The Redmi Note 4 is undeniably the best bang for your buck smartphone priced under RM1,000. You get a decent sized 5.5″ Full HD screen and a frugal yet capable Snapdragon 625 processor with a generous amount of RAM and storage. If you’re waiting for its successor, it appears that Xiaomi is dropping the Redmi “Note” moniker so you won’t be seeing a Redmi Note 5 model anytime soon.
According to a thread posted by a MIUI Forum Supermoderator, Xiaomi has decided to drop the Note name on their 5.7″ sized budget phones. If you’re looking for a replacement, the “Redmi Note” lives on as the Redmi 5 Plus with an even larger display.
With smartphone makers moving towards “FullView” 18:9 display smartphones, Xiaomi has introduced their Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus. To recap, the Redmi 5 features a 5.7″ HD 720p display with a Snapdragon 450 processor, while the Redmi 5 Plus gets a 5.99″ Full HD screen (2160 x 1080) with a Snapdragon 625 unit.
The Redmi 5 Plus is basically the 18:9 successor of the current Redmi Note 4. The same Snapdragon 625 processor might be dated but it is still a reliable workhorse even by today’s standards. Like the current Redmi Note 4, it comes in two variants – 3GB RAM + 32GB of storage and 4GB RAM + 64GB of storage. Storage is still expandable via microSD via its secondary SIM slot.
In terms of optics, it gets a 12MP f/2.2 main camera and a front 5MP selfie shooter that comes with a soft flash. It still gets a huge 4,000mAh battery and it still charges via MicroUSB. Despite going bigger in screen size, the Redmi 5 Plus is still quite affordable in price. Xiaomi is pricing it at 999CNY (RM617) for 3GB RAM + 32GB storage and 1,299CNY (RM802) for 4GB RAM + 64GB storage model. You can expect Xiaomi to price it under RRM1,000 when it hits Malaysia. In case you’re wondering, a device that appears to be the Redmi 5 Plus was spotted on our Malaysian SIRIM database last month.
