Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro review: Meaningful upgrade with feature-rich camera

Xiaomi's owes its current success to the Redmi Note series, particularly, the Redmi Note 4, which made the company, after a little lull in late 2016, leapt into top five phone-makers lists in India in mid-2017. After that, it went on to become numero uno brand and has launched the successor Redmi Note 5 and the Redmi Note 5 Pro, which up until now was the best dual-camera mid-range phone in the country.

Xiaomi, earlier in the month launched the new Redmi Note 6 Pro with upgraded camera hardware, design changes and some meaningful additions to make the device more durable than ever before. I have been using the device for close to a week and here's my take on the Redmi Note 5 Pro's successor.

Design, display and build quality:

I received the blue-hued Redmi Note 6 Pro and its beautiful! It is one of the most gorgeous mobiles in the under Rs 15,000 price range. The company has done a wonderful job in keeping the device slim and yet managed to pack a big battery inside. Yes, the dual-camera module protrudes out a bit, but it's not a big issue, as it can slide easily into the pocket and most people use shell cover on the back and gets evened out under it.

The entire contour of the device is curvaceous and thanks to the use of the metal, it brings a sense of heaviness, actually for good reasons. When held in hand, it offers a good grip for the fingers to hold on to it and when kept in the pockets, I can instinctively know it is with me. This is particularly helpful for those people who commute using mass transportation such as bus and metro/sub-urban rail where there are more chances of theft. But, with Redmi Note 6 Pro, you can know without having to feel the pockets every time to reassure ourselves it is with us and will not attract the attention of a potential thief.

Another benefit of having a metal shell, it offers good stability to the structure. It may suffer dents, which is unavoidable if the device falls on a hard surface or pointed objects, but most importantly protect the internal components from the damage.

I am glad Xiaomi is offering shell cover free with the retail box and also has incorporated valuable P2i hydrophobic coating so that the phone can withstand water splashes and rain. It also prevents inside metallic layer of 3.5mm audio jack and the micro-USB port from rusting, thereby further increasing the durability of the device.

As far as the display is concerned, it sports an Apple iPhone X-inspired 6.26-inch full HD+ (2280x1080p) notch screen with a 2.5D curved glass design and Gorilla Glass shield on top. It is vibrant and sharp in terms of colour representation of the subjects on multimedia content and I had no qualms while viewing texts or images or videos on the screen under the direct sunlight.

Performance:

Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 octa-core backed by 4GB/6GB RAM and 64/128GB storage. Yes, the system configuration is the same as the predecessor, but I have no problems with the company's decision, as it is still best value-for-money.

My review unit houses 4GB RAM+ 64GB storage and it worked flawlessly be it switching between the apps, playing games, watching videos, launching the camera and other day-to-day activities on a phone. The credit has to go to the MIUI 10 (based on Android 8.1 Oreo), as it utilises the resources very efficiently and makes the device work buttery smooth.

Truth be told, I am a hard-core Android purist, but being a reviewer I have to be objective on MIUI's interface. Having spoken to several people, I come to understand that most users love customisation option and in my opinion, this highly forked Android user-interface of the MIUI is best in the market. You won't miss the Android Pie, as the MIUI 10 come with so many things such as India-region specific calendar theme with local festival details, natural sound effects for message notifications & call rings and many more.

Camera:

Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro houses an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered dual-camera module—one, a 12MP sensor with dual pixel autofocus, 1.4µm pixel size, F1.9 aperture, Phase Detection Auto Focus) and a secondary 5MP depth sensor with AI Scene Recognition and EIS (Electronic Image Stabilisation).

After using the Xiaomi phone's camera, I have to say, it truly lives up to the hype. The Redmi Note 6 Pro takes stunning images in the natural sun-lit environment. The colours of the subject are near-accurate. Also noticed, that it tends to over-saturate some deep colours like red in roses, but in a good way, perfect for sharing them on social media channels.

On the front side, it comes with another dual-camera setup – primary 20MP sensor with 1.8µm pixel size, F2.0 aperture and a secondary 2MP depth sensor. It supports Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered Portrait 2.0, Beautify 4.0 and Face unlock feature.

The front-camera takes decent selfies in almost all light conditions and have to say, the photo quality taken with the Portrait mode is actually better compared to the rival brands in the under-Rs 15,000 segment.

The AI Scene detection works flawlessly in both the front and back cameras. It was right on recognising flowers, pets, human face and many more types. It was able to capture the best possible images.

All-in-all, Xiaomi has a done tremendous job in the camera aspect of the Redmi Note 6 Pro. In my opinion, it will definitely find huge traction among college –going youth.

Battery:

The new Redmi Note 6 Pro comes with 4,000mAh battery same as the predecessor, but I have no complains at all. For a sub-Rs 15,000 priced phone, many users want their phone to offer a full day's battery and in this case, thanks to MIUI 10, the Redmi Note 6 Pro offers one-and-half day.

During the testing, it consistently gave more than a day's battery life under mixed usage, which includes multiple sessions of internet browsing, see social media channel feeds, video playback, gaming (not the graphics-intense ones) and other normal chores we do phones.

Final thoughts:

I have said this before and say it again that it is very difficult for product manufacturers to launch a sequel to a popular phone series. They have a heavy burden of bringing a wow factor for every successor. But, Xiaomi seems to make right calls in the product, particularly with Redmi Note series. It has succeeded in bringing the best value-for-money phone under-Rs 15,000 segment in the form of the Redmi Note 6 Pro.

If we look from just the spec-sheet perspective, the Redmi Note 6 Pro may come off as a moderate upgrade over the predecessor, but when you dig a little deeper and using it over the time, you will see the real difference. They seem very meaningful upgrade and guess what they cost same as the Redmi Note 5 Pro series.

The new Redmi Note 6 Pro will not disappoint you and totally worth investing your hard earned money. It is available on Flipkart, Mi.com and Mi Home stores with prices starting at Rs 13,999 for the 4GB RAM model and the Rs 15,999 for the 6GB RAM variant.

Pros:

• Premium build quality
• Exceptional camera hardware
• Thoughtful anti-rust coating inside 3.5mm audio jack and micro USB port
• Customised power adaptor that can survive sudden voltage surge up to 380Volts while charging the phone
• Long lasting battery life

Cons

• Hybrid dual-SIM slots. Consumer has to choose between second SIM and microSD card

Key specifications of Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro:

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