Xiaoami announced the device in its newly independent Redmi brand, the Redmi Note 7. A budget phone with a retail price of just 999 RMB (that's around £115), the Note 7 mixes the mid-range Snapdragon 660 processor with a high-capacity 4,000mAh battery and impressive 48Mp camera. It's also the first phone in the Chinese mainland to feature an 18-month warranty.
How to buy Redmi Note 7
Announced on 10 January, pre-orders in China begin today at 6pm (GMT +8), officially on sale on 15 January.
The 3GB RAM, 32GB storage Redmi Note 7 costs just 999 RMB, which is around £115.
Also available with 64GB of storage and either 4- or 6GB of RAM, these versions are priced at 1199 RMB (around £138) and 1399 RMB (around £162) respectively.
Though it has not been announced in the UK market just yet, expect to pay a little more over here. For example, the Redmi Note 6 is not officially available in the UK, but the Pro version currently costs £219 over at the Mi store.
We expect to be waiting for a month or two for the handset to officially launch in the UK, though in the meantime you will be able to import one from China. If you do so we recommend looking for a Global version.
Geekbuying is listing the 3GB Redmi Note 7 in black, blue and gold at £181.90, and we expect GearBest will have its product page online imminently.
A 'Note' device, the new Redmi phone packs a large 6.3in screen. This is an LTPS in-cell screen with 2.5D curved glass and a tough Gorilla Glass 5 outer layer. It has a tall 19.5:9 aspect ratio and 2340x1080 Full-HD+ resolution. The company claims the Redmi Note 7 offers 450cd/m2 brightness, and 1500:1 contrast.
The front of the device is largely all-glass, with incredibly slim 1.95mm bezels for a budget phone. There's also a waterdrop-style notch at the top of the screen in which the 13Mp selfie camera is housed.
Turn it over and you find the phone's USP: a 48Mp + 5Mp dual-lens AI camera with f/1.8 aperture. It's uses Samsung's ISOCELL Bright GM1 backside illuminated CMOS sensor, and Tetra cell tech that can merge four pixels into one large 1.6um pixel to increase light sensitivity.
The rear is also all glass, with a new Redmi logo at the bottom where normally you would expect to find a Mi logo - this is the first product announced by the company's newly separated Redmi brand, headed up by Lu Weibing, the former president of Gionee.