Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro: the full Review

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Since its creation, Xiaomi has had the mantra of providing consumers with high-performance products at an unbeatable price. If the Chinese manufacturer has since had to face some rivals, like Honor in particular, it continues to seduce, product after product. With its Redmi Note 8 Pro, Xiaomi promises a smartphone with amazing performance and all this for less than 250 euros (Count 279.90 euros to go from 64 to 128 GB of storage).For this, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro has the new Mediatek processor, the Helio G90T, associated with 6 GB of RAM. Xiaomi has not skimped on the other components either since there is a quadruple camera module with a main sensor of 64 megapixels and a telephoto lens for x2 zoom. It also has a 6.53-inch LCD screen and a 4,500 mAh battery with a fast charge function.

A mobile with a premium look

Once again, we would rather tend to say that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro is the robot portrait of the mid-range smartphone of 2019. It displays a screen with fairly reduced edges with a centered mini notch, a slightly glass back curved (protected by Gorilla Glass 5), thin side slices of the same color and a quadruple camera module whose three main lenses are positioned vertically (the fourth sensor, intended to measure the depth of field is located under the flash, on the right side of the mobile). Here proposed in color "Green Forest", this model is not the most discreet that there is, but we recognize it a certain elegance.

The small feature of this smartphone comes from the prominence of the vertical photo module, which makes it "dangerous" to put the device directly on a surface without any protection, the glass of the three lenses may be scratched. We also discover under these the fingerprint reader integrated into the module and therefore, too, prominent. Despite this aesthetic particularity which is not to displease us, it is easy to use and fast.

The phone also includes a decent quality mono speaker, a USB-C port compatible with fast charging, and a 3.5mm jack for those who still prefer wired headphones. The SIM card tray also allows you to add a microSD card if needed.

The Redmi Note 8 Pro is not the most compact of the Xiaomi devices, with a weight of around 200 grams on the scale and dimensions of 7.6 x 16.1 cm for a thickness of 8.8 mm. Getting started is therefore not the easiest on the market, but the mobile remains manageable. Its fingerprint reader is also accessible without too much gymnastics with the index finger. Be aware, however, that the glass back takes fingerprints all the better.

High performance

With its Mediatek Helio G90T processor, the Redmi Note 8 Pro can boast of being a smartphone likely to appeal to gamers. This unique Helio is a SoC built for performance with an eight-core architecture including 2 Cortex-A76 (2.05 GHz) and 6 Cortex-A55 (2 GHz), accompanied by an AI coprocessor and a GPU Mali-G76 MC4. The mobile is also illustrated in our performance tests by obtaining results worthy of more expensive mid-range smartphones.

On the most advanced ehealth games (PUBG for example), the mobile is capable of displaying a high level of graphics and does not suffer from any particular heat. You should know that this Redmi benefits from a Game Turbo mode which optimizes the performance in game with compatible titles. And overall, the fluidity of the phone is remarkable despite too many apps preinstalled.

A (very) bright screen

At this price level, Xiaomi has to make a few concessions and therefore does not equip its Redmi Note 8 Pro with an OLED panel with infinite contrast. You have to “settle for” an LCD screen which is remarkable in terms of display quality. We measure a maximum brightness of 838 cd / m², a real record since our current champion, the iPhone 11 Pro, reaches "only" 813 cd / m² (but has an OLED screen). Combined with a very good contrast of 1564: 1, this measurement makes this Redmi a model on which reading, even in direct sunlight, will not be a problem. In default mode, the mobile offers correct colorimetry at this price level, with a Delta E of 5.76. Fortunately, by modifying the display parameters, it is possible to obtain much better color fidelity. So the mode constant contrast lowers the Delta E to 3.76. Finally, the resolution of 365 pixels per inch makes it possible to display an image that is sufficiently precise for most uses.

A very suitable autonomy

With a 4,500 mAh battery, the Redmi Note 8 Pro promises exceptional autonomy. If the results obtained are indeed excellent, the terminal does not manage to join our top 10 of the most enduring smartphones. It is still a device that displays great endurance, with a versatile autonomy of 2:40 pm, a call autonomy of 37:19 and a autonomy in ehealth streaming of 12:18. It will be more than enough to spend more than a day away from any outlet.

A controlled photo section

Very often, mid-range smartphones, especially the most affordable, sin in the field of photography. But this trend is no longer so true at the start of the year with many gifted smartphones, sold between 250 and 450 euros. The Redmi Note 8 Pro is undeniably one of them. The mobile offers a main sensor of 64 megapixels, a second of 8 megapixels with ultra wide-angle lens (120 °), a third of 2 megapixels for Macro mode and the last of 2 megapixels for depth information.

The main photographic quality of this smartphone is its 64 megapixel sensor, which could impress (and trap) the uninformed consumer. By default, the definition of snapshots taken is 16 megapixels (For a gain of quality, Xiaomi uses the process Pixel binning which consists of merging 4 pixels into 1). You have to go to a dedicated mode to take 64 megapixel images. You will notice that this is also the case on the 48 megapixel sensors that many of its competitors have on board.

Apart from this marketing detail, the main sensor of the Redmi Note 8 Pro is frankly good for the day with detailed and balanced shots. It will sometimes be necessary to play around a bit with the brightness control so as not to have too white a sky, but the HDR mode corrects these situations quite easily.

At night, the main sensor provides the essentials with rather well-managed shots and a convincing Night mode reveals more details if necessary.

This is much less convincing for the sensor associated with the ultra-wide angle, which produces images suffering from many defects such as very variable colorimetry and a blatant lack of detail. And it’s valid day and night. We reassure ourselves by saying that these faults are common to most ultra wide-angles.

Some manufacturers are trying macro objectives at the end of 2019. If the idea is interesting, its realization is often less so. Thus, we can if necessary focus 2 cm from a pretty flower or a bee (be careful though!), But the 2 poor megapixels of the sensor will not make it possible to obtain an image that is really pleasant to watch. Except to consult it from the smartphone (and without zooming).

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