This is a moment you all been waiting for, probably to clear all confusion you all have regarding these two awesome smartphones. Now, we all know that the Redmi Note 5 Pro has debuted first in India, it then captured the MWC AH "Best of MWC 2018" award during the said mobile congress in Spain. With this award in the bag, suddenly Xiaomi announced that they will release the Redmi Note 5 in China later after the congress has concluded. This was a shocker for many, as Xiaomi was on a wait and see mode whether to release or not to release the Redmi Note 5 series in China. It was clear that the Redmi 5 Plus was the replacement of the Redmi Note 5 as it was debuted during the schedule when Redmi Note series are released in China during December.


Now that they are both here, there are some confusions regarding some hardware configurations as well as ROM releases. I hope at the end of this article, you can clearly distinguish Redmi Note 5 China from Redmi Note 5 Pro India.


Before you go any further, you might want to read my review on both units:


[Mi Product Review #80][Device Team]Redmi Note 5 Pro: Unleash India's New Beast!
[Mi Product Review #86] [Device Team] Redmi Note 5 CN: Unleash the Hyperbeast!


Are You Ready? Lets Start!


Redmi Note 5 Pro India Packaging and Design




The Redmi Note 5 Pro has a White box, pretty similar to Mi Series boxes.


All the specs are labeled at the back of the box.


Phone, Charger, Micro USB Cable, Protective Case, Use Manual, Sim Ejector Pin


Black Micro USB Cable


Circular 2 Prong Charger, India Standard


Redmi Note 5 Pro running MIUI 9 on Android 7.1.1


Brushed Metal Aluminum Back with plastic top and bottom borders


Dual Camera


3.5mm Audio Jack, Mic, Micro USB Port, Loudspeaker


Volume Rocker, Power button


Infrared, Noise Cancellation Mic


Sim Card Trey


Sim 1 Nano Sim, Sim 2 Nano Sim / Micro SD

Redmi Note 5 China Packaging and Design




Redmi Note 5 China Red Box, similar to the Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus


Specs at the back of the box


Manual, White Charger, Micro USB Cable, Phone, Protective Case, Sim Ejector Pin


Standard Universal White Charger


Micro USB White Cable


Redmi Note 5 running MIUI 9 on Android 8.1


Aluminum Brushed Metal Finished Back, with plastic top and bottom border


Dual Camera


3.5mm Audio Jack, Mic, Micro USB Port, Loudspeaker


Sim Trey


Infrared Port, Noise Cancellation Mic


Volume Rocker, Power Button


Sim 1 Nano Sim, Sim 2 Nano Sim / Micro SD Card



So we have made the comparison of the device itself as well as packaging, the main difference is the color of the packaging, as well as the accessories inside the box. The unit itself has the same dimension, same placement of sensors, same placement of camera as well as the other ports are exactly the same. Another difference is that the China one is running MIUI 9 on Android 8.1 Oreo while the India one is still stuck at MIUI 9 running Android 7.1.1 Nougat.

Now things will get a little more heated now, as we compare the specs sheet of the unit itself. Hang on tight!


Redmi Note 5 Pro India Specifications




Redmi Note 5 Pro Specs Sheet

• 5.99-inch Full HD+ display @ 2160 x 1080 pixels, 403ppi, 84% NTSC Color Gamut, 450 NIT Brightness
  
• 1.8GHz Snapdragon 636 Octa-core CPU Qualcomm SDM636 Kryo 260
  
• Adreno 509 GPU
  
• 4GB / 6GB RAM
  
• 64GB Internal storage
  
• Expandable via microSD, up to 128GB (uses SIM 2 slot)
  
• 12MP 1.25μm Rear Camera, f/2.2 Aperture, PDAF, single tone flash, face recognition, HDR, Sony IMX 486 Sensor
  
• 5MP secondary lens, 1.12μm, f/2.0 Aperture, Samsung Sensor
  
• 20MP front-facing camera, 1.0μm, f/2.2 Aperture with soft flash, 1080p, Smart Beauty 4.0, Sony IMX 376 Sensor
  
• Dual-SIM (Nano + Nano)
  
• 4G LTE, 4G+
  
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, 2.4G 5G Wifi
  
• Bluetooth 5.0, Bluetooth HID
  
• GPS w/ A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
  
• Fingerprint scanner
  
• Micro USB Port
  
• 4000 mAh battery
  
• Android 7.1 on MIUI 9
  
• 158.6mm x 75.4mm x 8.05mm
  
• 181grams
  
• Available in Black, Gold, Lake Blue, Rose Gold
  
  

Android 7.1.1


Snapdragon 636


AnTuTu Benchmark Score


PC Mark Test SOT

Redmi Note 5 China Specifications



Redmi Note 5 China Specs Sheet

• 5.99-inch Full HD+ display @ 2160 x 1080 pixels, 403ppi, 84% NTSC Color Gamut, 450 NIT Brightness
  
• 1.8GHz Snapdragon 636 Octa-core CPU Qualcomm SDM636 Kryo 260
  
• Adreno 509 GPU
  
• 3GB / 4GB / 6GB RAM
  
• 32GB / 64GB Internal storage
  
• Expandable via microSD, up to 128GB (uses SIM 2 slot)
  
• 12MP 1.4μm Rear Camera, f/1.9 Aperture, PDAF, single tone flash, face recognition, HDR, AI Portrait Mode, Samsung Sensor
  
• 5MP secondary lens, 1.12μm, f/2.0 Aperture, Samsung Sensor
  
• 13MP front-facing camera, f/2.2 Aperture, 1.12μm, AI Smart Beauty with soft flash, 1080p, AI Portrait Mode, Face Unlocking, OV Sensor
  
• Dual-SIM (Nano + Nano)
  
• 4G LTE, 4G+
  
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, 2.4G 5G Wifi
  
• Bluetooth 5.0
  
• GPS w/ A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou Positioning
  
• Fingerprint scanner
  
• Micro USB Port
  
• 4000 mAh battery
  
• Android 8.1 on MIUI 9
  
• 158.6mm x 75.4mm x 8.05mm
  
• 181grams
  
• Available in Black, Gold, Lake Blue, Rose Gold
  
  

Android 8.1



Snapdragon 636



AnTuTu Benchmark Score



PC Mark Test Screen Test



Maximum Amperes Intake

Okay, so we have seen everything here, basically this gives the Redmi Note 5 China a little of the upperhand, getting Android Oreo, Better AnTuTu Score out of the box, better SOT test using PC Mark Test. We have then checked the charging of Redmi Note 5 as people are claiming it to be supporting Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0, unfortunately after testing with 2 different QC 3.0 chargers, the maximum amperes is 2.51, therefore this falls under QC 2.0 only. Our maximum intake for Redmi Note 5 Pro India was 2.32 Amperes.

Redmi Note 5 Pro India LTE Bands

• 4GFDD-LTE
  TDD-LTE1/3/5
  40/41 (120MHz)
  
• 3GWCDMA1/2/5/8
  
• 2GGSM2/3/5/8
  
  

Redmi Note 5 China LTE Bands


2G: GSM (Band 2/3/5/8)
2G: CDMA (Band BC0)
3G: CDMA EVDO (Band BC0)
3G: WCDMA (B1/2/5/8)
3G: TD-SCDMA ( Bands B34/39)
4G: TDD-LTE (Bands B34/B38/39/40/41 (100MHz))
4G: FDD-LTE (Bands 1/3/5/7/8)


Redmi Note 5 Pro India supports only 5 bands, which are widely used inside India, while the Redmi Note 5 China supports more bands, having a total count of 12.


Redmi Note 5 Pro India Camera




Rear: 12MP Sony IMX 486 + 5MP Samsung s5k5e8
Front: 20MP Sony IMX 376



Redmi Note 5 China Camera





Rear: Samsung 12MP S5K2L7 Sensor - specs

Samsung 5MP S5K5E8 Sensor - specs

Front: Omnivision 13MP OV13855 Sensor - specs


On specs sheet, the Redmi Note 5 Pro India definitely have the upper hand, having 2 Sony IMX Camera Sensors on a midrange unit is something to be proud of as opposed to the Samsung sensors used in Redmi Note 5 China. The megapixel count of 1.25μm in Sony IMX 486 is way better than that of the Samsung in Redmi Note 5 China at 1.4μm. Even the front one, the Sony IMX 376 has 1.0μm, while the OV Sensor has 1.12μm. Remember that the lower the value the better. But if we based it on aperture size, the 1.9 in Redmi Note 5 China is better than 2.2 in Redmi Note 5 Pro India.

Before we judge them based on specs, lets take a look at the samples taken by both respective camera.

Redmi Note 5 Pro India Camera Samples






























Redmi Note 5 China Camera Samples



























Redmi Note 5 Pro India Video Sample





Redmi Note 5 China Video Sample




With the samples of pictures and videos given, I can say that videos from both phone are euqally good. Now looking at the photos of both camera, knowing that Redmi Note 5 China has deployed AI on front and rear camera as opposed to just Beautify 4.0 in front for Redmi Note 5 Pro India, the clarity of the photos can be shown more in the photos taken by the Redmi Note 5 China, but given the specs of the hardware in Redmi Note 5 Pro India's camera, it is not really to far as the photos are also good in its own way. But one thing is for sure, the China varint has a selfie portrait as opposed to none on the India Variant. Im not really a avid selfie taker, but I was amused with the selfie portrait present in the Redmi Note 5.

Conclusion:



Now its hard to say who is better than who, both units has its own attributes, now the Redmi Note 5 Pro India is primarily made just for Indian Mi Fans and consumers. While the Redmi Note 5 China is aimed at more customers around the world as this variant will debut outside China in months to come. I can clearly say that Mi Fans in India are lucky to have their own special edition of the Redmi Note 5, the Sony IMX sensors are pretty much the steal of the show as Xiaomi only release Sony IMX Sensors in Mi Flagship phones.


Warning!!!

Pls do not try to inter flash the ROM of Redmi Note 5 Pro India into the Redmi Note 5 China as it might cause problems that might brick your phone due to some dissimilarity in hardware especially in the camera category. Dont play smart as when you brick your phone, there is no turning back. Always flash at your own risk.



Have I cleared your doubts? Please Sound Off Below!