Xiaomi RedmiBook 16 R5 laptop in the test - Great price-performance ratio with drawbacks

[Redaktion]

Apple copies from the Far East have a long tradition. The current RedmiBook 16 from Xiaomi is another reincarnation of the MacBook, in this case the current 16-inch version. Nevertheless, the package appears extremely attractive: A matt IPS display, Type-C charging, AMD Ryzen 5 4500U and 512 GB SSD storage at a price point of less than 700 Euros (~$788).

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Xiaomi-RedmiBook-16-R5-laptop-in-the-test-Great-price-performance-ratio-with-drawbacks.478919.0.html

[RinzImpulse]

Does your unit come with 2666 MHz RAM speed like reported by Techtablets here? https://youtu.be/1tF-CmIMcMY

or is it 3200 MHz?

[john02062020]

I know one thing before even reading the final review. It's NOT going to score 87% or higher. That range is reserved for Intel only models and is a score that is needed to get in the top 10 recommended in it's category.

Having said that, I can understand the criticism about the lack of a webcam. Of course not having a webcam is good for security, but nevertheless essential in a mobile device. What do manufacturers think? That we also have smartphones, so we can use those for video calls? Wrong.

The lack of a card reader is a minor problem in my opinion. Better to have an extra USB port to use it with any device you want, than integrate a card reader that will be unable in a few years to read newer and (much) faster types of microSD cards.

The other specs look to be perfectly balanced for a machine that will offer good enough performance in about everything. Fast CPU, low temps, low noise, big battery, excelend iGPU, big SSD.

[gtom]

Is there an expansion slot for SSD? Can you add a NVMe disk or replace that SATA3 with faster unit?

[1td3v]

I know one thing before even reading the final review. It's NOT going to score 87% or higher. That range is reserved for Intel only models

You can not apply the AMD argument to Redmi laptops. They are famous for being cut corners galore, even 70% would be unreachable for that series.