Xiaomi’s Redmi Note lineup made its debut in the country back in 2014 with the first generation Redmi Note devices and soon emerged as the most popular mid-range smartphone lineup in the country. Xiaomi introduced the Pro variant with Redmi Note 5 series and also started refreshing the Note line-up twice a year starting last year. The Redmi Note 7 (not the Pro variant!) launched earlier this year was an easy choice over the Redmi Note 6 Pro for users.
This year, the company has launched 5 different Redmi Note series devices with the recently launched Redmi Note 8 series, but should you still buy the previous-gen Redmi Note 7 Pro over the latest Redmi Note 8? Let’s try to find out together, read on our Redmi Note 8 vs Redmi Note 7 Pro in-depth comparison.
Design
Redmi Note 8 is not much different from Redmi Note 7 series in terms of design, it’s the same glass sandwich design with corning gorilla glass 5 protection, a dot-notch display and a chin at the bottom. The notch has a bit different shape this time and looks better in our opinion.
The other change that you will notice on the front is the Redmi branding on the chin, Xiaomi probably wants to remind, you’re using a Redmi device each time you look at the phone. It doesn’t bother me much but I certainly prefer a clean front. The chin size is similar, you won’t find any difference in chin size.
Xiaomi has changed the 3.5 mm audio output port placement on the Redmi Note 8 and is now placed at the bottom. Redmi Note 8 retains all the good stuff from the Redmi Note 7 series including the Type-C charging port and IR blaster. The speaker can be found at the bottom similar to the Redmi Note 7 series but Xiaomi has introduced an all-new auto-cleaning speaker technology on the Redmi Note 8.
The sim-card tray, volume rockers, and power buttons placements are exactly the same on both the devices, even the weights and dimensions of both the devices are similar.
Xiaomi has changed the Redmi logo placement on the Redmi Note 8 that makes the back look clean and minimal. These devices also have P2i splash-resistant nano-coating. Overall, in terms of design, materials and protection, both the devices are very similar to each other.
Display
Both the devices feature similar 6.3-inch FHD+ dot-notch LCD screens with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio that are sufficiently bright, thanks to the 450 nits brightness. The color reproduction on neither of the devices is accurate but you can’t really complain about it in this price range, we found the display on the Redmi Note 7 Pro warmer as compared to the one on Redmi Note 8.
Redmi Note 7 Pro and Redmi Note 8 both support Widevine L1 DRM, so you can enjoy your favorite shows in high-definition on streaming apps.
Performance, Gaming, and Benchmarks
Redmi Note 8 features Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 under the hood while Redmi Note 7 Pro packs a much powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 675, both built on 11 nm process.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 features two performance Cortex A76 Kryo 460 CPUs clocked at 2GHz per core and other six efficiency Cortex A55 Kryo 460 CPUs are clocked at 1.7GHz per core with Adreno 612 GPU, while Snapdragon 665 features four performance Cortex A73 Kryo 260 CPUs clocked at 2GHz per core and other four efficiency Cortex A53 Kryo 260 CPUs are clocked at 1.8GHz per core with Adreno 610 GPU.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 is a marginal improvement over the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 that was present on vanilla Redmi Note 7. Redmi Note 7 Pro runs PUBG on High graphics settings by default, but the Redmi Note 8 for some reason runs it on Low graphics.
To sum it up, Redmi Note 8 has a fairly capable processor that will perform just fine in day-to-day tasks but the Redmi Note 7 Pro has a much more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 SoC under the hood.
Camera
Redmi Note 8 series is a major leap over the Redmi Note 7 series in terms of cameras, Xiaomi decided to double the number of sensors on the rear but decided to retain the depth sensor. Redmi Note 8 series gets an additional 8MP 120° ultra-wide-angle lens and, a 2MP Marco sensor.
Both the devices feature a 48 MP primary sensor with f/1.79 aperture, but Redmi Note 7 Pro packs a Sony IMX 586 sensor while Redmi Note 8 gets a Samsung ISOCELL GM1 sensor. Redmi Note 7 Pro has a 5 MP depth sensor while the Redmi Note 8 has a 2 MP sensor.
Redmi Note 8 features 8 MP 120° ultra-wide-angle lens with 1.12μm pixel size, f/2.2 aperture and 2 MP sensor for 2 cm macro with 1.75μm pixel size, f/2.4 aperture. Both the smartphones feature a 13 MP front camera. Check out the camera samples below,
Both the devices can record 4K 30fps, 1080p 30/60fps, 720p 30fps, 1080/720p slow motion at 120fps, but Redmi Note 8 can also record 720p slow motion at 240fps and 720p macro videos as well.
Other Stuff
Redmi Note 8 features a dedicated Micro-SD card slot as compared to 3 choose 2 hybrid slot on the Redmi Note 7 Pro.
Conclusion
Redmi Note 8 and Redmi Note 7 Pro share a lot, be it design, features or materials but Redmi Note 8 should be your choice if cameras are your priority, for rest people, specially for smartphone gamers, Redmi Note 7 Pro is still a better and powerful phone.
Availability
The Redmi Note 8 is still available only through flash sales every week on Amazon.in, Mi.com and Mi Home Stores for Rs. 9999 for 4GB + 64GB version and the 6GB + 128GB version costs Rs. 12999. There is also a 3GB + 32GB version for the offline markets for Rs. 9,799.
The Redmi Note 7 Pro is available from Flipkart, Mi.com, Mi Home stores and other offline stores for Rs. 11,999 for 4GB + 64GB version and the 6GB + 128GB version costs Rs. 14999.