Here comes one of the most awaited smart phones from Xiaomi - the Redmi 2 that sports with a 4.7 inch screen, Quad-core processor, 8 mega-pixel camera and a Dual-sim LTE capability that is said to compete with other budget phones in the market with the SRP price tag of Php5,999 only.
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| Xiaomi Redmi 2 |
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- Redmi 2 phone
- USB Cable & Charger (in this case the one sent to us for review was the version w/o charger)
- User Manual
- Warranty Card
Build & Design
You might think this is the same as the former Redmi 1s, we'll there is a resemblance but there has a lot of things that is changed in the new version of the phone. The back of the phone is matte texture finished and is very good to touch as well as its rounded corners that is vey comfortable with only using one hand. It weights only 133 grams, personally due to its very light weight, it seems like a dummy phone you find in any electronic stores :) But hey, it's a good complement for the device as you hands will not be pressured by the phone's weight specially when holding the Redmi 2 in bed.
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The top front part have the front camera, speaker, 3.5 mm audio jack and some sensors.
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On viewing the backside, the right part have the volume rocker and the power button. The middle contains the rear camera, LED flash, speaker and the 3.5mm audio jack as pointed out above.
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While in the bottom part, the usb port, mic and easy to remove back-cover hole is placed.By the way the review unit we have has the polycarbonate black finish with the white matte back-cover which is real good in the hands but quite slippery.
Display
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| Hands down to the very vivid and eye pleasant display screen! |
The display sports an 4.7 inch screen which is from the brand "Sharp" with a good resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels with 312ppi. The screen color is very vivid and you will want to look at it, the images will be very clear, crisp and detailed. Literally, you cannot see any pixel dots on the screen. The viewing angles are good, what you see in the front angle will be the same on other angles as it has no angle issues. It performs good even outdoors, though it suffers a little to the Sun's glare, but still you can still see the display well.
Playing any multimedia like movies and games will be great as the screen is very good and the phone's speaker is quite loud to be heard within a room.
OS, UI & Apps
The Redmi 2's UI & OS has the Xiaomi's MIUI and modified Android 4.4 Kitkat built in with stock of Mi Apps that you may use. The UI is quite similar or inspired by Apple's iOS. It's a bit difficult to use (well I'm a stock Android user) it at first but after many usage you can understand and do anything you like easily. It is rather simplified OS that is quite an eye candy.
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The choice of colors for the aesthetics of the MIUI is really good, it is warm in color and will not strain the eyes (as long as you are not viewing it in the dark xD). Personally I liked some of the apps customizations also the blurred effects when opening the app drawer. Animation transitions were also smooth. The overall UI and apps integrates together in terms of UI and usability.
It has a notification bar that is much like in the stock Android and you will have to swipe from the right to left to access the shortcut toggle buttons like Bluetoth, WiFi, auto-rotate, etc.
Although it is a modified UI, the Google apps and services are still placed, though pure Android stock / Google users will not be happy as that much as services like Google Now should be long pressed in the home button or there are no lockscreen notifications for easy viewing. The OS is highly customizable in the Settings like wallpapers, time, lockscreen animations, etc.
Camera
If you are not very picky for the camera, the Redmi 2 camera is decent enough for everyday photo usage. It's not bad and not as best like other high end cameras out there.
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| Different live filter options, panoramas, countdown, scenes are built in within the camera app. |
Although the camera sometimes have some focusing issues at times and inacurrate produced colors, it's not that very noticeable at times as it performs good. You can see some shots below:
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| The front camera is decent in taking photos too |
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| Different camera settings and modes |
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| It is best to take shots outdoors as it produces better image results |
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| Other sample shots using the rear camera |
Here is a video sample that I made in an indoor lighted environment:
The video is good, the software camera focus well at times and balance the lightning conditions even in low light.
The rear camera can record up to HD video quality resolutions (1080P) at 30 frame rates. It lack image stabilization though which is not good for people with shaky hands.
Performance & Benchmark Tests
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| Benchmark scores of the Redmi 2 |
Antutu Benchmark: 20,209 points
Geekybench: Single Core: 478 Multi Score: 1,440
GPU Benchmark: 12,102 points
Quadrant Benchmark: 11,457 points
To further explain the results of the benchmark apps results, it means that the overall performance is good, as per Antutu the Redmi 2 surpasses 60% of the devices form overall performance. The phone itself is fast and fluid to use. Videos are running smoothly and as well as in playing audios. You will experience some lags on occasions specially when playing heavy and intensive GPU eater games. Well you cannot expect that much from a 6k phone in running very heavy games as mobile GPUs can cost more to the price of the device, but for casual light gaming this should not be an issue. Also it supports up to 10 touch points in the screen.
Battery Life
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In terms of battery life this one is pretty good in extending the phone's battery life as there are profile customizations of power consumption like balanced or performance options which both can be useful that depends on usage.
In terms of how long the battery will last, with moderate use it will last for a day or two in using mobile 3G or 4G internet usage. Playing media heavily will give a battery output of 8 - 10 hours.
- Display: 4.7 inches 1280 x 720 Sharp / AUO IPS w/ AGC Dragontrail Glass (312 ppi)
- Processor: 1.2 GHz 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core CPU
- RAM: 1 GB LPDDR3
- ROM: 8 GB internal storage & up to 32GB via microSD
- Rear Camera: 8 MP BSI, Omnivision sensor, f/2.2 aperture
- Front Camera: 2 MP
- Battery: 2,200 mAh
- OS: Android 4.4.4 Kitkat w/ MIUI 6
- Connectivity: 4G LTE, 3G HSPA+, Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby, Dual-LTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, USB OTG, GPS: GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
- Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity & Compass
- Dimensions: 134 x 67.2 x 9.4 mm
- Weight: 133g
- Colors Available: White, Green, Yellow, Pink & Dark Grey
- Price: PHP 5,499
Pros
- Very vivid colored screen display
- Dual-LTE support
- Good lasting battery life
- Eye candy UI (well resembles much like Apple iOS)
- A very impressive build & design for the price
Cons
- Memory management problem (when running multiple apps)
- No backlight in the front capacitive keys
- Apps cannot be moved to an SD card
- At times the camera focuses slowly and outputs inaccurate colors
Given with the goodies the Redmi 2 has presented, the phone is worth to buy even with the price tag of Php5,999 which is still cheap or a budget phone knowing the brand and the company invests in quality, aesthetics and identity to the market. The price may be a bit higher to other competing higher spec local smartphones we have, still the phone is still kicking for its offerings to users specially this is a Dual-LTE network release and the predecessor of the Redmi 1s.
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