Xiaomi recently announced that the budget-focused Redmi family is now an “independent” brand, you know, just like POCO. And the first device to come as part of this new Redmi sub-brand is Xiaomi Redmi Note 7, a successor to the Redmi Note 6 (Pro) that has barely started selling in the country.
Among the major highlights are a massive 48MP Sony IMX586 Samsung ISOCELL sensor on the back and a water drop notch on the display screen, but that’s not all.
What’s even more interesting is that Xiaomi Kenya has just dropped a hint suggesting the Redmi Note 7 is coming soon.
48MP Camera! For less than KES 18,000/- Do you want this? RT this tweet!
— Xiaomi Kenya (@Xiaomi_Kenya) January 10, 2019
Redmi Note 7 specs
- 6.3-inch 19.5:9 LCD FHD+ (2340 x 1080) display screen
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor
- 3GB or 4GB or 6GB RAM
- 32GB or 64GB expandable storage
- Dual 48MP + 5MP main camera
- 13MP front camera
- 4000mAh battery
- Android 9.0 Pie with MIUI 10
- Extras: Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C, 3.5mm audio jack, rear-mounted FPS, Quick Charge 4, IR Blaster, AI face unlock, etc.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 is a beast of a budget phone. The 6.3-inch LCD panel is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5 technology and under the hood, it’s a step up from the Snapdragon 636 used in the Redmi Note 6 Pro, with the powerful Snapdragon 660 mated with up to 6GB RAM, although we don’t know whether this variant will come to Kenya.
Of course, the biggest selling point is the main camera, which rocks a massive 48MP main lens, the biggest in any Xiaomi phone. The obvious of such megapixel count is photos with very large file sizes, but there are tweaks that enable outputting of 12MP images that are way smaller in size. The secondary 5MP lens is used for Portrait Mode and performing other AI-based functions while the notch on the front houses a 13MP selfie shooter.
Keeping the Redmi Note 7 alive is a 4000mAh battery, the same unit used in the outgoing model, but this time you get a USB-C port and support for Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 4 battery charging technology. The 3.5mm audio jack also keeps its place and so do things like Bluetooth 5.0, rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, AI face unlock, and so on.
In the specs sheet, Xiaomi isn’t clear on what software powers the Redmi Note 7, but some media outlets report that it runs Android 9.0 Pie with MIUI 10 atop out of the box, which is pretty cool coming from a company that has often been accused of being poor in matters software. All this is housed in a glass body, another major highlight for a budget device.
In China, the base model of the Note 7 goes for CNY 999, which translates to about Sh 15,000. This is unlikely to be the price of the phone when it hits the Kenyan shores, but according to Xiaomi Kenya’s Twitter handle, it will sell locally at less than Sh 18,000. This should easily make the Redmi Note 7 the phone to beat when it arrives.
Speaking of which, we still don’t know when the phone will start selling locally, but by the look of things, it may arrive this January or February 2019. We’ll let you know when it does.
