Xiaomi sent out a teaser earlier today for a product launch on the 16th this month. After what transpired later in the day, it seems like the launch will be for the Redmi Note 2.
The Redmi Note 2 just cleared network certification tests via TENAA in China. The Redmi Note 2 continues to have a 5.5-inch screen, but is smaller when compared to the first-gen Redmi Note; the device now measures 152.05 x 76.2 x 8.05 mm, down from the 154 x 78.7 x 9.45 mm of the original Redmi Note.
The TENAA certification reveals that the Redmi Note 2 has a 3020mAh battery, which is surprisingly smaller in capacity than the first-gen model.
The Redmi Note 2 is expected to have 4G by default across all models — not having LTE support could spell doomsday for even a mid-range phone in this day and age. To ensure compatibility, there seem to be two versions of the phone coming, at least for the Chinese market where the three network juggernauts use different technologies. The two versions ensure compatibility with China Mobile and China Unicom, but there seems to be no Redmi Note 2 love for users of China Telecom… at least not just yet.
Gizchina News of the week
MediaTek has come back with a bang this year with its 64-bit SoCs, and it would only be natural for a budget Xiaomi phone to have a chipset from the maker. However, Xiaomi didn’t particularly have a warm entry with its Redmi range in India, after it was banned from sale for patent infringement. Ever since, Xiaomi seem to have been happy to stick to Qualcomm, including with the ‘mid-range flagship’ aka Mi 4i.
The MT6752 would’ve made a perfect fit for the Redmi Note 2, but I don’t see that happening for now. Xiaomi will probably stick with the Snapdragon 615 (or will it be another SD chipset?), to be on the safer side. Don’t expect a lot to change from the original Redmi Note, which in itself is still a very worthy buy (more so after the price cuts its been receiving). It’ll still probably have the same camera (pretty certain it’ll be the same resolution at least), and maybe even the same storage options — after all you do have an expansion slot to work with.
Only if they increase the price of the note series, it seems impossible to me at the moment that they are selling a metal body phone with MT6795 chipset for less than 999 yuan.