Redmi 4 was a very good choice for an entry-level mobile. It has a very good battery life and a decent camera for mobile priced under Rs 10k. Redmi 5 is a successor to Redmi 4 and it brings in a whole bunch of upgrades. But with the launch of Redmi Note 5, the choice is getting tougher. Redmi Note 5 has a better processor and a camera, and it is priced at 10k for the entry level. So if you are running on a very tight budget and cannot extend beyond 8k, will the Redmi 5 be a good purchase? Let’s find out in this review.
In the box – Redmi 5
- Redmi 5 Mobile
- SIM ejector Pin
- Micro USB Cable
- Charger
- Manuals
Design
It is the year of the full vision displays and Redmi 5 has got an 18:9 aspect ratio display on the front. It is made of metal and it is slightly larger than the Redmi 4. At the bottom, you would find the micro USB port with dual speaker grills housing one speaker and a mic. The top has the 3.5 mm audio jack and IR port. The left side has the hybrid sim slot while the power and volume buttons are on the right. The back has the fingerprint sensor below the camera. The body is made of anodized metal giving it a solid feel. The design is elegant and you would not have seen such a refined design in a mobile priced at under Rs 10000. The ergonomics are great and overall, the Redmi 5 is a finely crafted piece of gadget.
Display
Redmi 5 has a 5.7-inch display capable of 720p HD+ resolution. It has an 18:9 aspect ratio and the display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass. It has good viewing angles and direct sunlight readability. The brightness is good but the contrast is not great. Color saturation is good. The display glass is curved and though it looks beautiful, finding a good tempered glass is going to be an issue. Under normal conditions, you will find the display to be satisfying.
Hardware and Performance
The Redmi 5 is powered by Snapdragon 450 with Adreno 506 GPU. The mobile comes in 2 GB/3GB/4GB RAM variants with a combination of 16/32/64 GB respectively. Snapdragon 450 is a powerful entry-level processor. The hardware is perfectly optimized for the software and I did not find any noticeable lag in the UI. Apps load fast and switching between apps was also instant, though I had the 3/32 GB RAM variant. I threw in about 40 apps and 5 resource intensive games. The mobile got warm by about 7 degrees after 30 minutes of continuous gaming. The games did not show any signs of lag or frame drop in medium graphics setting. Quality of graphics and gaming experience is better on the Redmi Note 5, owing to a better processor and GPU. For an entry-level smartphone, the Redmi 5 has impressive performance.
The fingerprint sensor at the back is fast and accurate. It can detect a valid fingerprint from any direction. The mobile has all the usual set of sensor like the Gyroscope for VR, magnetometer, and compass for maps, etc…The loudspeaker is loud enough to play your ringtone and is good for listening to music or watching movies while you are indoors. It clocked more than 100 dbA in my tests. Redmi 5 does not ship with any earphones out of the box. I tested with multiple earphones and headphones and found the mobile to output good quality music.
The mobile is a good telephone as well. I did not experience any call drops while using Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone. Network latching was spot on and the call quality was also good. Overall, Redmi 5 would satisfy the buyer with its performance across multiple departments.
Camera
Redmi 5 has a 12 MP single camera with f/2.2 lens and 1.25 μm pixel size. This lens can click sharp shots with good color reproduction. The HDR images are good. It can shoot 1080p videos, but no EIS. The rear camera performance is impressive. The front 5 MP sensor is capable of shooting sharp and detailed selfies under good light conditions. It has an LED flash to assist under low light conditions. The camera UI is basic and it shows no signs of lag. Overall, for the price, this Xiaomi mobile has a good camera performance. Check out the camera samples below.
Software
Redmi 5 runs on the latest version of MIUI 9, but it is still based on Android Noughat. While most complain about the lack of latest Android version out of the box, it does not matter to me because the MIUI 9 offers a lot more than the base Android. MIUI 9 on Redmi 5 is smooth and has no lags. I have installed over 40 applications and filled the memory to the brim. The mobile was able to handle the software with no issues. MIUI 9 has some interesting features which add a lot of utility value to the user experience.
Battery
The mobile runs on a 3300 mAh battery which is much smaller than the Redmi 4. The stock charger can charge the mobile from 0 to 100% in about 2:30 hours. Once charged, the mobile can last for little over 1 day of moderate usage. On intensive usage, Redmi 5 gives a screen on-time of 4 to 5 hours. The battery life on the Redmi 4 was much more than this and I wish, the Redmi 5 had a larger battery capacity. If you are a moderate user, you would find peace with the battery performance of the Redmi 5.
Verdict
Redmi 5 is priced starting at 7999, but I would recommend the 3 GB variant which is priced at Rs 8999. There are not many mobiles out there in this price range that offer performance and camera experience like the Redmi 5. Redmi 5 offers a solid device, good display, good performance, decent camera and a satisfactory battery life. If you can extend your budget, go for the Redmi Note 5, which has a better processor and battery performance. But if you are on a tightrope, and if you decide to go for the Redmi 5, you will still not regret the choice.
