Redmi Note 8 & 8 Pro: Big upgrades and a sexy new look

Here it is, Xiaomi’s finally launched their brand new entries into the wildly popular Redmi Note line of smartphones. They’re called the Redmi Note 8 and Note 8 Pro. Here’s what you need to know about them.

Redmi Note 8 Pro

Let’s start with the more capable Redmi Note 8 Pro. Obviously, this is the update to the Redmi Note 7 Pro and it takes a pretty interesting turn when it comes to internal specs. Instead of something like a Snapdragon 7 series processor, the phone is powered by MediaTek’s new Helio G90T chipset–the first phone to do so. This processor is then mated to either 6GB or 8GB of RAM and 64GB or 128GB of UFS storage.

In addition to that, the Redmi Note 8 Pro features a massive 4,500 mAh battery that supports 18W fast-charging. Knowing that the phone will appeal to gamers–with its massive battery and gaming focused processor–the handset also packs a liquid cooling system.

For photos, the Redmi Note 8 Pro will become one of the first smartphones to feature Samsung’s new 64MP ISOCELL Bright GW1 camera sensor. Alongside the Realme XT that was announced yesterday, the Redmi will utilise this new sensor from Samsung that basically combines four adjacent 0.8-micron pixels via pixel binning to produce a photo that’s equivalent to a 16MP camera with 1.6-micron pixels.

Alongside this 64MP main camera, the device’s quad-camera layout includes an 8MP ultra wide-angle camera, a 2MP depth sensor and a 2MP macro camera. Up front, you’ve got a 20MP selfie shooter that’s tucked into the tiny notch at the top of the handset’s display.

Speaking of displays, the Redmi Note 8 Pro packs a large 6.53″ Full HD+ LCD display that obviously comes with slim bezels. This new screen boasts a screen-to-body ratio of 91.4%, which is pretty impressive. Other features include the ability to connect to both 2.4GHz & 5GHz WiFi networks simultaneously, a 3.5mm headphone jack, an IR blaster and NFC to name a few. It also has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner.

Redmi Note 8 Pro comes with an attractive new glass (Gorilla Glass 5) design that’s very reminiscent of the Redmi K20 smartphones, only without the two-toned design. There’s also a Pearl White one that I really like because from photos it looks a little like the Galaxy S10’s white finish.

The Redmi Note 8 Pro will be priced at CNY1,399 (~RM826) for the 6GB RAM+64GB Storage memory configuration, CNY1,599 (~RM942) for the 6GB RAM+128GB storage variant, and CNY1,799 (~RM1,055) for the top-spec with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. It will be available for pre-order in China from the 10th of September onward and will hit shelves in mainland China from the 17th of September onward.

There’s also a special World of Warcraft edition that comes with a special case and a whole bunch of goodies.

Redmi Note 8

If you want something a little smaller and don’t need all that extra power, the Redmi Note 8 was designed for you. Up front, the screen comes down to 6.3 inches but it still pushes a resolution of Full HD+. Inside, you’ll find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 processor at its heart (same as the Mi A3) that’s mated to either 4GB or 6GB of RAM, with either 64GB or 128GB of internal storage.

Keeping the lights on is a smaller 4,000 mAh battery, but like the Note 8 Pro it still supports 18W fast-charging over USB-C. In the camera department, the phone gets a downgrade to just 48MP for its main camera. That said, it’s still a quad-camera setup and the other three cameras are the same as the Pro.

It also retains a lot of the useful features from the Redmi Note 8 Pro including the IR blaster, and 3.5mm headphone jack. It also retains the new glass body, but the camera module has been moved to the side which makes it look a lot more like the Mi 9 SE.

But, this spec drop does come with a lower price tag as the Redmi Note 8 will have prices starting from CNY999 (~RM588) for the base model with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, CNY1,199 (~RM706) for the 6GB RAM+64GB storage variant, and CNY1,399 (~RM826) for the top spec 6GB RAM+128GB storage configuration.

[SOURCE, 2, 3]