Not taking any risk, Xiaomi has retained the Snapdragon 636 processor in this phone as well. But Note 6 Pro is different due to the notch display and quad camera setup. Will the Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro smartphone be as successful as the Redmi Note 5 Pro? Let’s find out…
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro Design
In terms of design, Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro is very similar to Note 5 Pro. If you flip Xiaomi Mi A2, Redmi Note 5 Pro and Redmi Note 6 Pro, you will not be able to easily differentiate between the three devices. The vertical dual rear camera setup given on the back is raised. LED flash has also been placed in the camera module. There is a metal backplate on top of the plastic frame of the smartphone.
However, from the front, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro looks the best, especially because of the notch at the top of the display. The notch on this phone is bigger than the one on the Redmi 6 Pro, which is the first Xiaomi smartphone to come with a notch display in India.
Xiaomi has placed the power and volume buttons on the right side. The power button is easy to reach. But the volume button is not that easy to reach. The feedback of all the buttons is good. There is a 3.5mm headphone jack, secondary microphone and IR emitter on the top. There is a micro USB port at the bottom which was disappointing. Because many smartphones in this price range come with USB Type-C port, take Nokia 6.1 Plus and Motorola One Power for example. There are grills on both sides of the micro-USB port. Out of these, the right grill has a speaker.
The phone has a hybrid dual SIM tray on the left side. Xiaomi has curved the back of the phone to give a better grip. The weight of 182 grams is not uncomfortable. If you are worried about the weight, then this is due to the large 4000 mAh battery.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro specifications, software, and features
Xiaomi has decided to use Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor in this phone. Remember that this processor has also been a part of Redmi Note 5 Pro. Nokia 6.1 Plus, Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 and Motorola One Power also come with this chipset.
Note 6 Pro has two variants – 4 GB RAM with 64 GB storage and 6 GB RAM with 64 GB storage. We have reviewed the variant with 6 GB RAM. A hybrid SIM slot has been provided, which means you will have to choose between a microSD card and a second SIM. This phone comes with dual 4G VoLTE support.
Connectivity features of the Redmi Note 6 Pro include Bluetooth 5, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac, GPS, and FM radio. The phone also has a Wi-Fi passthrough feature that allows the phone to work as a Wi-Fi repeater.
The phone has support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0, but Xiaomi has provided a 10W charger in the retail box. Like the Xiaomi Poco F1, the Note 6 Pro has a water resistant P2i coating.
You will get MIUI 10 based on Android 8.1 Oreo in Redmi Note 6 Pro. Considering the availability of Android Pie in the market, we feel that Xiaomi could have launched Redmi Note 6 Pro with the latest Android version. Our review unit had the October security patch.
There are some changes to Xiaomi’s custom UI. The new multitasking layout looks fresh. Like other phones that come with a notch, you have the option to hide the notch. Xiaomi keeps a lot of apps pre-installed on your phone. Dailyhunt and Mi Video spammed our notifications repeatedly.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro performance, battery life and cameras
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro worked without any lag. Probably 6 GB RAM was a major contributor to this. Multitasking was easy. There was no need to close any app in the background. Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 is not a very old processor. It is capable of running most apps and new games. We played PUBG Mobile game. It ran on the lowest settings. The phone does get a little warm after playing the game for a while.
The battery of Redmi Note 6 Pro is 4000mAh. In our HD video loop test, the phone died after 15 hours and 36 minutes. This is 1 hour less than the performance of Redmi Note 5 Pro. In normal use, the battery easily lasts for more than a day. If you do not use the phone too much, then you can expect even longer battery life.
Xiaomi has made the 12 megapixel + 5 megapixel rear camera setup of Redmi Note 5 Pro a part of the new phone as well. However, the 12 megapixel sensor is new and it comes with 1.4 micron pixel size and dual pixel autofocus. Its aperture is f / 1.9, which means its camera will capture more light than the sensor of Redmi Note 5 Pro. The secondary 5 megapixel depth sensor works to measure depth in portrait shots. On the front panel, a 20 megapixel selfie camera and a 2 megapixel depth sensor have been given.
These days the term artificial intelligence is used everywhere. Xiaomi claims that the camera app of Redmi Note 6 Pro has AI scene detection. According to Xiaomi, the rear cameras can use AI to identify 31 scenes and the selfie camera can identify 12 scenes. Its camera app is similar to the camera app of other Xiaomi smartphones.
Landscape shots came with decent detail. The phone was successful in achieving the right exposure. If you zoom in to 100 percent, you will miss the detail. Auto HDR is also available. It starts working automatically when needed. Note 6 Pro surprised us in macro shots. There was a good separation between the background and the subject. We also tested the AI camera. The phone was able to easily identify the subject.
Tap to see full-sized Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro camera samples
You can adjust the level of blur even after taking a portrait photo. In low light, the phone tries to capture more light by reducing the shutter speed. In such a situation, the photos become blurred when the object moves. If there is no source of light nearby, the photos do not come out as sharp. The lack of detail is clearly visible.
You can adjust the level of blur even after taking a portrait photo. In low light, the phone tries to capture more light by reducing the shutter speed. In such a situation, the photos come out blurred when the object moves. If there is no source of light nearby, the photos do not come out as sharp. The lack of detail is clearly visible. With Redmi Note 6 Pro, you will be able to record videos up to 1080 pixels. This is disappointing, because many phones in this price range come with 4K video recording capability. EIS has been provided to stabilize the footage, but it brings a shimmering effect.
Our verdict
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro is an upgrade of Redmi Note 5 Pro. Actually, it is an upgrade in some aspects only. Note 6 Pro’s notch display is bigger and brighter. There is also a slight upgrade in the camera due to which the output is better. Xiaomi has worked to make a good product even better. In terms of hardware, Xiaomi is now facing strong competition. In the same price range, there are handsets like Nokia 6.1 Plus, Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 and Motorola One Power in the market.
Xiaomi recently slashed the price of both variants of the Redmi Note 5 Pro. They now sell for Rs 13,999 and Rs 15,999, which is the same as the launch price of the Redmi Note 6 Pro. The older phone is still available, but we think the Redmi Note 6 Pro is a better option.
Advertisements have been a big problem in MIUI. But now the situation has become so bad that problems have started arising even in normal use. Along with this, the MIUI 10 given in Redmi Note 6 Pro is based on Android 8.1 Oreo. That means your software experience is also not the latest.
The price of the powerful version is such that the Redmi Note 6 Pro will face competition from handsets like Xiaomi Mi A2, Vivo V9 Pro and RealMe 2 Pro. All three of these handsets come with the more powerful Snapdragon 660 processor. Considering the current price, we would suggest you to buy the starting variant of the Redmi Note 6 Pro. If you are thinking about the expensive variant, then there are better options available in the market.
Due to Xiaomi’s aggressive pricing, the new phone is likely to be the most popular in the Rs 15,000 price range once again. However, the higher RAM variant is priced at Rs 15,999 which is close to the Xiaomi Mi A2 running on stock Android. There is also competition from the Realme 2 Pro. Both these smartphones come with the more powerful Snapdragon 660 processor. Apart from this, there is also the Motorola One Power which is equipped with a 5000 mAh battery. Considering the current price, we would suggest you to buy the starting variant of the Redmi Note 6 Pro. If you are thinking about the more expensive variant, then there are better options available in the market.
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