Why Note 5 Pro still can be a killer deal under 10000?
A deep dive into an old beast.
You will say that why a 2018 smartphone discussion in June 2020. I have used many smartphones in the under 10000 range, but still, Note 5 pro is one of the most stable and reliable smartphones I have ever come across.
Design
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro is one of the first smartphones from the company in India to feature an 18:9 display, usually referred to as full-screen phones or bezel-less phones but in this era of fully bezel-less, punch hole and waterdrop notch display it might seem old to you so just like other 18:9 phones out there, Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro feels taller in shape.
Sporting a 5.99-inch front, the phone has a fair bit of bezels around the screen. Fortunately, it has mildly curved corners that don’t dig deep into your palm. The right edge houses the volume and power/lock/unlock buttons whereas the left edge has the SIM and storage slot.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro’s dual rear cameras have a similar setup like Apple’s iPhone X. (You know, MI get ‘inspired’ from Apple :D)
The metal back panel houses a vertical dual-camera setup on the top left corner. The setup is quite similar to the iPhone X and seems equally protruding. The pronouncing camera bump means you have to be extra careful while placing your phone on a rough surface as it may end up getting dented or scratched. Then there’s a fingerprint scanner at the center, followed by the Mi branding at the bottom.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 which shocked the Segment, wasn’t big on looks and so does it’s big brother. Otherwise, Redmi Note 5 Pro still performs well for its size. It fits well in palms and is light enough to carry around. Though, in comparison to some other new smartphones in the segments, I don’t like the Weight Distribution that much.
Camera
After all, it’s the first Redmi phone to sport a dual-rear camera. Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro sports a combination of 12-megapixel and 5-megapixel rear cameras. The two sensors come with f/2.2 aperture and f/2.0 aperture respectively. It comes with 1.25um sensors that allow the camera to capture more light than typical smartphone cameras. But that’s just the specifications.
In my usage, Note 5 Pro mostly color-accurate photos with a good dynamic range, and after the updates, the Camera also got the manual mode that enables the camera to shoot will manual ISO, White Balance, Focus but there is no option by default to change the shutter speed. But it does its job as per expectation pretty well. The camera performs fair in Night Mode too when the scene has less amount of noise. But in a noisy background, you are not likely to prefer the images.
The dual-camera setup allows you to create a DSLR-like shallow-depth-of-field effect and, surprisingly, portraits taken with the phone came out pretty good at this time too. A lot of phones promise the bokeh effect but don’t give a natural depth effect or struggle to get the sharpness of the subject right. Redmi Note 5 Pro still does a good job on this front.
In my opinion, its 20-megapixel front camera is still worth mentioning in the subsequent categories. There are a few things that I like about its Selfie Camera. First of all, the proper blend of the images with a proper amount of blur. (“Na Kam, Na Jyada”). Another thing I love about the camera is the depth mode, which takes really good selfies with the right depth effect. There’s a front flash as well, ensuring that selfies taken in low-light conditions look well lit.
The Video Camera performs well in good lighting conditions but suffers in low lighting. It offers up to 1080p 60 fps at back and 1080p 30 fps at the front. You can use Third Party Cameras to achieve 4K but it will not be that good as a regular 4K Video taken from a phone is.
Display
The 18:9 screen on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro has a Full HD+ resolution. It feels quite vibrant and is a treat for high-resolution multimedia streaming. The auto-brightness works pretty fast. The screen is slightly reflective, but that’s something you can easily let go of. One point to consider that it doesn’t have sAmoled Display (At the time of release, only premium phones offered Amoled) which is now available in the segment but still, I can say that the display is itself a charm.
Charging
It supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 but the charger provided in the box is 10 W, so you will have to buy an additional adapter which will cost you around 600. (Best Buy Link)
User Interface
After two major updates and many minor updates, Note 5 Pro now has the MIUI 11.0.3.0 with Android Pie. It runs buttery smooth. The one thing that will haunt you will be the Mi Ads, they are just too many, though now the number is lesser than before. Whatsoever, you will not face any major UI lag. I faced no issues in normal usage as of now. Though MI confirmed that Note 5 Pro will get neither the MIUI 12 Update nor the Android 10, there are loads of custom rooms from xda developers to update through TWRP recovery after unlocking the bootloader. I will write a separate blog on how to unlock the bootloader as it is a bit tricky. Here is the download link for MIUI 12 on Note 5 Pro.
Security
It has the fingerprint scanner at the back which is still so fast and it also provides the Face Unlock feature which is not as secure or accurate as of the other securities but still, it is manageable.
Performance
Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro is fast enough to date to handle your daily loads. During my regular usage, I didn’t come across any major performance lag. It handled graphic-intensive games like PUBG, COD with ease in Low/Medium settings with minor frame lags. Much simpler games like Temple Run and Subway Surfer ran fluidly on the phone.
On moderate to heavy usage, the phone delivered roughly one-and-a-half days of battery backup on the first year of usage. But now it delivers almost a day full battery life with regular usage and minor heavy usage. My usage included multimedia streaming, browsing, and instant messaging but as it is my secondary phone now, I don’t have all the heavy-duty applications in it, it is fairly fast for me as of now. If you’re a light user, you can easily make the battery last for a longer period.
Note that I was using the 4GB RAM phone. The 6 GB performs better in Gaming, Heavy Usage but the battery backup is more or less similar.
Verdict
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro still provides an on-point performance, battery life, and selfie camera in this era of high mid-rangers. The rear camera can be much better as some of the Mid-Range devices like POCO X2 which is just 3,000 more, provides a much better camera. But we have to keep in mind its age. If you are a regular user and don’t perform a hell lot of all the heavy-duty tasks, Note 5 Pro can be a handsome deal for you. I am still using it and goes like a charm.
Pricing & Buying Link
It got initial pricing as 15000 for 4 GB 64 GB & 17000 for 6 GB 64 GB but now the price has decreased. In most of the sales, you can get it under 10000.
Mi Official Site: Currently out of stock. Once in stock, you can get it in 7999.
Flipkart: In the offer time, you can get you under 10000.
Amazon: Currently unavailable. In the offer time, you can get it under 9000.