Xiaomi usually uses the name ‘Pro’ to indicate powerful hardware. There is no doubt that the Redmi 6 Pro comes with the most powerful processor compared to the other two handsets in the Redmi 6 series. But what makes this device different is the display notch. This is also the first Redmi phone to come with this feature. Many key specifications of the new model match those of Xiaomi’s existing Redmi Y2 (Review) and Redmi Note 5 (Review) smartphones. In such a situation, we also have a question in our mind that apart from the notch, what other features does the Redmi 6 Pro come with? We will find the answer to this question through this review.
Xiaomi Redmire 6 Pro Design
Contents
Being the flagship phone of the Redmi 6 series, an attempt has been made to make the Redmi 6 Pro a little premium, such as the metal backplate on the back. However, the overall design is not very different from other Xiaomi devices in this price range. The phone is quite thick. It also feels big in the hands. But it is manageable. The buttons give a good response. On the left side you will find a tray, which has separate slots for two SIM cards and a microSD card. One thing to note is that the Redmi 6 Pro does not have dual 4G VoLTE support, which means that only one SIM can connect to the 4G network at a time.
The placement of the ports is correct. The mono speaker grill is on the bottom right. So the chances of it getting blocked while using the phone in landscape mode are very less. The headphone socket is on the top. There is also an infrared emitter with the help of which the phone can also work as a remote control.
We got the black variant for review which comes with a matte finish. It does not get fingerprints easily. You will be able to buy Redmi 6 Pro in blue, red or gold colors. The fingerprint sensor is easy to reach and it is also effective. There is a vertical dual camera setup on the back. It protrudes slightly from the surface, but is not inconvenient.
The most important feature of the Redmi 6 Pro is its 5.84-inch full-HD+ display. The contrast and brightness levels are adequate. Xiaomi told us that the display also has a layer of toughened glass. It did not reveal which company it is from. The notch has increased the display area. But the bezels on the sides are still quite wide. The chin at the bottom is quite wide. We don’t think the notch design of this phone is very appealing. For some reason, Xiaomi has placed the notification LED in a weird place. It is in a corner on the bottom left of the chin, while the notch leaves a lot of empty space.
The retail box will contain a cover for the Redmi 6 Pro handset, SIM ejector tool, USB cable and a 10W power adapter.
Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro specifications and software
The phone uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 625 processor which is two years old, but is still fully capable of handling normal tasks. Gaming performance is not great. PUBG runs at the lowest graphics settings by default. Even then the gameplay is not very smooth. Our review unit was running on a pre-release version of the MIUI software. Due to this, we were not able to perform most of the benchmark tests. Xiaomi did inform us that the software will remain almost the same.
Two variants of Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro have been made available. One has 32 GB storage with 3 GB RAM. The other has 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage, which we have reviewed. The phone has support for Bluetooth 4.2, dual-band 802.11 Wi-Fi a / b / g / n, GPS, USB-OTG and GLONASS. Gyroscope, ambient light sensor, compass and accelerometer are part of the smartphone. It also has FM radio, but there is no NFC support.
Our review unit was running MIUI 9.6 based on Android 8.1 Oreo. The phone also had the July security patch. According to Xiaomi, all phones in the Redmi 6 series will get the MIUI 10 update in the future.
MIUI has many of the same gestures and customizable functions as we have seen in the Redmi 6 Pro. Xiaomi has also provided the option to hide the notch. The system doesn’t always scale the reduced aspect ratio properly. We found that some menu buttons and some content in many apps were getting cut off due to the masking. Face unlock is also provided which works fine in most conditions, except in pitch darkness.
Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro performance, camera and battery life
In general use, the Redmi 6 Pro is very smooth. The interface doesn’t feel awkward. Face recognition is fast. The phone doesn’t heat up. Casual games run well. But games with more powerful graphics need to be played on medium or low settings. We found that despite having 4GB of RAM, the load time of games was longer than expected. Multitasking between apps isn’t always very smooth. The touch response of the display is good. The colours are vivid and punchy. Because of this, watching videos on the Redmi 6 Pro is a great experience.
Audio performance is also good when using headphones. But the sound from the speaker is not very loud. The stock music player comes with Hungama Music integration. On the other hand, the default video player shows trending music videos from YouTube as suggestions apart from local files.
In the dual rear camera setup given in vertical position, one camera is of 12 megapixels. It is equipped with f/2.2 aperture and phase detection autofocus. Autofocus works very fast in sufficient light. There is also auto HDR which does a good job of balancing exposure. There was no lack of detail in landscape shots in daylight and the colors also came out attractive. The primary sensor lags a bit in taking macro shots. In close up shots, the white balance is sometimes correct, sometimes not. We were often forced to tap to focus to correct the white balance. HDR photos also took some time to save. Due to this, it was not easy to take blur free shots at night.
Tap to see camera samples of Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro
Autofocus speed drops significantly in low light. It takes more time to save regular images. It is advisable to keep HDR off, otherwise it will take more time to save photos. Details are lost due to the noise reduction process. Colors also look dull.
The camera app is simple and easy to use. There is also a portrait mode which is made possible by the secondary 5-megapixel camera. However, edge detection is very average. You cannot adjust the level of background blur before or after taking a shot. The 5-megapixel selfie camera takes decent selfies in adequate light. But due to the lack of screen flash, pictures come out grainy in low light.
Video performance is also decent. Stabilization works well. You will be able to record videos at a maximum resolution of 1080 pixels.
Battery life is one of the key features of the Redmi 6 Pro. The 4000mAh battery easily lasted a day. Some battery remains for the second day as well. The battery consumption is not too high while playing games with powerful graphics. In our video loop test, the battery died after 16 hours and 45 minutes, which is considered very good. The phone does not support fast charging. But the 10W charger provided with it gives 55 percent battery life in an hour. The battery took about 2 hours and 35 minutes to charge from zero to full.
Our verdict
Compared to the current phones in Xiaomi’s Redmi series, the Redmi 6 Pro is not a very strong contender. There are no major shortcomings in it, but it does not offer anything really new or different compared to the Redmi Note 5. And the Note 5 variant with the same RAM and storage is also Rs 1,000 cheaper. You also have the Redmi Y2 at the price of the Redmi 6 Pro which has a better front camera. But you will have to compromise on display resolution and battery capacity. In fact, Xiaomi has created a state of confusion regarding its own portfolio.
However, notches are in demand these days. We think many people would want to buy the Redmi 6 Pro just for this feature. If you are not too interested in the notch, then we would suggest you buy the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 or the Redmi Note 5 instead of the Redmi 6 Pro.
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