RedmiBook Pro hands on

Xiaomi commands a massive volume of electronics sales in India and sells everything from phones to smart TVs, IoT products, and audio gear in the country. The brand forayed into the laptop segment as well and launched two fantastic notebooks for the masses. Seeing how the company’s sub-brand usually follows in its footsteps, it wasn’t long before Redmi announced notebooks too. And, sure enough, the company recently took the wraps off the RedmiBook Pro and RedmiBook E-learning editions, that hope to woo buyers with their enticing specs and competitive pricing. 

I’ve been sent the RedmiBook Pro for review which features an 11th-Gen i5 chip that has been paired with 8GB of DDR4 memory clocked at 3,200MHz and a 512GB NVMe SSD. The laptop retails for Rs 49,999 in India, but buyers with an HDFC card can cop it for less by availing launch offers too. I am working on a full review for the same, but in the meanwhile, I’d like to share some thoughts based on my initial stint with the machine. I’ve listed some points below that cover a few aspects of the laptop, so take a gander –

• Let’s start with the design and here, the RedmiBook 15 Pro takes cues from the Mi Notebook launched a while ago. To that note, the laptop features a minimalistic design with the company’s logo etched on the lid. That said, the logo doesn’t take up too much space and isn’t visible from afar. So, if you were in the market for a laptop with understated aesthetics, the RedmiBook 15 Pro will be right up your alley. 

• The laptop feels quite sturdy too and while the chassis does flex (especially around the display), the unit’s polycarbonate construction should stand the test of time. What’s more, the laptop comes with plenty of ports too and touts three USB Type-A ports, an audio jack, an Ethernet connector as well as an HDMI 1.4 socket. Unfortunately, the unit doesn’t ship with a Type-C port, which is a bummer.

• As for the display, the unit ships with a 15.6-inch, Full HD panel. So far, the laptop’s display seems like its weakest link and while the screen gets plenty bright, the viewing angles leave a little to be desired. 

• I haven’t had the chance to put the laptop through its paces yet but, my initial impressions of the laptop’s performance are quite positive. The RedmiBook 15 Pro’s 11th-Gen i5 chip proved plenty fast during my initial testing and the laptop managed to crunch through my workload without any hassles. 

• I am quite happy with the keyboard on offer too. For one, the keyboard deck is quite spacious and the palm rest is quite accommodating as well. Moreover, the keys offer good travel (1.5mm, per the brand) too and don’t wobble all that much either. If anything, I wish the company would’ve added backlit keys with the laptop. As things stand, it’s quite tricky to see the keys in dim lighting, especially when you factor in the small annotations on the keycaps. The trackpad, on the other hand, is fantastic and it doesn’t just support Windows Precision drivers, but also offers a smooth surface and clicky buttons. 

• Unfortunately, the laptop doesn’t ship with Windows Hello, so you’ll have to key in your password to unlock the machine every time. On the flip side, the laptop’s audio setup seems quite promising. The unit ships with two 2W downward-firing speakers that get plenty loud and should suffice for watching movies, etc. Of course, it’s quite easy to muffle the speakers too, so you might have to keep the unit on a table for the best experience. 

On the whole, the RedmiBook 15 Pro seems to tick a lot of the right boxes. Furthermore, much like other gadgets in the company’s portfolio, the RedmiBook 15 Pro has been priced competitively too. As always, I will talk in length about the laptop’s pros and cons in my full review, so stay tuned.