Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro first impressions: 48-megapixel camera is promising

No one knows India's budget smartphone segment better than Xiaomi. For at least four quarters, it has continued to dominate the segment with back-to-back successful phones such as Redmi Note 4 and Redmi Note 5. Its latest offering Redmi Note 7 Pro is going to make things more difficult for competitors.

Redmi Note 7 Pro is probably the best looking budget phone offered by Xiaomi so far. It builds on the design language of Mi A2 but uses a glass back panel instead. Note it's a proper glass back panel instead of glass-like finish on a plastic shell. It's also a Gorilla Glass 5, which is tougher and the most advanced one from Corning.

While the glass back panel is the best in class, it also faces the same problem that other panel's do - prone to fingerprint smudges. Redmi Note 7 Pro users may snap on a cover anyway.

Apart from good looks, Redmi Note 7 Pro also marks big changes in the screen design. It feels much taller with a waterdrop notch on the top. Redmi Note 7 and Redmi Note 7 Pro are the first phones to come with this notch design.

With 6.3-inch display, Redmi Note 7 Pro is among the large-screen phones. It's also quite thick at 8.1mm. Overall, the phone feels compact enough for modern design stand point of view. Necessary buttons such as volume, power and fingerprint sensors are well within the reach.

The biggest highlight of Redmi Note 7 Pro is the 48-megapixel sensor. The smartphone uses Sony's advanced IMX586 sensor which has been exclusive to a very few devices, mostly premium phones. We've briefly spent time with the camera and results have been quite impressive so far.

Photos in full resolution are rich in colours and retain depth details. Thanks to a large sensor, it's quite tempting to keep zooming in on photos taken by the phone. We also liked the crispness of Studio mode on the 13-megapixel sensor.

Redmi Note 7 Pro is set to go on sale in India on March 6. With a price starting at ₹13,999, Redmi Note 7 Pro looks like a promising smartphone. We're yet to test the Snapdragon 675 processor which is being claimed to be much faster than other mid-range Qualcomm chipsets. Stay tuned for our detailed review.