Xiaomi brings dual cameras to its budget smartphone family with the Redmi Pro

Jos

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Xiaomi keeps pushing the envelope when it comes to the kind of hardware it can pack into an affordable smartphone. Today the company announced the Redmi Pro, the newest in its family of low-cost devices, and it comes with a range of features not typically found among its peers. That includes a metallic unibody enclosure, 5.5-inch full HD OLED display, fingerprint sensor, a large 4,050mAh battery and not one but two cameras on the back.

The dual camera setup features a 13-megapixel Sony IMX258 main sensor plus a 5-megapixel Samsung assistive sensor for bokeh effects. Similar to other dual-camera phone, the Redmi Pro lets you change the focus point on the image even after capturing. There’s also a 5-megapixel selfie camera on the front for the indispensable dog filter picture on Snapchat.

Other notable features include dual SIM support (you can use one of the slots for a microSD card instead), an IR blaster, and fast charging via its USB Type C port.

The starting price for the Redmi Pro with a MediaTek Helio X20 processor 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage is CNY 1,499 or about $225. For an extra CNY 200 ($30) you'll get the faster Helio X25 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, while the range topping model further bumps RAM and storage to 4GB and 128GB, respectively, for CNY 1,999 ($300).

The phone is set to launch in China on August 6, with other markers to follow later.

The company took the opportunity to boast about sales of its Redmi line since it was first introduced in 2013. In total, 110 million Redmi devices have been sold as of this month, or 1.21 units every second over the past three years.

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Using the MediaTek chipset probably helps a lot to keep prices down. That and cutting profit margins down to the barest minimum. Then there's slave/child labour usage and all other types of sketchy shenanigans they can implement.
It is China after all and they're a secretive lot.
 
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