Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus Review

Overview

Xiaomi's Redmi series of smartphones is quite popular among users as they seem to offer the ultimate price/quality ratio usually coupled with impressive battery life, reasonable performance and solid build. Priced at CNY 999 (USD 154) upon launch, Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus is very often referred to as a thousand-yuan smartphone but prices actually start at USD 200 for the 3GB+32GB versions and they rarely drop below that level. Being a subject of this review, the smartphone will be presented and tested in every possible aspect so at the end you will be able to answer for yourself whether this model is a worthy successor of the Redmi series.

Specifications

Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus features a 5.99-inch IPS display from Tianma (Synaptics IC) with an 18:9 aspect ratio and FHD+ resolution (1080 x 2160 pixels). The display panel has 1000:1 contrast ratio, 450 cd/m² peak brightness and should cover 85% of NTSC. It is protected by a 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass of unspecified generation. Under the hood, a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 MSM8953 chipset ticks. The SoC is built after the 14nm process and includes an octa-core CPU (8x Cortex-A53 cores clocked at up to 2GHz) and an Adreno 506 GPU. There are two versions of the model in terms of the RAM+storage combo. The first is with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of built-in memory. The second is with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Either way, the RAM is single-channel, LPDDR3, clocked at 933 MHz and the built-in memory is an eMMC type. The model offers LTE Cat. 6 speeds and supports VoLTE along with the following network bands: 2G GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), 2.5G CDMA (800, 1900 MHz), 3G TD-SCDMA (1880-1920, 2010-2025 MHz), 3G UMTS (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz), 4G FDD-LTE (850, 900, 1800, 2100, 2600 MHz), 4G TDD-LTE (1900, 2300, 2500, 2600 MHz). Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus supports dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Display, Bluetooth 4.2. The device is equipped with an infrared transmitter, Micro-USB 2.0 port with OTG support, and a 3.5 mm jack. It works with GPS and GLONASS. The camera department includes a 12MP OV12A10 primary shooter with a 5-element lens with an f/2.2 aperture, PDAF and dual-tone LED flash. The selfie snapper camera is equipped with a 5MP OmniVision OV5675 sensor and an f/2.0 lens. Power is supplied by a 4000 mAh battery that supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 and arrives with a 5V/2A fast charger. According to Xiaomi, it should provide up to 408 hours of standby time and 15 hours of video playing. Redmi 5 Plus runs on MIUI 9.0 based on Android 7.1.2 Nougat.

Full Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus specifications.

What's in the box

Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus arrives in a simple rectangular box with a white body and a red lid with the brand and model name imprinted on it with white letters. Some basic features and certifications are listed on the back of the box. Inside, the smartphone is placed in the top level compartment and below it, you will find:

• 5V/2A charger (US plug)
• Micro-USB data cable
• SIM tray pin
• Transparent silicone case
• Quick start guide