The Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus was presented to us by Gearbest which we unboxed earlier. The Redmi 5 Plus is also known as Redmi Note 5 in India, coming with amazing specs, features and giving great value for money. Xiaomi smartphones are known for giving great value for money, so this wasn’t a surprise to us. The Smartphone has been trending on shopping stores and it’s perfect for heavy users on a budget. Without further ado, lets dive right in and see what it has to offer.
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus Key Specs and Features
• Aluminum back, frame and plastic ends
• 5.99-inch FHD+ IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 1080 x 2160 pixels
• Android 7.1.2 Nougat, upgradeable to 8.0 Oreo
• Octa-core 2.0GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 625
• 4GB/3GB RAM
• 64GB/32GB built-in storage, upgradeable up to 128GB with SIM 2
• 12MP rear camera and 5MP front camera
• 4G LTE
• Fingerprint scanner
• 4000mAh non-removable Li-Po Battery
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus Design
When we unboxed the Redmi 5 Plus and gave our first impression, we saw everything that was in the cute orange box it comes with. The device itself sports an aluminium back and frame that’s quite attractive. However, the dual antenna lines separated the aluminium body from the plastic ends. The Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus reminds me of the Redmi Note 4 from the back, which is understandable since it’s the “Redmi Note 5.
The plastic ends won’t be easy to differentiate with the aluminium back on the Black version we have here, but it will be very visible on the Gold color. Nonetheless, the dual antenna lines reflects light beautifully. The device weighs just 180g because of it’s massive battery capacity. It measures 158.5 x 75.5 x 8.1 mm in dimension and isn’t as slim as the Redmi 5A Prime I unboxed earlier. The Redmi Plus doesn’t have a wow factor in terms of design, feels like the Redmi Note 4 all over again.
The bulging camera comes first on top at the rear, while the LED flash follows before the fingerprint scanner. All in a vertical position at the top corner, while Xiaomi’s Mi logo sits at the bottom corner. Speaking of bottoms, there’s a USB 2.0 port underneath the device with dual loudspeakers sitting side by side. Turning to the right, there’s the volume keys and power button. There’s a SIM tray by the left that has a hybrid card slot, letting you choose between a second SIM or a microSD. Finally, at the top, there’s a 3.5mm jack and the amazing IR blaster.
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus Display
The Redmi 5 Plus is one of the few 5.99-inch bezel-less smartphones that retail under $200. Unlike the Note 4, the Redmi 5 Plus is bezel-less with a massive screen. Boasting of 1080 x 2160 pixels in resolution and 403 pixel per inch density. The screen stretches up to 77.4% screen-to-body ratio, which is really impressive for a midrange.
The bezel-less display is one of the highlights here, while operating the device, the details, images and videos were as sharp as expected. The screen has an excellent contrast at 1431:1 and a maximum brightness of 555 nits. Although we experienced some washed-out colors and loss of contrast when we took the phone outside in the Sun. You have to increase the brightness to the highest level, even then a lot of details won’t be as sharp like when indoors.
The screen is protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 which enables scratch resistant and smooth overall scrolling while operating the phone. At the top bezel, we can see two sensors, a speaker grille and the selfie camera. Overall the screen on the Redmi 5 Plus is astonishing for a smartphone in its price range, offering clarity and sharp visuals.
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus Hardware and Software Performance
The Redmi 5 Plus houses Snapdragon 625 MSM8953 chip from Qualcomm just like most midrange smartphone from Xiaomi. There’s an octa-core processor clocking at 2.0GHz for a fast performance. We all know the Snapdragon 625 is based on 64-bit with a 14nm process technology. We put the phone to the test and everything works smoothly, the 4GB RAM space also helped for fast multitasking.
We stopped by AnTuTu and the device reached a total score of 63019, making it highly competitive with the Mi 5X. The Adreno 506 graphics processor handles graphics here, all the games we played came out really great. It also processes Full HD Movies with no glitch, the overall experience with the phone was amazing. We have the 64GB version, but there’s only 54.22GB available to store files. If that won’t be enough for you, be ready to let go of a SIM slot to upgrade up to 128GB with a memory card.
Like we revealed above, the Redmi 5 Plus runs on Android 7.1.2 Nougat operating system with the new MIUI 9. The MI user interface from Xiaomi is unarguably the best user interface on an Android device. It’s clean interface is noteworthy giving you the best experience ever, there are lots of customization options and advanced system tools you can use to enhance your experience. With the Dual Apps and Dual Spaces, we downloaded two WhatsApp app and other Apps twice.
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus Camera
The 12MP rear camera on the Redmi 5 Plus has f/2.2 aperture and 1.25 μm pixel size. The camera has so many shooting modes for different kind of shots, there’s Panorama, Timer, Audio, Straighten, Manual, Beautify, Group Shot, Tilt Shift and Night (HHT). There’s also 17 in-built filters available with live previews as usual, there’s also OIS and HDR. The camera really proved itself when outside, as photographs came out great but they were a little noise.
The 12MP camera can shoot portrait panoramic photos with a 180-degree field of view. With the HHT feature, night photographs were clear enough but not as sharp as expected. Nonetheless, there’s a LED flash to help out at night as well. We were able to record videos of 2160 pixels at 30 frames per second. The 5MP selfie camera has nice dynamic range, but we noticed a lot of noise on the selfies.
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus Battery
The Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus houses a non-removable 4000mAh Li-Po battery just like the Note 4 and supports the regular 5V/2A fast charging. The battery got up to 29% of the battery after 30 minutes of charging it, as usual Xiaomi didn’t fully utilize the Qualcomm fast charging feature the chipset came with. When it comes to endurance, the battery really did well, you can watch movies with high brightness and volume for over 14 hours.
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus General Features
The Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus has 4G LTE and supports band 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 40(2300) and 41(2500). It also has WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, GLONASS and Beidou. The FM radio on the device comes with FM recording, while the USB 2.0 supports USB On-The-Go as well.
Conclusion
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus might look like the Note 4 from afar, you might think it’s the same. But when you get to operate it, you’d get to experience the difference and see how cheap it is for its price.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
The Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus is available in 2 variants; lower model having 3GB RAM and 32GB ROM is presently available for order at $165.99 with a discount of 10%, while the top model with 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM is sold at $189.99 with a discount of 9%. Both variants can be purchased from GearBest.
Buy Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus with 4GB RAM for $189.99 on GearBest
Buy Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus with 3GB RAM for $165.99 on GearBest
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We have reached the end of this incredible review, so tell us what did you think of this new Redmi smartphone? Leave us your opinions in the comment box below.
