Mi India – Tech Raman

Redmi Note 6 Pro Review – A Safe Buy

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 14:26:02 +0000

Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro design In terms of size and design, the Note 6 Pro is almost similar to its predecessor when kept side by side face down. On a closer observation, you will find a few minute changes in details – the Note 6 Pro in spite of a bigger display is slightly shorter by a fraction. The metal backplate merges with the plastic frame around the phone slightly differently in both the phones. While the back plate has straight cut on top and bottom in the Note 5 Pro, it has curved smooth edges on the Note 6 Pro. Otherwise, the camera module, fingerprint sensor all find similar positioning. The camera module slightly protrudes out in both the phones. The front has some refreshing update to the Note 6 Pro – it has a bigger display with a notch at the top. The notch is prominent and wider. This is the first Xiaomi phone with a notch in India. The bezels are thinner too compared to its predecessor which helps in larger display real estate. The power and volume buttons are on the right. Both are easy to reach even for small palms I have. The top has 3.5mm headphone jack, a secondary mic and IR blaster to act as a remote to control other compatible devices. The bottom has micro-USB port flanked by grilles, though only the right houses a loudspeaker. The left side has the hybrid dual-SIM which means there is no dedicated microSD card slot. Weighing 182 grams, the phone offers good ergonomics and the metal back gives a solid build quality feel when holding the phone.

Redmi Note 6 Pro Display

Like it or not, 2018 has accepted notched display and Redmi Note 6 Pro embraces it with wider arms literally. The notch is wider and it also houses the dual front camera. It also has notification light which some of the notched displays skips. The full-screen display settings offer an option to hide the notch. The Note 6 Pro has a 6.26″ IPS LCD FHD+ display of 1,080 x 2,280 pixels. While the display is backed by Corning Gorilla Glass, the company was shy of mentioning the version and I suspect it to be Gorilla 3. The display packs 403ppi which is good. The display is a strong point of the Redmi note 6 pro and can be safely put as the best in the segment. It pans out 480 nits of brightness. The blacks are deep thanks to 1500:1 contrast ratio. It has a maximum brightness level of 1.3nits. The sunlight legibility was decent. Colours are punch, the images are vivid. The display setting has an adaptive brightness (which I disabled since it tends to mess with while playing PUBG when there are darker areas), contrasts and colours setting let you choose between default, warm and cool colours. There is also automatic contrast, increased contrast and standard contrast setting to choose from. The display setting also has a reading mode which is Xiaomi’s take on eye comfort mode. Double tap to wake option is also there.

Redmi Note 6 Pro Software Features

The MIUI of Mi phones has many backers since it offers a lot of features. The Redmi Note 6 Pro runs on MIUI 10 based on Android 8.1 Oreo. There are pre-installed apps like Mi Drop, Mi Store, Mi Remote, Amazon app, Facebook, NewsPoint, Dailyhunt and UC browser and few others along with Google’s suite of apps. I quickly uninstalled Dailyhunt which was spamming with notifications, any case I don’t use that app either. A swipe to the right from the main home screen gives you a page a search bar, app shortcuts section which can be edited to include your favourite apps, you can also quickly check train PNR status from a bar there and the page also has app recommendations, stock ticker and a notes tab. The MIUI offers full-screen gesture navigation. It can be enabled in the full-screen display settings. There is a new Enterprise mode which I assume would allow creating a separate enterprise profile as of now it is not activated. The usual MIUI features that include button and gesture shortcuts, one-handed mode, quick ball, dual apps, second space are all included. These are some of the features many of the end consumers like about MIUI.

Performance of Redmi Note 6 Pro

The internals of the Redmi note 6 pro shares the same Snapdragon 636 processor from its predecessor. The phone comes with 4GB/6GB RAM options. While the processor is a workhorse for daily tasks and also offers good battery optimizations, it shows signs of age in terms of gaming. It is still capable of running most apps and games. PUBG is played on low graphics settings by default, while the game is extremely well playable, the graphics show weakness especially when you compare it with Smartphones like Mi A2 that runs on Snapdragon 660. I didn’t have any issue with multitasking. Call quality is good.

Battery life of Redmi Note 6 Pro

The strong forte of the Redmi Note series has always been the battery life. Like the earlier generations, the Note 6 Pro also packs in a 4000mAh battery. It has QuickCharge 3.0 support but the box comes with only 10 watts charger. You could buy a QC 3.0 charger if you want to speed up the charging time which is around 2 hours 15 minutes now with the box charger. Even for a heavy user, the phone should last a day and last longer to the next day on normal use.

Camera Performance of Redmi Note 6 Pro

Xiaomi has stuck to the same dual-camera setup of the Redmi Note 5 Pro, so you have the 12-megapixel + 5-megapixel at the rear. The later for depth sensing when taking portrait shots. The sensor though has been updated to 1.4-micron pixel size and dual autofocus. It has a f/1.9 aperture which theoretically translates to better low light compared to the f/2.2 on the Redmi Note 5 Pro. The selfie camera sees a dual camera this time with a 20-megapixel main camera and a 2-megapixel for depth sensing. AI has been the key talking point of the camera in 2018 and Xiaomi has covered it on Note 6 Pro as well. There is AI scene recognition that Xiaomi claims is adept at recognizing 32 scenes. The selfie camera too can see through 12 scenes using AI. Both the front and back have an AI toggle. The Redmi Note 6 Pro improves upon its predecessor which already had an impressive camera. Day light pictures offer decent details and the right amount of exposure levels. There is an auto HDR mode to balances out for evenly good-looking pictures. AI also was capable of screen recognition to get the right levels for what the camera sees. Edge detection was good in portraits. There is an option to adjust the level of blur, add light trails, and adjust studio lighting. [gallery link="file" columns="5" ids="14388,14389,14390,14391,14392"] Selfies come out good, the portrait mode also works well for the front camera. There is also auto HDR here. Redmi Note 6 Pro can take videos up to 1080p. EIS option is available. Here is a sample with and without portrait mode on the selfie camera.

Verdict:

Redmi Note 6 Pro is a minor update to its illustrious predecessor – it brings in the notch, bigger display and slightly improved camera with AI onboard. Throughout this year, Redmi Note 5 Pro has been my most recommended phone under ₹15K. With a larger vivid display, solid battery life, impressive camera, the Redmi Note 6 Pro is yet again a dependable buy. Yes, there is tight competition from Honor 8X but if you put your hard earned money on this phone, you won’t be disappointed. It’s a safe buy. . ]]>

Redmi Y1 Gaming Review plus Heating Test – Is this a better budget gaming device?

Lakshmi Rajan — Tue, 07 Nov 2017 07:23:33 +0000

Redmi Y1 FAQ : Everything You Need To Know | Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 05:18:27 +0000

You can also watch our unboxing and first impression video below.

https://youtu.be/NtTu0ENvv4M

Question: What are the different colors Redmi Y1 is available?

Answer: It is available in gold and dark grey colors.

Question: What is the display size and resolution?

Answer: Redmi Y1 has a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with 1280×720 pixels HD resolution translating to a 236 pixels per inch.

Question: Does Redmi Y1 has a metal body or plastic body?

Answer: Redmi Y1 has a polycarbonate body in short yes, a plastic body.

Question : What is the weight and thickness of Redmi Y1?

Answer: Redmi Y1 weighs 153 grams and measures 153 x 76.2 x 7.7 mm.

Question: What display settings are available in Redmi Y1?

Answer: The display setting has brightness level, reading mode, contrast and colors adjustments, text size control and options to double tap screen to wake and auto screen rotation.

Question: Does Redmi Y1 has Blue filter ?

Answer: Yes, there is blue filter in the display settings which reads as reading mode. Users can schedule the time to automatically kickstart the reading mode at particular time and also auto-enable reading mode for certain apps.

Question: What is the price of Redmi Y1? Where can I buy?

Answer: The price of Redmi Y1 in India is Rs 8,999 for the 3GB variant with 32GB storage and Rs 10,999 for the 4GB variant with 64GB storage.

Question: What size SIM cards Redmi Y1 accepts? Can I add a microSD card?

Answer: Redmi Y1 has two SIM slots and a dedicated slot for microSD card.

Question: Does it have Corning Gorilla Glass protection?

Answer: Yes, the display comes with Corning Gorilla glass 3 protection

Question: What is the processor used in this smartphone?

Answer: Redmi Y1 is powered by Snapdragon 435 SoC with Adreno 505 GPU. There is a 3GB/4GB RAM variants.

Question: What is the internal storage of Redmi Y1?

Answer: 32GB/ 64GB internal storage depends on the variant you buy with an option to expand via microSD card.

Question: Does Redmi Y1has Gyroscope sensor?

Answer: Yes, it has Gyroscope sensor.

Question: Does Redmi Y1 support VR?

Answer: Yes, Redmi Y1 supports virtual reality.

Question: Is the buttons back lit?

Answer: The Redmi Y1 buttons are not backlit

Question: What USB type does it use?

Answer: It uses microUSB port.

Question: Does it have pulse notification light?

Answer: Yes, Redmi Y1 has notification light.

Question: What are the camera specifications of Redmi Y1 ?

Answer: Redmi Y1 has for primary rear camera a 13 MP lens, f/2.2, phase detection autofocus, LED flash. capable of fullHD 1080p videos The selfie camera has 16-megapixels , f/2.0 aperture with soft LED flash.

Also watch : Redmi Y1 Camera Review with Samples

https://youtu.be/0iLLSWH8auY

Question: Is there beauty mode in Redmi Y1?

Answer: Yes, there are beauty modes in Redmi Y1 camera app. There is a Smart and Pro feature for beautify.

Question: Can we take bokeh images with Redmi Y1?

Answers: There is no separate bokeh mode for Redmi Y1

Question: Does the camera has OIS?

Answer: No.

Question: Can we take 4K videos in Redmi Y1?

Answer: No.

Question: What are the connectivity options? Does it support VoLTE?

Answer: Yes, Redmi Y1 supports VoLTE. Other options include Bluetooth, A-GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/

Question: Does Redmi Y1 has FM app?

Answer: Yes

Question: How to take screnshots in Redmi Y1?

Answer: Press and hold the power and volume button together to take a screenshot. There is also an option to take a screen shot with swiping down three fingers gesture.

Question: Can we take long screenshot in Redmi Y1?

Answer: Yes, we can take long screenshot.

Question: Does it support USB OTG?

Answer: Yes, Redmi Y1 supports OTG and you can connect the USB drive to it.

Question: What is the battery capacity of Redmi Y1?

Answer: Redmi Y1 has a 3080mAh battery

Question: Does Redmi Y1 support fast charging?

Answer: No it has normal fast charging. 5V 2A.

Question: Does it have power saver modes?

Answer: Yes it has a battery saver mode in the battery settings.

Question: Does it have IR blaster?

Answer: Yes, there is a IR blaster in Redmi Y1

Question: Is Redmi Y1 Waterproof?

Answer: No, Redmi Y1 is not waterproof.

Question: How is the call quality?

Answer: Call quality of Redmi Y1 is good.

Question: Does it support one hand UI?

Answer: Yes it supports.

Question: Does Redmi Y1 have fingerprint scanner?

Answer: Yes it has fingerprint scanner at the rear.

Question: Does Redmi Y1 support App lock?

Answer: Yes, it supports app lock.

Question: What OS does it run?

Answer: Redmi Y1 runs on stock Android Nougat 7.1.2 with MIUI 8.5 out of the box. MIUI 9 is scheduled to arrive second week of November.

Question: Does Redmi Y1 support two Whatsapp in the same phone?

Answer: Yes it has a Dual Apps feature that duplicates Whatsapp into two instances and also practically any apps to two instances.

Question: Does Redmi Y1 support call recording?

Answer: Yes, it supports call recording.

Question: Does Redmi Y1 support NFC?

Answer: No, NFC is not supported.

Question: Does Redmi Y1 has split screen feature?

Answer: MIUI 9 will bring split screen or multi screen feature to Redmi Y1 and other Xiaomi Smartphones running on MIUI.

Question: Does Redmi Y1 have Dolby Atmos support?

Answer: No, Redmi Y1 does not have Dolby Atmos but the audio quality is pretty good and loud.

Question: Does Redmi Y1 have heating issue?

Answer: There is no noticeable heating issue in Redmi Y1 ]]>

Redmi 4A FAQs – Everything You Need to Know

Lakshmi Rajan — Thu, 30 Mar 2017 18:04:18 +0000

paisa vasool or blockbuster model. Here are some of the commonly asked questions about the Redmi 4A answered.

Question: What are the different colors Redmi 4A is available?

Answer: Redmi 4A is available in three color options – Dark Grey, Gold and Rose Gold

Question: What is the display size and resolution?

Answer: The Redmi 4A has a 5-inch IPS LCD display offering a 1280 x 720 pixels HD resolution with a 296 pixels per inch (PPI)

Question: What display settings available?

Answer: The display settings has brightness control, Reding mode, Colors and contrasts which offer three settings – automatic contrast, increased contrast and standard, Text size adjustments that can go from XS to XXL.

Question: What is Reading Mode in Redmi 4A?

Answer: Yes, there is bluefilter option and Xiaomi calls it Reading mode. It can be set manually and a start and end time can also be set. Interestingly, it can be applied to all apps or you can choose particular set of apps. Whenever you open those selected apps, the display automatically goes to reading mode and reverts back to normal when you close the app.

Question: What is the price of Redmi 4A? Where can I buy?

Answer: Redmi 4A is priced at Rs 5,999 and is available on Amazon.in and Xiaomi’s own store in India , Mi.com/in.

Question: What size sim cards, Redmi 4A accepts? Does it has dedicated microSD card support?

Answer: It supports hybrid dual-nano SIM (Nano SIM / MicroSIM) with 32GB of internal storage. So you can use either two SIM’s or can use one SIM and the second SIM slot can be used to house a microSD card.

Question: Does it have Corning Gorilla Glass protection?

Answer: No Redmi 4A does not have Corning Gorilla Glass protection but it does have an unnamed strengthened glass.

Question: What is the processor used in this smartphone?

Answer: Redmi 4A is powered by Qualcomm MSM8917 Snapdragon 425 SoC mated to an Adreno 508 GPU, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage with an option to expand via microSD card.

Question: Does Redmi 4A has Gyroscope sensor?

Answer: Yes, it has Gyro sensor.

Question: Does Redmi 4 support call recording?

Answer: Yes Redmi 4 supports call recording. The setting can be accessed in the call settings. You can record all calls automatically or from selective numbers.

Question: Is the buttons back lit?

Answer: No, the buttons are not backlit.

Question: What USB type does it use?

Answer: It supports microUSB port not USB-Type C

Question: Does it have notification light?

Answer: Yes, it has notification light.

Question: What are the camera specifications of Redmi 4A?

Answer: Redmi 4A has a 13-megapixel rear camera with f/2.2 aperture, autofocus and LED flash and a 5-megapixel selfie camera. The rear camera can take 1080p videos.

Question: What are the connectivity options? Does it support VoLTE?

Answer: Yes, Redmi 4A supports VoLTE. Other options include Bluetooth, A-GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi direct, FM etc.

Question: How to take screnshots in Redmi 4A?

Answer: Press and hold the power and volume button together or go to quick shortcuts and there is a screenshot option that can be tapped to take a screenshot.

Question: Does it support fast charging?

Answer: No, it does not support fast charging.

Question: What is the storage? How much is user available?

Answer: It has 16GB of internal storage with 10.43GB user available.

Question: Does it support USB OTG?

Answer: Yes, it supports OTG and you can connect the USB drive to it.

Question: Does it have power saver modes?

Answer: Redmi 4A has a battery saver mode.

Question: Does it have IR blaster?

Answer: Yes, it does have an IR blaster.

Question: How is the call quality?

Answer: Call quality of Redmi 4A is very good.

Question: Does it support one hand UI?

Answer: Yes it supports one hand UI. The display can be reduced to 4-inch or 3.5-inch

Question: Does Redmi 4A has fingerprint scanner?

Answer: No, it does not have a fingerprint sensor.

Question: Does Redmi 4A support App lock?

Answer: Yes, it supports app lock and you can use password or pattern lock to secure apps.

Question: What OS does it run?

Answer: Redmi 4A runs on Android Marshmallow based MIUI 8.1 .

Question: Does it have Second Space MIUI 8 Feature?

Answer: Yes, it does have Second space feature that allows to have two phones within a phone.

Question: Does it support two whatsapp in the same phone?

Answer: Yes it supports two Whatsapp app. You can enable it via Dual apps settings or Second space settings.

Question: What is Dual apps in Redmi 4A?

Answer: Dual App features allows to have two accounts or instances of the same app running at the same time. Question: Q) What are the full specifications of the Redmi 4A? Answer: Here is the full specification list of the Redmi 4A.

Dimensions: 139.9 x 70.4 x 8.5 mm
Weight: 131.5g
Display: 5-inch 720p IPS LCD, Reading mode
Chipset: Quad-core Snapdragon 425 chipset clocked at 1.4GHz
GPU: Adreno 508
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 16GB, microSD card slot
Rear camera: 13MP, f/2.2 aperture, LED flash, Full HD video recording
Front camera: 5MP, f/2.2 aperture
Sensors: Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Proximity, Ambient light sensor, Infrared
Connectivity: LTE, (Hybrid) Dual-SIM, GPS, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, microUSB
Battery: 3120mAh non-removable
Others: MIUI8

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Mi Max Review – The King Kong like no other

Lakshmi Rajan — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 12:57:52 +0000

When Samsung launched the Galaxy Note back in 2011, the 5.3-inch display looked massive and many even ridiculed its size as impractical. Six years later, the 5.5-inch display is a comfortable size for many. So what would be the next BIG be? Many companies have tested display sizes beyond 6-inch but not been very successful. Anything above 6-inch is a big challenge, people might take shot at the Smartphone as a tab if proper attention is not paid to design. Xiaomi thinks they have the perfect next big with Mi Max. At 6.44-inch it has a super big screen but is it practical as a phone? I figure it out in this Mi Max review.

Design, Build and Display

Aluminum body
173.1 x 88.3 x 7.5mm
203 gms

On paper, the 6.44-inch can be intimidating, many questions shoot over your head. Will it look awkward? Can we pocket it? Will it be heavy? What about the ergonomics? No. Yes. No. Good. The Mi Max is an oversized version of the popular Redmi Note 3, which is a good design reference to lean upon. Like Note 3 which accommodated a large 4000mAh battery and yet maintained a slim profile and an ergonomic body, the Mi Max too surprises us with a 7.5mm thickness and weighing 203 grams in spite of the big real estate and a 4850mAh battery lurking inside. There is always a concern about pocketability, I mostly drive on my bike and wear jeans and I never felt any discomfort carrying the Max in my jean pocket and pulling it out while sitting on the bike, that should address the basic concern about the device. The design is not particularly compelling but the stress is more upon making it an ergonomic, practical big phone for use. The metal jacket is a neat clothing and the double chamfered edges and rounded corners along with a slim profile makes it easy to use. The imposing big display is the attention grabber and the front has the capacitive buttons at the chin, the 5MP selfie camera, ear piece grille and host of sensors on the top. The bottom houses the pin hole speaker grill, a microUSB port and a microphone. While there is the grill on either side, the right side houses the speaker and the left side is for balancing out the design as well as holds the microphone. Moving to the top, we have the 3.5 mm audio jack, infra red port and a microphone. The bottom of the rear has the Mi branding, at the center of the top half has the fingerprint sensor and at the corner sits the camera and dual-LED flash. The top and bottom has plastic caps and cover the antenna but the color spills over seamlessly between the metal and plastic construction.

6.44-inch IPS LCD display
1920 x 1080 pixels
342 ppi pixel density
74.8% screen-to-body ratio
Gorilla Glass 3
Reading mode
Sunlight display

The the huge display has a fullHD resolution translating to 342 pixel per inch, the screen to body ratio makes the Smartphone handy. The display is protected by Gorilla Glass 3 and a big display comes good for media consumption especially reading. There is a reading mode that turns on the blue filter and the display offers good sunlight legibility and the sunlight display adjusts the display according to the ambient light. The color reproduction is good too.

Software and UI

Android OS, v6.0
MIUI 7
Can be updated to MIUI 8 (am running MIUI 8 on my device)

Out of the box as of now, the Mi Max comes with the MIUI 7 running on Android Marshmallow but you can head over to the Xiaomi official forum and download the global beta MIUI 8 ROM and set it up. The MIUI 8 is a charm. It brings back the ‘Me’ in MIUI with all the user friendly features. If you are skeptical about the beta, you can wait till Mi India rolls out the stable version pretty soon. Xiaomi has introduced a Quick ball feature, a combination of five customizable gesture shortcuts that can be moved around the sides of the screen. Personally, I don’t use the feature but for those who think the display is too big for easy access, the Quick ball can come really handy when you start using it. There is also one-handed mode for those who care for it. My best pick of the MIUI 8 is the Dual apps feature, that replicates a mirror of any app and allows you to run two accounts or sign-ins. And there is a Second space, just in case you need your own comfort zone, simply put you get two phone within a phone. The scroll screenshot makes life easier, allowing you to take a screenshot of the entire webpage. There are new additions to the video edit tool, a very versatile calculator, all this put together makes MIUI 8 an enjoyable experience and brings back the original love for MIUI I felt when I first used the Mi 3.

Performance

Snapdragon 650
Hexa-ccore processor
two 1.8Ghz ARM Cortex A72 + four 1.2GHz ARM Cortex A53
Adreno 510 GPU
3GB LPDDR3 RAM
32GB ROM
microSD card support up to 128GB
4850mAh battery
5V/2A charging

The Mi Max comes in two variants – a Snapdragon 650 + 3GB ROM and another a Snapdragon 652 + 4GB but what I got here for review is the 650 and that is what available in India right now to buy. The internals are almost identical to the Redmi Note 3, which in itself is a very good pick at its price. Talking about the performance, the Mi Max is clearly intended for media consumption and browsing. There are set of people who simply love big displays, haven’t we seen people who use tablets as a Smartphone? Well, Mi Max offers a respectable replacement for tablet size but still maintaining the look and feel of a Smartphone. Yes, it is super big but still it is not insanely big and unwieldy as a tablet for everyday use as a phone. https://youtu.be/LOcWotMnm1s So why a big display? what advantage it brings in? Simply put, you get to see more information on your screen. Like you get more cells on your excel sheets, you can view more conversations on the WhatsApp messages and it gives an immersive experience while playing games or watching movies. Talking about gaming, it performed fairly well even handling heavy games like NOVA 3 decently well. You see minor detailing in games graphics better, it’s enriching as a media consumption device. The call quality is pretty good and the single side-firing speaker is decent enough. The 32GB on-board storage also helps in stacking more games and videos in the device plus there is a microSD card support, though opting for a microSD card would require you to sacrifice one SIM, since it uses a hybrid SIM slot. The fingerprint recognition works well and I don’t even remember if at any times it failed to recognize my ID. A big phone can accommodate more battery and Xiaomi has made good use of it with a 4850mAh battery. On my regular days, I don’t even charge the phone full, a 50% charge stands good for a day even at heavy usage with WiFi and data constantly on and syncing. Surprisingly, while the hardware supports quick charge 3.0, there is no supporting adapter thrown in the box. Overall, I had no issues with the Mi Max on performance scale.

Camera

16MP rear camera
f/2.0 aperture
Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF)
5MP front camera
f/2.0 aperture

The Mi Max has a very capable camera for the price it comes at. Images are fairly well detailed and sharp with a nicer color reproduction. The outdoor photos in good sunlight comes naturally well. When getting up close, the focus struggles a bit but switch to the manual mode and play with the focus, it gets bang on. Like almost all the Smartphones, the Mi Max too struggles at low light but the indoor shots under not so optimum light levels are still manageable and presentable. The picture on the right is shot on auto mode while the right has HDR at work. The HDR does a good job at bringing the picture alive. While the camera app does not offer dozens of presets, there are many filters to have some fun with. Apart from HDR, there are panorama and beauty mode for both front and rear.

Conclusion

To be honest, the Mi Max is not for everyone and it is not supposed to be either. While there are half a dozen phones with screen size 6-inch and above, either they have mediocre specs or costlier. The Mi Max gets everything right in terms of hardware and price and is at an enviable position of being unchallenged in this super-big segment offering amazing value for money. That makes Mi Max a clear winner, a KingKong like no other.]]>

Xiaomi Mi 5 launched in India at Rs 24,999; First phone in India to run on Snapdragon 820

Lakshmi Rajan — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 04:16:44 +0000

11am on 6 April as part of Mi Fan Festival to celebrate Xiaomi’s sixth anniversary. Later it will be made available in other e-commerce platforms. Talking about the new device, Hugo Barra, Vice President, Xiaomi, “We are so excited to bring to India the most beautiful device we have unveiled so far, and only within a month of its global launch. Mi 5 is the perfect embodiment of high performance and a beautiful, lightweight design. It has been in the making for 19 months, and has several tech breakthroughs built into it, like the 4-axis OIS camera.” One of the key highlight of the Mi 5 is the design language. It’s made of 3D glass body, strengthened by Corning Gorilla Glass 4 on both the sides. The sweeping curved edges gives an elegant look and gives a smooth transition from glass to metal with an almost bezel-less screen. The Mi 5 is very light and weighs only 129 grans and is 7.25mm in thickness in spite of the 3000mAh battery pack inside. In Mi 5, Xiaomi has accommodated the fingerprint scanner at the front at the capacitive home button. It features a 5.15-inch display with a 1080p resolution. The display has a 600-nit brightness due to the 16 LED lights behind its LCD display. The device is also the first from Xiaomi to run on Android Marshmallow with MIUI 7 above it. The Snapdragon 820 delivers an Antutu score of over 113,000, and promises great performance including gaming capabilities aided by Adreno 530 GPU. Mi 5 is also the first Xiaomi smartphone to ship with UFS 2.0 high-speed flash memory and also features USB type-C. On the camera side, it is equipped with a 16MP rear camera with Sony IMX298 sensor, and features Deep Trench Isolioation (DTI) , a pixel-to-pixel isolation technology for color separation. Another remarkable addition is the 4-axis Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), I tested it at the launch event and it works great especially for videos. Usual OIS technology on other phones uses 2-axis. For selfies, there is a 2-micron pixel 4MP front camera. Connectivity side, Mi 5 supports all India LTE bands and also supports VoLTE, NFC.It also features Qualcomm Quick charge 3.0 We have the device and look forward to the complete review in few days. ]]>

Xiaomi Mi5 India launch slated on 31st March

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 28 Mar 2016 17:31:05 +0000

I had spend some time with the Mi5 during the Redmi Note 3 launch and it’s a light-weight Smartphone that has all the credentials to be a flagship product and is the first device powered by Snapdragon 820 processor which promises greater performance. It would be interesting to see how they would price the Mi5 in India and the variants they would bring in. We will keep you updated on the launch day.

Xiaomi Mi 5 specifications:

5.15-inch display
Full HD (1920×1080)
Corning Gorilla Glass 4 on front and back
144.6 x 69.2 x 7.3 mm
129 grams
Quad-core Snapdragon 820 processor
Adreno 530
3/4GB RAM
32/64/128GB storage
Android 6.0 Marshmallow (MIUI 7)
16MP rear camera with Optical Image Stabilisation
4MP front camera (2um pixel size)
3,000mAh battery
USB Type-C
4G LTE with dual-SIM support

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Xiaomi Mi Bluetooth Speaker Review

Lakshmi Rajan — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 13:53:48 +0000

Specs

Length 168mm x Width 24.5mm x Height 58mm
270 grams
Aluminum alloy casing
dual 36mm drivers
Microphone built-in
85Hz – 20KHz frequency response
Max volume up to 90 db
1500mAh battery
Battery recharge time : 2.5 hours
Playback time : 8 – 8.5 hours

Xiaomi makes awesome phones that delivers more value for money. They also makes some interesting accessories and the barely six year old company has a wide portfolio of products across various categories. They already made their mark in the audio world with their impressive yet affordable headphones both in-ear and over-the ear types and their Bluetooth speaker continues their mettle in sound technology and true to their legacy makes it very affordable too. The pencil-box style speaker is ultra portable and weighs 270 grams, not a big fat. The package also includes a simple carry pouch in soft material which helps to keep the metal surface scratch free when not in use or packing it in your travel bag. Product designers can get quirky with Bluetooth speakers designs and experiment on it, Xiaomi has opted for a clean design. The Speaker is a rectangular block wrapped in aluminum case. Very practical to carry around or snug it in bag. It’s an all pleasing design but for those little bolder, it also comes in trendy shades. The one I have is a metallic golden color. The front speaker grille is bit fascinating, the uneven perforations at both the sides giving it a musical high. There is a subtle Mi logo at the front face. The right side has the power / play button, volume buttons which also combines as track changers and bluetooth pairing button,stacked vertically. Pressing the last button which is the pairing button also gives out a voice prompt indicating the level of battery remaining. When playing music, the power button has a blue glow around it, it turns red when the battery is critically low. On the left side is vertically stacked the Aux in port in case you want to connect a music player with a cable, a mic , microUSB port to charge the speaker and a small Mi logo. The bottom has two tiny footings. Pairing is a cinch, I faced no issue pairing it with various devices including different phone models and laptop. It uses Bluetooth 4.o technology which uses low-energy. The speaker charges via Micro-USB and it houses a 1500mAh battery, it takes around 2.5 hours to fully charge and while Mi has listed a 8 hours of play back time, it lasted a little more than that at 50% volume.The Mi Bluetooth Speaker does offer speakerphone capabilities so you can take calls through the speaker from your smartphone or tablet.

Performance

From the first listen, the Mi Bluetooth Speaker impressed with the full sound. The audio got better after some 30 hours of normal run-in. For a INR 1,999 ( US$ 30) Xiaomi’s bluetooth speaker offers more reasons to be happy. The audio can be cranked up really well without much distortion and can max out 90db, a good output for a room party. The vocals are very clear and I liked the way the classic ‘I just can’t stop loving you‘ crooned and the depth of the opening strings of Bryan Adam’s ‘On a day like today‘ or acoustics of MLTR’s ‘Breaking my heart‘. It balances well the tonal variations, though gets a little cloudy on high ranges. But overall delivers a well rounded, detailed audio especially considering it is from a 30$ device. It outperforms the expectations. I don’t use speaker phones but Mi Bluetooth allows you to attend call in case you would want to. The quality is on par with the most other devices in the segment, I would say decent. Calls were clear on both ends when the speaker was about arm’s length away, though when I called my wife she said it sounded a little away. But the bottom line, for those who use speaker phone, it works. I read that Xiaomi offers microSD card support to the variant sold in China but the model available in India doesn’t have that feature, would have been nicer if it had it. Mi claims it can play for 8 hours at 50 percent volume. When I tested, I found the Xiaomi guys where accurate on their words, I managed a little over 8 hours on a single charge. The speaker auto shuts when there is no music played for 20 minutes, thus helping conserving the battery. https://youtu.be/boq83cnKD48

Verdict

Durability, Style, affordability and good sound – Mi Bluetooth speaker has it all. For under US$ 30, the Mi Bluetooth speaker is a steal. I am quiet happy with its performance and Mi delivers yet another sheer value for money product. ]]>

Mi India's second made in India phone, Redmi Note Prime launched

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 14 Dec 2015 09:48:47 +0000

Redmi Note Prime Specifications:

Snapdragon 410 Quad-core 64-bit processor
5.5″ HD IPS display (1280 X 720 resolution, 267 PPI)
2GB of LP DDR3 RAM
16GB onboard Flash extendable to 32GB
3100mAh Lithium-ion Polymer Battery
4G dual SIM
13MP f/2.4 rear camera and 5MP f/2.2 front-facing camera

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This Guy Composed this Music right on the Smartphone's Lockscreen

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 06:05:25 +0000

Can you compose and create a music right on the lockscreen? This musician just did that and in a good note. Xiaomi Music Master theme places a piano, guitar and drums on the lockscreen but with limited scales to tap around. Muthukumar Anil, a Chennai based musician, decided to make a musical composition with these instruments, though it was bit tricky since he has to record the individual notes and mix it together. The final composition could very well be Xiaomi’s music anthem and why not? Check the video and decide yourself. https://youtu.be/C1lIFFgha0g]]>