Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro review

I’ve been using the new Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro and I still don’t really understand the need for this mobile. It’s the same proven formula used over and over by Xiaomi. A Snapdragon 625 + large 4000mAh battery. But that’s now a bore. Maybe it is true Xiaomi bought up the last of the Snapdragon 625 stock nobody wanted to touch but in return gain a big discount on the flagship chip the Snapdragon 845? Who knows, but what I know is the Redmi 6 Pro is a mix up of the Redmi Note 4X’s internals, the Redmi S2’s camera set up and a new notch IPS screen, following the questionable trend that some people are looking for in a budget mobile.

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Specs:

Dimensions: 149.3 x 71.7 x 8.8 mm (5.88 x 2.82 x 0.35 in)

Weight: 178g

Build: Front glass, metal body

Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 (14nm architecture)

CPU: Octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53

GPU: Adreno 506

Operating System: MIUI 10, based on Android 8.1

Memory: 3GB or 4GB RAM

Storage: 32GB or 32GB/64GB ROM

Expandable storage: Supported, Up to 256GB microSD (dedicated slot)

Display type: IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors

Display size: 5.84 inches, 85.1 cm2 (~79.5% screen-to-body ratio)

Screen resolution: 1080 x 2280 pixels, 19:9 ratio (~432 ppi density)

Mobile network support: GSM /HSPA / LTE

Wi-Fi support: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Bluetooth support: 4.2

GPS support: Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS

USB: microUSB 2.0

Rear camera: 12MP, f2.2

Front camera: 5MP, f2.2

Battery: Non-removable Li-Po 4000 mAh battery

Color: Black, Blue, Gold, Rose Gold, Red

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Once you get your hands on an use the phone it’s evident it’s not a completely irrelevant release, the build is good. The display, while it does have a notch, is very bright, with better whites than the Redmi 5 Plus, Note 5 and Mi 6X. Those IPS 5.99″ 18:9 panels are very blueish their whites before calibrating.

The 5.84″ 2280 x 1080p display has a notch and is full of compromises. You cannot see the battery percent, notifications and other important info without swiping down.  I’m not sure how Xiaomi is going to work their way around this, but interested nevertheless to see how this develops and the changes MIUI 10 will implement. MIUI 10 is still in beta but the stable version due soon with a big roll out.

The ROM is Android 8.1 based with MIUI 9.6 and has a hefty 1.7GB bugfix update right out of the box. This is the Chinese ROM so expect some Chinese bloatware, but that can be removed – well most of it. The global ROM and global version once released won’t have Chinese bloast and also Google Play will be apart of the ROM built in. It’s not installed on the Chinese/English ROM and never will be.

My version has 4GB of RAM, 64GB of eMMC 5.1 spec storage and the performance is good (benchmakrs in the review like Antutu) even in full gesture mode that was plagued with stutters and freezes is now optimized well due to Xiaomi’s experience with this chipset. Multi-tasking is smooth, app launch times are good for the most part and the notifications slider doesn’t lag like my Mi Max 2 does and even the Mi 8 and Mi 8 SE does with their ROM build.

Audio is great for this price range of mobile, 3.5mm headphone jack with a clean output decent punch to it, FM Radio and plenty of sound tweaking options to get the most out of it. Call quality from the mics is good, better than the Mi Mix 2S or Mi 8 (In their current state) and only the smaller earpiece is lacking slightly. Size constraints mean the speaker is smaller than normal and sounds a bit flatter.

Gaming performance is good, not the fastest of course but Lineage II (medium settings) and PUBG run well with the odd stutter but smooth enough to win a match of PUBG on the lowest graphics setting and high frame rate option.

The battery endurance combination that is the Snapdragon 625 and a decent sized 4000mah battery is proven and here you can expect well over 2 days of battery life. 1 hour of YouTube steaming at 200lux only consumes around 9% battery life. Standby drain is under control losing only around 1% every 3 hours.

The included 5V 2A charger isn’t a fast charger, but it will charges it quick. Yes the phone uses a microUSB port, something Xiaomi has to do away with and swap to the stronger Type-C spec.

Redmi 6 Pro charge times:

- 5% to 31% in 30 minutes

- 5% to 62% in 1 hour

- Full charged in 2 hours 14 minutes

The main camera is a 12MP Sony IMX486 as used in the Redmi S2. It has PDAF autofocus which is okay, it has an f2.2 aperture which isn’t the created but expects for the price.

1080p video stabilization is great, but 4k option isn’t there in the stock app and using Open Camera 4k works. But with EIS (Image stabilization setting on) enabled it doesn’t do anything! The Redmi Note 5, Redmi S2 and Mi 6X it will give you Google Pixel style smooth stable footage with a mild crop. But not here. Xiaomi has blocked access to the gyro or something to stop it from work? Why? Is this intentional for mobile gimbal sales? Or just an error.

Overall the Redmi 6 Pro is better than I expected, it has no real fault, it’s a solid phone. A boring release yes, and I would still get the Redmi Note 5 over this. Reasons why? For it’s EIS 4k (Working for now) better camera with faster focus and better build. The Redmi 6 does, however, have a brighter better screen but with a notch and a 3 slot sim tray. Two nano SIM’s and MicroSD slot. No need to give up one of those SIM for the MicroSD.

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Pros:

a. Better screen than Redmi Note 5/5 Plus/Mi 6X

b. Great battery life

c. Good audio in general for the spec and price

d. Good build quality with 2 x nano SIM + MicroSD

e. The UI and ROM is very fast for a Snapdragon 625

f. FM radio support

g. IR Transmitter

Cons:

a. Still using microUSB in 2018

b. Open Camera can’t use the gyro for 4k EIS.

c. Focus can be slow

d. The notch limits the notifications to be displayed on top

e. Bezels larger than press images