Xiaomi introduced at an event in India the Redmi Note 5 and Redmi Note 5 Pro smartphones.

The Redmi Note 5 Pro is the first smartphone to feature the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 636. As part of the Snapdragon 636 package, Redmi Note 5 Pro features Qualcomm Kryo cores which are typically only seen on the flagship-grade Snapdragon 800-series of SoCs. With AnTuTu benchmark scores of well over 100K, Redmi Note 5 Pro blows the competition out of the water with its eight Kryo 260 cores, Adreno 509 GPU, and up to 6GB of DDR4X RAM.

The Redmi Note 5 features a 20MP front camera with an LED Selfie-light, which uses complex algorithms to deliver selfies - now also in portrait mode. On the rear, Redmi Note 5 Pro makes use of a dual camera setup, consisting of a 12MP + 5MP sensor.

To top it off, Redmi Note 5 Pro, for the first time, features Beautify 4.0 - a method to software-tune images that uses algorithms developed especially for Mi Fans in India to adapt to beards and accessories such as bindis and nose rings.

Featuring an 18:9 full HD+ display with rounded corners, Redmi Note 5 Pro fits just as well in the hands while giving 12.5 percent more display area compared with smartphones using 16:9 screens.

Redmi Note 5 Pro is priced at INR 13,999 for 4GB RAM, 64GB storage variant and INR 16,999 for 6GB RAM, 64GB storage variant.

The Redmi Note 5 fills the shoes of its predecessor Redmi Note 4, and more. Designed with the same 18:9 FHD+ display as Redmi Note 5 Pro, it features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC.

It comes with an improved 12MP rear camera (with large 1.25μm pixels), up to 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. Redmi Note 5 will still feature the battery life of its predecessor (4000 mAh).

Like Redmi Note 5 Pro, it will feature an LED Selfie-light.

Redmi Note 5 is priced at INR 9,999 for the 3GB RAM and 32GB storage variant and INR 11,999 for the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant.

As for operating system, the new Redmi Note 5 and Redmi Note 5 Pro will ship with the Android Nougat version 7.1.2 with the MIUI 9 on top.

Xiaomi will start selling its new Redmi Note 5 and Redmi Note 5 Pro smartphones in India this month and will gradually expand their availability to other markets in the coming months.