Xiaomi has equipped the Redmi Note 5A with a regular 16:9 display, with a 5.5" diagonal and 720p resolution. While the HD resolution is a bit of a stretch at that size, there is no visible pixelization and the image is reasonably sharp at 267ppi.
Xiaomi promises a 1000:1 contrast and a maximum brightness of 450 nits. In our tests it did even better reaching a maximum brightness north of 530 nits and an excellent contrast at 1670:1. The blacks are quite good too.
Display test
100% brightness
Black, cd/m2
White, cd/m2
Contrast ratio
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
0.322
484
1503
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A (Y1)
0.315
527
1673
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
0.548
555
1013
Xiaomi Redmi 5
0.378
503
1331
LG Q6
0.288
510
1771
Vivo V7
0.295
470
1593
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
0
326
∞
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) Max Auto
0
485
∞
Xiaomi Mi A1
0.351
551
1570
Oppo F5
0.192
422
2198
Oppo F5 (Max Auto)
0.214
462
2159
Sony Xperia XA2
0.401
532
1327
The sunlight legibility is barely average but it's reasonable to expect such a score in the price bracket. If you don't mind some washed-out colors and loss of contrast, the screen should remain readable when you're out and about on a bright sunny day.
Sunlight contrast ratio
Apple iPhone X 5.013
OnePlus 5T 4.789
Samsung Galaxy S8 4.768
Samsung Galaxy S8+ 4.658
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ 4.615
Motorola Moto Z2 Play 4.459
Oppo R11 4.454
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge 4.439
OnePlus 3 4.424
Samsung Galaxy S7 4.376
HTC One A9 4.274
Samsung Galaxy Note7 4.247
Samsung Galaxy A3 4.241
Nokia 8 4.239
Google Pixel 2 XL (pre-update) 4.234
OnePlus 3T 4.232
Google Pixel XL 4.164
ZTE Axon 7 4.154
Samsung Galaxy Note8 4.148
Meizu Pro 7 Plus 4.147
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge 4.124
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) 4.124
Huawei Mate 10 Pro (normal) 4.096
Samsung Galaxy Note5 4.09
Google Pixel 2 (pre-update) 4.023
LG V30 4.022
Huawei Nexus 6P 4.019
Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro 3.998
Vivo Xplay5 Elite 3.983
OnePlus X 3.983
Apple iPhone 7 3.964
Oppo R7s 3.964
Apple iPhone 8 (True Tone) 3.957
Huawei P9 Plus 3.956
Meizu Pro 6 Plus 3.935
Lenovo Moto Z 3.931
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) 3.918
OnePlus 5 3.914
Samsung Galaxy C5 3.911
Samsung Galaxy C7 3.896
Samsung Galaxy A5 3.895
Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor 3.879
Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor 3.873
Samsung Galaxy A8 3.859
Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018) 3.842
Sony Xperia XZs 3.818
Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016) 3.817
Motorola Moto X (2014) 3.816
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) 3.812
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) 3.804
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode 3.802
LG V20 Max auto 3.798
Xiaomi Redmi Pro 3.798
Sony Xperia XZ 3.795
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) 3.789
Apple iPhone 6s 3.783
Meizu Pro 5 3.781
Microsoft Lumia 650 3.772
Xiaomi Mi 6 3.767
Sony Xperia XZ1 3.765
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) 3.756
Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact 3.729
Apple iPhone 8 Plus (True Tone) 3.725
Oppo F1 Plus 3.709
Vivo X5Pro 3.706
Sony Xperia X Compact 3.694
Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) 3.688
Apple iPhone SE 3.681
Huawei Mate 9 3.68
Samsung Galaxy A7 3.679
Meizu PRO 6 3.659
BlackBerry Priv 3.645
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra 3.597
Apple iPhone 7 Plus 3.588
LG G6 3.556
Apple iPhone 6s Plus 3.53
Motorola Moto Z Play 3.526
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode 3.523
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) 3.523
Acer Jade Primo 3.521
Microsoft Lumia 950 3.512
Oppo R7 Plus 3.499
nubia Z11 3.466
Huawei P10 Plus 3.456
HTC U Ultra 3.453
Samsung Galaxy J7 3.422
Meizu MX5 3.416
LG V20 3.402
Huawei P10 3.379
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) 3.378
Oppo R9s 3.352
Honor 8 Pro 3.341
Oppo R7 3.32
Lenovo P2 3.316
Archos Diamond Omega 3.305
Honor 9 3.289
Xiaomi Mi 5s 3.276
Nokia 5 3.261
Nokia 6 (Chinese version) 3.244
Nokia 6 (Global version) 3.238
Samsung Galaxy J2 3.235
Sony Xperia X Performance 3.234
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 3.228
Motorola Moto X Play 3.222
Oppo F3 Plus 3.218
Huawei Mate 9 Pro 3.206
Huawei P9 3.195
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 3.19
ZTE Nubia Z17 3.159
Oppo R11s 3.153
Lenovo Vibe Shot 3.113
HTC U11 Life 3.108
Motorola Moto X Force 3.105
LG Nexus 5X 3.092
HTC U11 3.089
Huawei Mate S 3.073
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL 3.065
Motorola Moto X4 3.012
Sony Xperia XA1 3.012
Sony Xperia L1 2.994
Sony Xperia X 2.989
LG Q6 2.987
Huawei P10 Lite 2.974
Samsung Galaxy Note 2.97
Xiaomi Redmi 5 2.951
Sony Xperia Z1 2.95
Huawei Mate 8 2.949
Sony Xperia XA2 2.938
Xiaomi Redmi 4 2.92
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus 2.913
Xiaomi Redmi 3S 2.913
Sony Xperia XA Ultra 2.906
LG G5 2.905
HTC One S 2.901
Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime 2.893
Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus 2.884
Sony Xperia XZ Premium (sRGB) 2.877
Sony Xperia XZ Premium 2.877
Sony Xperia Z5 2.876
Nokia 3 2.871
Microsoft Lumia 550 2.851
Lenovo Moto M 2.813
Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro 2.803
Sony Xperia Z5 compact 2.784
Nokia 2 2.752
Meizu MX6 2.751
LG V10 2.744
Huawei Mate 10 (normal) 2.742
Motorola Moto G5S Plus 2.737
Xiaomi Redmi 3 2.735
Huawei Honor 7X 2.734
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 2.714
Meizu M5 2.71
Sony Xperia M5 2.69
Xiaomi Mi A1 2.689
Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime 2.679
Huawei P9 Lite 2.679
vivo V7+ 2.671
Vivo V3Max 2.659
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2.658
Huawei Mate 10 Lite 2.654
Oppo F5 2.653
Doogee Mix 2.642
Xiaomi Mi 4i 2.641
Xiaomi Redmi 4a 2.635
Xiaomi Mi 5X (Standard) 2.616
Sony Xperia XA 2.609
Motorola Moto G4 Plus 2.582
Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto) 2.582
Meizu M5s 2.58
Xiaomi Mi 4c 2.574
LeEco Le Max 2 2.567
Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL 2.563
Microsoft Lumia 640 2.563
Xiaomi Mi Max 2 2.561
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A (Y1) 2.556
HTC U11+ 2.556
Lenovo K6 Note 2.544
Lenovo Moto G4 2.544
Oppo F1 2.528
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium 2.525
Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c 2.506
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua 2.503
BlackBerry Motion 2.494
Oppo F1s 2.481
Motorola Moto G 2.477
Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus 2.473
Huawei G8 2.471
Huawei nova 2.467
Sony Xperia Z 2.462
Lenovo Vibe K5 2.459
Meizu m3 max 2.447
Xiaomi Mi 5X (Auto) 2.417
HTC 10 evo 2.407
Huawei Honor 7 2.406
Vivo V7 2.404
Sony Xperia E5 2.386
ZUK Z1 by Lenovo 2.382
HTC 10 2.378
Oppo F3 2.376
vivo V5 Plus 2.371
Meizu m1 note 2.362
Huawei nova plus 2.329
Razer Phone 2.328
HTC One E9+ 2.305
Alcatel One Touch Hero 2.272
Apple iPhone 4S 2.269
Lenovo Vibe K4 Note 2.254
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra 2.253
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek) 2.249
Sony Xperia C4 Dual 2.235
Xiaomi Mi Note 2.234
Motorola Moto G (2014) 2.233
LG Nexus 5 2.228
Huawei P8 2.196
Meizu M5 Note 2.189
Huawei Honor 6 2.169
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 2.166
OnePlus Two 2.165
HTC One X 2.158
LG Aka 2.145
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (X20) 2.145
Archos 50 Diamond 2.134
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2.119
Xiaomi Mi 4S 2.095
Acer Liquid X2 2.084
Huawei P8lite 2.078
vivo V5 2.059
Moto G 3rd gen max manual 2.026
Xiaomi Mi 3 2.001
Xiaomi Mi Max 1.996
Sony Xperia E4g 1.972
OnePlus One 1.961
Meizu m3 note 1.923
Meizu m2 note 1.892
BlackBerry Leap 1.892
HTC Butterfly 1.873
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact 1.772
ZTE Nubia Z9 mini 1.759
Sony Xperia U 1.758
Asus Zenfone Selfie 1.68
Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen) 1.675
ZTE Nubia Z9 1.659
Jolla Jolla 1.605
Motorola Moto E 1.545
Sony Xperia M 1.473
Samsung Galaxy S Duos 1.4
Sony Xperia L 1.351
HTC Desire C 1.3
Sony Xperia C 1.283
Meizu MX 1.221
Sony Xperia E 1.215
The colors themselves are not that accurate by default with an average deltaE of 6.9 and a maximum of 14 at point white. The whites and grays have a bluish tint, while most of the other hues we tested were more vibrant than usual. If you want slightly more accurate colors, you could set the color mode to standard or warm in the settings.
Battery life
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A is powered by a 3,080mAh battery - far from impressive compared to the 4,000mAh units that used to power the 4th generation Redmi Notes.
The Snapdragon 435 is not the most energy-efficient chipset around either, built on the old 28nm process. The Redmi Note 5A scored an adequate endurance rating still of 74 hours. Not too bad for a chipset that's not exactly latest issue. It did well in the screen-on and call tests, while the standby consumption turned out about average. The number is far from the 100+ hours of other Redmi Notes but by no means an embarrassment in this price bracket.
Our endurance rating denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
Loudspeaker
The speaker on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A scored a Very Good mark in our loudness test. Unfortunately, the sound is rather squeaky and shallow, and subjectively it sounds a lot quieter than the high-pitch notes registered by our tool.
Speakerphone test
Voice, dB
Pink noise/ Music, dB
Ringing phone, dB
Overall score
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
66.0
64.3
70.1
Below Average
Oppo F5
63.5
70.8
71.5
Average
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
64.2
67.2
76.9
Good
LG Q6
67.0
69.3
76.1
Good
Xiaomi Redmi 5
66.1
68.4
82.1
Good
vivo V7
65.9
73.9
83.4
Very Good
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A
68.4
72.3
86.2
Very Good
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
71.1
72.7
87.7
Excellent
Xiaomi Mi A1
74.0
73.9
90.4
Excellent
Audio output is loud, but not very clear
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A impressed with its loudness in both parts of our audio quality test. It was among the loudest phones out there both with an active external amplifier and with headphones, but its output wasn’t particularly accurate.
Frequency response was poor with no headphones, while the other readings were rather good. Plugging in our standard set took care of that issue, but introduced plenty of stereo crosstalk and worsened the signal-to-noise ratio. We’d call the output acceptable, but it’s not one audiophiles will rave about.
Test
Frequency response
Noise level
Dynamic range
THD
IMD + Noise
Stereo crosstalk
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5
+7.87, -4.89
-92.1
88.6
0.0056
0.044
-89.7
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 (headphones)
+0.05, -0.03
-77.8
78.3
0.033
0.055
-41.6
Xiaomi Redmi 5
+2.83, -1.24
-27.7
73.9
0.0024
17.349
-54.7
Xiaomi Redmi 5 (headphones)
+0.05, -0.03
-78.8
79.3
0.023
0.035
-41.6
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
+1.55, -0.61
-29.7
76.6
0.0017
12.493
-91.8
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus (headphones)
+0.06, -0.02
-92.4
92.3
0.0023
0.025
-76.3
Nokia 2
+0.15, -0.23
-53.2
86.4
0.0021
3.246
-96.2
Nokia 2 (headphones)
+0.02, -0.08
-89.5
89.9
0.0023
0.026
-59.3
LG Q6
+0.03, -0.05
-85.0
88.8
0.0014
0.0065
-92.9
LG Q6 (headphones)
+0.14, -0.04
-91.8
91.8
0.0031
0.113
-56.8
Oppo F5
+0.06, -0.08
-93.5
93.3
0.0020
0.0071
-93.2
Oppo F5 (headphones)
+0.64, -0.07
-89.3
91.3
0.0093
0.361
-52.0
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A frequency response
You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.
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