Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro First Impressions: First 64MP Camera Phone in Singapore

Written by Cheryl Tan

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We had the opportunity to test out the Redmi Note 8 Pro before it was officially launched this morning in Singapore, and boy, were we excited to try out the first phone to launch in Singapore with a 64MP camera.

Redmi has retained Qualcomm chips for their Note 8, Redmi 8 and Redmi 8A, but went with a MediaTek Helio G90T for the Note 8 Pro. While the lack of Qualcomm on their new flagship phone might be a bit worrying for some, I wouldn’t put too much stock into the people saying that this means the Note 8 Pro will have worse performance.

The MediaTek Helio G90T is a chip that’s designed to maximise mobile gaming performance, and in daily usage, it holds up excellently with no lag or stutter in games or general browsing. That being said, the phone does run a little warm when under load.

That’s also in part thanks to the fact that the Note 8 Pro comes with 6GB of RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of storage. I’m a little disappointed that Redmi is still sticking with a fingerprint sensor on the rear case rather than using an in-display one, but I guess compromises have to be made to keep prices low.

And the Note 8 Pro is extremely competitive on that front, starting at just S$329. For the first phone in Singapore with a 64MP camera, decent performance and good aesthetics, I think that price is reasonable enough.

So let’s take a look at the cameras. It’s a quad setup with the 64MP main lens, 8MP ultra-wide angle lens, 2MP macro lens and a 2MP depth sensor.

The 64MP lens pixel-bins into a 16MP image, but I’ve found that the 64MP photos do have slightly better highlights. The 64MP images are useful if someone requires detail however, as can be seen above. The menu is still somewhat legible in the 64MP image, while the phone doesn’t even let users zoom in too much with a 16MP photo.

The ultra-wide angle lens has a FOV of 120° and works fine during the day, but does appear a bit grainy at night. The macro lens also works fine, but does get over-sharpened a tad too much.

Portrait mode does give a nice amount of bokeh and subjects are sharp, but the highlights in the photo usually end up quite blown-out.

Battery life appears to be quite efficient, with the 4,500mAh battery lasting 1.5 days of moderate use.

The 6.53″ FHD+ display is passable as well, topping out at 500nits of brightness, which is good enough for most use scenarios. Consuming content on this screen won’t blow your mind, but it’s definitely good enough for just watching videos or taking photos.

For people who still want to use wired earphones, you’ll be pleased to know that the 3.5mm port is still present on the Note 8 Pro. As for speakers, the bottom-firing speaker is unfortunately not that loud. I do recommend using earphones if watching videos or playing games.

Overall, it’s a decent phone for the price, and if you’re looking for a phone that is able to take 64MP images, your choice right now is only between the Note 8 Pro or the considerably more expensive Vivo NEX 3.

The Redmi Note 8 Pro (starting from S$329) is available at Xiaomi authorised retailers and on the Xiaomi website.