bolakale30:
REDMI NOTE 8 REVIEW...

So, I made the decision to switch from my battle-worn, tired, trusted Redmi Note 4x for the Redmi Note 8. I was one of the early adopters, so, I got the Chinese Version 4gb/64gb, hence, no MTN 4G for me… You all are familiar with the specs so I am not going to bore you with that nor the specifics of the design.

DISPLAY
The phone spots a 6.43 FHD+ display, personally, I have a thing against displays that are lower that FHD, it’s why the Mi A3 despite the promise of AMOLED, (which I love so much) and a theoretically better camera was never an option. This was my first phone with an 18:9 aspect ratio, so the longer and narrower display was a bit awkward at the beginning but I am now at home with it. The colours are vivid, true to life and I have no problem using my phone under direct sunlight. I am not a gamer but I downloaded a couple of games just to test the performance level of the phone (more on that later), and the colour reproduction was wonderful. Some users have complained about screen bleeding on their own units but I don’t have such problems
DISPALAY 9/10.

CONNECTIVITY
The phone comes with all the usual Redmi bells and whistles that are trademarks of the Redmi brand. Bluetooth, IR, WIFI, etc. And they all work as expected. Sadly, I got the Chinese version, so there is no MTN 4G for me. All other Major networks work really fine…
9/10

CAMERA AND VIDEO
One of the selling points of the Redmi Note 8 is its camera, the quad setup is novel, first of its kind among the Redmi line-up. The main camera is a 48MP (wide) an 8MP (ultra-wide) 2MP (depth sensor) and 2MP (macro). The 48MP shoots excellent photos in daylight, I am not really impressed with the night shots nor portrait mode probably because I expected more. Gen gen gen… enter GCAM and everything changes. The HDR enhanced portrait mode is maaaaaad… The night-mode is one of the best I have seen on a budget smartphone. The GCAM mod available for the Note 8 is incredible. The video is actually nice. The EIS prevents shaky videos. The slow-mo is a meh affair but it’s serviceable.
7/10

PERFORMANCE
The phone is equipped with a Snapdragon 665; the performance is similar to that of Snapdragon 660. It’s snappy. It has dealt admirably well with everything I have thrown at it. I am not a gamer, but I downloaded Call of Duty and PUBG on it, and it ran both flawlessly. My Redmi Note 4 was the 3gb and 32gb variant, and I observed that apps refresh in the background when I multitask, but I have not experienced any of such problem with the Redmi Note 8
8/10

SOFTWARE
Like I said, I got the Chinese version, it was not that bad, but the intrusive Chinese language was annoying, especially in the browser and music apps. But the battery performance was better. I applied and successfully unlocked my bootloader after seven days. I flashed the global rom, and I had a better performance. During the first setup, I disabled show recommendation so, I don’t get the annoying ads that have characterized MIUI. The MIUI is highly customisable, within the space of three weeks, I have used a pixel, iPhone, and Samsung OneUI themes; the dark mode works very well. However, I observed that the battery performance was significantly better on the Chinese ROM. Don’t get me wrong, I am getting 10hrs+ on the Global rom, but I was getting more than 12 hours while the phone was running the Chinese ROM
7/10

SOUND
Sound is generally okay, nothing flamboyant and nothing to complain about.
7/10

BIOMETRICS
The fingerprint and face unlock work well
8/10

BATTERY
The Redmi Note 8 is equipped with a 4000 MAH battery. The performance is very similar to that of my old Redmi Note 4x. It lasts a full day on heavy usage. I don’t use the Battery Saver mode, yet I change my phone just once in the morning, and I am good for the rest of the day.
8.5/10

PROS
Excellent performance and battery life
Highly customisable and feature-laden
Class-leading Camera (With GCAM)
Fantastic Display
Incredible value for money

CONS
Limited 4G bands (On Chinese model)
Average performance by the stock camera (I suspect the ROM has not been finetuned to optimise the Quad-Bayer sensor) I hope an update will fix that.
Slow-mo is meh at best
The Chinese ROM has better battery performance than the Global ROM

Update: apparently, an EU ROM was released for Note 8 and 8 PRO yesterday…

N.B: Forgive all infelicities; I am an amateur. However, you can ask me any question about the phone, I have had it for about 4 weeks

salvo583:
I'm on miui 11 since Nov 1st on RN7, I just got another miui update again

Vision62:


Thanks alot for this!
We need more reviews like this not talk-talk

bolakale30:
REDMI NOTE 8 REVIEW...

So, I made the decision to switch from my battle-worn, tired, trusted Redmi Note 4x for the Redmi Note 8. I was one of the early adopters, so, I got the Chinese Version 4gb/64gb, hence, no MTN 4G for me… You all are familiar with the specs so I am not going to bore you with that nor the specifics of the design.

DISPLAY
The phone spots a 6.43 FHD+ display, personally, I have a thing against displays that are lower that FHD, it’s why the Mi A3 despite the promise of AMOLED, (which I love so much) and a theoretically better camera was never an option. This was my first phone with an 18:9 aspect ratio, so the longer and narrower display was a bit awkward at the beginning but I am now at home with it. The colours are vivid, true to life and I have no problem using my phone under direct sunlight. I am not a gamer but I downloaded a couple of games just to test the performance level of the phone (more on that later), and the colour reproduction was wonderful. Some users have complained about screen bleeding on their own units but I don’t have such problems
DISPALAY 9/10.

CONNECTIVITY
The phone comes with all the usual Redmi bells and whistles that are trademarks of the Redmi brand. Bluetooth, IR, WIFI, etc. And they all work as expected. Sadly, I got the Chinese version, so there is no MTN 4G for me. All other Major networks work really fine…
9/10

CAMERA AND VIDEO
One of the selling points of the Redmi Note 8 is its camera, the quad setup is novel, first of its kind among the Redmi line-up. The main camera is a 48MP (wide) an 8MP (ultra-wide) 2MP (depth sensor) and 2MP (macro). The 48MP shoots excellent photos in daylight, I am not really impressed with the night shots nor portrait mode probably because I expected more. Gen gen gen… enter GCAM and everything changes. The HDR enhanced portrait mode is maaaaaad… The night-mode is one of the best I have seen on a budget smartphone. The GCAM mod available for the Note 8 is incredible. The video is actually nice. The EIS prevents shaky videos. The slow-mo is a meh affair but it’s serviceable.
7/10

PERFORMANCE
The phone is equipped with a Snapdragon 665; the performance is similar to that of Snapdragon 660, but the GPU of the Note 7 is a tad superior to the 665's Adreno 612. It’s snappy. It has dealt admirably well with everything I have thrown at it. I am not a gamer, but I downloaded Call of Duty and PUBG on it, and it ran both flawlessly. My Redmi Note 4 was the 3gb and 32gb variant, and I observed that apps refreshed in the background when I was multitasking, but I have not experienced any of such problems with the Redmi Note 8
8/10

SOFTWARE
Like I said, I got the Chinese version, it was not that bad, but the intrusive Chinese language was annoying, especially in the browser and music apps. But the battery performance was better. I applied and successfully unlocked my bootloader after seven days. I flashed the global rom, and I had a better performance. During the first setup, I disabled show recommendation so, I don’t get the annoying ads that have characterized MIUI. The MIUI is highly customisable, within the space of three weeks, I have used a pixel, iPhone, and Samsung OneUI themes; the dark mode works very well. However, I observed that the battery performance was significantly better on the Chinese ROM. Don’t get me wrong, I am getting 10hrs+ on the Global rom, but I was getting more than 12 hours while the phone was running the Chinese ROM
7/10

SOUND
Sound is generally okay, nothing flamboyant and nothing to complain about.
7/10

BIOMETRICS
The fingerprint and face unlock work well
8/10

BATTERY
The Redmi Note 8 is equipped with a 4000 MAH battery. The performance is very similar to that of my old Redmi Note 4x. It lasts a full day on heavy usage. I don’t use the Battery Saver mode, yet I change my phone just once in the morning, and I am good for the rest of the day.
8.5/10

PROS
Excellent performance and battery life
Highly customisable and feature-laden
Class-leading Camera (With GCAM)
Fantastic Display
Incredible value for money

CONS
Limited 4G bands (On Chinese model)
Average performance by the stock camera (I suspect the ROM has not been finetuned to optimise the Quad-Bayer sensor) I hope an update will fix that.
Slow-mo is meh at best
The Chinese ROM has better battery performance than the Global ROM

Update: apparently, an EU ROM was released for Note 8 and 8 PRO yesterday…

N.B: Forgive all infelicities; I am an amateur. However, you can ask me any question about the phone, I have had it for about 4 weeks

Tiger2020:
OK but that standby stuff specifically the radio app

kallmemrB:
Xiaomi Did one thing perfectly right and that's Redmi 8 battery.. Been on 4G for over 1hrs non stop.. It still retains its 100%

genius43:


It is not that, probably your phone is adjusting. I used my phone up to 28% today had over 8 hours SOT.

I think for some phones, apps auto starting is a major culprit to battery drain.

So search Auto start and stop apps you don't want for them to auto start.

When I updated, I forced restart severally. Then used my battery extensively. Switched off and charged, then everything normalised. But the auto start I noticed it yesterday and handled it.

Vision62:


Thanks alot for this!
We need more reviews like this not talk-talk

stephinnoyewole:
I've seen 10hrs+ SOT online
Dnt knw wats wrong wit mine

If only I've gotten it from a reputable store, I'd have returned it

Tiger2020:
I don't think its miui 11 thing ,it was their before update

GrandMufti:


I salute you sir

NCANCHAIR:
My note 8 battery isn't very efficient. I expected better performance but it's not very bad anyways.
Please can you help send the link to download the Gcam for the note 8. I wanna enjoy the camera with the Gcam just like you. Please don't forget.
Thanks a bunch

genius43:


Let me see your network graph like the one below

blackiridis:
those complaining of battery life on Note 8 have you turned off WIFI & Bluetooth scanning?

NCANCHAIR:
My note 8 battery isn't very efficient. I expected better battery performance but it's not very bad anyways.
Please can you help send the link to download the Gcam for the note 8. I wanna enjoy the camera with the Gcam just like you. Please don't forget.
Thanks a bunchquote author=bolakale30 post=84264297]REDMI NOTE 8 REVIEW...

So, I made the decision to switch from my battle-worn, tired, trusted Redmi Note 4x for the Redmi Note 8. I was one of the early adopters, so, I got the Chinese Version 4gb/64gb, hence, no MTN 4G for me… You all are familiar with the specs so I am not going to bore you with that nor the specifics of the design.

DISPLAY
The phone spots a 6.43 FHD+ display, personally, I have a thing against displays that are lower that FHD, it’s why the Mi A3 despite the promise of AMOLED, (which I love so much) and a theoretically better camera was never an option. This was my first phone with an 18:9 aspect ratio, so the longer and narrower display was a bit awkward at the beginning but I am now at home with it. The colours are vivid, true to life and I have no problem using my phone under direct sunlight. I am not a gamer but I downloaded a couple of games just to test the performance level of the phone (more on that later), and the colour reproduction was wonderful. Some users have complained about screen bleeding on their own units but I don’t have such problems
DISPALAY 9/10.

CONNECTIVITY
The phone comes with all the usual Redmi bells and whistles that are trademarks of the Redmi brand. Bluetooth, IR, WIFI, etc. And they all work as expected. Sadly, I got the Chinese version, so there is no MTN 4G for me. All other Major networks work really fine…
9/10

CAMERA AND VIDEO
One of the selling points of the Redmi Note 8 is its camera, the quad setup is novel, first of its kind among the Redmi line-up. The main camera is a 48MP (wide) an 8MP (ultra-wide) 2MP (depth sensor) and 2MP (macro). The 48MP shoots excellent photos in daylight, I am not really impressed with the night shots nor portrait mode probably because I expected more. Gen gen gen… enter GCAM and everything changes. The HDR enhanced portrait mode is maaaaaad… The night-mode is one of the best I have seen on a budget smartphone. The GCAM mod available for the Note 8 is incredible. The video is actually nice. The EIS prevents shaky videos. The slow-mo is a meh affair but it’s serviceable.
7/10

PERFORMANCE
The phone is equipped with a Snapdragon 665; the performance is similar to that of Snapdragon 660, but the GPU of the Note 7 is a tad superior to the 665's Adreno 612. It’s snappy. It has dealt admirably well with everything I have thrown at it. I am not a gamer, but I downloaded Call of Duty and PUBG on it, and it ran both flawlessly. My Redmi Note 4 was the 3gb and 32gb variant, and I observed that apps refreshed in the background when I was multitasking, but I have not experienced any of such problems with the Redmi Note 8
8/10

SOFTWARE
Like I said, I got the Chinese version, it was not that bad, but the intrusive Chinese language was annoying, especially in the browser and music apps. But the battery performance was better. I applied and successfully unlocked my bootloader after seven days. I flashed the global rom, and I had a better performance. During the first setup, I disabled show recommendation so, I don’t get the annoying ads that have characterized MIUI. The MIUI is highly customisable, within the space of three weeks, I have used a pixel, iPhone, and Samsung OneUI themes; the dark mode works very well. However, I observed that the battery performance was significantly better on the Chinese ROM. Don’t get me wrong, I am getting 10hrs+ on the Global rom, but I was getting more than 12 hours while the phone was running the Chinese ROM
7/10

SOUND
Sound is generally okay, nothing flamboyant and nothing to complain about.
7/10

BIOMETRICS
The fingerprint and face unlock work well
8/10

BATTERY
The Redmi Note 8 is equipped with a 4000 MAH battery. The performance is very similar to that of my old Redmi Note 4x. It lasts a full day on heavy usage. I don’t use the Battery Saver mode, yet I change my phone just once in the morning, and I am good for the rest of the day.
8.5/10

PROS
Excellent performance and battery life
Highly customisable and feature-laden
Class-leading Camera (With GCAM)
Fantastic Display
Incredible value for money

CONS
Limited 4G bands (On Chinese model)
Average performance by the stock camera (I suspect the ROM has not been finetuned to optimise the Quad-Bayer sensor) I hope an update will fix that.
Slow-mo is meh at best
The Chinese ROM has better battery performance than the Global ROM

Update: apparently, an EU ROM was released for Note 8 and 8 PRO yesterday…

N.B: Forgive all infelicities; I am an amateur. However, you can ask me any question about the phone, I have had it for about 4 weeks

GrandMufti:


Screenshot of your app battery usage

genius43:


Disable WIFI and Bluetooth scanning that is what is causing the high cell info and battery drain.

Your network still have comma with that yellow bar

NCANCHAIR:

NCANCHAIR:
Please how do I disable them, Biko

genius43:


Disable WIFI and Bluetooth scanning that is what is causing the high cell info and battery drain.

Your network still have comma with that yellow bar

Tiger2020:
WiFi and Bluetooth scanning has always been disabled,the draining issue is giving me concern,am not a heavy user just social media stuff and browsing

genius43:


It is not that, probably your phone is adjusting. I used my phone up to 28% today had over 8 hours SOT.

I think for some phones, apps auto starting is a major culprit to battery drain.

So search Auto start and stop apps you don't want for them to auto start.

When I updated, I forced restart severally. Then used my battery extensively. Switched off and charged, then everything normalised. But the auto start I noticed it yesterday and handled it.

snezBaba:
For those experiencing bad image quality when sharing pics on whatsapp especially screenshots, i would suggest getting a modded whatsapp ( I prefer YoWhatsapp). They usually have the option of turning off/ adjusting image compression

KngGezy:


I know right, due to the nature of your business its important. But nonetheless bad network and possible lack of data on either the sender and receivers end makes this SOS tricky. Even Google find my phone and locate phone is really not helpful.

The only major Security feature I love is that to put the phone Off you have to know and input the password, iris,fingerprint or pin. At least you have the opportunity of calling and finding the phone. You cant even lower the ringtone whilst locked

NCANCHAIR:
How were you able to stop the auto update? Please share with me cos my battery is disappointed. Thanks bro

jboixxx:
It will support backward compatibilit. So, yes. That's the norm
cc: Darmostic

NCANCHAIR:
Jboixxx old I need the link to download Gcam for my Redmi note 8. Please answer, Thanks a bunch

genius43:


Post your battery chart and SOT as well.

As for GCam consult Jboixxx compilation list below

https://www.nairaland.com/5528053/xiaomi-compilation-post#84015340