Redmi Note 8 Pro first impressions: Has the potential to shake up sub-Rs 20,000 segment

The design looks even more premiumXiaomi took a conscious decision to revamp its dated phone design with the launch of the Redmi Note 7 Pro (Review). While the Note 7 Pro still looks quite classy, the company has decided to go a notch or two higher in that department with the Note 8 Pro. The curved glass back of the Halo White variant (the one we got for review) looks extremely elegant and makes the phone look a lot more premium beyond its price tag. The colour tones that the back reflects in different lighting is a thing to behold and something that’s hard to describe in words. The curvy design and the lack of any rough edges makes the phone good to hold.Display is sharpWhile the Redmi Note 8 Pro looks to compete with the Realme XT and has too many common elements, Redmi has opted to persist with a regular LCD screen, rather than going the Super AMOLED way as its competitor. Despite that, what we have here is an extremely sharp 6.53-inch Full HD+ display that also supports HDR. The contrast looks good and the colours look vibrant without going over the top. It feels a bit too big at times, but those who like large displays won’t be complaining at all.[caption id="attachment_7508791" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Redmi Note 8 Pro back comes with a dual-tone finish. Image: tech2[/caption]Raising the performance bar furtherWhile Xiaomi set a new performance benchmark in the sub-15K segment with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 SoC on the Redmi Note 7 Pro earlier this year, they have pushed the envelope further with the Redmi Note 8 Pro. While Qualcomm loyalists will frown at the usage of a Mediatek SoC in this device, the gamer in them wouldn’t be grumbling. While the Snapdragon 675 is an excellent all-round chip, its Adreno 612 GPU wasn’t exactly setting the gaming scene on fire. That is exactly what Redmi has looked to address with the Mediatek G90T SoC on the Note 8 Pro. Its Mali G76 quad-core GPU provides the necessary boost in gaming without a drop in the regular performance of the device. I will share the benchmark results in the review.Right variants and excellent pricingOften a good SoC can be handicapped by low RAM on a device. That won’t be the case with the Redmi Note 8 Pro as the company has decided to provide 6GB RAM even on its base variant. And that too at a starting price of Rs 14,999. There’s also a 6 GB/128 GB variant available for just 1K higher, a combination I personally prefer on midrange phones. And something that’s missing on Realme XT. 8 GB is often an overkill with midrange SoCs. Yes, there’s an 8 GB RAM variant of the Note 8 Pro too but you don’t have to opt for it just because you want 128 GB internal storage on your device.[caption id="attachment_7508781" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Quad-camera setup on the Redmi Note 8 Pro with a 64 MP primary camera. Image: tech2[/caption]Dedicated memory card slot and bundled fast chargerTurns out a lot of Indian smartphone users prefer a dedicated microSD card slot over and above two SIM slots; hybrid slots aren’t enough. And Redmi has provided just that in the Note 8 Pro. The battery capacity has also gone up to 4,500 mAh from 4,000 mAh. But what I liked best is the presence of an 18 W fast charger in the bundle. I had criticised its absence in my analysis of the Redmi Note 7 Pro. It’s good to see one here. With increasing battery capacities, fast chargers have become more of a necessity these days, and it’s good to see several brands bundle one in the package, and now, Xiaomi has provided one too with the Redmi Note 8 Pro.While there are a lot of things to like about the Redmi Note 8 Pro, it isn’t perfect. While there are no glaring shortcomings, there are areas where the company could have done better. Let’s take a quick look.Here are a few camera samples shot from the Redmi Note 8 Pro.