Redmi Note 5 Pro has been the bestseller smartphone of India in 2018 and Xiaomi has made a strong mark in the numbers of units sold. The camera and performance have been the strong points of Note series. With Redmi Note 6 Pro, Xiaomi has again shown the aggressive side in the pricing which is also attributed to the competition from Realme phones in the budget segment (under 15000).
Redmi Note 6 Pro sees major improvements in the camera and comes with a notch type display. It also has support for Quick Charge 3.0. Let us find out if you should upgrade to this Quad camera all-rounder and we also compare the Redmi Note 5 Pro vs Redmi Note 6 Pro and will list down the major improvements. In this review of Redmi Note 6 Pro, we discuss both the pros and cons of the smartphone. With the improvement in the camera, there are few disappointments which we discuss below.
Let us first start with the unboxing and what we get in the box.
- Handset
- Charger (5V, 2A)
- MicroUSB cable
- Sim Ejector Pin
- Translucent Case
Below is the pointwise detailed review of the Redmi Note 6 Pro.
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Redmi Note 6 Pro: Display, Design and Build
Redmi Note 6 Pro comes with 6.26 inch Full HD Plus display which has good color reproduction and viewing angles and looks nice indoors but the sunlight legibility in average at best. On the front is a notch display with an aspect ratio of 19:9 but the notch is slightly big because it is holding the dual front camera(discussed in the camera review). We are not a fan of notches and definitely not a fan of big notches like this one as it limits the notifications icons on the top.
Redmi Note 6 Pro Notch Display
It is covered with 2.5D Gorilla glass and gives it a premium look. The build quality is strong and the back has a metal unibody design and holds the fingerprint sensor, dual camera setup and an MI branding at the bottom.
Redmi Note 6 Pro Display Outdoors
Redmi Note 6 Pro Back Panel
Design wise, Note 6 Pro looks exactly same as the Note 5 Pro with a difference of the notch in front. Redmi has introduced 4 color variants for the Note 6 Pro namely Black, Blue, Red, Rose Gold. Our favorite pick is the Blue color. From the front, all the variants look similar because of the black color bezels.
The other phones in the same budget like Nokia 6.1 Plus, Realme 2 Pro and Honor 8X have better looks and are more premium than the Note 6 Pro because of the glass design. If looks and in hand feel is the priority, then go for Nokia 6.1 Plus.
Design Score: 8/10
Processor and Performance
Here we discuss the performance aspect of the Note 6 Pro and we do not see anything surprising from Xiaomi as they decided not to upgrade from the Snapdragon 636 seen in the Note 5 Pro. We even saw some memes with Redmi sticking with the Snapdragon 636. At the launch, they explained that their team understand the 636 better now and reviewed and found it to be fulfiling their criteria of performance and quality.
No Doubt Snapdragon 636 is a powerful processor in the sub 15k range and scored 1,15,000 on the Antutu Benchmark. It handles games and multitasking well so no complaints.
So we do not have any complaints with Xiaomi not putting an upgrade here. The performance has been up to the mark and the phone smoothly handles multitasking, gaming with no heating or lag issues.
Note 6 Pro has been launched in 2 different RAM variants. We get 4 GB and 6 GB RAM options with both having 64 GB of internal memory. If you have heavy usage, then you can go for the higher RAM variant. There is no dedicated SD card slot to increase the storage so either you can use it as a dual sim phone or if you want to increase the storage, you only get to use it as a single sim device.
Performance Score: 8.5/10
Camera Performance
Note 5 Pro had the best camera which was the foremost reason for it hitting the big numbers and smashing all records. With Note 6 Pro, MI had a great responsibility of keeping the camera magic alive. It comes with a tagline of camera all-rounder and let us check if it stands tall to its claims. Let us now review the camera and look deeper into the performance of the sensor and inside details. Sample shots in both Outdoor and indoor lighting conditions have been added in the review.
The back of the phone looks exactly like the Note 5 Pro with dual camera setup placed vertically near the edge and a fingerprint sensor at the center.
Redmi Note 6 Pro Dual Rear Camera
Note 6 Pro has a dual rear camera with 12 MP which is the primary sensor and 5 MP as the depth sensor. The 12 MP sensor on the back comes with f/1.9 aperture and improved pixel size(1.4 micrometers). Higher aperture and increased pixel size, both help in improving the low light photography. The camera now comes with AI capabilities like AI scene detection, studio lightning that helps improve the overall look and feel of an image. AI feature was hit or miss in our initial tests, we think it will get better over time.
Redmi Note 6 Pro in outdoor lighting perfectly captures the edges and the colors are accurate as well.
Portrait shots are sharp with even the tiny details are well captured and presented with proper blur. In the camera app, you also get the option to adjust the blur effect and also change the background with stars, butterfly or other objects to manually add effects.
In our rear camera test, the pictures clicked are the best we have seen from any other phone under 15000. Images had punchier colors, crispness with plenty of details. The rear camera certainly gives more than the expectations.
On the front, we get a dual sensor with 20MP as the primary sensor and 2MP as the depth sensor. The front camera also lives well up to the expectation and click amazing selfie images. There is a 2MP dedicated sensor for portrait shots and the portrait selfie also have a good amount of details with proper color and crispness.
Camera surely sees a decent upgrade from the Note 5 Pro with improved aperture, pixel size and AI capabilities.
Camera Score: 8.5/10
Battery, Charging and Audio Output
The battery is always a strong point of the Note series and Note 5 Pro very well maintained the thickness and weight balance with a 4000 mAh battery, Note 6 Pro also does a good job with the same 4000 mAh battery size. Having the same processor as the Note 5 Pro, the battery backup is similar for around 2 days with medium usage and 1 to 1.5 day with heavy usage.
4000 mAh + Snapdragon 636 = 2 Days of battery backup
In our tests, we installed few apps, played few videos and music, small gaming sessions and 3 hours of calling to record a 1.5-day backup. On the charging side, we get a 5V 2Amps (10 w) charger in the box and the phone takes about 140-150 minutes to fully charger from 0 to 100.
The disappointment here is that Note 6 Pro ships with micro USB (no USB Type C) and even though the phone supports Quick Charge 3.0, the fast charger is not bundled in the box. If you have a fast charger then you can expect it to charge the device fully in less than 2 hours.
The speaker is located at the bottom and the audio quality is very loud and clear. The output did not see shivering at the higher volume.
Thankfully, Note 6 Pro has not ditched the 3.5mm headphone jack which is located on the top. The top of the phone also holds the IR blaster and a noise cancellation microphone.
Software
MIUI has not seen many lovers yet because of the bloatware that it comes with. MIUI 10 has seen some overall improvements in the features and Note 6 Pro is the first phone to ship with MIUI 10 pre-installed. You can read about the MIUI 10 here. We like MIUI for its features like dual apps, dual space etc but the UI looks terrible to us. So, if you also don't like how it looks then just install Nova launcher and a nice clean icons pack.
The software experience overall is smooth and nice. There is no lag with multitasking, heavy games also run fine. MIUI is a bit aggressive in killing apps to save battery so you may need to change those preferences according to your usage.
One big positive about Xiaomi software approach is that they have been providing the latest MIUI updates to more than 2-year old phone.
Security
This space also does not see any surprises like the trend of in-display fingerprint sensor which is building up now. The fingerprint sensor is located at the back and works with great accuracy and speed, you can instantly unlock your phone. Note 6 Pro also supports the face unlocking with the front camera which also unlocks the phone in less than a second but it is not a secure option and cannot be used in the dark places.
Pricing and Availability
Let us come to the most important part of this review and special thanks to Realme and Honor for being aggressive and giving stiff competition to Xiaomi that they have been forced to keep the prices in control.
The pricing of the Redmi Note 6 Pro is as follows.
| Variant | Pricing (in Rs) |
| 4GB - 64GB | 13,999 |
| 6GB - 64GB | 15,999 |
The smartphone is a Flipkart exclusive smartphone and you can buy it below link
Buy Redmi Note 6 Pro on Flipkart
Pros and Cons of Redmi Note 6 Pro
Pros:
+ Good Build
+ Powerful Chipset
+ Lag Free Performance
+ No Heating
+ 2 Day Battery
+ Good Front and Rear Cameras
+ Quick Charge 3.0 Supported
+ Case Provided in the box
Cons:
- No Dedicated MicroSD Slot
- No Type-C Port
Summary: Should You Buy Redmi Note 6 Pro?
When Note 5 Pro launched earlier this year, there was no phone in that range worth considering but things have changed fast and now plenty of options are available. Redmi Note 6 Pro is a good option at 13999 but not the best one out there.
If you are using Redmi Note 5 Pro right now then you should not buy Note 6 Pro because it is not a big upgrade. If you are using some other old phone and need a phone under 15000 which performs well, has great cameras, good battery backup then Note 6 Pro is perfect for you. If you need a better-looking phone then Realme 2 Pro, Nokia 6.1 Plus and Honor 8X are great options.
If you are already bored of the above options then consider Realme U1 or the upcoming Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 which is coming with a triple camera setup on back.
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