Review of Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus - the best budget smartphone of the beginning of 2018

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

In addition to the good value for money that the Redmi series devices are famous for, the new model boasts a beautiful appearance and a trendy widescreen display.

You've probably noticed that a real revolution took place in the design of mobile devices last year. The traditional format has been replaced by a cinematic 18: 9 with narrow bezels and dramatic rounded corners of the display.

Almost all large and small companies have already released smartphones designed according to new patterns. Xiaomi did not stand aside either. Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus came out a little later than their competitors, but this delay only benefited them. The models turned out to be so successful that they literally immediately became one of the most popular in their price segment.

In this review, we have carefully researched the specs and properties of the Redmi 5 Plus smartphone to give you an answer to a simple question: is it really that good or is it just brand magic?

Specifications

Frame	Metal alloy, tempered glass
Display	5.99 inches, FHD (2,160 × 1,080), IPS
Platform	Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor
RAM	3 or 4 GB
Built-in memory	32 or 64 GB, the ability to install memory cards up to 128 GB
Cameras	Main - 12 Mp; frontal - 5 Mp
Connection	Two slots: nanoSIM and nanoSIM + microSD; 2G (GSM): 850/900/1 800/1 900 MHz; 3G (WCDMA): 850/900/2 100 MHz; 4G (FDD-LTE): 800/900/1 800/2 100/2 600 MHz (Band 1/3/7/8)
Wireless interfaces	Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, GLONASS, A-GPS
Expansion slots	microUSB, microSD (up to 128 GB, instead of the second SIM card)
Sensors	Illumination, approximation, accelerometer, electronic compass, fingerprint
Operating system	Android 7.1 Nougat with MIUI 9 shell
Battery	4000 mAh (non-removable), fast charging
Dimensions (edit)	158.5 × 75.4 × 8.05mm
Weight	180 g

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 used in the Redmi 5 Plus is one of the most popular and beloved chips around. It contains a processor with eight Cortex-A53 cores that operate at a maximum clock speed of up to 2 GHz, which is sufficient for most mobile tasks.

The chip is built on the basis of a 14-nanometer technological process, which provides excellent energy efficiency of the devices using it. Given this circumstance, as well as the fact that the Redmi 5 Plus uses a 4000 mAh battery, we can say that the owners of this smartphone will not experience problems with autonomy.

There are no complaints about the memory subsystem either. Of course, 3 or 4 GB of RAM is hard to surprise anyone today, but it is enough for most users. The new version of MIUI has taken a big step forward in terms of optimizing the consumption of system resources, so everything runs smoothly and quickly.

Completion and appearance

The phone comes in a small red box, standard for devices of this series. The packaging is simple, but it looks bright and stylish.

The Redmi 5 Plus package includes a smartphone, charger, connecting cable and silicone protective case. Special thanks to the manufacturer for it - additional protection against scratches never hurts. By the way, it is of good quality and sits on the phone like a glove.

The back cover of the smartphone is made of metal alloy, except for the plastic inserts on the top and bottom. Their color is slightly different from the color of the main part of the back surface, which you may not like. But this feature is often found in inexpensive smartphones, including Xiaomi, so you just have to put up with it.

The layout of the controls is traditional: on the right side there is a power button and a volume rocker, on the opposite side there is a tray for two SIM cards, instead of one of which you can insert a memory card. On the bottom there is a connector for connecting a microUSB cable, and to the left and right of it there are openings for a microphone and an external speaker.

But the most notable part of the Redmi 5 Plus is the screen. It has a size of 5.99 inches with a resolution of 2,160 × 1,080 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18: 9. Although the display takes up most of the front surface of the smartphone, it cannot be called frameless. Frames are also quite tangible: on the sides about 3 mm, and above and below their thickness exceeds a centimeter. Nevertheless, this not only does not spoil the appearance of the device, but also makes its use much more convenient, since it is impossible to accidentally press something on the screen.

For the appearance of Redmi 5 Plus, you can safely put the highest mark - the device looks great in any color. The new widescreen design looks fresh and attractive, and the build quality is also satisfactory.

Screen and sound

Although the Redmi 5 Plus is positioned as a fairly budget device, doubts arise when looking at the screen. A bright high-quality smartphone display with a resolution of 2 160 × 1,080 pixels would look quite appropriate in much more expensive devices.

The large diagonal did not affect the usability in any way - thanks to the elongated shape, the phone fits perfectly in the hand. The screen displays the entire color gamut without errors, the picture looks contrasting and saturated. For lovers of fine-tuning in MIUI, you can change some image parameters.

The brightness of the screen varies widely, but in the sun its maximum value seemed to us insufficient for comfortable work. But lovers of night reading can be completely calm for their eyes. The minimum level of brightness in combination with a special reading mode allows you to turn pages for several hours.

As for the sound, the Redmi 5 Plus is one of the few smartphones that you don't want to scold about. Yes, there are complaints about the quality of the external speaker, yes, audiophiles can curl their lips and talk about the depth of the bass and the purity of the high frequencies, but this gadget sounds good against the background of competitors in this price category. The real maestro does not yet reach, but does not cause irritation when listening.

Performance

Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus is built on the same platform as the Mi A1 we recently visited, so the test results are almost identical. Interestingly, even the fact that one of the devices is running pure Android, and the other has MIUI installed, did not affect the results too much.

It is safe to say that the owners of this smartphone will not experience any performance problems. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor easily copes with tasks such as surfing the web, working with images, watching movies, chatting in instant messengers. It is difficult for us to imagine a situation in which the Redmi 5 Plus could stutter or slow down.

3 or 4 GB of RAM is enough for smooth operation of the operating system and fast switching between previously launched applications. The built-in video accelerator allows you to have fun not only with simple casual games or puzzles, but also with quite adult 3D projects. For example, everyone's favorite "tanks" work without problems at medium settings.

Autonomy

The Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus smartphone has a 4000 mAh battery. Someone may say that this is not so much, and pull out of his pocket his "Chinese" with a battery for five or even six thousand.

However, the problem is that the declared capacity does not always correspond to the actual capacity in Chinese smartphones. Unless, of course, these are not Xiaomi products, which do not stoop to such tricks. So the real 4,000 mAh is preferable to the painted figures of the competition.

In the PC Mark Battery test, which measures the battery life while performing common user tasks, the Redmi 5 Plus lasted 12 hours and 40 minutes. This is a decent result, indicating that in real life you will recharge the device in about a day.

Camera

Before talking about the camera's operation, you need to take another look at the name of the smartphone. That's right, Redmi is a line of budget devices that are aimed at the widest range of users. Therefore, it is foolish to demand from smartphones the same quality of photographs that mid-budget or flagship models give out.

Nevertheless, we will not scold the photos of Redmi 5 Plus. The main camera of the device copes well with its work during daylight hours. The quality of night shots is somewhat worse, but not enough to discourage experimentation. Sometimes, when the stars in the sky are lined up in the right combination, and the photographer's hand can lean on something solid, interesting photos can be obtained.

Do not forget that Redmi 5 Plus, like most Xiaomi smartphones, instantly acquired a whole army of users who immediately began to look for ways to improve the gadget. Therefore, active work is already underway on attaching the Camera2 API to the phone, porting third-party cameras and other improvements to the standard software. So there is hope that image quality can be improved in the future.

Software

The Redmi 5 Plus smartphone runs the latest version of MIUI 9, which is based on Android 7.1.2. We were sent a Chinese version of the device for review, in which there were only two languages (Chinese and English), as well as a large number of specific software designed exclusively for the local market.

However, after a while, a global version of the firmware was released, to which the phone was successfully flashed. It already contains other languages and the Google Play store, so you can easily install all your favorite applications and services.

Now Redmi 5 Plus should initially be sold with this firmware, so most of our readers will not face similar problems. However, if you buy a smartphone from Chinese online stores, pay attention to this aspect.

As for MIUI, its fresh version has become even more convenient and beautiful. The shell works quickly and smoothly, applications start instantly, the battery is not consumed excessively - a pleasure. MIUI fans will be delighted, and regular Android fans will be able to install one of the alternative firmwares that are likely to appear soon.

Outcomes

At the end of the review, we usually list the strengths and weaknesses of the device so that readers can make a final conclusion about the advisability of buying it. In the case of the Redmi 5 Plus, it's easier to do than easy - this model has no flaws.

Budget models from Xiaomi are invariably very popular due to their excellent value for money. Buyers love that for relatively little money they get a reliable device with good performance and a beautiful operating system that has been supported for several years. All this fully applies to the new Redmi 5 Plus. Plus, it has a large screen and an eye-catching modern design.

It's hard to even imagine more for this money, so we recommend Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus for purchase. The main question in this case is what color and how much memory? Recall that this smartphone is available in gold, pink-gold, blue and black, and the price starts from 10 478 rubles for the younger version and reaches 12 807 rubles for a model with an increased memory capacity.