Redmi 7 is one of the first smartphones marking the change of Redmi after separating from Xiaomi, and of course, they want users to know about the change. After generations of Redmi phones looking "boring" as "bland", the brand finally makes some significant changes on the Redmi 7. Of course, not every change will inevitably bring positive feedback, but as the competition intensifies, you have to understand that a smartphone only focuses on configuration and battery life will not be enough. If you do not change, you will definitely fall behind.

The version we used for this review has 3GB RAM, 32GB of internal memory for a price of Rs. 8,999. There is also a more expensive version with 4GB RAM, 64GB internal memory but only for the Chinese market, and a cheaper version with 2GB RAM, 32GB of internal memory for Rs. 7,999.

Redmi 7: Display

Not only keeping up with the trend of the gradient color back, but the Redmi 7 is also equipped with a waterdrop screen - the preferred solution to maximize the screen area. Thanks to that, the screen of the Redmi 7 can be increased to nearly 1 inch compared to the Redmi 6 - from 5.45 inches to 6.26 inches - but the overall size of the device is pretty much the same.

The water drop of Redmi 7 houses a single selfie camera, so the area for the notification bar is very spacious, allowing for a lot of information to be displayed. However, the bottom chin and the thick bezel edges make the screen / body ratio of Redmi 7 stay at about 81.5%, slightly less than that of the Mi 8 Lite (82.5%).

The IPS LCD screen of Redmi 7 gives a wide viewing angle, good color reproduction, but the resolution stops at HD + only making the image not very sharp. At 6.26 inches, Full-HD+ resolution will be more suitable, but of course that will force Xiaomi to increase the price of the handset. The brightness of the device is sufficient in most cases every day, as long as it is not under direct sunlight.

Redmi 7: Performance

Redmi 7 is the first smartphone to be equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 632 chipset. This can be called an upgrade to the Snapdragon 625 chip that appeared on many previous Xiaomi and Redmi models. With 8 cores clocked at 1.8GHz and 3GB of RAM, you can comfortably play light games with this phone.

Dead Trigger 2 at the highest graphics settings was still easy for Redmi 7 to handle. The phone maintained at 60FPS with a 90% stability.

PUBG Mobile is probably a bit out of hand for Redmi 7. Even at the lowest graphics setting, the average FPS of the device could manage was only 29 with a 79% stability. Not just that, the phone also got heated pretty fast. Overall, the experience wasn’t that good and you might consider other options if you want to play PUBG Mobile.

In the popular benchmark apps, Redmi 7's score is slightly lower than smartphones using the Snapdragon 636 chip that we have previously evaluated. 

Redmi 7: Battery life

Redmi 7 owns a 4,000 mAh battery, equal to Redmi Note 7 and higher than the 3,000 mAh figure of the Redmi 6. Combined with the screen with only HD+ resolution and the energy-saving Snapdragon 632 chip, its battery can last up to 1.5 - 2 days with average usage.

Despite having a large battery, the Redmi 7 does not support fast charging. Bundled with the phone is a 5V-2A charger, which takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes to fully charge a 4,000 mAh battery.

Redmi 7: Camera

It is really interesting to see how high-quality imaging and multiple camera sensors have percolated down to entry-level smartphones. The Redmi 7 is a testament to that. The phone sports a combination of a 12MP primary camera paired with a 2MP depth sensor. The end results are rather impressive.

Images shot outdoors in good light were better than I expected from an entry-level device. With the smart AI feature turned off, images were natural looking, and retained details in the shadow region. Unlike Samsung’s budget phones, the Redmi 7 did not burn out highlights, nor did it oversaturate images. However, if that is the look that you prefer, toggling the AI feature gives a very definite saturation boost to images.

Of course, this is still a budget phone and close examination of shots reveals a lack of details. Still, Xiaomi has done a pretty good job with tuning the Redmi 7’s camera and there is deceptively low noise even in shadow regions.

The phone does a good job at capturing portrait mode shots as well. Xiaomi’s algorithms have gotten a lot better and it’s great to see this trickle down to budget devices. Edge detection is rather good and the bokeh fall-off is fairly natural.

Redmi 7: Verdict

Overall, the Redmi 7 is a good all-around phone. It offers a decent performance for daily tasks and is capable of handling light games. Its cameras are clearly better than that of its predecessor, though low-light photography is still hit and miss. 

One thing you should know before purchasing this phone is the ads. You will see ads on the lock screen or whenever you install a new app on the phone. Multiple steps are required to turn off ads strewn across the MIUI interface. With the intense competition from Realme, Samsung, and many other brands, Xiaomi might need to think twice about which direction it wants its MIUI to go.