Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

Advantages: + This is a new model of Redmi Note. If the last Note 4x was more like Restayl Note 3 Pro, then this is a “new body”.
+ Processor. At last, Xiaomi had a sensible thought and she didn’t put a Snapdragon 625 here. As a result, we have a Snapdragon 636, a new architecture, a little stripped down SP 660. I had a Note 3 Pro (on SP 650), the speed difference with it is about 50 %, in favor of 5.
+ Screen. A good, high-quality 5.99 "screen on the IPS matrix. Yes, this is not AMOLED, an uncritical difference is visible in direct comparison, the latter gives a more lively picture. But, this is immediately forgotten when you stop comparing.
+ Camera. For what Xiaomi always hayali, good phones, but the camera is mediocre. Now the camera has seen the sight simply. This applies to shooting with poor lighting. Selfie camera is also very much improved. During the day you can see the pores on the face. I had both Note 3 Pro, Note 4x, Note 5 and Mi8 SE subflagman at the same time, and I made a detailed comparison of them in different situations. Ya.Disk https://yadi.sk/d/jVkqnT7sp1y88w. 4 to 1 is a comparison in one file, but who wants the details is the originals.
+ Energy efficiency. Glad her on a par with other improvements. If earlier the phone was charging every 1.5 days, now it surely survives 3 days. Until now, it is not customary to rarely charge.
+ Dimensions. Video, photo look very convenient. A matter of habit and the girls will be quite convenient.
+ Gestures. At first it is unusual, you think that for nonsense. Now - as before I lived without them, conveniently. Just merge with the phone.
+ Unlock on face. It works according to data from the camera. Does not work at night. During the day it works very fast, you press the power button and immediately the desktop, i.e. recognition of a split second.
+ MIUI. Some hayat, but I really like it. Thought out, before there was a supporter of custom firmware (cyan). All that is needed from the standard applications already exist. In the settings a lot of necessary amenities. Nimble, though he loves RAM.
+ Price. For all these charms ask quite a bit. I took in the Chinese stores a global version of 4/64 in black for 11,500.

Disadvantages: The phone itself has a minimum of flaws, but nonetheless:
- LED notifications.If earlier it was multi-colored, the colors of the events could be customized and you could understand how important the event was and not to touch the phone once again. Now it is the same color. Not only that, but the color is also faded white, you will not always notice it either. As a result, you have to turn on the phone once again to check whether someone has written to you or maybe they called?
- Random from Xiaomi. The company likes to put the same components in one and the same model (now it’s about the phone for Europe, not about the Indian version). No, the processor and memory will always be the same everywhere. It is for the type of camera screen. They may be from different suppliers. Yes, they will be of approximately the same level, i.e. No one will put a screen or a camera from a low-budget phone in this model. But let's say you read reviews or even hold someone's Redmi Note 5 in your hands, you liked it, you went and bought the same one, and you have a few other shades of color rendering or the camera shoots a little differently, not like you liked . But, fortunately, this trend on Note 5 is minimized, judging by the results of voting on 4pd, and the components are relatively stable all the same. In my example, I can say, before you buy two identical Note 4x, and the screens show differently, one has warm tones, the other has cold tones. Settings, firmware identical. :)
- Yes, I wrote above that size is a matter of habit. But it would be nice to release a compact version of this smartphone, say 4.5-5 inches. As was the case with Redmi Note 4x and Redmi 4 Prime. There are quite a few acquaintances to whom I propose to switch to Xiaomi, they say, yes, a good phone, but I don’t need such a “shovel”, where will I get it. Well what can I say, a file will not reduce it ...

Comment: There was a choice between Mi 8 SE and Redmi Note 5. I chose Note 5. Although Mi 8 SE is a bit better in everything, of course, but Note 5 also has good characteristics that are enough for the eyes. I will not hide that I always want better. But Mi 8 SE doesn’t have one thing - such a viable battery, this is a significant factor. I think the worst thing for everyone is to remain without a charge at the right time, then all the advantages of steep processors and cameras disappear. I will not be cunning, Mi 8 SE is still 60% more expensive, it is also not a small difference.
My resume is: a very balanced phone for your money. There comes a time when mid-budget phones have grown very high in performance, both in speed and cameras, and on the heels of flagships, a reasonable question arises, do I need a flagship for much more money, if that is enough ? Also, if earlier, who remembers, Redmi Note 3 Pro was a hit, then it is an even bigger hit. You can safely take it, money will not be thrown away to the wind.

Advantages: Screen
Performance
Price
aptX

Disadvantages: For the price only advantages

Comment: I have been using this device for three months now and are still delighted! During the day, the charge level rarely drops below 50%. Performance is up to par, though I don’t put toys on it so that children don’t have the temptation to beg my phone.

Great screen. Here is a great and nothing to say here. I compared directly with the Samsung Galaxy s8 - the picture is different, but which one is better I did not understand. Aspect ratio is well suited for modern applications and the web - watching the instagram tape, reading articles and corresponding in instant messengers is much more convenient with a long screen.

Great loud speaker. So loud, that I put on full volume only when I ride a bike, and the phone is in my backpack.

It was also very pleased that at the end of August, support for aptX came with the new firmware (yes, it was not there before, but the setting, which in the developer’s tools, even though it was forced to choose aptX as a codec, but when headphones are connected, all Equal to SBC). Straight great thing paired with meizu EP52. The sound delivers, but in this case I am not a gourmet, if that.

I also recently tried unlocking the phone in the face - it works quickly, but I don’t know how accurate it is, at least it doesn’t react to my son and my 15-year-old picture. Cool, that there is such a thing.

I never put covers on my phone before - I didn’t like the look and feel of the device. But it turned out that when paired with a complete silicone case, it is much more pleasant and convenient to use the device. The fact is that the phone itself is very thin (that's what progress has reached - complaints have gone that the phones are too thin), which, coupled with its size, has the feeling that it is about to fly out of hand.

Of the minuses (he's a plus) - the phone is big enough and in narrow jeans it is uncomfortable to get into the car. But this is the reverse side of the big screen.

In general, this is one of those rare acquisitions, when a thing after three months continues to bring joy and satisfaction.

Advantages: + stylish shoulder blade, especially in the black version, with such a good screen
+ MIUI shell at first caused mistrust, but now I’m used to managing gestures and don’t imagine phones without this feature
+ Camera - this is both pros and cons. Perfect for the average person. Liked the function of slow motion video.
+ 4000 battery justifies itself with active use, besides, the phone charges quickly even without QC 3.0

Disadvantages: - the most amusing flaw, about which I did not know - with glasses Polaroid, the screen is almost invisible
- the camera can take 4k photos and shoot at 60 FPS, but the miui does not allow it
- The same miui does not allow to unlock the phone with the command "ok, Google"
- it needs to buy glass, although the stock is quickly cleaned due to the coating, it doesn’t cause any trust
- there were small bugs with a keyboard, now they are not observed

Comment: I chose between Mi A1 and Note 5. Not a bit sorry about choosing the latter. A great smartphone option for people who want a pretty tech gadget at a relatively low price. Honestly, this model could be more expensive. Bought for 16,500.

Oh yeah, you also want to have bigger hands, for smart is big. In my lies perfectly. After the LG G3 bastard with a thin body.

For some reason, Yandex does not want to load more than three photos, so I’m throwing the panorama option, front camera and main camera.

Advantages: The phone is great. In the global version they even put an ordinary plug for Russian outlets. How am I tired of these adapters, which are often issued in stores with new Chinese phones! They all look as if they can be charged with a global version of the Soviet atomic bomb, and not a thin and neat smartphone.
The phone in front is beautiful, but from behind - for an amateur. You have to look at it from the front.
The screen is juicy and bright, on a sunny day everything can be seen very well, which even annoys a little, because on a sunny day you do not need to look at the screens, sunny days for happiness.
A good sound, a loud bell, I even had to remove it a little from the maximum, but it still scares me anyway, but now I don’t take a nap “just a minute” after the alarm goes off.
His speed is probably good, although my three-year-old Redmi Note 2 works no slower if you call, read books, and delve into the Internet. And the more I do not do anything with the phone, well, except that sometimes I admire the screen on sunny days. But they say that you can play too.
Images from the camera are clear and saturated, the world in the photos looks even slightly better than it actually is. On the past the phone was the opposite.
The battery is very pleased, in the absence of Internet connection at work, the phone quietly lasted for three days, on weekends one day disappears somewhere. Apparently, at the weekend the world is a little more imperfect than on weekdays.
Separately want to remind about the management of gestures.It is very convenient to use them, and if someone steals your phone, then there is a chance that he will not be able to exit any of the applications later. But that's what he needs, reptile this!

Disadvantages: Using it with one hand will not work. But in old disc phones it was also difficult to manage with one hand, but we somehow survived it. Although I will not speak for everyone ...
The phone is too independent, some applications can not be deleted, even if I really want to. Particularly pleased with the application with the intriguing name "Applications", which even after turning off notifications every day reminds that it is time to update the applications. Sometimes Play Market also joins these requirements, and this is already two to one, so unfair.
Face recognition works correctly only in the room, it is necessary to go outside, as soon as the phone says: "Open your eyes wider." It's a little sad to hear that from the Chinese.

Comment: The light blue color of the cover turned out to be very beautiful in reality, although it does not look very good in the pictures. The same case, when it is better to see once.
But in general, a great phone. Although I thought I would experience happiness from buying it, but instead I received only a good and pleasant device to use. But here I am a fool, the phone has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Advantages: Luxury model, especially in terms of price / quality ratio. The screen is very large, which is why the phone itself seems to be very elongated in length. The on-screen buttons are convenient, they can be swapped or even removed and used gestures. The picture quality is amazing. The phone is so fast that I don’t have time for it)) So far I managed to discharge up to 20% only once - on the day of purchase, when I set everything up and downloaded. With daily use with wi-fi / 4g permanently on, a heap of calls from two SIM cards, listening to audio books online and sitting on social networks in the evening still leaves about 40 percent. The case is very pleasant and does not thicken the phone at all.

Disadvantages: The headphone jack is on the bottom, but this is probably not even a disadvantage, it is just unusual, on all my previous phones it was on top.
The cover on the sides is not very tight, easy to pull off.

Comment: Long thought between Xiaomi redmi note 5 and Xiaomi redmi 5+. As a result, I stopped at note 5 due to the fact that there is a processor of a newer model, as well as a camera (but this was not the main factor). Not at all regretted that she overpaid a little.
By the way, the golden color is not as golden as I was afraid; under the case it seems to be more silver :)

Advantages: As for performance, in other reviews about this, everything has already been described in detail, from myself - it is more than enough for everything.
+ The main and front cameras (only on the international version of the M1803E7SG, and not Indian, because in India there are more "dark" optics).
+ Android 8.1 and already acclaimed MIUI 10 at the beginning - mid-July
+ A very big reserve for the future is finally. For 1-3 years, the smartphone is more than enough, it is unlikely that in this price segment we will be able to get something better in terms of the camera in the coming years. Is that the speed of shooting HDR will be progress, but it can be programmatically improved (well, this is the lyrics).

Disadvantages: - With versions of Xiaomi, as always, confusion, you can vstryat.
ATTENTION! below describe in more detail.

Comment: If someone does not have time to read everything, I will say right away, look for the version with the number - M1803E7SG. This number can be found on the box itself and on the back of the smartphone (see attached photo). This number hides the official international version, which is intended for sales in Russia, and therefore supports all of our main 3G-4G-LTE frequencies, has Russian directly out of the box.
In addition to the international version on sale, I saw Chinese and Indian. The first one is the absence of support for 4G LTE B20 (800mhz), but the Indian does not support our 3G and 4G frequencies at all

Short summary:

M1803E7SG - Official international version. To purchase preferred. This version is sold in Russia officially at a price of 17990r and 19990r for 3/32 and 4/64 GB, respectively. Here and Russian is right from the factory and the memory is Russian, therefore no adapter is required, and also, which is important, there is support for all the main Russian 3G / 4G LTE frequencies.

The Chinese version - if you are ready to tinker with the firmware, you do not care about the lack of a full 4G. But if you do not want to get on the Chinese version, then it is better to check the store, because they can slip it under the guise of an international version (they usually write the Global Version in such cases). The surest way to stay in touch is to look at the label and remember that the real international version costs 1-2 thousand more.

Indian version - it’s better not to mess up at all if you don’t live in India. Although sellers may be attracted to the purchase of the fact that she allegedly has a better camera. But using a smartphone only as a camera is, well, such an occupation, because he does not support our cellular communication.

Advantages: Battery a day or two of good load keeps well. The camera and the front, and the rear at the level of soap trays, flash so-so. Iron is very powerful, I could not find jambs in the software, on a well-known resource with a four, they can not even think of something to complain about, they are perverted in trifles. It does not burn hands, but it gets warmer on good loads. "Out of the box" is everything you need to start with, even a bumper, without which a thin and weighty body is as slippery as a fish. Glass oligophrenic .. no, oleophobic, something like that. Do a facelift with the understanding that with a hangover the device may not recognize you, but upside down is easy. Speaker - yelling like a victim, but quite qualitatively. The connection is clear, good audibility even where my ex Samsa smacked and gurgled with deep throat [noisy], LTE (took the Chinese version without the 20th band) is enough wherever there is a connection, Wi-Fi standards, A2DP works, IR works. No NFC (yes, that's dignity, I'm paranoid).

Disadvantages: Does not bring beer and does not wash the tray at the cat.

Comment: The first device I came across was normal! rebuilt dynamic brightness changes. Well, except that in the direct sun so trying to make it brighter, that already turns a little color. Uncritically, rather funny.

Advantages: - an excellent screen, you can only find fault with a not so “deep” black, as on the phone of one of my friends, but this is noticeable only by direct comparison, and the phone of that friend belongs to a slightly different price category
- Iron, powerful for a given price - performance margin for the future
- very capacious battery (I would also know its real resource ...)
- jack under the headphone jack (on the background of the fact that some of the smartphones that were considered when choosing models of smartphones)
- pleasant things like splitting the screen in half between two applications, the ability to create "clones" of applications (say, keep two copies of Skype for two different accounts) and a cover in the bundle

Disadvantages: - a software glitch, due to which the signal level to the headphones is very limited, but it can be circumvented in a very unexpected way and without hacking the phone (see comment)
- the camera protrudes even when wearing a regular case: the phone lying on the table staggers, knocks and annoys when using
- the volume of system sounds (such as the screen lock sound) is tied to the volume of calls, and not to the volume of sound in applications; the phone seems to be trying to report to everyone around me that I (once / for-) blocked the screen, I had to turn off this sound altogether
- an ill-conceived regular mp3 player: there is not even a random album (this is despite the fact that having a slot for sd memos provokes to store the entire music library on board), and when playing music, the time on the lock screen is shown only in tiny numbers states; Yes, problems are solved by installing a third-party player and disabling the display of information about the music on the lock screen, but the default software spoils the first impression of the device like a spoon of tar a barrel of honey
- there is no side switch to which you can assign a silent mode or screen orientation lock, there are only volume and screen lock buttons
- a number of applications do not want to initially fully use the entire screen of the phone, leaving the black bar below, you have to go into the phone settings and "ask" each individual application from this list to use the entire screen
- monochromatic LED indicator for notifications (but thanks for the fact that it exists at all)
- the undetectability (without hacking) of the part of the unnecessary (and obviously not critical to the operation of the system) pre-installed software; although it is different for anyone now, everyone imposes their products as they can ...
- there are a few minor localization flaws (but generally well translated)

Comment: An excellent device, the "pluses" for such a price are very fat, and the "minuses", I think, are uncritical for the majority, and you can put up with them. He took in May 2018 for 15 thousand (the global version of Ali at that moment was worth only a thousand less). Of the two proposed control options, I chose gestural (since I moved from iOS, and I would have to get used to the “classic” Android controls with three virtual buttons from the bottom), got used to it very quickly, as well as to the finger scanner at the back and “shoveling” the device ( My last phone was almost a third less). While the phone is very pleased. I hope the Chinese quality will not fail, and it will serve for a long time, the benefit is a reserve for performance and battery capacity available.
Regarding the level of the signal to the headphones - initially it was lower than on all past devices (past smartphones, iPod classic player), it was enough to listen to music (it was about 3/4, headphones were normal, not high-resistance, " "), but when watching some videos with a low sound level, there was clearly not enough volume, especially in the subway. I thought that the manufacturer had saved and put on a weak audio sampler, but comrade suggested that this is a software bug that is fixed in a very simple and completely unobvious way: in the settings, you need to set the region as not the country, but the DPRK.
I didn’t write anything about the camera, because I’m not involved in “artistic” photography, and my much more sophisticated camera will cope with my very utilitarian tasks, with the exception of, perhaps, quite cheap ones.