogue) GPU; 2GB of RAM
- 13MP main camera with LED flash, phase detection autofocus
- 1080p video capture at 30fps
- 5MP front-facing camera, 720p at 30fps video recording
- MIUI v.7 based on Android 5.0.1 Lollipop or MIUI v.6 on Android 5.0.1 Lollipop (market dependent)
- 16GB or 32GB of built-in storage; microSD expansion up to 32GB
- GSM/GPRS/EDGE; UMTS/HSPA+; 4G LTE Cat.4 connectivity
- Dual SIM; Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac; Bluetooth 4.0; microUSB 2.0 (OTG); GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS and Beidou; FM radio
- IR port
- Dual-microphone active noise canceling
- Competitive price
- 3,060mAh removable battery, fast charging
Main disadvantages
- No screen protection officially quoted
- No MIUI 7 at launch
- No NFC
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 upgrades its predecessor in areas where it matters. The Redmi Note 2 packs a higher-res 5.5" IPS display of Full-HD resolution (up from 720p) and is powered by a superior MediaTek Helio X10 chipset with an octa-core processor, Power VR graphics and 2GB of RAM. The main camera unit has been treated to phase detection autofocus, there's a brand new IR port and fast battery charging has been borrowed from the high-end Xiaomi Mi Notes.
So, we're about to review a phone that reached best-seller status in China in record time. It would be insane to expect as big a splash in developed markets but value for money is a traditional Xiaomi weapon. Let's proceed to unboxing and see how well prepared the Redmi Note 2 is to make use of that.
Display
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 features a 5.5" Full HD IPS, which has 401ppi for pleasantly sharp imagery. Unfortunately, the glass covering the display seems to be not of the scratch-resistant kind.
Taking a closer look at it under our digital microscope reveals a standard RGB arrangement of the sub-pixels that make up the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 LCD panel.
The display on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 has a lower maximum brightness level compared to the one on Xiaomi Mi 4i, while retaining the almost the same good contrast and colors. The blacks aren't as deep as we'd like, but we've seen worse.
Xiaomi provides a setting for the color temperature - you can choose between warm, normal and cool. The warmer option offers higher color accuracy than normal at the expense of a slight decrease of the maximum brightness level.
Battery life
Xiaomi has put a 3,060mAh battery inside the Redmi Note 2, a solid enough unit for a 5.5" device. We ran our battery test and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 scored a 49h rating, which means you can count on the battery to last 2 days if you do an hour each of calling, browsing the web and video playback a day. Adding a second SIM card cuts 2 hours from the total endurance down to 47 hours.
The Redmi Note 2 did well on the 3G talk time test, but it posted below average results in our web and video tests, while its standby performance is about average.
The original Xiaomi Redmi Note was almost there too with a rating of 55h.
Our proprietary score also includes a standby battery draw test, which is not featured in our battery test scorecard but is calculated in the total endurance rating. Our battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you want to learn more about it.
Connectivity
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 supports 7 LTE bands and you can tap to an LTE network on either SIM, but once you do, the second one will be limited to GSM connectivity only. As for that, the Redmi Note 2 also offers tri-band GSM connectivity. There is quad-band 3G connectivity with HSPA support.
The rest of the connectivity features include dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac support and Wi-Fi Direct. There is also support for Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and GLONASS, plus an FM radio.
A microUSB 2.0 port handles charging and data connections. Media transfer mode is supported for accessing the phone's built-in memory over a USB connection. The microUSB port also supports USB On-the-go for connecting USB peripherals such as pen drives, keyboards or real USB hard drives.
Wireless screen mirroring is available via the Miracast protocol.
The IR blaster is located on the top and coupled with the right software, you can use it to operate pretty much any IR remotely controlled home appliance, turning the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 into a universal remote. Xiaomi provides its own MiRemote app, which supports a plethora of devices and you can turn your Note 2 of this dream remote right out of the box.
