Hands-On

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Hands-on: The new budget smartphone king?

The successor to the popular Redmi Note 4 doesn’t disappoint

Published

May 11, 2018

Daniel Morial

Xiaomi’s latest bang-for-buck phone is finally in my hands! Since its first appearance in India (as the Redmi Note 5 Pro), I immediately knew it would be a worthy successor to the Redmi Note 4 people loved. Without further ado, this is my hands-on with the Redmi Note 5.

As always, let’s get to know the phone’s physique first.

It has a 5.99-inch Full HD+ display in an 18:9 ratio

It’s crisp and vibrant plus it’s protected by Gorilla Glass

The selfie camera and earpiece are where they should be

The buttons for volume and power are on the right side

Just two buttons serving their functions

While the hybrid card slot is hiding on the left

Do you want a second SIM card or a microSD card? Choose!

The IR blaster and secondary microphone sit on top

Switching TV channels is something a Redmi phone can also do

The bottom is pretty busy with the audio port, microphone, micro-USB port, and loudspeaker

Xiaomi is not yet switching to USB-C for its budget devices

It’s got a basic Redmi look at the back with the fingerprint reader in the middle

The whole body is made of metal and plastic

The rear camera looks familiar, doesn’t it?

Copied from the iPhone X

What’s inside the Redmi Note 5?

As a budget phone from Xiaomi, the Redmi Note 5 doesn’t have crazy new features, but it does have everything you can ask out of a decent everyday smartphone. First of all, its display has an 18:9 ratio which is pretty much the staple nowadays and a crisp 403ppi pixel density. In terms of display quality, it’s not far behind from its more expensive counterparts. It’s still an LCD panel though, and not Super AMOLED like with Samsung phones.

The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 636 processor which is the same chipset found on the ZenFone 5 that retails for around US$ 400. My Redmi Note 5 review unit comes with 4GB of memory and 64GB of storage which is being sold in China for CNY 1,399 or PhP 11,990 in the Philippines (roughly US$ 225 only). That’s almost half the price of the ZenFone 5!

Moving forward, the Redmi Note 5’s processing power makes it passable as a gaming phone. Choosing ultra-high graphics will render the game with low frame rates and appear laggy, but if you know how to hit the sweet spot (somewhere in between medium and high settings, depending on the game) you can enjoy your favorite titles with no issues. So far, I’ve been playing Asphalt Xtreme and PUBG: Mobile, and I haven’t encountered any major lag or overheating.

As for its cameras, there’s a dual rear camera setup composed of a 12-megapixel main shooter with an f/1.9 aperture and a secondary 5-megapixel sensor to assist in depth sensing. Since the phone has two rear cameras, it can shoot portraits with creamy bokeh. For selfies, it has a 13-megapixel front camera with built-in beautification mode and depth effect, as well.

The phone runs Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box that’s skinned with MIUI 9.5. The latest version of Android and MIUI help with the phone’s lag-free operation. Despite being heavily skinned with Xiaomi’s custom UI, the Redmi Note 5 doesn’t stutter or freeze. I’ll see in the coming days how far the phone can go without slowing down.

Another feature of the Redmi Note 4 that the Redmi Note 5 inherits is the large battery capacity. It still has a sizeable 4000mAh battery sealed inside its body. Sadly, it charges through a micro-USB port and there’s no mention of Quick Charge support. I’ll be testing the phone’s battery life and charging times to let you guys know how it fares.

Pricing alone makes the Redmi Note 5 a viable option if you’re looking for a powerful phone that doesn’t cost much. But, of course, not all phones are created equal. I’ll be taking the Redmi Note 5 for a full spin in the coming days and I’ll share my full review.

Hands-On

OPPO Reno15 F 5G hands-on

More question marks than exclamation points?

Published

March 6, 2026

Manila Connoisseur

The OPPO Reno15 Series 5G made its way to the Philippines last month, and reception has been pretty great so far.

With a powerful camera package, AI, and a slew of upgrades, there’s a lot to love and not much negative to say. But that’s with both the standard and Pro models.

On the other hand, with the Reno15 F 5G — the series’ supposed budget-friendly “lite” variant —there were more question marks than exclamation points.

I attack this piece once more from a consumer standpoint: shelling out PhP 23,000 to PhP 26,000 for a midrange smartphone that feels and performs like it’s a few notches below its segment doesn’t sound too pleasant.

Performance

With a Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 processor, the OPPO Reno15 F performs pretty much like any sub PhP 20,000 mid-ranger. It’s acceptable, but does not punch above its weight as expected.

No major hiccups for light and casual usage. But performance struggles a lot for demanding video games.

It also heats up significantly just 10 minutes into a title like Honkai: Star Rail. This is a stark contrast to the marketed 25℃ and up to 10 hours straight of smooth gameplay.

Although, the experience was still enjoyable with several wins and MVP runs in Call of Duty Mobile. It only means the F variant remains a more camera-centric phone rather than an a hard-hitting all-arounder.

As with other devices, the 7000mAh battery with 80W SUPERVOOC is a strong suit. You’re fueled from dawn ’til dusk, with much to spare. Recharging takes a breeze, too.

Display

The OPPO Reno15 F has a 6.57-inch 120Hz display, with a 92.8% screen-to-body ratio. At least, that allows you to focus on content on the screen.

Content leans more towards the cooler tone, so you’ll have to adjust it manually if you want a warmer or more vivid look.

The 397ppi pixel density is fine to ensure sharper visuals, while the 1400 nits peak brightness is helpful outdoors.

Camera

The device’s 50MP main camera captures decent quality. The color science leans on being natural anew, without being too dull nor washed out. You can pull off smooth portraits too.

I hardly used the phone for stills as I focused on videos, but here are some samples, on the occasions I was able to take the handset with me:

The 50MP front camera is an intriguing add-on, as it is capable of up to 4K video and a wide 100° field of view.

What this does is it essentially removes the need to flip your phone for the popular “0.5” shots. And the quality doesn’t get compromised given the pixel count.

Here are some selfies from different focal lengths:

To its credit, filming with the back camera at 60fps does look and feel smooth, although it can be improved.

Same with the front camera; and the zoom range can be switched from 0.6 to 2x without cutting the recording.

Although, it’s still best to use a selfie stick or small tripod if you’re just after talking head videos.

Speaking of which, here are a few I’ve made with just this device:

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But for travel and on-the-go captures, as OPPO markets for the series in general, even the Reno15 F can cover a lot of background along with your or your groups’ faces.

Make no mistake, there are some useful AI editing features here. In particular, AI Portrait Glow gives your raw capture an effect to make it look it was taken with flash.

I do not recall the device heating up as well when taking many photos or videos, so you can say it’s more optimized for that task rather than gaming.

Connectivity issues

Meanwhile, AI LinkBoost 3.0, as in the case of the OPPO A6 Pro, doesn’t seem to punch above its weight either.

Once, I also played Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and the session opened to a jittery start despite being on Wi-Fi and having a stable connection. I don’t know what triggered this.

Design, feel

We got the Aurora Blue variant which does kind of resemble the northern lights when you tilt the phone a certain way and when light hits its back panel.

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The cursive “Reno” on the large, protruding camera island gives it more style.

However, it’s all just aesthetics. On the downside, the phone is all sorts of slippery.

I couldn’t hold it properly without think of it slipping away from my hands; nor could I put it on my lap with confidence.

So I guess it’s good that it has structural integrity and waterproofing, because you’ll need that.

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The 6.57-inch body does have a good balance between being too compact and too large, like ultras and pro maxes.

It has a squarish body and has already adapted to the premium, aluminum frame look from the sides.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

Sadly, the OPPO Reno15 F 5G is a Swipe Left unlike its bigger, more capable siblings. There are plenty of plus points for the camera package but take that away, and I don’t see much difference between the Reno15 F and something like the A6 Pro.

Granted, the asking price of this phone will drop significantly in a few months. But throw in a little more, and you’ve got a legitimate mid-ranger that’s more on the premium side rather than the cheap end of the spectrum.