Redmi 6 Pro Overall Review (Initial): the Very First Xiaomi Smartphone with Dedicated MicroSD Slot

Xiaomi launched a higher variant of Redmi 6 yesterday. Call Redmi 6 Pro, the handset is now available in the Chinese market for purchase. The handset has decent specifications and is targeted to budget-oriented customers. Currently, it is available in China only but we expect the company to launch this handset in other Asian countries including India pretty soon.

What’s interesting about this device is it is expected to come with a price tag of ₹9,999. In this range, we have several devices but they don’t meet the requirement, however, the RealMe 1 could be a good choice. Anyway, in this article, we are going to do a quick overview review of Redmi 6 Pro.

Redmi 6 Pro Specifications and Features

Display	5.84 inch Full HD+, 1080x2160px, 19:9 Aspect Ratio
SoC & GPU	Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 625 | Adreno 506
OS & RAM	Android 8.1 Oreo (MIUI 9.0) | 3GB or 4GB RAM
Storage	32GB or 64GB | Expandable up to 256GB (Dedicated Slot)
Rear Camera	Dual 12MP + 5MP, f/2.2, Gyro-EIS, PDAF, LED Flash
Front Camera	5MP, HDR
Battery	Li-Po 4,000 mAh, Fast Charging 10W

Redmi 6 Pro Design & Build Quality

In terms of design, it can be considered as the most affordable iPhone X-clone till date. The handset bears the exact same design on the rear with an addition of fingerprint sensor in the middle. It weighs 178 grams as it has a metallic body but it won’t feel heavy if you get used to it.

The Redmi 6 Pro comes with notch and the interesting thing is that you can hide it. Means, if you don’t want a notched display, you can simply turn it off and make it look like a regular android phone. It does carry bezels below display, rest sides of the display have acceptable amount of bezels.

Another interesting thing is that this is Xiaomi’s very first smartphone to come with a dedicated microSD slot. Until now, many people were complaining for its hybrid slots. So now, it is a big relief for them.

Redmi 6 Pro Display, OS and UI

The Redmi 6 Pro features a 5.84 inches Full HD+ display which is fitted into the size of a regular 5 inch smartphone body. So, the display is big enough for those who love to watch videos or play games on their smartphones. As it has an IPS LCD panel with full HD+ resolution, the display look vibrant and is bright enough.

Talking about software, the handset runs on Android 8.0 Oreo-based MIUI 9. As you already know, the MIUI is a feature rich user interface. It doesn’t lag and offers very smooth experience.

Redmi 6 Pro Gaming and Performance

The Redmi 6 Pro comes with very popular mid-range processor – Snapdragon 625. It is a common processor and can often be seen. Even the Redmi Note 5, Redmi Note 4 and Mi A1 also come with this processor.

Talking about real-time performance, it is good. The Snapdragon 625 is more than good if you are a normal user and play normal games. It doesn’t lag if you are using social media apps, playing normal games or switching between normal applications.

It will also handle some graphics-rich games but don’t keep your expectations high. It is a mid-range processor and comes with Adreno 506 GPU which can’t handle heavy graphics. Switching between heavy apps can restart the game rather than resuming. We will talk more about the performance in our in-depth article. Wait for it.

Redmi 6 Pro Camera

Sample photos provided by the company look a bit unbelievable so we are going to do an in-depth review. Wait for it. Meanwhile, we can tell you that daylight photos taken from Redmi 6 Pro look good. Colors look natural and images have good details.

The Redmi 6 Pro comes with f/2.2 aperture (in both rear cameras) which means it can create very good depth-of-field effect. So if you love the bokeh effect, you will love the performance.

Talking about what’s interesting, its front facing camera is powered by AI portrait and AI beauty. Means, the performance of front facing camera depends on artificial algorithm. Those, who want bokeh effect in selfies too, will love this feature. We will talk more about camera in our in-depth article. Wait for it.

Redmi 6 Pro Battery

The Redmi 6 Pro is backed by a 4,000 mAh battery which is more than sufficient if you are a normal user. It can last more than 36 hours if you operate it normally. During moderate usage, it will last a day. We can’t talk about heavy usage as we are still testing the device but we are pretty sure that it can last up to 5 hours.

Our Verdict

The Redmi 6 Pro has been launched with a very competitive price tag in China. In this range, we already have RealMe 1, Redmi 5, Redmi Note 5, Honor 9 Lite and Honor 7X. Though its price for India is still unknown, it is expected that the handset is going to be priced around ₹10,000. For this price, the handset does have decent specifications and very good build quality.

Now, if the Redmi Note 6 Pro gets a price tag around ₹10,000; it will become really confusing for those looking to buy a mid-range handset. Anyway, most of the phones in this range are powered by Snapdragon 625 so their performance is more or less similar. The decision of winner will be taken by their camera performance which we are doing right now. So, wait for it and we will tell you which one is the true king in this price range.