Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 7 smartphone in India last year in February running MIUI 10.2 Global Stable on top of Android 9.0 (Pie) and launched the updated Redmi Note 7S with 48 MP rear camera later in May running MIUI 10.2 Global Stable on top of Android 9.0 (Pie). Redmi Note 7 and Redmi Note 7S share same codename ‘lavender’, MIUI 11 update for both the devices were rolled out in November.
Redmi Note 7 started receiving Android 10 in China last month but MIUI Global ROM is still based on Android 9. Redmi Note devices usually have great custom ROM development, and Redmi Note 7 series is not an exception. Oxygen OS is amongst popular Android skin that offers lots of customizations without much bloatware, developers have ported Android 10 based Oxygen OS to Redmi Note 7/7S (lavender). We tried it on our unit and here is our review of the same.
Performance and Benchmarks:
It obtained AnTuTu score of 171569 on Pixel Experience. It scored 1633 points in single-core test and 5644 points in multi-core test in Geekbench 4. In Geekbench 5 test, it managed to get a 340 points in single-core test and 1431 points in multi-core test.
It handled day to day tasks with ease, neither we faced any issue while multitasking. We tested PUBG mobiles and Call of Duty as well, the games run on medium graphics by default and gameplay was smooth.
Software, UI, and Apps:
Oxygen OS comes preinstalled with Google and OnePlus apps, most of which can be disabled/uninstalled easily if needed.
This ROM is ported from One Plus 6 Oxygen OS 10.3.0, it is based on Android 10 and runs on November 2019 security patch. Out of 64 GB internal storage, 12.3 GB is occupied by the system and users get around 51 GB of free storage.
Users can choose between navigation buttons, Android 10 navigation gestures and Oxygen OS navigation gestures as per their preferences. MIUI users will find Android 10 navigation gestures very familiar. Apart from navigation gestures, it also offers three-finger screenshot gesture, double-tap to wake and various lock screen gestures to trigger different actions.
Oxygen OS provides various customization options including Accent color, Tone, Shape, Icon Pack and Font. It supports system-wide dark mode and third-party icon packs.
Oxygen OS features Night mode, Reading mode, and Video enhancer, all of which work perfectly on this ported ROM.
You will be able to enjoy all the Oxygen OS features such as Gaming Mode, Parallel Apps, App Locker, Quick reply in landscape and RAM Boost.
Security:
The fingerprint works flawlessly on this OxygenOS port as you would expect, users can add up to five different fingerprints to unlock the phone. Oxygen OS face unlock also works on this ported ROM and works perfectly.
Camera:
The inbuilt Oneplus camera app offers decent results but you can install GCam apk mods to get better results along with portrait and night mode. A working GCam 7 version can be downloaded from the link given in the download section below.
Battery Life:
The battery life on the OxygenOS port was decent, but not as good as stock MIUI ROM. During our testing it lasted for a day easily and got about 7 hours screen on time on average. You might need to charge it before the day gets over in case you’re a heavy user. There is a battery saver mode that restricts background activities to save some power and should help when the phone is low on charge.
It also offers Adaptive battery and Battery optimizations similar to what you get on any stock Android phone.
Conclusion
OxygenOS ported from One Plus 6 brings Android 10 to Redmi Note 7/7S, if you want to stay updated along with stock-like Android, great performance, MIUI like gestures, it is worth a consideration.
Pros
- Fluid day-to-day performance
- System-wide themes and accent colors
- Bloat-free UI
- Gestures based navigation
- Face Unlock works
- Banking apps work without any issue after flashing Magisk
- Decent Battery Life
Cons
- Calls via Bluetooth headsets didn’t work sometimes
Requirements
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 with an unlocked bootloader – To Unlock the bootloader of your device, apply here.
- OrangeFox recovery for Redmi Note 7 – Click here to download and extract the downloaded zip.
- Oxygen OS Port– Click here to download.
- GApps – Included with ROM.
- GCam Port – Click here to download.
- Magisk – Click here to download.
- ADB software (For Windows) / Android zip file (For Mac)
If you are on a Mac you need to
- Extract the Android zip and place the folder on your Desktop.
- Open Terminal
- Type cd Desktop/Android
- Enter ./ADB-Install-Mac.sh
Follow the procedure mentioned below to flash the ROM on the device,
- Switch off the phone and boot it into fastboot mode by long pressing Power and Volume down buttons simultaneously.
- Connect your phone to PC by a USB cable, open command prompt on your PC and navigate to the folder where you have extracted OrangeFox recovery img file.
- Type ‘fastboot devices’ in command prompt and check if the device is detected by the system.
- If the system detects the phone, type ‘fastboot flash recovery.img’ and hit enter, the process will be completed in seconds.
- Now long-press the Volume up and Power Button to boot the phone in recovery mode.
- It will ask to allow modifications, slide towards the right to allow Modifications.
- Select ‘Wipe’, click on ‘Format Data’ and type ‘Yes’. Go to ‘Advanced Wipe’, select ‘Dalvik / ART Cache’, ‘System’. ‘Data’, ‘Cache’ and then swipe towards the right to Wipe.
- Go back and click on ‘Install’, navigate to the location where you have stored ROM zip, and Magisk (optional), it’s better to keep these zip files on SD Card or USB OTG drives. Select the ROM file and Magisk, then swipe towards the right to flash.
- Click on ‘Reboot’ and then ‘System’, within 10-15 minutes device will boot with Oxygen OS.
Credits: We would like to acknowledge the efforts of Guzram towards porting Oxygen OS for the Redmi Note 7, darthjabba9 and mryacha for the development of OrangeFox Recovery for Redmi Note 7, BSG for the development of GCam and all developers who contribute to the development of Magisk and Magisk Modules.
Warning Disclaimer: Bootloader unlocking and flashing ROM may void the warranty of Xiaomi devices, FoneArena is not responsible for any damage or loss caused to your device.