UPDATE: 29TH AUGUST 2019
The devices have been launched in China. You can check all the details here.
Looks like Xiaomi is feeling the heat from Realme. The Redmi Note 8 series, comprising of the Note 8 and the Note 8 Pro are officially launching on the 29th of this month. After revealing the official launch date for the phones, official press renders were also shared by the company today. Admittedly, Redmi Note series of phones have been some of the best selling phones of the brand, bringing them a lot of brand recognition and money.
The Redmi Note 8 Pro, especially, has a lot of hype surrounding it for its supposedly 64MP rear camera. This would be the world’s first Android smartphone housing a 64MP rear camera, as teased by Xiaomi in an event last month. The regular non-pro version also had managed to grab quite a lot of eyeballs though, because of a rumor of Xiaomi using the new MediaTek Helio G90 on it. However, now that we have filtered out the hoaxes, here’s everything we know about the upcoming phones.
Redmi Note 8
The base variant of the Note 8 series is confirmed to house a 48MP quad-camera setup on the rear along with multiple software enhancements, thanks to AI. As one can guess, the primary rear camera sensor would be of the 48MP resolution. One of the other three would be a telephoto/zoom lens, the third one being an ultra-wide and the fourth one a depth sensor. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 665, the same one running the show inside recently launched Mi A3, will be the SoC for the Redmi Note 8. Apart from these, the Note 8 is said to pack a 4100 mAh cell (not confirmed).
Redmi Note 8 Pro
This one’s going to be the real show-stopper on the 29th. The top-of-the-line Redmi Note of this year is creating a lot of hype for the fact that it’s housing a humongous 64MP rear lens that’s capable of taking some crisp photos, as teased by Xiaomi. This 64MP camera has the new Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 image sensor. While we know that the rear camera system has 4 cameras, Xiaomi hasn’t really revealed anything else apart from a 25-times zoom capability. We can safely assume the setup to comprise of a regular (64MP), an ultra-wide, a telephoto/zoom & a depth sensor. Also on the processor front, the Note 8 Pro shall be powered by the new gaming-centric MediaTek Helio G90T SoC. Add to that, a 4500mAh cell is confirmed for the Note 8 Pro, the largest for any Redmi Note.
Apart from these, both the phones shall follow the new Xiaomi design language, similar to the Redmi K20 and the Mi A3, making use of curved glass at the rear with interesting, fresh colors and gradients. Also, both the phones shall house the same FHD+ IPS display, in-display fingerprint sensor, headphone jack, IR blaster & dual SIM + SD (hybrid) support.
Full details shall be unveiled on the 29th of August as Xiaomi launches the Note 8 series alongside the new Redmi TV and RedmiBook Pro notebook in China. The phone is expected to launch in India later near the festive season (Diwali).