We have already seen some budget-friendly devices from Huawei like the Y6 Pro 2019 and Y7 Pro 2019. And expanding its budget lineup, Huawei recently announced Y5 2019 in Europe. The major highlight here is the fancy looking Faux leather back. And apart from looking great in the eye, the faux leather rear panel happens to be anti-dirty, anti-fingerprint, and wear-resistant.
Overview:
On the display part, the Y5 2019 is provided with a 5.71-inch IPS panel. The resolution here is HD+, which results in a pixel density of 295PPI. The handset also comes with a tiny dewdrop style notch atop the display. And this incorporates a screen-to-body ration of 84.6 percent. The display on the Y5 2019 also comes with the TUV Rheinland certification, which means it keeps harmful blue light under control.
As far as the imaging department is concerned, there is a single shooter on both ends. The rear camera utilizes a 13MP sensor whereas the selfie shooter on the notch gets a 5MP sensor. The selfie shooter on the device is also responsible for authenticating the facial data while using the Face Unlock feature. The Face Unlock feature is said to identify 1024 facial features. So Huawei claims it to be reliable. And this is the only biometric option to unlock the device since the Y5 2019 lacks the fingerprint sensor.
Talking about other specs, the device comes with MediaTek Helio A22 chipset along with 2GB of RAM. On the storage side, the phone comes in two memory formats: 16GB and 32GB. The phone also gets the dedicated SD card with which users can expand the storage up to 512GB.
The phone is relatively light at 146 grams. And in its lightweight body, the phone packs a 3020mAh battery. On the software part, the phone gets the Android Pie with EMUI 9 on the top.
The handset is said to be a budget-oriented device. However, there is no information regarding the actual price of the device yet. The availability of the device is also kept under the veil.
Huawei Y5 2019 Specifications:
Display: 5.71-inch IPS LCD display
Resolution: HD+ (720 x 1520 pixels), 19:9 aspect ratio @ 295PPI
Chipset: MediaTek Helio A22
CPU: Quad-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53
GPU: PowerVR GE8320
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 16GB/32GB storage; Expandable up to 512GB (Dedicated SD card slot)
OS & UI: Android 9.0 (Pie) with EMUI 9 on the top
Rear Camera: 13MP, f/1.8, PDAF, LED flash
Front camera: 5MP, f/2.2
Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity
Battery: 3020mAh battery
Color Options: Midnight Black, Modern Black, Sapphire Blue, and Amber Brown
First showcased in the MWC 2019, the periscope-style 10x zooming feature debuted through the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom Edition. The device was launched a couple of weeks back in China. With already making a mark in the home nation, Oppo traveled overseas and announced to launch the device in Europe as well. At an event in Zurich, Switzerland, Oppo announced to bring three products to Europe. Alongside the 10x Zoom Edition, the vanilla Reno and the Reno 5G will join the 10x Zoom edition in that expedition.
Oppo Reno
Talking about the specs, the regular Reno gets the 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display enriched with Full-HD+ resolution. The screen on this device is capped with Gorilla Glass 6 to ensure protection during the accidental falls. The display on this device also comes with DCI-P3 color gamut.
On the performance side, the phone comes with Snapdragon 710 chipset with 6/8GB of RAM at its arsenal. The Reno comes in two formats on the storage side: one with 128GB of onboard memory, whereas the higher end flaunts a substantial 256GB. But sadly, it doesn’t have an SD card slot for the storage expansion.
Talking about the camera, the device boasts a dual cam setup at the back. The setup looks wildly similar with the Oppo F11 Pro with 48MP primary camera and 5MP depth sensor. But it’s a completely different story on the front. The F11 Pro comes with a pop-up selfie camera in a rectangular cartridge. But on the Oppo Reno, the cartridge of the pop-up selfie camera looks like a shark fin and hence the name shark fin pop-up selfie camera.
As far as the software is concerned, Oppo has included the Android Pie with Oppo’s custom skin ColorOS 6 on the top. A 3765mAh battery fuels the device, which comes with a 20-watt VOOC Flash Charge support. Surprisingly, Oppo has furnished a USB Type-C port for charging the device.
The handset comes with Under-display fingerprint scanner to ensure the security. And the good part is, they didn’t ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack to incorporate the hardware. Plus there is a Stereo speaker setup to please the audiophiles.
Specifications:
Display: 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with Gorilla Glass 6 Protection
Resolution: Full HD+ (2340 × 1080 pixels) @ 19:5:9 aspect ratio
Battery: 3765mAh battery with 20-watt VOOC 3.0 fast charging
Oppo Reno 10x Zoom Edition and Oppo Reno 5G
As cued by the name, the Reno 10x Zoom Edition comes with the optical hardware setup that can perform zooming up to 10x.
The device flaunts a camera triplet on its rear panel. Just like the vanilla version, the primary shooter here employs a 48MP sensor, which comes with an f/2.0 lens. The second one suits with an 8MP sensor and an ultra-wide-angle lens. The last one is a 13MP periscope-style camera, which is said to capture images with 10x zooming. But the hardware setup signifies that the device can perform optical zooming only up to 6x. 10x zooming can be achieved through hybrid zoom just like on the Huawei P30 Pro. Taking about the ultra-wide-angle lens, it can expand the view up to 0.6x. Both the primary and periscope camera comes with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) to avoid jitters and shakes while recording videos.
On the front, the camera hardware is the same. Just like the regular Reno variant, the 10x zoom features shark fin style pop-up selfie camera with a 16MP sensor.
The performance part is handled by Snapdragon 855 chipset. The handset comes with 8GB of RAM to complement the performance. Storage wise, the phone will be available with 256GB of onboard memory.
Display wise, the phone comes aboard with a 6.6-inch Super AMOLED panel. The screen enjoys Full-HD+ resolution with DCI-P3 color coverage to ensure better color accuracy. Underneath the display lies a fingerprint scanner, which handles the security part. As far as the battery goes, a 4065mAh cell delivers the power to keep the device awake. On the software part, users will get Android Pie (v9.0) with ColorOS 6 overlay.
The phone also comes with a stereo speaker setup but sadly, there is no 3.5mm headphone. Nonetheless, Oppo managed to incorporate Dolby Audio to enhance audio quality.
The Reno 5G is based on the 10x Zoom version. It comes with the 5G modem and support communication through 5G channels.
Specifications:
Display: 6-inch Super AMOLED display with Gorilla Glass 6 Protection
Resolution: Full HD+ (2340 × 1080 pixels) @ 19:5:9 aspect ratio
Battery: 4065mAh battery with 20-watt VOOC 3.0 fast charging
Price and Availability
For the outreach in the European nations, Oppo collaborated with carriers like Swisscom (Switzerland), EE (UK), SingTel (Singapore), Telstra and Optus (Australia). And with the pace, Oppo is approaching, the Reno 5G could likely be the first 5G phone to be available in Europe.
Different telecoms from various nations already started launching the 5G networks and some are on the quick verge of doing so. The Swisscom launched its 5G network in Zurich just two weeks back. EE will test its 5G network in June.
On the price part, the vanilla Reno is a midrange phone tagged along with the starting price of €500. The phone will be available in countries like France, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and Poland starting from the 10th of May. The Reno 5G will also launch in these countries sometimes in May. But the standard 10x zoom Edition will take a while to hit the market. It is said to debut sometime in June on the aforementioned European nations.
Alongside the announcement of the devices, Oppo also proclaimed that it will provide International Warrant Service to the 10X Zoom and 5G variants. With this kind of service, users can repair their devices via authorized Oppo service center located in any country where Oppo has an official sales channel. There is no such facility for the regular Oppo Reno though.
Khalti, one of the most popular digital payment services, is moving up in the digital payment service. Nepal Rastra Bank has now provided the company with a Payment Service Provider (PSP) license. This means that besides digital payment services, Khalti is now able to provide domestic money transfer facilities and other mobile financial services in Nepal.
Payment Service Provider (PSP) are the ones who work behind the scenes in the payment ecosystem. They make modern commerce possible by providing connective financial tissue between merchants, consumers, card brand networks and financial institutions. They are responsible to connect merchants to the electronic financial system so that they can accept credit and debit card payments. With Khalti, now such merchants will also accept payment via Khalti.
eSewa is another Payment Service Provider in Nepal. And we can see how popular it has become with the users. Most organizations use eSewa to make payment to each other for their business transactions, which are more systematic and easier as well.
Khalti already provides services like electronic bill payments and bookings. With the PSP, it will be able to provide users a broader level of services to the users, which might make the lives of consumers, like us, easier and more convenient.
What do you think of Khalti? How much do you use it? And what do you think of the services? I, personally, would like to see Khalti add more banks to their list. Do let us know your thoughts on this.
Xiaomi’s Redmi Y-series (S-series globally) smartphones have always focused on the selfie part. Last year, we saw Redmi Y2 (Redmi S2) with an amazing camera prowess. And continuing the legacy of the Y-series devices, Xiaomi has yet again launched a new smartphone in India. Motivated to address the selfie trend, the new Xiaomi Redmi Y3 comes with a 32MP front shooter.
Talking about the selfie camera, the 32MP sensor on the front cam is said to be 22.5-percent larger than the last year’s model. The smartphone also comes with Screen Flash feature to help in taking selfies in the low light scenarios. Even on the software part, the phone comes with plenty of upgrades. To ensure natural-like beautification in the real-time, the phone comes with AI Beautify feature, whose version this time has been upgraded to AI Beautify 4.0.
The phone also has two AI-Powered cameras at the back. The primary one employs a 12MP shooter, which is accompanied by a 2MP depth sensor for the portrait effects. The cameras on this device are also said to be integrated with the Google Lens.
On the display side, the phone packs a 6.26-inch HD+ display with a dot notch on the top. The phone comes with Gorilla Glass 5 protection to ensure better chances of survival during the accidental drops. The screen also comes with P2i hydrophobic coating on the top.
Snapdragon 632 is here to take care of the performance. In terms of memory, the phone comes in two formats: one with 3GB RAM and 32GB of onboard memory whereas the higher end get the 4GB RAM and 64GB internal memory. A 4000mAh battery fuels the device and Xiaomi has bundled a 10-watt charger in the box.
Battery: 4000mAh battery with 10-watt fast charging
Colors: Elegant Blue, Bold Red, Prime Black
Color Options
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Price & Availability
The phone will come in three color variants: Elegant Blue, Bold Red, and Prime Black and will go on sale starting from 30th of April. The device will be available for purchase through Amazon.in from that day onwards. Talking about the price, the base variant (3/32GB) will cost INR 9,999. Similarly, the price of the higher end variant (4/64GB) will be INR 11,999.
Meizu, the Chinese mobile manufacturer, launched their flagship phone, the Meizu 16s. And it’s kinda taking a Pocophone approach, i.e. flagship products at about half the price. Of course, that’s not as cheap as the Pocophone, but it’s the first one of such mobile phones of 2019. Anyway, Meizu’s flagship is here, and here’s what it’s got.
Meizu 16s Overview
The Meizu 16s comes with all the latest of hardware. The design is nothing, fancy or trending as per the norms of 2019. There are no notches or any kind of punch-hole or so. It doesn’t have the old-school wide bezels either, but very soft ones. What we get is a 6.2″Full HD+ Super AMOLED display. And they partnered with Samsung for manufacturing the high-quality display, so that it’s less strenuous for the eyes. Also, you get an In-display fingerprint sensor on it.
There are very minimal bezels on the top and bottom. And the very small bezels at the top houses a super-small 20 MP selfie camera. The rear camera setup comprises of two cameras – a 48 MP primary camera that is capable of taking 48 MP RAW shots, and a 20 MP ultra-wide shooter. The camera also features Meizu’s new Super Night View, for taking night shots. It works by stacking 8 images into a single one for good low light photography.
Inside, you have the latest Snapdragon 855 processor coupled with 6 GB RAM in the base variant. There’s also an 8 GB RAM variant which has higher storage as well. Storage varies from 128 GB on the 6 GB model to 256 GB on the 8 GB one. However, there is no expandable memory. The battery is kinda small for a flagship device at 3600 mAh, but you get a 22-Watt Fast charging that is capable of charging your phone up to 60% in 30 minutes.
Software-wise, the phone runs on Flyme 7.3 on top of Android Pie. This claims to bring a more overall smoother user experience. Also, there are some AI enhancements which optimize your battery usage. In addition, there’s a new Hyper Gaming Mode that provides better graphics performance for an even better gaming experience.
Meizu 16s Specifications:
Display: 6.2″ Super AMOLED panel with Full HD+ resolution (1080 x 2232 pixels)
Rear Camera: Dual, 48 MP primary with f/1.7 aperture & PDAF + 20 MP wide-angle with f/2.6 aperture
Front Camera: 20 MP with f/2.2 aperture
Processor: Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
GPU: Adreno 640
RAM: 6 GB / 8 GB
Storage: 128 GB / 256 GB, not expandable
OS: Android 9.0 Pie with Flyme 7.3
Battery: 3600 mAh with 22-Watt Fast Charging
Price and Availability
The Meizu 16s is available in three different colors: Carbon Black, Pearl White, and Phantom Blue. Pricing starts at CNY 3198 ($475) for the base 6 / 128 GB model and goes all the way to CNY 3998 ($595) for the top one. It’s available for pre-order right now on Meizu’s website.
In December last year, Lenovo left us all surprised by releasing the Z5 Pro. The handset was the first smartphone to feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset. And roughly after 6 months later, Lenovo surprised us all over again. And this time with the Lenovo Z6 Pro. This latest smartphone comes with all the top-tier features, which only a few of the smartphone manufacturers are managing to provide.
Camera
Most of the smartphone manufacturers are striving to provide multiple camera setup on their device. In that trend, quad-camera setup on the rear panel is still a rare feature. But Lenovo went all out and included a total of four cameras on the back. The primary camera on this device employs a 48MP sensor and an f/1.8 lens.
The second camera uses an ultra-wide-angle lens with a 16MP sensor. An 8MP shooter has also been provided for lossless telephoto zooming. Apart from that, Lenovo has included a 2MP dedicated video camera with OIS to enhance the quality of the videos. Lastly, there is a ToF 3D camera for better edge detection in the portrait images and for the Augmented Reality (AR). As far as the selfie camera is concerned, a 32MP shooter on the front handles the job.
That’s all about the camera hardware. Even on the software part, there are plenty of features. Super Night Scene, Super Macro, and Super Wide Angle features are few of the many.
Performance
On the performance side, Lenovo has Snapdragon 855, the best chipset for an Android smartphone out there. And to complement the performance, Lenovo has included 6GB RAM, which goes all the way up to 12GB on the highest-end variant. Talking about the storage, users will have a choice between 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB.
With this setup, the handset is obviously powerful. So users can all sort of top tiers games on this device. With high workloads, the device also produces a significant amount of heat. And to ensure better heat dissipation and to keep the temperature of the device low, Lenovo claims it has integrated “PC-grade Coldfront liquid cooling system”.
Display
The Lenovo Z6 Pro comes with a 6.53-inch Super AMOLED display complemented by Full-HD+ resolution. The AMOLED display on the Z6 Pro also supports features like DCI-P3 color gamut, DC Dimming, and HDR 10. The Z6 Pro also comes with narrow bezels around the display with a tiny notch on the top. Although the image might have truly portrayed the size of the notch, there are still good reasons to be suspicious about the size of the bezels. Render images are often deceptive when it comes to the size of the bezels.
Under the display rests an in-display fingerprint, which happens to be optical one unlike the Galaxy S10/S10+. The fingerprint sensor comes with a bigger recognition area and also comes with the ability to detect the wet fingers.
Battery, Software & Connectivity
Fueling the device is a 4000mAh battery, which also comes with a 27-watt fast charging. The phone employs a USB Type-C for charging the battery and for file transfer. On the software side, the phone boots with Android Pie with Lenovo’s custom skin ZUI on the top. The software on the device has also managed to include features like Game Turbo mode to enhancing the gaming performance.
The phone has also excelled on the connectivity front. The Z6 Pro comes with dual-SIM support, Dual-frequency GPS, Bluetooth 5.0, and 3.5mm headphone jack. To ensure better audio capabilities, Lenovo has also included aptX HD audio codec support and Dolby Atmos support.
Lenovo Z6 Pro specifications
Dsplay: 6.39-inch (1080 × 2340 pixels) Full HD+ AMOLED HDR10 display with DCI-P3 color gamut; 19.5:9 aspect ratio
Chipset: Snapdragon 855; 7nm Mobile Platform
CPU: Octa-Core (1 x 2.84GHz Kryo 485 + 3 x 2.42GHz Kryo 485 + 4x 1.80GHz Kryo 485)
GPU: Adreno 640
RAM: 6GB/8GB/2GB LPDDR4x RAM
Storage: 128GB/256GB/512GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 512GB with microSD
Software: Android 9.0 (Pie) with ZUI 11
Rear Camera: (48MP wide-angle, f/1.8, PDAF) + (16MP ultra-wide-angle, f/2.2) + (8MP telephoto camera, f/2.4) + (2MP super video camera, f/1.8, 2.9um, OIS) + ToF camera, LED Flash
Front Camera: 32MP, f/2.0
In-display fingerprint sensor
3.5mm audio jack, Dolby Atmos
Connectivity: Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5, GPS (L1 + L5 dual band) + GLONASS, USB Type-C
Battery: 4000mAh battery with 27W fast charging
Price & Availability
Talking about the price, the base variant (6/128GB) is priced at CNY 2,899 ($430). The 8/128GB and 12/512GB variant accordingly demands a price of CNY 2,999 ($450) and CNY 4,799 ($715) respectively.
The phone will come in Red and Green color variants and will go on sale in China starting from 29th of April, 2019. There is no information regarding the launch of the device outside of China. Lenovo also has plans to bring a 5G variant of the device but there is no solid information regarding the launch date yet.
Smartphone companies started catering to a wider range of audience. They have flagships, buffed up flagships and semi-flagships. Samsung has the Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10 Plus, and the Galaxy S10e. Similarly, Huawei has its P30 Pro and the P30. And it was enough for OnePlus to join this bandwagon too! We will now get a OnePlus 7 and a OnePlus 7 Pro.
It’s already official! There were image leaks of those phones on Weibo a while back. While the OnePlus 7 was leaked way back in March, the OnePlus 7 Pro surfaced only some time ago. But now, they’re official. OnePlus’ CEO, Pete Lau confirmed that the phones were coming out on May 14, in the official event happening in New York at Pier 94. There does not seem to be much of a difference in aesthetics, but let’s see what the inside will hold.
Similarities include the same chipset, the Snapdragon 855. However, the Pro variant might be 5G enabled with an X50 modem…or maybe they’ll come out with another variant of that. The base models will have 8 GB RAM, and rumors suggest they might push it up to 12 GB! As much silly as it is to have 12 GB RAM, it’s not strange for OnePlus. They already were pushing bigger RAMs than their competitors.
Source: Weibo
Both of them will have triple cameras at the back, but there are no specifications about them yet. But like so many of today’s phones, we can guess the primary lens will be a 48 MP one! Storage will start from 128 GB on the OnePlus 7 while it might start at 256 GB on the Pro variant. Also, another difference includes the display size. The OnePlus 7 will have 6.5″ Optic AMOLED display while the other will have a larger 6.67″ one. No word on the battery though. And of course, how can we forget that they will now have pop-up selfie cameras?
There is no word on the pricing yet. But the phone will also launch simultaneously UK and India, with the launch events happening at London and Bangalore as well. However, there is no word on the pricing yet.
With the Galaxy Fold, Samsung showed us a glimpse of the future. A device that unfolds into a tablet and remains as a smartphone in a folded form, that’s already a dope tech. This innovative piece of tech also garnered galore of applauds from the tech enthusiasts since its announcement. But the tech seems quite raw in terms of developments. And the recent screen breakages clearly implied that the device is not yet ready to sail to the consumers’ end. Samsung had announced to launch the device in China on the 24th and 26th of April. But this failure made the Samsung wary so it released a press release announcing the postponements of the launch event. Alongside the launch, Samsung also delayed the Galaxy Fold employee training for an indefinite time.
The Galaxy Fold Failure incidents
Samsung had sent Galaxy Fold units to the various tech reviewers and other celebrities. And this issue comes into the limelight as the units on the reviewers’ end started flashing to the death. And these screen failures unfolded two fatal screen damaging scenarios.
The first reason for the screen failure was due to peeling of the protective plastic layer atop of the display. Since most of the smartphone these days comes aboard with the screen protector, it was an easy thing to get confused. Also, there were no warning and indications against that. So it’s not actually the fault of the reviewers.
Another issue was with the device itself. There seem to have some problems with the display of folding mechanism because of which the screen flashed to death while folding and unfolding the device.
Galaxy Fold issues
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Source: Twitter / MKBHD
Source: Twitter / Mark Gurman
The Aftermath
Understanding the gravity of the situation, Samsung released a press release that it will take some time to rectify the issues. And for that, the South Korean tech giant postponed the launch event and apologized for the delay. However, Samsung has not yet announced when it will officially launch the device. And Samsung hopes everyone will understand the situation. Since it’s a $1,980 device, we think everyone will understand the situation and wait for a finished product rather than rushing for a half-baked device. But this may tarnish Samsung’s reputation in the tech industry for a while.
Below is Samsung’s official announcement for the Samsung Galaxy Fold delay.
“We recently unveiled a completely new mobile category: a smartphone using multiple new technologies and materials to create a display that is flexible enough to fold. We are encouraged by the excitement around the Galaxy Fold.
While many reviewers shared with us the vast potential they see, some also showed us how the device needs further improvements that could ensure the best possible user experience.
To fully evaluate this feedback and run further internal tests, we have decided to delay the release of the Galaxy Fold. We plan to announce the release date in the coming weeks.
Initial findings from the inspection of reported issues on the display showed that they could be associated with an impact on the top and bottom exposed areas of the hinge. There was also an instance where substances found inside the device affected the display performance.
We will take measures to strengthen the display protection. We will also enhance the guidance on care and use of the display including the protective layer so that our customers get the most out of their Galaxy Fold. Samsung values the trust of its customers’ place in us and they are always our top priority. We are committed to working closely with customers and partners to move the industry forward. We want to thank them for their patience and understanding.”
OPPO A1K is official, and we finally have a full list of the detailed spec sheet. As you might already know, the phone is all but set to launch in Nepal as well. This should be the successor to their current OPPO A1 and should help them gain some market share in the budget segment. So let’s start off with its specs first.
The phone comes with a 6.2″ HD+ display with an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. With a water drop notch and a screen to body ratio of 87.4%, the panel comes protected by Gorilla Glass 3. As for the internals, MediaTek Helio P22 is in-charge of the processing, with 2 or 4GB of RAM and 32 or 64GB of expandable internal storage.
Camera wise, you get an 8MP f/2.2 sensor at the back and a 5MP f/2.0 at the front. Battery size comes in at 4000mAh, which recharges through a micro USB port. The phone runs on Android 9.0 with ColorOS 6 on top. Color options include Black and Red. So, you might have noticed it, the phone does not pack a fingerprint sensor.
Which for the price, isn’t a deal breaker. The market price of 9,990 rubles converts to around 11,000 Indian rupees. While that’s a direct comparison, the phone is rumored to launch in India for Rs 7,990, according to a report by 91mobiles. So, if OPPO Nepal decides to launch it for, let’s say close to the Indian pricing, this could be interesting.
OPPO A1K Specifications:
Display: 6.1″ HD+ (720x1560px) 19.5:9 aspect ratio panel; 87.4% screen to body ratio
Protection: Gorilla Glass 3
Processor: MediaTek Helio P22 SoC
RAM: 2/4GB
Storage: 32/64GB expandable via MicroSD
OS: Android Pie 9 with Color OS 6.0 on top
Rear Camera: 8MP f/2.2 w Dual LED flash
Front Camera: 5MP f/2.0
Battery: 4000mAh
Ports: MicroUSB, 3.5mm headphone jack
Connectivity: FM Radio, Dual SIM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 4G VoLTE, GPS
Xiaomi launches three budget phones for its Redmi series every year. This year too, it came up with the Redmi 7 series with a normal variant, a Note variant, and a Pro variant. And like the previous years, the Note 7 And the Note 7 Pro have taken all the spotlight.
The Redmi 7 here is the cheapest among the bunch and offers good improvements over the last years Redmi 6, at least on paper. So, let’s find out if the Redmi 7 provides enough value for the price like its siblings.
Battery: 4000mAh with Quick Charge 3.0 support; Uses Micro USB 2.0 port
Colors: Black, Blue, Red
Price: Rs. 13,999 (2/32GB) | Rs. 15,999 (3/32GB)
Design and Build
The Redmi 7, as expected, comes in a glossy plastic body and a plastic frame. On hands though, the feel is not very cheap. It feels sturdy enough, unlike last years Redmi 6 which had creaks and poor build quality.
This shiny plastic back, however, can easily get scratches and on a long run you will lose colors and it will wear out, So, the first thing you should do if you are getting this phone is buy a decent back cover.
One of the major upgrades the Redmi 7 has received over the Redmi 6 is the design up front. While the 6 had a smaller 5.45-inch display that came without any notch, the Redmi 7 has a big 6.26-inch display with a waterdrop notch.
Even with the large bezel on the bottom, Xiaomi has made some use of the space adding in an LED notification indicator. Good job, Xiaomi!
Display
The display we are looking at here is an HD display which is definitely not sharp if you compare it against full HD displays, but it’s still good enough for the price. The display is colorful and fairly color accurate. It is bright and gets the job done while you are using it outside.
This display also offers a variety of settings to change the colors and contrast, so you can change as per your liking.
The best thing about this display is it is protected by a Gorilla Glass 5. I think this is the first time I have seen a gorilla glass 5 on a budget phone. However, with the dust swirling around the environment, I suggest you apply a tempered glass to add an extra level of protection.
Performance
Another talking point of the Xiaomi Redmi 7 is the internals. This device has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 inside, which is quite a performer. There are two variants of the phone, and the one I reviewed is the 3 + 32 GB RAM, and if you’re buying this device, buy this variant and not the 2 + 16 GB version. Since you are getting quite a decent processor, the 2GB RAM and 16GB storage variant won’t be enough if you intend to install and play a lot of high-end games.
With the Snapdragon 632, even high demanding games like PUBG and Asphalt 9 runs smoothly on medium settings. For the price, everything works like the way it’s supposed to, and even while running a few applications on the background, I haven’t really faced stutters. But there are times when the applications take a while to open up. It’s not always but several times, the time I tap the app icon and the time it takes to load up is around a second or two.
Xiaomi Redmi 7 Benchmark Tests
Geekbench v4.3.2
Single-core: 1246
Multi-core: 4336
AnTuTu v7:
105764
3D Mark
Slingshot Extreme OpenGL ES 3.1: 513
Slingshot Extreme Vulkan: 542
Andro Bench
Sequential Read: 298.56 MB/s
Sequential Write: 122.31 MB/s
Software and UI
The Xiaomi Redmi 7 runs on Android v9 Pie out of the box with Xiaomi’s own skin on top. The MIUI 10 software helps with the software experience, there are a lot of customizations in stores, and everything feels snappy. I still don’t like the lack of app menu, and also the fact that there are several pre-installed applications that you cannot delete. And obviously, with Xiaomi, you get ads here and there in the user interface. Also, the window that always pops up when you install an application is an absolute nuisance.
Camera
Now, the Redmi 7 is a budget-oriented device. So, testing out the cameras on the phone, I had kept my expectations low. Specs wise, there’s a 13MP primary sensor with an extra 2 MP depth sensor for portraits, and that’s what I checked first.
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The portrait shot on the phone, well, check out the skin color. That picture looks like someone just applied an Instagram effect on it. Yes, the overall picture might look good, but that skin color is not at all natural. And it’s really inconsistent with the edge detection too.
In terms of the color tone from normal images, the Redmi 7 captures pictures with a colder tone in a daylight environment. The color tone depends completely on a user’s preference though. So, no judgment here.
Talking about the details, the photos look good normally, but if you zoom into it, you will notice the lack of sharpness and details on the images.
What’s nice on the Redmi 7’s rear camera photos is the saturation. While smartphones from various manufacturers, for example, Samsung, opt for oversaturated colors, the Redmi 7 remains true and that’s one of the plus points of its cameras.
But in terms of dynamic range, the shadow detail is quite poor, and you won’t really notice it. Even though the highlight details are well saturated, and the exposure control is decent, you won’t be able to see the objects where the shadow lies.
Talking about the night time shots, well, the Redmi 7 is average at its best. What you will notice right away on its images are the grains and noise.
If there is a light source, the photos have quite a bit of detail which is decent for the price. Check out these buildings, although there is a lack of details on the photos, the overall image quality is good, and even appealing.
On to the video quality, what I am really impressed with is that this budget device is capable of shooting full HD videos at 60 fps. And it is smooth too, although you will notice slight wobbles. Also, the colors are washed out, especially a person’s skin.
Finally, let’s talk about the selfie. There is an 8-megapixel front-facing camera residing in the notch and it does an okay job and is better than what you get from the back cameras. Just look at the image, it’s decent for the price, right? But again, the skin tone is not very natural.
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The portrait from the front camera is purely software, but it does an okay job. You also get AI beauty options and it’s quite good and not as aggressive as what you get from Vivo and OPPO.
Extras
One of the subtle design changes is the dual speaker grills on the bottom of the phone. Being a budget device, obviously, it has only one speaker on one of the grills that actually gets pretty loud but the quality is nothing to write home about.
The thing that hasn’t changed is the placement of the fingerprint scanner on the back. The scanner is quite fast which is really impressive for a budget phone. There’s also face unlock feature which is again fast, but since it’s done by the front camera, it’s not as reliable as the fingerprint sensor.
A good inclusion on the phone is the IR blaster which is helpful in controlling various electronic devices. But the thing Xiaomi has failed to add is the gyro sensor and that is quite strange as the previous Redmi phones had it. It comes in handy while tracking rotations and for VR.
Battery
The battery is also the strongest part of the Redmi 7. The Redmi series, apart from a couple of devices, has been a trademark when it comes to larger batteries, and this time it’s no different. There is a large 4,000 mAh battery inside, which does a commendable job.
In my use, which constituted of watching an episode of Game of Thrones, playing games for a couple of hours, browsing through social media and different websites, the phone gave a screen on time of 6 hours. This is amazing, and for a “normal” user, you should be able to use it for a day and a half.
For charging, you get a micro-USB, no Type C and Xiaomi has included a 10W charger. The device does support Quick Charge 3.0, but for keeping the price low, Xiaomi has included the low-power charger in the box.
With an 18W fast charger, it fully charged the phone in 2 hours. So, you would want to buy a fast charger.
Conclusion
The Redmi 7 is probably on the shadow of the Note 7 and the Note 7 Pro. It’s not as popular as its siblings, but on my test, with the efficient yet powerful professor and the HD display, the phone performed quite well. But it has its own shortcomings. The device’s camera setup shows promise but it’s not up there and some might not like the design. But you should take a look at the pricing. The device has a great battery life, a decent display, and ticks the boxes of the primary necessities of a smartphone. And for the price and the features it packs, it’s a device you should take a look at right away!
