Finally, the much-awaited Redmi Note 8 series launched in China today & in typical Xiaomi fashion, both the phones are very aggressively priced. The starting price of Redmi Note 8 is the same as that of Redmi Note 7 & same is the case with the Note 8 Pro. The Redmi Note 8 Pro is also the first smartphone to “launch” with a 64 Megapixel camera on the rear.
REDMI NOTE 8 – DESIGN & SPECIFICATIONS
If you have seen the recently launched Realme 5 & Realme 5 Pro, you will find the design of Redmi Note 8 pretty similar as the phone has the same design with a Quad Camera setup on the back & a display with a waterdrop notch on the front.
The fingerprint scanner is also there on the rear & the Note 8 has slimmer bezels compared to the Redmi Note 7 due to which the screen-to-body ratio is now 90%.
Just like the Note 7, the Redmi Note 8 has USB Type-C port on the bottom along with the headphone jack & the speaker grill. Also, there is Gorilla Glass 5 on the front as well as the back, so that gives the Note 8 a premium look & feel.
The Redmi Note 8 has a 6.3-inch Full-HD+ (2340 x 1080) LCD panel with 19.5:9 aspect ratio & Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The display also has the TÜV Rheinland Eye Comfort Certification. There is not a huge upgrade in terms of the SOC when you compare the Note 8 with Note 7.
While the Redmi Note 7 launched with Snapdragon 660 SOC, the Redmi Note 8 gets the Snapdragon 665, which is the same chip powering the Xiaomi Mi A3 that launched recently in India. The Snapdragon 665 has a better GPU than the Snapdragon 660 but is slower when it comes to the CPU speed.
Coming to the camera, this time, there are four on the back. So, the Redmi Note 8 features a primary 48 Megapixel Sony IMX 586 sensor, an 8MP secondary wide-angle camera with 120-degree FOV, a 2MP depth sensor & a 2MP macro lens with up to 2cm focusing distance. On the front, there is a 13MP f/2.0 camera.
The battery underneath is a 4,000mAh unit & the Note 8 supports 18W fast charging. Also, in the box, users will get an 18W adapter. Finally, Android 9 Pie runs out of the box with MIUI 10 on top.
REDMI NOTE 8 PRO – DESIGN & SPECIFICATIONS
While the Note 8 is not that interesting for many, the Redmi Note 8 Pro is definitely a head-turner. With the same starting price as that of Redmi Note 7 Pro, the Note 8 Pro packs a serious punch. It is the first smartphone to officially launch with a 64MP camera & to feature the MediaTek Helio G90T SOC.
Unlike the Redmi Note 7 series where it was almost impossible to distinguish the Note 7 and Note 7 Pro, the Redmi Note 8 Pro has a different design than that of Note 8.
There is a gorgeous Gradient design & the Quad Camera setup is now placed in the middle with three cameras & the fingerprint scanner in a single module, while the fourth camera placed with the LED flash. Just like the Redmi Note 8, the Note 8 Pro has a display with a waterdrop notch on the front but with even slimmer bezels. The bottom bezel of the Note 8 Pro is just 4.2mm thick!
There is a 6.53-inch LCD Full-HD+ panel protected by the Gorilla Glass 5. The chipset powering the Note 8 Pro is MediaTek Helio G90T & it’s a very powerful mid-range chip that outperforms the likes of Snapdragon 710 & 712 with ease.
On the rear, the Redmi Note 8 Pro has Quad cameras with the primary being a 64MP shooter with Samsung GW1 sensor. The rest three cameras are the same as Note 8, i.e., an 8MP wide-angle, a 2MP macro & a 2MP depth sensor. The front camera is a 20MP unit with all the features like Portrait Mode, Face Unlock etc.
The Redmi Note 8 Pro is the Redmi Note with the biggest battery as it packs a 4,500mAh unit & supports 18W Fast Charging. Just like the Note 8, the Note 8 Pro comes with an 18W adapter in the box. There is also liquid cooling, something we see only in flagships & gaming-centric devices. Thanks to the MediaTek Helio G90T, you can also use WiFi & 4G at the same time for better speeds.
REDMI NOTE 8 & NOTE 8 PRO – PRICING & AVAILABILITY
Finally, coming to the pricing, the Redmi Note 8 comes in three colours, namely White, Black & Dream Blue. The Redmi Note 8 Pro, on the other hand, comes in Black, White & Green colours. Here is the pricing of both the phones –
Redmi Note 8 –
- 4GB + 64GB – 999 Yuan ($140)
- 6GB + 64GB – 1,199 Yuan ($167)
- 6GB + 128GB – 1,399 Yuan ($196)
Redmi Note 8 Pro –
- 6GB + 64GB – 1,399 Yuan ($196)
- 6GB + 128GB – 1,599 Yuan ($224)
- 8GB + 128GB – 1,799 Yuan ($252)
The phones will be available to buy in September in China. The Xiaomi India Head, Manu Kumar Jain, has hinted that it will soon come to the Indian market but expect the India launch to happen by the end of September or sometime in October.