Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro first impressions: Good price, specs but old design

Xiaomi brings a fresh new pack of smartphones in the budget segment. The company also launched its first notched display smartphone, Redmi 6 Pro in India.

Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro comes in four colour options of black, gold, blue and red. (HT Photo)

Xiaomi on Wednesday refreshed its entry-level series with the new Redmi 6 series. The new portfolio includes three new phones, Redmi 6, Redmi 6A and Redmi 6 Pro. The smartphones inclusive of sub variants are priced between ₹5,999 and ₹12,999, further cluttering Xiaomi's budget portfolio which has phones like Redmi Note 5, Note 5 Pro and Redmi Y2 and their respective variants.

Based on specifications, Redmi 6 phones seem like an incremental upgrade over the predecessor, but there are some big improvements in the camera department, courtesy Artificial Intelligence. Among the three, Redmi 6 Pro stands out for its notch display, also Xiaomi's first phone in India with cut out screen.

Redmi 6 Pro, which is also the most expensive of the lot, will be available in India for a starting price of ₹10,999 (3GB + 32GB). The top-end model with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage is priced at ₹12,999. Interestingly though, Redmi Note 5's base model is available for ₹9,999.

Redmi 6 Pro promises to be an all-rounder with better camera, battery and newer design. But does the new Redmi phone make the cut? Ahead of the launch, we spent some time with Redmi 6 Pro and here are our first impressions of the phone.

The first thing one will notice on holding the phone is its bulky design. It's unapologetically thick and heavy. Also, it doesn't look very different from any other Redmi phones. There's a notch on the front, but except that it has barely anything remarkable to talk about in terms of design. We understand that design hasn't been priority for Xiaomi for the entry-level segment but being a market leader it could have put some effort to stand out. Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro may be sturdier but it just doesn't look as good as the newer phones from Realme and Honor for this segment.

Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro has a similar back panel design like the Redmi Note 5 Pro and Mi A2. (HT Photo)

Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro has a similar back panel design like the Redmi Note 5 Pro and Mi A2. (HT Photo)

The back panel resembles Xiaomi's Redmi Note 5 Pro and Xiaomi Mi A2 but with less protruding camera. The fingerprint sensor on the back sits flat on the surface unlike these two phones. The base has microUSB port sandwiched between dual speakers. The top has the 3.5mm headphone jack. The volume and power buttons are located on the right edge whereas the left edge houses the 2+1 SIM slot which means one can use two SIMS (nano) and one microSD together.

As said earlier, Redmi 6 Pro has a notch on the front. The screen feels taller within the given dimensions. Besides an underwhelming design, what we really liked about the phone is its display quality. The 5.84-inch Full HD+ display with 2.5D glass offers quite impressive indoor and outdoor legibility. The auto brightness works just fine. Browsing and watching multimedia on this phone should be a good experience on this phone.

Xiaomi has made some tall claims about the photography capabilities of its Redmi 6 Pro. We will soon verify that in our detailed review. During our brief usage, we found the interface to be simple and image processing fast. The phone has features like Portrait (for DSLR-like shallow depth of field effect) and "Beautify" mode. It has also has this short video feature which as the name suggests has a set recording time like Instagram. There's a HHT tool which takes multiple pictures in low-light and create one final image with minimal noise.

For performance, Redmi phones have been quite impressive for their given price. Redmi 6 Pro should not be a slouch either, theoretically. Redmi 6 Pro is powered by Snapdragon 625 processor paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage. . The same processor is found in Redmi Note 5 which is a tested performer. Redmi 6 Pro also packs a massive 4,000mAh battery, another known trait of Xiaomi phones - long battery life.

Overall, Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro looks like a solid phone but the design may not appeal to everyone. We will soon find out more about the new Xiaomi phone in our detailed review.

WATCH: REDMI 6 PRO UNBOXING, FIRST IMPRESSIONS