Xiaomi Redmi 2: Same price, better specs

Xiaomi Redmi 2: Same price, better specs

Overview

Xiaomi knew how to start the year right with the official announcement of the Redmi 2 on January 4. Not only is the Redmi 2 its first smartphone to come with a 64-bit processor, it is also the first in the company's portfolio to support 4G dual-SIM.

In addition, Xiaomi threw in some upgrades such as a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core chipset, MIUI 6 OS based on Android 4.4 KitKat, a thinner, lighter chassis and a slightly bigger battery at no extra cost. The Redmi 2 will go on sale in Singapore on March 17 for S$169, the same price as its predecessor!


The Redmi 2 is Xiaomi's first new smartphone for 2015. It is also the first Xiaomi phone to be powered by a 64-bit processor.

Taking all these into consideration, is the Redmi 2 a worthy upgrade for current Redmi 1/1S users? Will it attract new users over to Xiaomi's camp? Let's find out in this review. Here's a quick overview of the Redmi 2's specs:

Design & Handling

Unlike its bigger Mi Note sibling, the Redmi 2 retains many of the physical attributes that its predecessors have which include the 4.7-inch 720p display, standard layout of capacitive navigation keys below the screen, and the power and volume buttons along the right side.

It is only after holding the Redmi 2 that you will realise the improvements Xiaomi made on the device. The most apparent observation would be its weight; the Redmi 2 weighs only 133g which is 25g lighter than its predecessors.


The power and volume controls have a new silver chrome finish on the Xiaomi Redmi 2.

The second significant change you will notice is the improved handling. Previously, the Redmi and Redmi 1S come in a grey back cover that has a matte finish. This time, Xiaomi improved the quality of the matte material used on the Redmi 2, which actually feels good and provides a better grip. As you can see, the review unit featured in this article come with a white cover which may get stained or dirtied easily overtime. A casing would help keep the rear cover clean although Xiaomi claims that the back cover is fingerprint and grease-resistant.

At this point, we are not sure if Xiaomi Singapore is planning to sell case accessories for the Redmi 2 at launch and it is highly unlikely that you can use the existing accessories for the Redmi / Redmi 1S on the Redmi 2 as there are some minor differences in dimensions. The Redmi 2 is slightly narrower (67.2 vs 69mm) and thinner (9.4 vs 9.9mm).

4G Dual-SIM Support

The Redmi 2 is one of the few phones in the market to come with 4G dual-SIM support. What does 4G dual-SIM means? Well, the both micro-SIM card slots on the Redmi 2 support 4G which eliminates the hassle of manually switching either card just to enjoy faster connectivity. Having said that, only one SIM card slot can be used for 4G connectivity at any point in time.

While higher-end Android flagship smartphones support CAT 6 LTE speeds of up to 300Mbps, the Redmi 2 can reach CAT 4 LTE speeds of up to 150Mbps. To put that into context, the Redmi 2 is technically comparable to the Apple iPhone 6 models in LTE speeds.

MIUI 6

Similar to the Mi Pad and Mi Note, the Redmi 2 runs MIUI 6 OS based on Android 4.4 KitKat. It's nice to see Xiaomi stepping up their game by delivering the best software for its devices, but it is still a step behind a growing pack of phones that come with Android 5.0 Lollipop. We've discussed MIUI 6 in depth in our review of the Mi Note, so do head over to the review article to find out more!


The Xiaomi Redmi 2 runs on MIUI 6 based on Android 4.4 KitKat. You have about 4.46GB of available storage space out of the box on the Xiaomi Redmi 2 after updating all the preloaded apps. With no apps running in the background, you are left with slightly less than 40% of the system resources on the Xiaomi Redmi 2.

Performance benchmarks

The Redmi 2 is powered by a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core 1.2GHz processor and 1GB RAM. On paper, having a 64-bit processor will bring about more efficient processing and memory use compared to its 32-bit counterparts. In reality, performance depends on a combination of factors such as hardware and software optimizations.

At the moment, Android 5.0 Lollipop is the only Android version to have support for 64-bit processors.This means that the MIUI 6 OS (which is based on Android 4.4 KitKat) is unlikely to maximise the full potential of the Snapdragon 410 chipset in the Redmi 2. This assumption shall be tested in our benchmarks below.

For this review, we compared the Redmi 2 against its predecessors (Redmi and Redmi 1S), the ASUS ZenFone 5 LTE (1GB RAM), HTC Desire 510, Motorola Moto G with 4G LTE and Samsung Galaxy Ace 4 LTE. If this lineup looks familiar, the devices are taken from the same shootout article on Compact 4G LTE smartphones under S$300 we did five months ago.

Quadrant

Quadrant evaluates a device's CPU, memory, I/O, and 3D graphics performance. The Redmi 2 performed only slightly better than the Redmi 1S. Even though the Desire 510 is powered by the same processor, a lower resolution display and perhaps better optimizations gave the HTC phone an edge over the Redmi 2 in the Quadrant benchmark.

SunSpider JavaScript

SunSpider JavaScript helps measure the browsing performance of a device when processing Javascript. It not only takes into consideration the underlying hardware performance, but also assesses how optimized a particular platform is at delivering a high-speed web browsing experience. The Redmi 2 didn't fare as well as we've expected though.

In terms of actual user experience, we were not entirely satisfied with the Redmi 2. Despite official confirmation from Xiaomi that 1GB RAM is sufficient for the Redmi 2, we found navigation to be sluggish from time to time. This is especially apparent when opening and exiting apps when you can feel the whole interface pausing to accomplish the action. However, if you consider its positioning and price tag, you really can't (and shouldn't) expect anything more.

Battery performance

Our standard battery test for mobile phones includes the following parameters:

Looping a 800 x 480-pixel video with screen brightness and volume at 100 per cent Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity turned on Constant data streaming through email and Twitter

The Redmi 2 managed to last close to six hours (to be exact, it's 5 hours and 46 minutes) in our battery test. This translates to a slightly longer battery mileage of about 7 per cent (compared to the Redmi 1S) and 13 per cent (compared to the Redmi). The Desire 510 and Galaxy Ace 4 LTE lasted longer mainly due to their lower resolution displays. In terms of power consumption, the Redmi 2 ranked among the top although it is marginally better in power management than its predecessors.

Portability

We measured the portability of a device by calculating its battery life to (weight x volume) ratio. As the second lightest, the thinnest phone in the mix with a rather good battery mileage, the Redmi 2 ranked fourth in our Portability Index.

Camera performance

Xiaomi bumped up the imaging hardware on the Redmi 2; it boasts an 8-megapixel BSI camera sensor with 5-element lens. It retains the f/2.2 aperture and 28mm wide angle lens too! The front-facing camera also saw some upgrades; you get a 2-megapixel camera sensor (up from 1.3-megapixel) and comes with Beautify, a software feature that "intelligently guesses age and gender" to apply 36 smart filters.

Conclusion

The Redmi series has always been about bringing high-end specs to devices which are affordable for the masses and the Redmi 2 continues this philosophy today.

Priced at S$169 and available for purchase online from March 17 (sales starting at noon), the Redmi 2 delivers a package that few could match. You get a decent 4.7-inch 720p display, a capable 8-megapixel rear camera, 4G connectivity on both SIM card slots, and the new MIUI 6 OS based on Android 4.4 KitKat. For its price tag, there's really nothing more you can ask for.

Our main (and perhaps only) annoyance with the Redmi 2 is the occasional sluggish performance we encountered. 1GB RAM is barely sufficient to deliver a smooth user experience and we hope Xiaomi will look into this area.

 


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