Xiaomi Redmi 2 full review, specifications and hands on
Redmi 2 Review: In last August, Xiaomi launched the Redmi Smartphone in India which turned out to be the best average price range smartphone (10,000) only! But it showed its age too soon. Within six months the rival companies took over the market back. Hence, here we are, presenting the review for Redmi 2, which launched in India on March 24! Here is the comparison between the last year’s Redmi 1s and this year’s Redmi 2 for those fans who wish to see a spec by spec analysis for what’s changed in the new Redmi this year.
Redmi 2 Display:
Not much changes since Redmi 1, but there is some vast improvement in the colour and contrast ratios of the display, which enables user to experience a rich and vibrant colours. This has also resumed the problem which earlier users faced while using their phone in direct sunlight or at specific angles. It has a layer of shatter-proof glass in the form of Asahi Dragontrail glass, something good for clumsy nuts whose phone are mostly seen on floors rather than in their hands. Also, something which the competitors have taken care of in the form of Gorrila Glass 3 but Xiaomi chose a different route instead, and the screen was resilient as well as resisted our scratching efforts even when we tried it with a scissor!
Performance of the Xiaomi Redmi 2:
It is one of the first phones in the market to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 Soc. It’s a quad core processor based on ARM’s cortex A53 architecture and supports 64 bits applications. One of the turn offs in terms of performance would be that the phone is still stuck with Android Kitkat. Users might face problems when it comes to animations and app switching or scroll through home screens, if they are new to the world of Xiaomi but the phone feels fast enough to survive the day. Also it’s a matter of personal preference whether you like the look and feel of MIUI or not, because we liked the overall feel as well as working of MIUI.
Gaming is pretty decent on the device. Also, speakers are a bit loud while calling, but could be useful enough to play music if you want.
Software on the Redmi 2:
The biggest change from the earlier Redmi is the presence of MIUI 6! It has a flatter design and some new features too. An upgrade to Android Lollipop would not come any time soon as Xiaomi is focussed generally on its own custom ROM than android updates. But somewhere around the final quarter of this year an upgrade to Android Lollipop based MIUI variant can be expected!
The interface is like an apple mixed pie of Android and iOS. There are no app drawers, just a springboard of apps ad widgets than span multiple pages. Main issues were faced while running applications like True caller and Instagram. The MIUI 6 does improve upon it’s predecessor in major areas. You can read our full MIUI 6 review to get a better idea of all the features in the latest iteration of MIUI.
Redmi 2 Camera analysis:
8 Megapixel is like more than what you ask in this price range! And that too a good 8 megapixel. Here are some of the sample camera shots from the Camera of the Redmi 2 without any filter added or any compression of file to reduce quality.
Even in low light, the phone more or less can take decent enough shots. Also, when it comes to videos, it shows an average performance by shooting up to 1080p and even has fast motion mode which enables it to automatically adapt the focus according to motion of the subject.
The front camera is okayish enough to take selfies but don’t expect an out of the blues image quality. Since a large wide lens has been added to the handset it helps people to take large group selfies. The “beautify” feature has been added to the front camera and it’s enabled by default which makes for good selfie taking experience and you would automatically appear good without much make up on!
Redmi 2’s Battery Life:
The phone has decent enough 2.200mAh battery that can last up to an entire day on a single charge if used heavily. On moderate to low usage the phone can easily last you 2 and a half days! It also supports Qualcomm’s quick charge so the battery does get charged faster than your average mobile phones!
You can watch our full video hands on and initial review for the Xiaomi Redmi 2 here.
In 7,000 INR, you get a decent camera, a beautiful screen, 4G Connectivity decent performance and a long day battery life with a dual sim phone! The other alternatives in this price range are Moto E 2nd gen, Micromax YU Yureka but for the price of 7k the Redmi 2 is a sweet deal!
Keep visiting for more awesome device news, gadget reviews and remember we cover, “Everything under the Sun!”
Follow Inspire2rise on Twitter. | Follow Inspire2rise on Facebook. | Follow Inspire2rise on Google+.
Stay Inspired to rise fellas!
Read more:
- Xiaomi launches Redmi 2 and Mi pad in India
- Xiaomi MI 4 full review
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G full review
- Mi Redmi note 3g is a beast on a budget
Tags : Tech , Gadgets
Hi Shreya,
This phone looks promising.
You made me feel disappointed a bit. I recently bought a Zenfone 5. I faced no issue except the short battery life. Aditya bro said Red Mi 2 is the best under 10k. So I was waiting for this review. Zenfone 5 is superior on RAM and storage. All other features look the same. But there is a unique feature, owl mode with the camera of Zenfone. I love it.
To be frank, I am not a fan of MIUI. Maybe this indifference would change after the usage of 1-2 days.
Thanks for the great review.
Regards,
Rahul
I have a few questions about this device:
Have u experience any kind of lag on the phone/UI when running intensive task, such as heavy multitasking and switching between apps or running some heavy apps like Facebook? (Does this phone have RAM management problems?) About the camera, does the photos taken with this device on auto mode have a warm, yellowish ‘filter’ over it and do u think it is a problem or con? Because a lot of other reviewers say that this is the case. One last thing, how long does the device take to charge from like 0 or 10% to 100%? Because I heard that the Redmi 2 has Qualcomm quick charge 1.0. I just want to know the overall performance and experience with this device because I am planning to buy it. Thanks 😀 (Hope that was not TOO much to read ?)