The Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 stole the show when it was announced a few weeks back. With updated design and hardware all for the same great low price as it’s predecessor it looks great on paper, so how about in real life? Read our full Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 review here.
Xiaomi’s Redmi range of phones really received a serious boost when the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 was announced. This was a phone with which offered all the benefits of a Redmi phone, but with hardware on par with some flagships.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Review – Design
After the rather bland and bulky design of the original Redmi Note, Xiaomi have really done a great job of the Redmi Note 2. The Note 2 offers the same size 5.5-inch display, but in a more compact and thinner body than before.
Being narrower in both the overall thickness and width of the original Redmi Note helps the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 feel much more at home in your hand. With the addition of a soft to the touch rear, and much rounder edges the phone is a joy to hold.
Construction is sill based around a plastic covered main chassis with removable rear panel (available only in white at this time), but it remains solid and feels lightweight. A benefit of a plastic build over metal is also the cost. Plastic is cheaper meaning more exciting hardware features can be thrown in at a lower price, but also plastic has a higher yield rate at the factory meaning fewer quality issues and a faster turn around time, further reducing costs.
Xiaomi like to launch the white versions of their phones first. With a black front and white rear the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 has a ‘Panda’ look to it. There is a splash of colour on the front of the device where the hardware navigation buttons get red icons and are backlit with a red LED too.
The front is where the 5.5-inch FHD display resides, and it is nice to see narrower bezels on the Redmi Note 2. As mentioned above this gives a narrower body, and it also helps to give the budget phablet a high-end look. Above the screen is a 5 mega-pixel front facing camera, receiver and the usual sensors.
A standard USB port is located in the base next to a microphone. The entire left side of the phone is blank and the power button and volume rocker are found on the right (the same as every Xiaomi phone to date). Up top, Xiaomi have placed a 3.5mm headphone jack and even found room in the budget for an IR blaster. Personally I never use the IR control on any phone, so it is of little benefit to me, but some users find it a great benefit to have.
The rear of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 looks like the Mi2 from years back only larger. There is a large lens with 13 mega-pixel PDAF camera behind, single LED flash, Mi logo and large speaker area (similar in design to the Xiaomi Mi4i and Mi4c).
Like all Redmi phones the rear panel is removable so you can replace to backs with other colour options, but on a more useful note it also gives you access to the removable 3020mAh battery, dual SIM slots and Micro SD card tray.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Review – Display
In addition to the new design, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 also sees a boost in screen resolution. The display is the same 5.5-inch across but it now has a 1920 x 1080 FHD resolution and PPI of 401. Compared to the original Redmi Note this is a great improvement. Text is clearer, and images are more crisp.
MIUI has the option to change the ‘temperature’ of the ROM to give you a cooler or warmer feel, but I was left wanting in the overall vibrancy of the screen. That’s not to say the screen on the Redmi Note 2 is bad, but just that I have seen more visually appealing screens on similar priced phones.
Touch response and accuracy are fine on my test unit, but I did notice that the lower portion of the display has a slight yellow tinge to it. I’d like to point out that I didn’t notice this myself and had to visually search for the issue after a reader told me other Redmi Note 2 owners had mentioned it. The yellowing isn’t on the same scale as it was on the OPO, and you would really have to take a good long look to notice. For me it’s a none issue.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Review – Hardware
Xiaomi managed to find enough money in their budget to really give the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 an impressive hardware overhaul, and really went to town under the hood. The big news is the inclusion of a 2.0Ghz Mediatek MT6795 Helio X10 Chipset (the Redmi Note 2 Prime as a 2.2Ghz chipset). This is a similar SoC to the Meizu MX5 and the LeTV Le1, and is a proven performer.
RAM on both versions of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 remains at 2GB, but internal storage leaps to 32GB on the prime from 16GB on the standard Redmi note 2. Personally if I was to use my own money to buy the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 I would choose the standard 2.0Ghz model and buy a large SD card as I am not sure the extra 0.2Ghz of CPU is going to make a whole world of difference to the phone.
Gizchina News of the week
The Helio X10 chip has support for LTE bands, but it’s not compatible with all networks. If you are in the U.S then the phone isn’t going to work with all providers, and you aren’t going to get LTE speed data. European buyers are going to have better luck with LTE. I recommend checking with your network provider to ensure the Redmi note 2 is compatible before buying (4G FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz, TDD-LTE 2600/1900/2300/2500MHz, 3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/ 2100MHz, 2G: GSM 850/900/1900MHz)
Another area where Xiaomi have boosted the parameters of the Redmi note 2 is the cameras. The front camera is a 5 mega-pixel shooter with wide-angle lens and beautification features, while the rear is a Samsung 13 mega-pixel sensor with Phase Detection Auto Focus. On paper this sounds really impressive, but the results (see below) are about average for a phone of this price.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Review – Performance
If you remember what hardware the original Redmi Note had then you should have some idea of how the new Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 performs. With either 2.0Ghz or 2.2Ghz of power plus 2GB RAM on tap the Redmi Note 2 runs everyday tasks without issue. Day to day performance is fantastic, even multi-tasking runs well with (just) 2GB RAM available.
Now and then the Redmi Note 2 can struggle during gaming. There will be a slight slow down or the odd jerk or jump. It’s not a regular occuring issue but then again I’m not a heavy gamer. What is more of a concern is the heat. Gaming, or anything else which requires putting the SoC under load generates a lot of heat.
Those odd jerks and jumps in gaming and the unacceptable heat are issues we hope the upcoming MIUI 7 ROM are going to address.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Review – Battery
I like that Xiaomi retained the removable battery design on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2. It means that you an carry a spare with you, and it also opens the possiblity of a longer service time. It’s also good to see a large 3020mAh battery included in the phone.
As with the gaming performance and heat, I am hoping that battery performance can be improved with MIUI 7. As it is, you can get the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 to last a full day of average use, with a screen on time of around 4 hours.
Is this good? Well it depends what you were expecting and what you are currenlty use to. I was hoping for longer, but not being a heavy gamer I can make this battery life work. Still, I hope MIUI 7 can bring better optimisation and squeeze a longer screen on time out of the tank.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Review – Camera
To hear the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 came with an updated 13 mega-pixel PDAF rear camera was a real ‘wow’ moment for me and I was eager to give it a go. Perhaps my excitement and high expectations are the reason why I’m not all that impressed with the camera performance though.
With PDAF I was expecting a fast auto focus, and while it is faster than the original Redmi Note, it isn’t fast enough to notice a huge benefit. Actual image quality was average for a mid-range phone. I would say that Meizu have done a better job with camera optimisation, and the the LeTV Le1 is leagues ahead of the Redmi Note 2.
Below are a few Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 photo samples.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Gallery
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Specifications
| Specification | |
| Model: | Redmi Note2 |
| Sim Card: |
|
| Color: | Front White |
| Capacity | RAM: 2GB RAM
ROM: 16GB ROM |
| Multi-Languages | English, Simplified Chinese |
| Chipset | CPU: MTK Helio X10 GPU: Power VR G6200 RAM: 2GB LPDDR3 Others: Quad-core 2.0 GHz Octa-core 64-bit, A53 |
| System | MIUI 7 |
| Screen | Display Size: 5.5 Inch
Type: IPS LCD, capacitive touch screen Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels Screen Color: 16000K Colors Multitouch: Yes Technology:312 ppi pixel density,OGS |
| Camera | Rear Camera: 13 MP, 4208 x 3120 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Front Camera: 5MP Features: geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, HDR Video Capture:1080p@30fps, 720p@30fps |
| Network and Wireless Connectivity | 4G FDD-LTE B1B3/B7(1800/2100/2600MHz) ,
TDD-LTE B38/B39/B40/B41(2600/1900/2300/2500MHz) 3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/ 2100MHz 2G: GSM 850/900/1900MHz Data Technology: GPRS/EDGE/DC-HSPA+(42Mbps) GPS: GPS + AGPS + GLONASS + BDS Bluetooth: BT4.0LE infrared WiFi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi hotspot,Dual-And, Wi-Fi Direct OTG:Yes |
| Battery capacity and life |
3020mAh lithium-ion battery |
| Sensor | Gyro, Light, Gravity, Proximity, Compass |
| Size | Dimensions:152 x 76 x 8.25 mm
Net Weight: 160 g |
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Review – Conclusion
It goes without saying that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 is a huge upgrade over the original Redmi Note. Xiaomi have managed to give the Redmi Note 2 a much more pleasing design, powerful Helio X10 processor, PDAF rear camera, higher resolution display and some neat features like dual SIM and an IR remote.
But a lot has changed in the Chinese smartphone world since the original Xiaomi Redmi Note launched and the Redmi Note 2 only addresses some of that change. The design and hardware are a huge improvement, but the user experience and performance (camera, gaming battery performance) are all below expectations. Just as the Mi4i looked killer on paper and failed to impress due to poor optimisation, the Redmi Note 2 also falls behind the competition.
There is still potential for the phone. With an update to Xiaomi’s latest MIUI 7 we could see better gaming performance, better image processing and longer battery life, but then again we might not.
Hi Andi. Thanks for the review. How’s the phone as an mp3 player? Could you comment on the audio quality, please? Thank you
You won’t see better gaming performance as around 12K in native resolution in 3D Antutu is the standard.
When you score below 11K you will experience drops in framerate.
Plainly speaking the PVR G6200 is simply not good enough for gaming on a 1080P device, it`s perfect for casual games, but for the elite stuff – forget it.
Elite stuff on raw android is nah – most of it are nvidia exclusives 🙁 I want talos principle so much on my phone … And hotline miami …. and half life 2 (episode 1 and 2 too!) …. ANd portal …… and titan souls …. and doom 3 bfg edition …… and trine 2 …. and rochard and …. METAL GEAR FKIN REVENGEANCE BORDERLFRIGGINLANDS ” AND FKKKIN CRYSIS 3 AND RESident EVIL TOO and EVEN FTP BLACKLIGHT WTF NVIDIIA FU%K YOU AND YOUR ANDROID EXCLUSIVES
For the price it currently sells for on some resellers I would just get a regular Mi4 for not much more. If you can eventually find it for under $200, it is a steal.
Hi Andy
have you tried using 4g sim on both sim slots ?
Good review.
I would have liked to see the alternatives available from the competition that you think are better than this phone in you conclusion.
I totally agree. The review is great at saying it is a good mid-range phone but that good medium-range phones are legions now.
What alternative would you recommend then? At the same price-tag of course.
Cool.
Im waiting for ZUK Z1 running COS review tho;)
wow … SHIT camera :/
way to spoil the party Xiaomi :@ !
it is not a shitty camera, Andy simply compares phones from different categories (e.g. Letv Le 1). My confidence just got affirmed by a respectable gsmarena website as their review was just published 🙂
China side had compared redmi note 2 camera with meizu note 2, the results was that redmi note 2 does better in color reproduction and night photography, but seems a bit soft and lack details. However, this comparison was done when redmi note 2 was just released, there could had been improvement on the camera software. I do agree comparing a sub 1000RMB with a sub 1500RMB phone isn’t fair. http://tech.sina.com.cn/mobile/n/c/2015-08-19/doc-ifxfxzzn7586101-p4.shtml
For what letv x600 is selling now, I would rather go get a new US$250 LG G Flex 2 deals that happens on ebay every now and then. I own a LG G Flex 2 and I can say LG fixed the overheating throttling issue. If I were to compare this with letv x600, I’ll likely give the value rating of x600 a 6.5/10 cos LG G flex 2 is a flagship and x600 is just the lowest of the series. Kinda like comparing redmi note 2 with x600 I guess.
well … can’t argue with Linus 🙂
can i get a link to that gsmarena review ?
Nice phone, nice specs, nice price. Pity about no 800/900 4G (So much for “European buyers are going to have better luck with LTE”).
Hi, Andi. Great review, thank you. However, I do not understand your comparisons and calling this a “mid-range” phone. Knowing the fact that this phone can be purchased for as low as $160 even from the third-party resellers, this is more like a upper low-end phone and it should be compared with the models Elephone P8000 and so on but not with the Letv Le 1, which was priced significantly higher before the recent price drop.
I even believe that Xiaomi considers this a low-end phone, not a mid-range. Thus, I don’t really understand why did you review the Redmi Note 2 having these more expensive phones and mid-range (even affordable flagships like the Meizu MX5) in mind. Yes, they have the same Helio X10 socs, but… Your conclusions about the display and the camera are kind of interesting.
Can you tell a few $150-160 phones that have a better camera and display? It maybe be the Meizu M2 Note but it can’t be said that the Redmi Note 2 “falls behind the competition. I agree with a lot of things you said though. Hopefully, the software, performance will be improved with the MIUI 7.
Cheers,
Linus
It is mid range based off of it’s specs not it’s price. The Helios X10 is a mid-high range SoC that so far has mainly been used in the flagship category.
The SoC alone does not make a device a midrange. Midrange means that every thing is at upper level compared to the low end and that especially can be said about the camera. It is more than obvious that the Xiaomi designed this phone as a powerful low-end and that reflects in the price, non-premium design, lower-end camera and other elements. Xiaomi’s midrange phone is the Xiaomi Mi4i (now they are trying to redefine the midrange with the Mi4c), the high-end – Mi4 (will be replaced by the Mi5 at the end of this year), Mi Note and Mi Note Pro.
Same can be said about Letv’s philosophy – Le 1 – Helios chip, Le 1 Pro and the Le Max – Snapdragon. Simple as that.
Typically the Redmi range was considered the lower end of the spectrum and price wise it still is. But in this industry everything is defined by the SoC you use first, everything else falls in line after that. Just like a $500 phone with a SD410 would never be considered a flagship no matter how good the other components are. This is industry is defined by SoC’s.
And its in your phone! *walks away like b0ss*
It sure is but I am not a power user so I care very little about the SoC, a 6753 is powerful enough for what I do on a day to day basis.
Let’s assume that all current X10 phones are mid-high range, but redmi note 2 is selling at low prices 799/899/999 RMB (this is the actual prices set by Xiaomi) Meaning you are paying peanuts for this so call mid-high range. Why is that not excellent value? It’s like a 8.5-9/10 value to me. Anyway in Xiaomi POV all redmi series are entry-low mid range. Xiaomi give u good SOC with decent hardware and average camera at a great price. Only problem is that you need to wait for the software to be optimized lol At least they try update the miui weekly 🙂
absolutely agree with you, that’s pretty much I wanted to say and that’s the majority of people think 🙂 cheers
At least with Xioami you know it will be optimized, whereas a company like Elephone offering something like this you would be your own trying to find a stable ROM.
You’re right. Hence it’s Xiaomi there’s hope.
Because the author has no clue.
I get your point, but I am happy that Andy mention LeTv. Because I want buy one of those phones. Price difference is only 50$. I even asked you under yours review about letv. I like your review btw
Nice review, but comparison with Lenovo K3 note and Meizu m2 note would be nice.
Battery should have been at least 3600 mAh.
Why not go and carry car battery along. It’s not by paper capacity.
Have you even used this phone?
Looks like Jiayu S3S is still a better choice. It’s price may be a little higher, but overall you get a much better phone. Altough S3S does not “kill” the Redmi Note 2 in any way, it’s simply slightly better in nearly every way. Only it’s screen might be a little worse and the SoC is a bit weaker.
oh no, my friend, no…. Jiayu is not in the same league.
is it bad?
Jiayu is bankrupt
Take InFocus M810T, forgot about software updates, learn to live with K. K. & you have much better build phone with much better display with mature platform that is better towards power consumption & cetera for less bucks. S3S whose a good choice but 4-6 months ago it’s probably only one that is geting 5.1.1 upgrade with MT6752 SoC & cetera.
Nevermind – missread
Hi Andi. Thanks for the review. How’s the phone as an mp3 player? Could you comment on the audio quality, please? Thank you
You won’t see better gaming performance as around 12K in native resolution in 3D Antutu is the standard.
When you score below 11K you will experience drops in framerate.
Plainly speaking the PVR G6200 is simply not good enough for gaming on a 1080P device, it`s perfect for casual games, but for the elite stuff – forget it.
Elite stuff on raw android is nah – most of it are nvidia exclusives 🙁 I want talos principle so much on my phone … And hotline miami …. and half life 2 (episode 1 and 2 too!) …. ANd portal …… and titan souls …. and doom 3 bfg edition …… and trine 2 …. and rochard and …. METAL GEAR FKIN REVENGEANCE BORDERLFRIGGINLANDS ” AND FKKKIN CRYSIS 3 AND RESident EVIL TOO and EVEN FTP BLACKLIGHT WTF NVIDIIA FU%K YOU AND YOUR ANDROID EXCLUSIVES
For under $200 it is an excellent value.
Hi Andy
have you tried using 4g sim on both sim slots ?
Good review.
I would have liked to see the alternatives available from the competition that you think are better than this phone in you conclusion.
I totally agree. The review is great at saying it is a good mid-range phone but that good medium-range phones are legions now.
What alternative would you recommend then? At the same price-tag of course.
Cool.
Im waiting for ZUK Z1 running COS review tho;)
wow … SHIT camera :/
way to spoil the party Xiaomi :@ !
it is not a shitty camera, Andy simply compares phones from different categories (e.g. Letv Le 1). My confidence just got affirmed by a respectable gsmarena website as their review was just published 🙂
China side had compared redmi note 2 camera with meizu note 2, the results was that redmi note 2 does better in color reproduction and night photography, but seems a bit soft and lack details. However, this comparison was done when redmi note 2 was just released, there could had been improvement on the camera software. I do agree comparing a sub 1000RMB with a sub 1500RMB phone isn’t fair. http://tech.sina.com.cn/mobile/n/c/2015-08-19/doc-ifxfxzzn7586101-p4.shtml
For what letv x600 is selling now, I would rather go get a new US$250 LG G Flex 2 deals that happens on ebay every now and then. I own a LG G Flex 2 and I can say LG fixed the overheating throttling issue. If I were to compare this with letv x600, I’ll likely give the value rating of x600 a 6.5/10 cos LG G flex 2 is a flagship and x600 is just the lowest of the series. Kinda like comparing redmi note 2 with x600 I guess.
well … can’t argue with Linus 🙂
can i get a link to that gsmarena review ?
Nice phone, nice specs, nice price. Pity about no 800/900 4G (So much for “European buyers are going to have better luck with LTE”).
I feel that we need to be fair to Xiaomi. Are there any phones which is better than Redmi Note 2 if my budget is $200 and below? We can’t have all the best things with this budget? At least I’m confident with Xiaomi software updates support down the road if I’m the owner of this Xiaomi Redmi Note 2. My wife has been using Redmi Note 3g for the pass 1 year+ and she’s happy with it. I’m going to buy this phone for her again once it launch in my country Singapore.
Meizu M1 & M2 note, iuni u3, Lenovo k3 note, meizu mx4
Zenfone 2.
So far I’m in love with it, just the shitty camera and poor buttons placement choices.
Hi, Andi. Great review, thank you. However, I do not understand your comparisons and calling this a “mid-range” phone. Knowing the fact that this phone can be purchased for as low as $160 even from the third-party resellers, this is more like a upper low-end phone and it should be compared with the models Elephone P8000 and so on but not with the Letv Le 1, which was priced significantly higher before the recent price drop.
I even believe that Xiaomi considers this a low-end phone, not a mid-range. Thus, I don’t really understand why did you review the Redmi Note 2 having these more expensive phones and mid-range (even affordable flagships like the Meizu MX5) in mind. Yes, they have the same Helio X10 socs, but… Your conclusions about the display and the camera are kind of interesting.
Can you tell a few $150-160 phones that have a better camera and display? It maybe be the Meizu M2 Note but it can’t be said that the Redmi Note 2 “falls behind the competition. I agree with a lot of things you said though. Hopefully, the software, performance will be improved with the MIUI 7.
Cheers,
Linus
It is mid range based off of it’s specs not it’s price. The Helios X10 is a mid-high range SoC that so far has mainly been used in the flagship category.
The SoC alone does not make a device a midrange. Midrange means that every thing is at upper level compared to the low end and that especially can be said about the camera. It is more than obvious that the Xiaomi designed this phone as a powerful low-end and that reflects in the price, non-premium design, lower-end camera and other elements. Xiaomi’s midrange phone is the Xiaomi Mi4i (now they are trying to redefine the midrange with the Mi4c), the high-end – Mi4 (will be replaced by the Mi5 at the end of this year), Mi Note and Mi Note Pro.
Same can be said about Letv’s philosophy – Le 1 – Helios chip, Le 1 Pro and the Le Max – Snapdragon. Simple as that.
And its in your phone! *walks away like b0ss*
Let’s assume that all current X10 phones are mid-high range, but redmi note 2 is selling at low prices 799/899/999 RMB (this is the actual prices set by Xiaomi) Meaning you are paying peanuts for this so call mid-high range. Why is that not excellent value? It’s like a 8.5-9/10 value to me. Anyway in Xiaomi POV all redmi series are entry-low mid range. Xiaomi give u good SOC with decent hardware and average camera at a great price. Only problem is that you need to wait for the software to be optimized lol At least they try update the miui weekly 🙂
absolutely agree with you, that’s pretty much I wanted to say and that’s the majority of people think 🙂 cheers
At least with Xioami you know it will be optimized, whereas a company like Elephone offering something like this you would be your own trying to find a stable ROM.
It sure is but I am not a power user so I care very little about the SoC, a 6753 is powerful enough for what I do on a day to day basis.
Typically the Redmi range was considered the lower end of the spectrum and price wise it still is. But in this industry everything is defined by the SoC you use first, everything else falls in line after that. Just like a $500 phone with a SD410 would never be considered a flagship no matter how good the other components are. This is industry is defined by SoC’s.
You’re right. Hence it’s Xiaomi there’s hope.
I get your point, but I am happy that Andy mention LeTv. Because I want buy one of those phones. Price difference is only 50$. I even asked you under yours review about letv. I like your review btw
Because the author has no clue.
I’ve said it before but in my opinion all of xiaomi’s issues are down to the poor optimization and bloat of MIUI. They don’t have a problem making decent hardware but somehow in the mi4i and now the Redmi Note 2 they have managed to make phones that overheat despite other manufacturers using the same chipsets and not having these problems. We also see other issues, camera battery etc here. Sadly i’m not surprised. Xiaomi basically release every device with beta firmware (Mi Pad and Mi4i owners especially will know this). Their obsession with releasing new models has also meant their quality control has gone down the pan and they basically have a hugely bloated, ram hogging, poorly optimised rom running badly across a now quite bloated product line, basically exactly like Samsung. Their bug fixing is also a joke, weekly rom updates that bring more problems than they fix and no guarantee of the latest android builds on your device any time soon, perhaps even ever. They seriously need to consider a full revamp of miui, stripping it right back and focussing on performance, stability and speed and limiting the amount of handsets released each year and properly optimising them before they get to market. With teh current strategy I think they will get a rude awakening if the decide to come to Europe and the US. At the moment MIUI V7 next to iOS 9 is like comparing a Ford KA to a ferarri, Apple are in a completely different league when it comes to software.
which brands do you suggest that have a good OS and not many bugs? (I wouldn’t buy apple, sorry)
nexus phone will always have the latest OS and latest bugs 😀
Sony or anything else that goes with almost vanilla & SoC’s with wide open support & developer community. Still Sony with its better (flagship) lineup is the only one that will have ready official AOSP two years + after release (not even Nexus-es have this kind of long lasting software support). When it comes to Chinese & budget orientation you need to follow what will gain a traction over a developer community or just buy a New Moto G. Unfortunately the really good SoC manufacturers that where open source friendly left the smartphone arena long ago (Texas Instruments & Broadcom) so that leaves Qualcomm that I personally dislike & state of MSM CAF’s is far from being in a good shape.
Their is a big difference between natively compiled C apps (iOS) & Java ones compiled with best JIT or ART. Never the less as apps need to be cross platform & easily upgraded Apple added JIT from 8.3.
Don’t expect high lv of software optimizations from new SoC manufactured by someone who doesn’t publish sources, violates the open source licenses & with who developers don’t really want to work. On the other end Xiaomi is not a part of the Linaro mobile or any other group devoted to software optimizations. As the time will pass the ART will become faster (more row CPU performance that can be used to compile) & whole concept is better than precompiled apps because code is smaller to get & it’s easier to update part of the code & cetera. Mi-UI whose always colorful shiny parrot eating lot’s of RAM (not that Lollipop generally isn’t). At the end almost no one optimizes software properly this day’s in the smartphone world they all go with take money & run.
Nice review, but comparison with Lenovo K3 note and Meizu m2 note would be nice.
Battery should have been at least 3600 mAh.
Why not go and carry car battery along. It’s not by paper capacity.
Have you even used this phone?
Looks like Jiayu S3S is still a better choice. It’s price may be a little higher, but overall you get a much better phone. Altough S3S does not “kill” the Redmi Note 2 in any way, it’s simply slightly better in nearly every way. Only it’s screen might be a little worse and the SoC is a bit weaker.
oh no, my friend, no…. Jiayu is not in the same league.
is it bad?
Jiayu is bankrupt
Take InFocus M810T, forgot about software updates, learn to live with K. K. & you have much better build phone with much better display with mature platform that is better towards power consumption & cetera for less bucks. S3S whose a good choice but 4-6 months ago it’s probably only one that is geting 5.1.1 upgrade with MT6752 SoC & cetera.
Nevermind – missread
I feel that we need to be fair to Xiaomi. Are there any phones which is better than Redmi Note 2 if my budget is $200 and below? We can’t have all the best things with this budget? At least I’m confident with Xiaomi software updates support down the road if I’m the owner of this Xiaomi Redmi Note 2. My wife has been using Redmi Note 3g for the pass 1 year+ and she’s happy with it. I’m going to buy this phone for her again once it launch in my country Singapore.
Meizu M1 & M2 note, iuni u3, Lenovo k3 note, meizu mx4
Zenfone 2.
So far I’m in love with it, just the shitty camera and poor buttons placement choices.
I’ve said it before but in my opinion all of xiaomi’s issues are down to the poor optimization and bloat of MIUI. They don’t have a problem making decent hardware but somehow in the mi4i and now the Redmi Note 2 they have managed to make phones that overheat despite other manufacturers using the same chipsets and not having these problems. We also see other issues, camera battery etc here. Sadly i’m not surprised. Xiaomi basically release every device with beta firmware (Mi Pad and Mi4i owners especially will know this). Their obsession with releasing new models has also meant their quality control has gone down the pan and they basically have a hugely bloated, ram hogging, poorly optimised rom running badly across a now quite bloated product line, basically exactly like Samsung. Their bug fixing is also a joke, weekly rom updates that bring more problems than they fix and no guarantee of the latest android builds on your device any time soon, perhaps even ever. They seriously need to consider a full revamp of miui, stripping it right back and focussing on performance, stability and speed and limiting the amount of handsets released each year and properly optimising them before they get to market. With teh current strategy I think they will get a rude awakening if the decide to come to Europe and the US. At the moment MIUI V7 next to iOS 9 is like comparing a Ford KA to a ferarri, Apple are in a completely different league when it comes to software.
which brands do you suggest that have a good OS and not many bugs? (I wouldn’t buy apple, sorry)
nexus phone will always have the latest OS and latest bugs 😀
Their is a big difference between natively compiled C apps (iOS) & Java ones compiled with best JIT or ART. Never the less as apps need to be cross platform & easily upgraded Apple added JIT from 8.3.
Don’t expect high lv of software optimizations from new SoC manufactured by someone who doesn’t publish sources, violates the open source licenses & with who developers don’t really want to work. On the other end Xiaomi is not a part of the Linaro mobile or any other group devoted to software optimizations. As the time will pass the ART will become faster (more row CPU performance that can be used to compile) & whole concept is better than precompiled apps because code is smaller to get & it’s easier to update part of the code & cetera. Mi-UI whose always colorful shiny parrot eating lot’s of RAM (not that Lollipop generally isn’t). At the end almost no one optimizes software properly this day’s in the smartphone world they all go with take money & run.
Sony or anything else that goes with almost vanilla & SoC’s with wide open support & developer community. Still Sony with its better (flagship) lineup is the only one that will have ready official AOSP two years + after release (not even Nexus-es have this kind of long lasting software support). When it comes to Chinese & budget orientation you need to follow what will gain a traction over a developer community or just buy a New Moto G. Unfortunately the really good SoC manufacturers that where open source friendly left the smartphone arena long ago (Texas Instruments & Broadcom) so that leaves Qualcomm that I personally dislike & state of MSM CAF’s is far from being in a good shape.
More than 320 ppp is USELESS, the eye can’t perceive it.
Hi andi, what is the SAR value of this phone ? The chinese make beautiful phones but they are leaky and unsafe. Please state the SAR values along in ur reviews.
More than 320 ppp is USELESS, the eye can’t perceive it.
Hi andi, what is the SAR value of this phone ? The chinese make beautiful phones but they are leaky and unsafe. Please state the SAR values along in ur reviews.
Some people, including me, are experiencing battery drain by phone idle process… I found out that phone does not go to deep sleep because of the Videos application that causes partial wake locks and disabled it, so that did it for me, but phone still stays awake quite a lot, and drains battery quicker then expected. Here is the thread over at MIUI forum:
http://en.miui.com/thread-161232-2-1.html
I agree with opinions that it’s not a mid-range, but it actually is more like an upper low-end phone.
One more thing now: it’s already been confirmed that visually cheaper TDD versions of the phone, that can be easily bought from so many re-sellers, do not differ from the FDD ones at all! Therefore, you can go for the TDD one and use it in Europe and enjoy all the same frequencies as with the so called FDD one.
I’m a bit dissapointed with the camera of this phone, but you cannot have it all, for the money the RN2 is sold for.
With this price tag, it’s an absolute killer. Even LeTV has already dropped pricing for x600, which in my opinion, RN2 sales can take the credit for.
Some people, including me, are experiencing battery drain by phone idle process… I found out that phone does not go to deep sleep because of the Videos application that causes partial wake locks and disabled it, so that did it for me, but phone still stays awake quite a lot, and drains battery quicker then expected. Here is the thread over at MIUI forum:
http://en.miui.com/thread-161232-2-1.html
White background, black text. I hate it. And I just don’t get it why it can’t be changed in Andorid. Can the MIUI allow changes to this?
I own Redmi Note 2. I changed MIUI 6 straight to MIUI 7. It doesnt overheat, camera works better, battery lasts LONG. Iam a very happy owner, and just ordered aluminium covers from Aliexpress to make my Note 2 more sexy.
hi RedmiNote2Guy, how can i contact you ? I need to ask something.
urgent please!
I agree with opinions that it’s not a mid-range, but it actually is more like an upper low-end phone.
One more thing now: it’s already been confirmed that visually cheaper TDD versions of the phone, that can be easily bought from so many re-sellers, do not differ from the FDD ones at all! Therefore, you can go for the TDD one and use it in Europe and enjoy all the same frequencies as with the so called FDD one.
I’m a bit dissapointed with the camera of this phone, but you cannot have it all, for the money the RN2 is sold for.
With this price tag, it’s an absolute killer. Even LeTV has already dropped pricing for x600, which in my opinion, RN2 sales can take the credit for.
Hey ! it looks like a Lonovo K3 Note !
A comparison should be a good idea (at least for the consumer).
BTW i don’t really understand why a phone with overheating issues, battery drain issues, average camera and cheap design can obtain 7.4/10
White background, black text. I hate it. And I just don’t get it why it can’t be changed in Andorid. Can the MIUI allow changes to this?
I own Redmi Note 2. I changed MIUI 6 straight to MIUI 7. It doesnt overheat, camera works better, battery lasts LONG. Iam a very happy owner, and just ordered aluminium covers from Aliexpress to make my Note 2 more sexy.
hi RedmiNote2Guy, how can i contact you ? I need to ask something.
urgent please!
I’ll share my opinion after tried to read all reviews that I can find, I’ll try to remember them and write down the comparison of 3 most recognize bang for buck FHD 5.5″ inch smartphones of 2015 (A7000+ aka K3 Note, Redmi Note 2, M2 Note) here:
camera
M2 Note > K3 Note > Redmi Note 2
K3 Note is also good for this price range but I think pictures from M2 Note look better while Redmi Note 2 feel lack something here. But don’t forget at this price range, all 3 devices suffer in low light.
sound
K3 Note > Redmi Note 2 > M2 Note
K3 Note has special sound software of its own and M2 Note is known to be very moderate here.
display
Redmi Note 2 = M2 Note > K3 Note
none of them is bad but K3 Note just has less visibility when use outdoor while both M2 Note and Redmi Note 2 excel here.
battery
I don’t remember much about battery in those reviews but M2 Note doesn’t have removeable battery unlike K3 Note and Redmi Note 2
correct me if I wrong of share your own opinion!!
Could you test the phone with MIUI 7?
Hey ! it looks like a Lonovo K3 Note !
A comparison should be a good idea (at least for the consumer).
BTW i don’t really understand why a phone with overheating issues, battery drain issues, average camera and cheap design can obtain 7.4/10
I’ll share my opinion after tried to read all reviews that I can find, I’ll try to remember them and write down the comparison of 3 most recognize bang for buck FHD 5.5″ inch smartphones of 2015 (A7000+ aka K3 Note, Redmi Note 2, M2 Note) here:
camera
M2 Note > K3 Note > Redmi Note 2
K3 Note is also good for this price range but I think pictures from M2 Note look better while Redmi Note 2 feel lack something here. But don’t forget at this price range, all 3 devices suffer in low light.
sound
K3 Note > Redmi Note 2 > M2 Note
K3 Note has special sound software of its own and M2 Note is known to be very moderate here.
display
Redmi Note 2 = M2 Note > K3 Note
none of them is bad but K3 Note just has less visibility when use outdoor while both M2 Note and Redmi Note 2 excel here.
battery
I don’t remember much about battery in those reviews but M2 Note doesn’t have removeable battery unlike K3 Note and Redmi Note 2
correct me if I wrong of share your own opinion!!
Could you test the phone with MIUI 7?
This looks more like a summary than a review, a specs sheet with make up.
This looks more like a summary than a review, a specs sheet with make up.
I’m going to get a phone for my wife. I’ve Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Prime and Letv Le 1 32gb in mind. Given the price of both phone to be very close, can any guys here advise which shall I go for and why?
I’m going to get a phone for my wife. I’ve Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Prime and Letv Le 1 32gb in mind. Given the price of both phone to be very close, can any guys here advise which shall I go for and why?