Xiaomi has been known to deliver smartphones with great specifications under a great budget. And continuing to its tradition, Xiaomi has launched its another budget-friendly smartphone called Redmi 7 which comes with a good set of hardware and specifications. Redmi 7, along with Redmi Y3 (Review) launched this week with both of them sharing almost similar specifications.
However, Redmi 7 not as better than the Redmi Y3 in some aspects. And so, Redmi 7 has to face a great challenge in the market due to high competition from brands like Realme. So, today we will review it to find out is that really a worth to consider in place of some more phones in this range like Realme 3? Let’s find out!
Design and Display
Xiaomi has used apparently a redesigned concept for Redmi 7 and Redmi Y3. Unlike to what we have looked upon to the older mid-range phones in Redmi series, both of these phones carry design somehow similar to that of the Redmi Note series. Focusing on Redmi 7 only, it comes with a plastic body instead of a metallic one, however, it is made up of tough quality plastic. As from our view, there is no issue in the design of Redmi 7. It perfectly fits in hand as well in pockets too.
Due to its plastic body, it becomes easier for us to make a good grip to the phone. Also, Redmi 7 comes with curved edges making it easier to handle. However, Xiaomi has shifted some costs in the build quality of the phone. The buttons on the phone appear to be made up of cheap material also they are loosely settled to the phone. But at this price, I don’t think anyone should have any issue with that.
Redmi 7 comes in three color variants – Dream Blue, Cherry Red, and Bright Black. In addition to the ergonomic design, this smartphone is very slim giving it a premium look. Functional buttons on Redmi 7 are placed in such a manner that they are easier accessible. On the right side of the body, there placed the power and volume buttons while at the left of the panel there sits the SIM tray.
At the top of the body, you’ll find a 3.5mm headphone jack coupled with an Infrared Booster and secondary microphone. While at the bottom of the panel, you will find a single speaker grill which is pretty loud, a Micro-USB port for charging and a primary microphone.
Now coming to the display, Redmi 7 features a 6.26-inch HD+ (1520×720 pixels) resolution display with a 19:9 aspect ratio. It sports a waterdrop notch at the front and a physical fingerprint sensor at the back panel. However, the display on Redmi 7 isn’t protected by a Gorilla Glass unlike to that of Redmi Y3 which is one of its downsides.
Specifications and Software
As for the specifications, Redmi 7 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 which is based on the 14nm fabrication process which is coupled with Adreno 506 GPU. Furthermore, this phone comes in two variants – 2GB RAM and 16GB storage, and 3GB RAM and 32GB storage – each comes with a dedicated card slot.
As I mentioned above, it comes with a dedicated card slot this means Redmi 7 features a full-size SIM tray which let you to carry two NANO SIM card with an external MicroSD card at the same time. The phone also comes with good connectivity options as it includes dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS/ A-GPS, Infrared (IR) blaster and a 3.5mm headphone jack, also, it carries the standard suite of sensors.
On the software end, Redmi 7 runs on the latest MIUI 10 which is based on Android Pie out of the box with a couple of pre-installed apps including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. It features a clean and immersive UI which makes it easier for the user to handle this phone. Also, Xiaomi has provides some cool themes in its theme store to revamp the complete UI of the phone. It also supports a list of gestures and some additional features like Dual Apps, Quick Ball, etc.
Performance, Camera, and Battery Life
Being an under-budget phone, you wouldn’t expect much from Redmi 7. Even though, Xiaomi has coupled this phone with a good set of specifications. Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 SoC is capable enough to smoothly run day-to-day normal uses. Switching between daily used apps like Facebook, Twitter, Slack, and WhatsApp were as smooth as fluid. So, for a decent person looking for just a good performer, Redmi 7 is the best choice. But does it really perform well while playing games on it?
As far as we have come across to the Redmi 7, we were able to run some high-end games like PUBG: Mobile & asphalt 9: Legends smoothly in lowest graphics setting. This clearly means you can easily run lightweight apps and games very easily while compromising with heavy ones. However, if we particularly focus on Gaming performance, it was not that much satisfactory. This is what you get in the smartphones at this budget.
Now coming to the camera department, Redmi 7 houses a dual camera setup at the back panel which includes a 12-megapixel primary sensor and a 2-megapixel secondary sensor. While at the front, it houses an 8-megapixel selfie shooter for Selfies, Video calling, and Face recognization. The camera of Redmi 7 comes with different AI features including AI beautifications and more.
Coming specifically to the rear camera, in one word it’s “Amazing”. It’s really good to see how high-quality imaging and multiple camera sensors are being coupled in low-end devices to give an effective result. The 12MP + 2MP rear camera of Redmi 7 clicks amazing picture during the daylight. Pictures taken from Redmi 7 are sharp, vivid, and has pretty good details. However, if you examine the images closely, you might find a lack of details in that. But in this budget, the camera is incredible.
The portrait mode of the rear, as well as of front camera, were amazing. Edge detection is rather good and the bokeh fall-off is fairly natural. Xiaomi’s AI technology works perfectly in this budget-friendly phone. Similar to the rear camera, the front camera of Redmi 7 is also a good performer. During the daylight time, it captures great pictures with good details and clarity, however, in the low-light situation, you might feel a lack of details in that. Overall, the cameras bundled on the Redmi 7 works perfectly better than what we have expected. A thumbs up for that!
At another end, Redmi Note 7 is fuelled by 4,000mAh battery which is capable enough to run this phone through the day. However, it lasted for around 15 hours on continuous usage which includes few hours of Gaming, social media for about an hour, some online videos streaming and YouTube and about an hour of music playback which looks fairly good.
Verdict
As from our review, Redmi 7 is one of the best smartphones by Xiaomi to be available under a price tag of Rs. 10,000. It will offer you more than what you have expected. You get a great display, camera, and huge battery life. However, if you are looking for a phone to play games, we wouldn’t recommend it to you. But for day-to-day normal tasks, this is the best phone under a great budget.
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Talha Ali is your tech generalist, covering a wide spectrum of topics within the ever-evolving world of technology. With a curiosity for the latest innovations, industry trends, and breakthroughs. Whether it’s hardware, software, emerging technologies, or the intersection of tech with daily life, Talha’s articles provide readers with a well-rounded perspective on the dynamic landscape of the tech industry.
