Let’s Unbox the Redmi 5!
Chinese brand, Xiaomi, has no shortage of passengers on its hype train; bringing compelling smartphones and lifestyle tech when they came back to the country. While the Redmi 5 Plus might be drawing the most attention, we have to remember that it does have a little brother for those who might be on a tighter budget but still looking to experience a device with a taller screen — the Xiaomi Redmi 5. Today, we’re going to unbox this 5.7-inch smartphone and give you a quick peek before it goes through our review process.
Xiaomi Redmi 5 specs
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 octa-core processor
- 2GB/3GB RAM
- 5.7-inch HD+ IPS display
- 16GB/32GB expandable storage, via microSD (up to 128GB)
- 12-megapixel rear camera with LED Flash
- 5-megapixel front camera with LED Flash
- Dual-SIM
- 4G LTE
- WiFi, Bluetooth
- GPS/A-GPS/GLONASS, Fingerprint scanner
- Android Nougat with MIUI 9
- 3300mAh battery
What’s in the Box?
Typical of most Xiaomi devices in the Redmi line, the 5’s packaging comes in the company’s signature color with the device’s name in front and a few highlighted specs in the back. Open it up and we’re greeted by a partition that contains a jelly case and documentation. Just below that, you’ve got the phone itself and our review unit came in black. Dig a little deeper and you’ll find the rest of the accessories, which include: the microUSB cable, wall charger, and a SIM ejector tool.
Initial Impression: Uncompromised Build Despite Price Tag
The first thing we noticed about the Xiaomi Redmi 5 is its build quality. The phone is primarily built out of metal, which is rare to see in a budget device with an 18:9 display. The overall design might be a little dated and camera protrusion is definitely a pain point but we’re willing to overlook those points because of its construction.
Let’s take a tour around the device to show you its button and port layout; starting on the right side, which is where you’ll find the power button and the volume rocker.
On the left side of the phone, you have the access to the SIM tray.
The headphone jack can be found up on top.
While the microUSB port is found on the bottom; flanked by speaker grilles.
The headlining feature of the Xiaomi Redmi 5 is definitely its 5.7-inch FullView display at HD+ resolution; giving you an overall pixel density of 282 pixels per inch. With the current time we have booked on the device, you’re pretty much getting the same picture quality as phones that use an IPS display with great viewing angles. Brightness looks to be a bit of an issue already but we’ll spend more time with the phone before giving our judgement.
You’ve got the 5-megapixel front camera on top of the display and, unfortunately, that’s as much as we know about the device after some poking around on the internet.
On the back of the device is the 12-megapixel camera with f-stop of f/2.2, which comes equipped with phase detection autofocus and an LED flash. The fingerprint scanner sits right below the flash module and we were suprised about just how fast it unlocks the device compared to other smartphones in its price segment.
Under the hood of the Xiaomi Redmi 5 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 octa-core processor. There’s a variant of the phone with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage but we have the one in the 2GB RAM/16G ROM configuration. It should be enough to get your through browsing through your social media feeds and maybe a bit of light gaming.
The phone runs on Android Nougat 7.1. 2 out of the box with the global version of MIUI version 9.2 and providing power to the unit is a 3300mAh battery.
That’s pretty much it for our quick review of the Xiaomi Redmi 5. The device is available at the authorized Mi Stores for Php 7,790Â (this is the 3GB RAM/32GB ROM variant) but if you want a really sweet deal, head to Shopee on April 4 where they will be holding a flash sale for the device. If you’re lucky enough to get one, all you’ll have to shell out is Pp 5,990.
