Has Xiaomi already launched the Redmi Note 5?

A "Super Moderator" on the MIUI forum has revealed that Xiaomi has decided to drop the “Note” line from its budget offerings. The Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus will replace the Redmi Note 5 as the company’s budget offering with a big screen. The Redmi 5 Plus is a minor upgrade over the Redmi Note 4 and this may disappoint a lot of Xiaomi fans.

After the launch of the Xiaomi Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus in China earlier this month, a lot of Xiaomi fans were waiting for the launch of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5. However, a comment from a Super Moderator on the MIUI Forum reveals that the company will not launch the Redmi Note 4’s successor.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 was launched in India in January this year. The device is powered by a Snapdragon 625 chipset and has a 5.5-inch full HD display. It was one of the most popular budget devices in the country and the company had claimed it sold more than 5 million units of the device.

The Super Moderator has said, “The wait is finally over, Xiaomi has finally decided to release the Redmi Note 5, wait!!! I heard its called the Redmi 5 Plus? No kidding?? There was a name change? Well yes folks, the 2 new Redmi Note sized phones are named Redmi 5 for the 5.7" and Redmi 5 Plus for the 5.99".

Changing the branding here may actually be a good move from Xiaomi. The company's Note series has seen exceptional success in the market, but it also means Xiaomi maintains three different ranges. Dropping the Note range could allow it to streamline this by putting Mi phones as its premium devices, while the Redmi series caters to all budget offerings.

Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus Specifications

The Redmi 5 Plus comes with a 5.99-inch full HD+ IPS LCD display with 18:9 aspect ratio. It runs on Android 7.1.2 Nougat with MIUI 9 skinned on top.

In terms of performance, the Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC with 3GB/4GB RAM and 32GB/64GB internal storage, which is similar to the Redmi Note 4. The storage on the device can be further expanded up to 128GB via a microSD card.

Coming to the camera department, the Redmi 5 Plus comes with a 12MP primary camera with f/2.2 aperture and PDAF. On the front, the device sports a 5MP secondary camera with an LED flash. If we compare it with the Redmi Note 4, the major change that we notice is the addition of the front LED flash.

The Redmi 5 Plus is powered by a 4,000mAh battery. Connectivity options on the device include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, Infrared Port, microUSB 2.0 and a 3.5mm audio jack.

from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/news/has-xiaomi-already-launched-the-redmi-note-5