LG Optimus Chic E720 - Full phone specifications

Since we originally wrote this review Xiaomi has entered the UK smartphone market, making it much easier to obtain its smartphones here. The Redmi Note 5 is now available from the likes of Amazon for £229. A special Cyber Monday deal knocks a further £69 off the price, with the Redmi Note 5 available for just £159.99. (See more Cyber Monday deals.) Previously we’ve had to import review samples from China, and this Redmi Note 5 was supplied by GearBest, where current pricing is £182.39. When there’s no Cyber Monday sale on at Amazon this makes it the cheaper deal, but know that when importing from China to the UK you are liable for import duty, charged at 20 percent of the value printed on the shipping paperwork. This is the Global version of the Redmi Note 5, which comes with all Google services preinstalled along with MIUI 9. It supports all 4G LTE bands used in the UK, too, which can be a problem with some Chinese handsets.

Also see: Best Xiaomi Deals Also see: Best budget phones and Best budget Chinese phones When is a Redmi Note 5 not a Redmi Note 5? Xiaomi’s phone naming scheme can be incredibly confusing if you’re not familiar with it, but we think more so with the Redmi Note 5 than any other. That’s because the Redmi Note 5 that launched in China and is sold globally is not the same phone as the Redmi Note 5 that launched in India. The Redmi Note 5 available in India has a single-lens camera at the rear and some lower-spec hardware, including the Snapdragon 625 processor. It has the 18:9 5.99in display, but in other respects is not a huge departure from the Redmi Note 4. And that explains why some reviews of the Redmi Note 5 are less complimentary than others.

Picking Straightforward Methods In cell phones - LG Optimus Chic E720 - Full phone specifications

Also available in India is the Redmi Note 5 Pro, and that’s (almost) the phone you see here rebranded as the Redmi Note 5. It has a dual-lens camera at the rear and runs the Snapdragon 636. But in India the Pro also has a 20Mp selfie camera and up to 6GB of RAM, while this Global version’s front camera is rated at 13Mp and has either 3- or 4GB of memory. If you’re worried about purchasing the wrong version of the phone then fear not – we couldn’t even find the Indian models for sale in the UK. But we’d recommend double-checking the spec before you buy. Better yet, just click this link. What’s in Redmi Note 5? There are some key design changes in the Redmi Note 5 over its predecessor, but also a return to the Redmi Note 3’s part plastic build – the antenna lines at the rear of the Note 4 have been replaced with plastic end caps – and 4000mAh battery, which is still pretty generous, but 100mAh down on Redmi Note 4. More impressive is the 5.99in Full-HD+ IPS display, not only larger than the 5.5in previous example but also taller, adopting the 18:9 aspect ratio that has become fashionable in today’s market. It helps the phone look more on-trend, and also allows for a larger screen without infringing on usability – the Note 5 is only 7mm taller than its predecessor, and fractionally narrower and slimmer.