Introduction
Xiaomi phones have a strict social structure, almost like royalty. Mi phones are the ruling princes, Redmis are the barons below them. Add 'Note' to the title and get half an inch of extra screen size in either tier.
That makes the Xiaomi Redmi Pro a rebel, the first of its kind. Perhaps the Pro name signifies the flagship chipset it uses but this begs the question, if this is the Pro, which Redmi phone is the vanilla version? It also has a 5.5-inch screen yet it's doesn't carry a Note moniker. You can easily see why we struggled finding the right place for the Redmi Pro in the Xiaomi portfolio. Last, but not the least, this outside-the-box phone comes with a selection of unique features to match its attitude.
The dual-camera is the most recognizable one. This isn't a wide-angle lens like the LG G5 or a B&W camera like the Huawei P9. The second eye adds depth perception, used for a number of effects in the camera. The Redmi Pro is also Xiaomi's first dip into AMOLED, but it's not a familiar Samsung panel. Instead, it's a native Chinese panel from EverDisplay.
With its metal build and similar features, you may be wondering why not get an orthodox Redmi Note 4 instead? Let's break it down.
Xiaomi Redmi Pro key features
- Aluminum unibody design
- 5.5" LTPS-AMOLED display of 1080p resolution; 403ppi
- Android 6.0.1 with MIUI 8
- MediaTek Helio X20; Standard 10-core processor at 2.1GHz (Standard edition); 3GB of RAM; Mali-T880 MP4 GPU at 700MHz (the one we're reviewing)
- High and Exclusive editions with Helio X25 - 10-core processor at 2.5GHz; 3GB (High) or 4GB (Exclusive) of RAM; Mali-T880 MP4 GPU at 850MHz
- Storage: 32GB (Standard), 64GB (High) or 128GB (Exclusive); microSD support, hybrid slot shared with 2nd SIM
- Dual SIM, LTE, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, USB Type-C; IR blaster
- Dual 13MP + 5MP rear camera with PDAF, f2.0 aperture, dual LED flash; depth and other effects; 1080p video, 720p @ 120fps
- 5 megapixel front camera, f2.0 aperture; 1080p video
- Fingerprint sensor on the Home key
- 4,050mAh battery
Main shortcomings
- Hybrid DualSIM/microSD card slot limits options on the dual-SIM model
- No Quick charge 2.0/3.0 support, just 5V/2A charging
- No 5GHz Wi-Fi support
Versus the Redmi Note 4
- The dual camera, of course (but same photo and video resolution)
- AMOLED screen - better contrast and color accuracy
- Options with overclocked chipsets, more storage, and RAM
- No fast charging; but USB Type-C instead of microUSB 2.0
- No 5GHz Wi-Fi
- Metal bodies of the same size and weight; virtually identical battery
- Higher price (~40% for the respective 3GB/64GB versions)
Alright, so there's some confusion in the ranks. But, honestly, once your eyes get used to AMOLED blacks, it's hard to go back. Of course, we haven't tested an EverDisplay AMOLED before - will it be as good as Samsung's Super AMOLED?
Xiaomi Redmi Pro next to the outgoing Redmi note 3
And the dual camera is always good for neat tricks, though it adds little to regular photography. HTC's efforts on this front were met with apathy (sort of like its 3D efforts), can Xiaomi really hope to do better?
And is all that worth the price bump? Well, let's first check that screen, shall we? And we'll get to the camera too.
Special thanks to HonorBuy.com for providing the review unit.
Unboxing the Xiaomi Redmi Pro
Redmi phones are usually high-scorers in bang for the buck competitions, so we don't mind when the phone comes in a basic package. But with a 'Pro' moniker and a higher price tag, we kind of expected a bit... extra.
What we got is the basics - a USB Type-C to Type-A cable and a charger. It's not a fast charger, mind you, it outputs 5V/2A. It's certainly faster than normal 5V/1A chargers but not quite there. In all fairness, Huawei has been equipping its Kirin chipset smartphones with a similar charging solution. So we're okay there.
The retail box
A headset would have been nice, though. Xiaomi has some attractive, affordable headsets like the Mi In-Year plugs (winners of the 2015 Red Dot Design award), which retail for only $15.
Xiaomi Redmi Pro 360� spin
The Xiaomi Redmi Pro measures 151.5 x 76.2 x 8.2mm and weighs 175g. If you've looked at the Redmi Note 4 spec page, those dimensions will sound familiar.
Granted, this time, the front also has to house the hardware Home key, which is also the fingerprint reader. On the Redmi Note 4, that reader was a circle below the camera, which looks suspiciously like the circle that is the secondary camera on the back of the Redmi Pro. Hm.
Hardware
Did Xiaomi reuse the metal panel of the Redmi Pro for the Redmi Note 4 (or vice versa)? They do look quite similar, but that's due to the shared design language.
Anyway, they come in distinctly different finishes - the Note 4 has a satin finish, the Pro a brushed one. Despite that brushed texture, the metal is very smooth, which spoils the feeling somewhat. It also makes the phone slippery and fingerprints are more visible on the high-gloss surface. A 'rougher' brushed finish would have helped with those issues.
The Redmi Pro is a looker
'Big' isn't the right word to describe the Redmi Pro, 5.5" is the new normal. Still, Xiaomi has been clever about ergonomics. The back is curved, so it sits well in the hand, but the sides are squared off, allowing for a nice grip of the fingers. Where the metal sides meet the glass screen, there's a two-step design that offers a secure perch for your thumb.
Speaking of glass, Xiaomi is mum on any scratch-proofing. The glass has a subtle curve near the side, but calling it 2.5D would be a stretch.
Anyway, below the screen is the hardware Home key, which sits flush with the glass. It is a real button you can press. But it also detects touch, so you can use it as a capacitive key.
The one time you have to press it is to activate the fingerprint reader when the phone is locked and the screen is off (probably a power optimization). The App switcher and Back capacitive keys are on its left and right sides, respectively.
The Home button is flush with the glass
Above the display, there's the 5MP selfie camera on the far right, followed by the proximity sensor, the earpiece, and notification light.
Above the display is a 5MP selfie camera
The power key, that's on the right, below the Volume rocker. Both are fairly narrow and have a shallow press.
On the left side, we find the card tray. You need an ejector tool to access it and you can place up to two cards - two SIMs (nano + micro) or one SIM and a microSD card.
Volume rocker and Power key on the right � Card tray on the left
Turning back the Redmi Pro, we find the dual camera setup comprised of a 13MP and 5MP shooters. In between them is the dual-LED flash.
The dual camera setup on the back
At the top of the Xiaomi Redmi Pro are the 3.5mm audio jack, the secondary mic and an IR blaster. At the bottom are a regular microUSB 2.0 port and two grilles. Only one of them hides an actual speaker.
Top side � 3.5mm audio jack, IR blaster, secondary mic � USB Type-C port and speaker
Display
The Redmi Pro is the company's first smartphone with an OLED screen. Xiaomi has ordered the OLED panels from Chinese suppliers (EverDisplay and BOE Display) instead of going to Samsung for Super AMOLED panels. This fact is worth mentioning mainly because you can really tell there is a difference in the sub-pixel arrangement when looking at the screen under a magnification. It's quite different from what we have with Samsung panels.
The OLED panel has a diagonal of 5.5 inches and a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. This results in a pixel density of 401ppi, which is solid. We didn't expect from Xiaomi to pull off a QHD resolution anyway, as it wouldn't have fitted the bill.
In our tests, the display managed to churn up maximum brightness of 408nits, which is higher than average and matches what we get from Samsung panels. Another positive point is that the minimum brightness that you can achieve with the slider is insanely low at 0.6nits - it's almost like turning the screen of.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | ||
| 0.02 | 408 | 20,000 | |
| 0.30 | 399 | 1334 | |
| 0.00 | 433 | 8 | |
| 0.36 | 333 | 928 | |
| 0.00 | 398 | 8 | |
| 0.24 | 432 | 1793 | |
| 0.41 | 620 | 1520 | |
| 0.00 | 391 | 8 | |
| 0.43 | 590 | 1382 | |
| 0.17 | 306 | 1855 | |
| 0.33 | 482 | 1461 | |
In terms of color reproduction accuracy, the average deltaE is 6.1, which is only average. The OLED display is quite vibrant, but whites and grays have a greenish tint. We found that setting the display to Standard/Auto and Warm color modes fixes the tint of the whites and grays and the Avg. DeltaE drops to 5.
Overall, it's nice to see a solid OLED screen come out of China but the tell-tale greenish tint, which is so customary for AMOLED panels, is still here. Interestingly enough, when it comes to color accuracy green colors are the least accurate.
Finally, the screen's sunlight legibility is spot on and the Redmi Pro is in the top tier of smartphones, which won't have any problems in broad daylight. The side viewing angles aren't so impressive, though.
Sunlight contrast ratio
- Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
4.615 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
4.439 - OnePlus 3
4.424 - Samsung Galaxy S7
4.376 - HTC One A9
4.274 - Samsung Galaxy Note7
4.247 - Samsung Galaxy A3
4.241 - Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
4.124 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
4.09 - Huawei Nexus 6P
4.019 - Vivo Xplay5 Elite
3.983 - OnePlus X
3.983 - Oppo R7s
3.964 - Huawei P9 Plus
3.956 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
3.918 - Samsung Galaxy C5
3.911 - Samsung Galaxy C7
3.896 - Samsung Galaxy A5
3.895 - Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
3.879 - Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
3.873 - Samsung Galaxy A8
3.859 - Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
3.817 - Motorola Moto X (2014)
3.816 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
3.802 - LG V20 Max auto
3.798 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
3.798 - Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
3.789 - Apple iPhone 6s
3.783 - Meizu Pro 5
3.781 - Microsoft Lumia 650
3.772 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
3.756 - Oppo F1 Plus
3.709 - Vivo X5Pro
3.706 - Sony Xperia X Compact
3.694 - Apple iPhone SE
3.681 - Samsung Galaxy A7
3.679 - Meizu PRO 6
3.659 - BlackBerry Priv
3.645 - Apple iPhone 6s Plus
3.53 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
3.523 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
3.523 - Acer Jade Primo
3.521 - Microsoft Lumia 950
3.512 - Oppo R7 Plus
3.499 - LG G Flex2
3.465 - Samsung Galaxy J7
3.422 - Meizu MX5
3.416 - LG V20
3.402 - Oppo R7
3.32 - Samsung Galaxy J2
3.235 - Sony Xperia X Performance
3.234 - Motorola Moto X Play
3.222 - Huawei P9
3.195 - Lenovo Vibe Shot
3.113 - Motorola Moto X Force
3.105 - LG Nexus 5X
3.092 - Huawei Mate S
3.073 - Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
3.065 - Apple iPhone 6 Plus
3.023 - Sony Xperia X
2.989 - Samsung Galaxy Note
2.97 - Huawei Mate 8
2.949 - Sony Xperia XA Ultra
2.906 - LG G5
2.905 - HTC One S
2.901 - Sony Xperia Z5
2.876 - Microsoft Lumia 550
2.851 - Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro
2.803 - Sony Xperia Z5 compact
2.784 - LG V10
2.744 - Xiaomi Redmi 3
2.735 - Sony Xperia M5
2.69 - Huawei P9 Lite
2.679 - Vivo V3Max
2.659 - Xiaomi Mi 4i
2.641 - Sony Xperia XA
2.609 - Xiaomi Mi 4c
2.574 - LeEco Le Max 2
2.567 - Microsoft Lumia 640
2.563 - Lenovo Moto G4
2.544 - Oppo F1
2.528 - Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
2.525 - Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
2.506 - Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
2.503 - Oppo F1s
2.481 - Motorola Moto G
2.477 - Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
2.473 - Huawei G8
2.471 - Huawei nova
2.467 - Sony Xperia Z
2.462 - Lenovo Vibe K5
2.459 - Huawei Honor 7
2.406 - Sony Xperia E5
2.386 - ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
2.382 - Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
2.378 - HTC 10
2.378 - Huawei nova plus
2.329 - HTC One E9+
2.305 - Alcatel One Touch Hero
2.272 - Apple iPhone 4S
2.269 - Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
2.254 - Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
2.253 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
2.249 - Sony Xperia C4 Dual
2.235 - Xiaomi Mi Note
2.234 - Motorola Moto G (2014)
2.233 - LG Nexus 5
2.228 - Huawei P8
2.196 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
2.166 - OnePlus Two
2.165 - HTC One X
2.158 - LG Aka
2.145 - Archos 50 Diamond
2.134 - Xiaomi Redmi Note
2.119 - Acer Liquid X2
2.084 - Huawei P8lite
2.078 - Moto G 3rd gen max manual
2.026 - Xiaomi Mi Max
1.996 - Sony Xperia E4g
1.972 - OnePlus One
1.961 - Meizu m3 note
1.923 - BlackBerry Leap
1.892 - Meizu m2 note
1.892 - HTC Butterfly
1.873 - ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
1.759 - Sony Xperia U
1.758 - Asus Zenfone Selfie
1.68 - Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
1.675 - ZTE Nubia Z9
1.659 - Jolla Jolla
1.605 - Motorola Moto E
1.545 - Sony Xperia M
1.473 - HTC Desire C
1.3 - Sony Xperia C
1.283 - Meizu MX
1.221 - Sony Xperia E
1.215
Connectivity
The Xiaomi Redmi Pro is a dual-SIM phone with LTE connectivity. One card is nanoSIM, while the other is microSIM and the slot is a hybrid solution, which allows you to replace one of the SIM cards with a microSD card.
Since we're reviewing the Chinese model, we also have to mention that there is support for China Unicom LTE and CDMA.
As for Wi-Fi connectivity, the Redmi Pro supports only the 802.11 b/g/n standard, which means you won't benefit if your router has a 5GHz band and you would have to rely on only using the more congested 2.4GHz band.
Bluetooth 4.2 is also available. For positioning, you get GPS, GLONASS and, quite naturally, Beidou.
The IR blaster is located at the top of the phone and, coupled with the right software, you can use it to remotely control pretty much any IR controlled home appliance. Xiaomi provides its own MiRemote app, which supports a long list of devices right out of the box.
At the bottom, there's the now customary for Xiaomi USB Type-C port. The port supports USB On-The-Go if you need to access some external storage or use a USB accessory.
Xiaomi Redmi Pro battery life
As the battery test is the most time-consuming aspect of our reviews, yet many of you deem it the most important one. We couldn't come up with the endurance numbers by the time of the publishing of this review as we're determined not to rush it. We will post the results here once we've done our proprietary test routine. Be sure to come back in a couple of days for the details.
The Redmi Pro touts a 4,050mAh battery, which should produce an excellent battery life. It's one of the first phones we review with the Helio X20 (or MT6797, for the more technically inclined), which has 10 cores in total organized into three power tiers to handle different loads.
While this 3-tier processor architecture sounds quite clever and power efficient our experience with it on the Zopo Speed 8 as well as our experience with the slightly higher clocked Helio X25 suggested otherwise. Granted, we've only had these single meetings to base our expectations on so we're still keeping an open mind about it.
On the software side, Xiaomi has baked a far-reaching battery saving functionality, albeit a bit confusing. You can go to settings and choose between Balance and Performance modes, which affect the phone's performance and battery life.
Then, you can check out the Battery section in Xiaomi's Security app. There, you can fine tune which apps can run background tasks. The dedicated Power Saver option is supposed to provide you with even longer battery life but that comes at the expense of limiting some features and performance. Upon turning it, the battery icon in the notification bar turns orange.
Our endurance rating denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Redmi Pro for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established such usage pattern so our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
User interface
The Xiaomi Redmi Pro runs a stable version of the latest MIUI 8, which is built on top of an Android 6.0 core. That's as new as it gets for Xiaomi, which is yet to out a smartphone running Android 7.0 Nougat core.
MIUI 8 doesn't bring a lot of new eye candy to the picture, but comes with better text rendering, enhanced Power saving mode, new Notes app and Enhanced video editing tools.
As usual Xiaomi's customizations run very deep and replace everything including all Google services. In fact, the Mi phones sold in China don't have access to Google's services and those need to be sideloaded one way or the other (some resellers may even do that for you). The models sold officially on markets outside of China come with a preloaded Play Store app.
The lockscreen is unchanged from MIUI7 and has a clock in the top left corner - gone are the lockscreen widgets. To unlock the phone you swipe upwards and if you want a quick access to the camera - just swipe from the right side.
Fingerprint unlock is available and the sensor is built inside the Home button under the screen (a first for the Redmi series). Unlike other Xiaomi phones which have the sensor on the back, this one is not always on and you have to press the button for it to scan your finger and unlock the phone - just like a Samsung phone.
MIUI 8 lockscreen
Beyond the lockscreen is the Android homescreen with four customizable shortcuts docked at the bottom by default, but you can dock up to five items. You can have any app there or even folders with multiple items if you will.
The MIUI homescreens � there is no app drawer
There is no app drawer - anything you install pops up on your homescreen, which can have unlimited panes. There're no shortcuts and the usual routine of removing icons (dragging them up to a recycle bin at the top of the screen) will uninstall the corresponding app. There is a pop-up for confirming the action though, so you can't accidentally uninstall apps.
Homescreen widgets are available, too - tap and hold on the homescreen, then choose Widgets. There are few options available, but of course, you can get even more from the Play Store.
Customizing the homescreen
Homescreen effects are available and you can change themes, too. A theme will change your homescreen wallpaper, lockscreen style, system icons, system font and the sound profile (you can disable changing the sound profile from settings).
The notification area has two semi-transparent tabs - the first one hosts all notifications, while the second one (swipe left to access) offers customizable quick toggles and a Settings shortcut.
An enhanced task switcher with Clear All option is available, too.
Notifications � Task switcher
The Do Not Disturb mode has been enhanced too - it supports better customization and scheduling options.
We did get our review unit with pre-installed Google Play Store plus Google sync for app data, contacts, and browser data but perhaps they've been sideloaded by the reseller providing this review unit. Of course, you can sideload them yourself one way or the other if they don't come pre-installed on your unit. And once you have those, you can easily download all other Google apps such as Google Now straight from the Play Store.
As we briefly mentioned in the beginning, the Xiaomi Redmi Pro is available in three flavors - Standard, High, and Exclusive editions. We're reviewing the Standard edition, which packs a MediaTek Helio X20 chip.
The Helio X20 is comprised of a tri-cluster processor: a couple of Cortex-A72 (2.1GHz), a quad-core Cortex-A53 (2.0GHz) and a low-power, quad-core Cortex-A53 (1.4GHz). The sheer number of cores sounds impressive but the GPU - a Mali-T880 MP 4 GPU - is hardly a match for that.
The difference between the Helio X20 and Helio X25 is in the clock speed of the CPU and GPU. Here's the configuration in the High and Exclusive versions: a couple of Cortex-A72 (2.5GHz), quad-core Cortex-A53 (2.0GHz) and a low-power, quad-core Cortex-A53 (1.4GHz). The GPU works at 900MHz.
Let's kick things off with the impressive CPU setup and see how it fares against the competition. In terms of single-core performance, the Cortex-A72 isn't too far off compared to the Kryo CPU in the OnePlus 3 (Snapdragon 820). In any case, it manages to beat the Cortex-A57 in the Exynos version of the Galaxy Note5.
When it comes to multi-core performance, the deca-core CPU is a one step in front of the Galaxy Note5, but just can't match the raw performance of the Snapdragon 820 setup in the OnePlus 3.
GeekBench 4 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Huawei Honor 8
5447 - OnePlus 3
4045 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
3885 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
3754 - Huawei nova plus
3100
GeekBench 4 (single-core)
Higher is better
- Huawei Honor 8
1720 - OnePlus 3
1719 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
1551 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
1332 - Huawei nova plus
843
AnTuTu is a compound benchmark, which takes into account storage performance, RAM and GPU prowess. The Redmi Pro comes with a quad-core Mali-T880 MP4 clocked at 780MHz. As a reference, the Helio X25 comes with the same GPU, but clocked at 850MHz, whereas it's running at 900MHz inside the Huawei P9.
As a result, the GPU implementation has a lot of untapped potential which will never be realized in the Redmi Pro. But even at its highest clock speed, it's still far behind this year's flagships and doesn't even compare favorably to most mid-range smartphones with Adreno GPUs.
AnTuTu 6
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3
141764 - Sony Xperia X Performance
116217 - Meizu Pro 6
99195 - Huawei Honor 8
94892 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
81615 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
77442 - Huawei nova plus
64680 - HTC One A9
60324 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
49094
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3
46 - Sony Xperia X Performance
41 - LG G Flex2
22 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
21 - Huawei Honor 8
18 - Meizu Pro 6
18 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
15 - Huawei nova plus
9.9 - HTC One A9
6.4 - Motorola Moto X Play
5.8 - Asus Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL
5.3 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
4.9
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3
45 - Sony Xperia X Performance
38 - LG G Flex2
22 - Huawei Honor 8
19 - Meizu Pro 6
18 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
15 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
15 - Huawei nova plus
10 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
9.5 - HTC One A9
6.7 - Motorola Moto X Play
6.1 - Asus Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL
5.3
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3
31 - Sony Xperia X Performance
30 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
15 - Meizu Pro 6
11 - Huawei Honor 8
10 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
9.5 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
7.2 - Huawei nova plus
6.2 - HTC One A9
3.8
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Sony Xperia X Performance
31 - OnePlus 3
30 - Meizu Pro 6
11 - Huawei Honor 8
11 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
9.5 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
6.7 - Huawei nova plus
6.6 - HTC One A9
4 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
3.2
GFX 3.1 Car scene (offscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3
18 - Sony Xperia X Performance
17 - Meizu Pro 6
6.4 - Huawei Honor 8
6.3 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
5.4 - Huawei nova plus
3.4
GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3
18 - Sony Xperia X Performance
18 - Huawei Honor 8
6.9 - Meizu Pro 6
6.4 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
5.4 - Huawei nova plus
3.7
Basemark X
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3
32715 - Sony Xperia X Performance
28450 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
26281 - LG G Flex2
19360 - Huawei Honor 8
16592 - Meizu Pro 6
15209 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
12190 - Huawei nova plus
10524 - HTC One A9
6617 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
5383 - Motorola Moto X Play
5032 - Asus Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL
4915
Basemark X (medium)
Higher is better
- Samsung Galaxy Note5
36475 - Huawei Honor 8
28832 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
23846 - Meizu Pro 6
23774 - Huawei nova plus
21352 - HTC One A9
12250 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
11199
The other compound test - the BaseMark OS II 2.0 - ranks the Redmi Pro below the LG G Flex2 and the Galaxy Note5. The benchmark gauges not only CPU, GPU and UX, but also memory and browser performance, so the final scores bodes well for day-to-day performance.
Basemark OS 2.0
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3
2365 - Sony Xperia X Performance
2179 - Huawei Honor 8
2099 - Meizu Pro 6
1919 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
1880 - LG G Flex2
1726 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
1696 - Huawei nova plus
1215 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
1007 - HTC One A9
944 - Asus Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL
883 - Motorola Moto X Play
809
You can't say Xiaomi hasn't tried to deliver a performance worthy of the phone's Pro moniker with this 10-core beast of a processor. However, it's far from the best you can get these days in terms of raw performance. Additionally, the GPU underperforms compared to the competition.
But objectively, there's nothing faster in this price range, except the two Redmi Pro variants with a Helio X25 chipset and other rivals that come with it, like the Meizu Pro 6.
Synthetic benchmarks are one thing, but day-to-day performance is another. We didn't experience any hiccups during our time with the Redmi Pro and games ran smoothly. Mind you, some of the heavier AAA titles experienced some hiccups here and there.
Contacts and telephony
The dialer and the phonebook share a single app although there are two shortcuts, bringing you straight to the tab you need. The app has pleasant flat looks and it's about the same as we remember it. It uses a tabbed interface - recent with dialer on the first and the contact list on the second.
The Phonebook
There's also voice call recording and you can set it up to activate on each call if you like. You can also assign an answer gesture, pre-define quick responses upon reject, there is even support for internet calling.
There are even more call settings if you dig deeper into the menu - flip to mute the ringer, turn on/off the proximity sensor, lock automatically once slipped in a pocket, it can even mute calls from unknown numbers.
In our loudspeaker test, the Redmi Pro scored a Good mark, which means you will be able to hear it in most environments without too much trouble. The phone packs a single speaker at the bottom, but it's quite loud. Our only gripe is that there's not enough bass coming out of it.
| Speakerphone test | Voice, dB | Ringing | Overall score | |
| 65.8 | 65.1 | 64.6 | Below Average | |
| 67.1 | 66.2 | 68.1 | Average | |
| 66.5 | 65.8 | 70.5 | Average | |
| 64.5 | 71.0 | 68.9 | Average | |
| 66.9 | 67.1 | 71.8 | Average | |
| 65.9 | 66.1 | 75.7 | Average | |
| 68.1 | 71.8 | 69.4 | Good | |
| 69.5 | 69.3 | 71.1 | Good | |
| 68.7 | 70.9 | 73.5 | Good |
Multimedia
The Redmi Pro comes with a custom Gallery app, which hasn't been really changed from MIUI of old. It defaults to your camera roll, but it also supports Albums, Cloud and People. The People sorting, once chosen, sorts all of your photos by people's faces. Everything is automatic. Here you can also create a new baby album, to put your newborn pics inside.
The Gallery app remains unchanged
The integrated editor offers various effects, frames, tools (crop, mirror, straighten, rotate, fisheye, doodle) plus light adjustments that let you bring out the shadows or the highlights.
Editing an image
An FM radio app is also available. Theoretically, the Redmi Pro does not require a headset to use as an antenna, so you can listen FM radio without any additional accessories. However, in our testing the phone didn't manage to acquire a perfect FM signal. FM recording is also available.
FM Radio
Video player
The video player interface is very basic but there is rich video codec support. It managed to play everything we threw at it (including MKV and WMV files). The AC3 audio codec is surprisingly, supported too.
The MIUI 8 video player
Subtitles and pop-up play are not supported by the MIUI's video player though, so you might want to look around the Play Store if you need a more capable alternative.
Unspectacular audio quality
The Xiaomi Redmi Pro started off well in our audio quality test. When connected to an active external amplifier, the smartphone had perfectly clean output with no weak points to it. The volume was only average though, so not quite the best result.
When we plugged in a pair of headphones the stereo crosstalk rose considerably and intermodulation distortion crept in. Frequency response also got a little shaky so it's really only passable quality.
| Test | Frequency response | Noise level | Dynamic range | THD | IMD + Noise | Stereo crosstalk |
| Xiaomi Redmi Pro | +0.01, -0.10 | -93.9 | 90.3 | 0.0023 | 0.0098 | -93.6 |
| Xiaomi Redmi Pro (headphones attached) | +0.53, -0.12 | -88.0 | 89.0 | 0.0056 | 0.256 | -49.6 |
| Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 | +0.04, -0.08 | -96.0 | 92.3 | 0.0015 | 0.0076 | -95.6 |
| Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (headphones attached) | +0.48, -0.09 | -95.3 | 92.1 | 0.011 | 0.327 | -70.2 |
| Meizu m2 note | +0.08, -0.05 | -93.1 | 92.7 | 0.0079 | 0.013 | -92.4 |
| Meizu m2 note (headphones attached) | +0.40, -0.62 | -86.9 | 88.0 | 0.145 | 0.529 | -50.8 |
| Motorola Moto E (2015) | +0.02 -0.06 | -90.8 | 91.1 | 0.0026 | 0.097 | -90.9 |
| Motorola Moto E (2015) (headphones attached) | +0.05, -0.06 | -90.2 | 90.7 | 0.0029 | 0.063 | -51.4 |
Xiaomi Redmi Pro frequency response
You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.
Camera
The Xiaomi Redmi Pro sports a dual-camera setup at the back. The main camera is 13MP snapper (a Sony sensor) with f/2.0 aperture and phase-detection to make auto-focus faster. The secondary sensor is 5MP (Samsung sensor) and Xiaomi boasts it's used to produce DSLR-quality bokeh effects.
The camera interface is a custom MIUI job which hasn't changed much from the last version. You have two main options - photos and videos. The only change we could find is that swiping to switch between the two no longer works.
Camera user interface
Still, the camera interface comes with familiar features. Manual Mode offers you settings for white balance and ISO. The Face Detection switch is within the additional settings. Tapping on the filters icon on the left gives you some fun color filters to play with.
The camera modes � the camera settings
However, the real fun comes with the secondary 5MP camera. Above the shutter is a little aperture icon, which allows you to adjust the f-number from f/0.95 (enhanced bokeh effect) to f/5.6 (more of the scene is on focus).
The Redmi Pro's depth-of-field camera at work
Furthermore, you can later adjust the focus of the photo from the Gallery app by tapping on the similar icon. There, you're presented with a simple slider to choose a new f-number and a new point of focus by tapping on the photo itself.
Most of the time, the bokeh effect looks fine. However, a closer inspection reveals the transition between the area in focus and the blurred areas can be inaccurate around the edges of objects.
The photos from the 13MP camera feature good detail, but the noise reduction is visibly taking too much from the foliage. Other than this, noise is low in general.
We're happy to report the colors are accurate. Mind you, there's just a slight yellow tint, but it's hard to notice. The dynamic range is overall good.
Xiaomi Redmi Pro camera samples
The selfie camera is 5MP with f/2.0 and can record 1080p video. The photos taken with it have a satisfactory level of detail with good colors and contrast.
The 5MP selfie camera is good
Panoramic photos lose a lot of the color accuracy and detail of the regular photos, but that's to be expected. We've definitely seen worse, but the common pitfalls are here as well - notably jagged lines from moving objects.
Redmi Pro shoots panoramas as well
Check out how Redmi Pro's camera game fares against the competition in our Photo quality comparison tool.
Xiaomi Redmi Pro in our Photo quality comparison tool
Video quality
The Xiaomi Redmi Pro records 1080p video at 30fps. There are just two modes - time-lapse and slow-motion - with the latter available only at 720p.
The quality of the videos is pretty satisfactory. Contrast is excellent and colors are vibrant and true to life. There's minimal focus hunting.
You can also record a video and adjust the depth-of-field to reach a certain bokeh effect while at it. The user interface is identical to that of the photo mode.
Here's a video showing how changing the virtual aperture changes the depth of field.
The videos are recorded at 17.1Mbps, whereas audio is with a bitrate of 128Kbps. You can download an uncompressed sample (11s, 23MB) as well.
Finally, here's the Xiaomi Redmi Pro in our video comparison tool.
Xiaomi Redmi Pro in our Video quality comparison tool
MIUI Browser
The Xiaomi Redmi Pro comes with the feature-rich MIUI Browser. It has flat looking UI elements and does a great job at browsing. There is a native ad-block add-on and a data saver, it supports downloads, there is a night mode as well. It is as almost as fast as Chrome, and now supports Find on Page.
It also offers a built-in Reading mode, which isn't available in Chrome. It enlarges the text font and strips away unneeded elements, leaving only the article you are reading in focus.
The aforementioned Night Mode, which is something we really miss in Chrome. It inverts the background and font colors and is easier on the eyes at dark rooms.
Finally, the browser supports some very handy features as scrolling with the volume keys, quick tab switching from the edge of the display, you can opt for different search engines, among others.
Mi Browser � Night Mode � Reading Mode
Other pre-installed apps
The Xiaomi Redmi Pro offers a great file managing app called Explorer, which lets you browse the files in its internal storage and groups them by type.
Explorer
The MIUI v8 also offers a Security app. It can scan your phone for malware, manage your blocklist, manage or restrict your data usage, configure battery behavior, clean some RAM, it can also manage the permissions of your installed apps.
The custom and now flat Calendar looks good, syncs with your accounts including Google, and offers Day and Month views.
There are also the standard sound recorder, notes, flashlight, calculator, clock, and weather apps, among others, that are a given in any self-respecting Android package nowadays.
Voice recorder � Notes � Calculator � Weather
We really liked the Compass app. It has very nice and clean interface, shows the magnetic directions and doubles as level meter. If you lift the phone up then you'll get a nice augmented reality view with real-time East/West/North/South overlay.
Compass app - compass, level
Once again, if Google Maps, Drive, or any other Google-related app isn't installed on your unit, you can get it for free from the Play Store.
Final words
The new craze on the smartphone block is the dual camera setup. First pioneered by HTC, it seems that now everyone is into it. The results are only getting better.
Xiaomi might be a bit late to the dual-camera party but it one-ups the competition so far by offering the faux bokeh as a real-time video effect.
Still, the depth-of-field effects produced by Xiaomi are hardly out of this world (meaning they still look artificial on most occasions), but the primary snapper is quite good on its own even without the magic tricks.
Not only that, but this smartphone punches way above its price tag in most every department. Just take the great looking metal body or the OLED display as an example.
The real issue here is that the Xiaomi Redmi Pro is currently available only in China (officially at least), so your only way to get one is through gray importers, which sell them online. Getting one is cheap but getting after-sales support from the manufacturer or arranging warranty claims can potentially turn into a hassle down the line so make sure you understand the compromises you're committing to in this respect.
If you need more convincing, have a look at the list below which sums up our test results with the Xiaomi Redmi Pro nicely.
Xiaomi Redmi Pro key test findings:
- Excellent build quality with a top-notch metal body; the only downside is it's quite slippery;
- Great looking OLED panel with vibrant colors and good brightness and contrast. Excellent sunlight legibility;
- Fingerprint sensor works fast but requires you to press the Home button to wake it just like on Samsung phones;
- MIUI 8 is a clean and light Android Lollipop launcher but with rich customization options;
- The MediaTek Helio X20 offers reasonable performance, but nothing chart-topping;
- Video player supports every common video codec and AC3 sound but has no subtitle support;
- Loudspeaker gets a Good score, but while it's loud, it lacks a bit of bass.
- Clean, but moderately loud audio output with an external amp, but reading with headphones on were shaky.
- The 13MP snapper shoots photos with good detail and dynamic range. Adjusting the virtual aperture on the fly is neat, but often produces blurry edges. Selfie camera is good.
- The 1080p video recording is of good detail and with accurate colors.
Xiaomi is not playing the trendsetter role with the Redmi Pro. However, the way the company manages to mix and match ideas from the smartphone scene is admirable, to say the least. There aren't that many companies that can pull off a better budget product than Xiaomi. Nevertheless, there's still viable competition out there.
For starters, the Huawei Honor 8 is an excellent contender with a dual camera setup (12MP + 12MP). Its glass design and metal frame offers similar premium quality to the Redmi Pro, but you don't get as much screen real estate. It's also a bit more expensive, but not as much as the Huawei P9.
Huawei Honor 8
The Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime is a viable alternative and comparably stylish at that. At the back there's a single 13MP snapper, but with f/1.9 aperture. Furthermore, the 5.5" 1080p display is covered with Gorilla Glass 4.
Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime
Yet another AMOLED-rocking smartphone is the Meizu MX5. It's cheaper than the Redmi Pro, but lacks microSD card slot and sports a less powerful Helio X10. However, the 20.7MP camera records 4K video and is infinitely better than the 13MP snapper on the Redmi Pro.
Meizu MX5
LG offers the X Cam with dual camera setup (13MP + 5MP) and an octa-core CPU touting MediaTek MT6753. It's the perfect alternative if you're seeking a phone with a smaller screen. In this case, it's 5.2" 1080p one.
LG X cam
Finally, take a look at the Moto G4 Plus with its 16MP camera. It's about the same price as the Redmi Pro, but unfortunately, comes with an uninspiring Snapdragon 617 chipset.
Motorola Moto G4 Plus
It's worth noting that the High and Exclusive editions of the phone should also be considered, as they offer better performance and more storage for just a few bucks more.
The Xiaomi Redmi Pro will have an easy time drawing eyes to itself if people figure out that dual cameras are a feature they like to have on their phone. And this may happen sooner than later having in mind the iPhone 7 Plus has a dual camera setup as well. But if even if you are not that much into the faux bokeh effects, the Redmi Pro with its large battery, punchy screen, solid metal build and reasonably quick performance, is an excellent deal all-around.
Special thanks to HonorBuy.com for providing the review unit.
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