When it comes to the most popular smartphone series in the Philippines, a lot of people will probably recognize or say to you that it’s the Redmi Note series. Why? Because the Redmi Note series is the perfect smartphone for most Filipinos as it brings powerful hardware inside and also a price that is hard to match.

Redmi Note 7 Review: Design and Hardware

One of the best things about the Redmi Note 7 is its design. Yep, for a midrange smartphone, the combination of the glass and metallic finish of the smartphone is something that we should praise but most of you will probably use the included case on this one to protect that glass back.

The smartphone has a clean look as we got a large display on the front with a tiny notch and at the back, we’re looking at a simple but beautiful design especially with the gradient colors. There’s the fingerprint scanner at the back too which is fast enough and accessible. There’s a face unlock too if you’re not a fan of the fingerprint scanner.

Speaking of ergonomics, the smartphone features a flat glass back design and then there are the rounded edges of the smartphone which adds a grip to the smartphone but I would appreciate if Xiaomi has opted for a curved glass back instead of a flat glass back for a better grip and ergonomics.

Below the smartphone is where you can find the USB-C port and then there’s the power button and the volume rocker on the side while on the other side is where you can find the hybrid card tray. Despite the usage of the USB-C port, Redmi Note 7 still features an audio port which is located at the top of the smartphone.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Review: Display

The Redmi Note 7 features a large 6.3-inch IPS display with Full HD+ resolution and then there’s the Corning Gorilla Glass 5 that protects it so you don’t have to worry that much about this smartphone when it comes to scratches.

The display of the Redmi Note 7 is good. There’s the vibrant and vivid reproduction of colors and also the viewing angles of the smartphone is just fine with me. Yes, there’s a dewdrop notch at the top but it doesn’t block much of the content on the display and yeah, you can hide it too if you want.

However, the bezel on the smartphone is noticeable. Well, it won’t ruin your experience on the smartphone but I just find the bezel of the smartphone too thick for my taste considering that the smartphone packs a dewdrop notch.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Review: Battery

Xiaomi likes to boast the Redmi Note 7 as an all-in-one smartphone as the Redmi Note 7 features everything that you want from a smartphone from its performance, camera, up to the battery life of the smartphone. Yep, we got a 4000mAh battery on this smartphone which is decent and long-lasting.

In our PC Mark test, we got a score of 12 hours and 47 minutes which is already high and decent enough. In real life test, the Redmi Note 7 will last a day of usage or probably two depending on your usage but we’re pretty comfortable to use this smartphone without asking for a powerbank in a single day of usage.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Review: Software

The software of the Redmi Note 7 is something to hate and love. It’s heavily customized so you won’t get the same feel of a stock Android and you’re in the deep down well of the MIUI but this also means that we’re taking advantage of the fast and smooth UI of the Chinese brand.

But of course, there are the bloatwares that comes with it but don’t worry because the MIUI is user-friendly and the transitions and everything is smooth on this UI so you won’t have a problem with it. B

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Review: Performance

This is where the Redmi Note 7 excels, the smartphone packs a Snapdragon 660 AIE octa-core chipset inside along with the Adreno 512 GPU which is decent hardware for its price. The smartphone also comes with 4GB of RAM but the smartphone also comes in 3GB RAM for the most affordable variant.

In our benchmark tests, the Redmi Note 7 did fare well in different benchmarking applications which are expected as Xiaomi is known for creating smartphones with powerful hardware inside. Here are the scores that we got on the Redmi Note 7:

• Antutu – 143564
• 3D Mark Slingshot Extreme – OpenGL ES 3.1 – 1358
• 3D Mark Slingshot Extreme – Vulkan – 1310
• Geekbench Single Core – 1630
• Geekbench Multi-Core – 5465

When it comes to gaming, the Redmi Note 7 doesn’t fail to impress me. I was able to run different games on the phone including Mobile Legends and PUBG Mobile. In Mobile Legends, I was able to run it at HD settings with High graphics while in PUBG Mobile, I was able to run the game in HD graphics with AA at High framerate. Unfortunately, Ultra framerates aren’t available on PUBG Mobile.

Overall, the Redmi Note 7 will be just fine to play with popular games and the FPS stability might not be 100% but these games are definitely playable on this smartphone.

You can check out the GameBench Benchmarking app at (https://www.gamebench.net)

You can also download the app at the Play Store (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gamebench.metricscollector)

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Review: Camera

One of the main highlights of the Redmi Note 7 is the 48MP + 5MP rear camera that can shoot really well. Most of the shots that I took using the Redmi Note 7 were just ok, and I can clearly capture most of the details and colors on this one. The dynamic range is fine too and at low-light, it wasn’t the best one. There’s the night mode that performs ok but at auto mode, the noise is noticeable on the smartphone. Check out the sample shots that we took using the smartphone.

The selfie camera of the smartphone isn’t its best feature but it will definitely do its job. Overall, the camera of the Redmi Note 7 was just average.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Review: Verdict

The Redmi Note 7 has impressed us once again. Our expectations were already high when it was announced due to the promises of the Redmi Note series over the years and I’m happy to say that the Redmi Note 7 is a really decent smartphone especially for its price.

Everything is really good on this smartphone. The design of the smartphone is really well, the camera can shoot fine images, the display is good, the performance was good and the battery of the smartphone can last really long. But of course, when it comes to gaming, the highest settings can’t be run on this smartphone.

So if you’re looking for a smartphone that comes in a complete package of features then you better go to the nearest Mi Authorized store to check this one out and also to buy one. I highly recommend this smartphone if you’re a power user and your budget falls on this one.