Xiaomi is a name that needs no introduction in the budget smartphones with killer specs market. With the likes of devices like the Redmi 2, 2S, and the newest Prime, Xiaomi has been flooding the budget smartphone market with devices. One of the more popular line up from Xiaomi, the Redmi Note series has been stale for a while, and that changes now, the company just announced the successor to the Redmi Note, the Redmi Note 2. Following in the footsteps of the original Note, the Note 2 has the same 5.5-inch panel on the front, but this time with a 1080p FHD display.
Despite the phone being priced only at $125 for the base model, it’s rocking the MediaTek Helio X10 Octa-Core chip. Same as HTC’s M9+ and the upcoming rumored phone, both of which cost more than thrice as much as the Redmi Note 2’s price. Coming to the rest of the specs, the phone has a 13MP f/2.2 camera module on the rear, and a 5MP f/2.0 sensor on the front; the back camera can do phase-detection AF, which is faster than regular focus. There are very few devices on the market which can do this right now. The front camera has a sensor with large 1.4um pixels which means that it should perform better in low light.
Another delightful feature that made the Note 2 is the addition of an IR blaster. Xiaomi only adds this feature to it’s flagships. It’s a surprising decision on Xiaomi’s end, but it’s a welcome one. When you look at the phone, it resembles the Mi 4i in a lot of ways, from the design, material to the in-hand feel. The Redmi Note 2 has 2GB LPDDR3 RAM, a removable 3,060mAh battery, dual micro-SIM slots, and available with 16GB or 32GB internal memory, with a micro-SD slot.
Redmi Note 2, ships with the latest MIUI 7 based on Android Lollipop, which has improved battery management, snappy response, a new Kid mode and face recognition. MIUI has a lot of features like a dedicated themes store to change every thing on the phone, right from the icons to the lockscreen without root; and you can mix and match different themes. All Xiaomi devices will be upgradable to MIUI 7 on August 14th, right after the launch even in India.
The Redmi Note 2 will be available in Mainland China for purchase through Xiaomi’s portal on August 16th. The 2GHz, 16GB base model will set you back 799 yuan (about $125 or 8,000 INR), or 899 yan (about $140 or 9,000 INR), depending on the network. The higher end 2.2GHz, 32GB model will cost 999 yuan (about $160 or 10,000 INR)
Source : Xiaomi China