The Redmi Note lineup has its roots in 2014, when Xiaomi launched MediaTek MT6592 powered Redmi Note 3G in some regions. The 4G variant of the same phone popped up a few months later, which was the first 4G device from the Chinese OEM in India.

redmi_note_4g_front_back
Redmi Note 4G

Since then, Xiaomi secured a strong foundation in the Indian smartphone industry with the help of this series. 2016’s Redmi Note 3 was a smashing hit, and the legacy still continues. The company now opts for two different models – regular and Pro – to cater more consumers across different price segments.

Interestingly, they did manufacture a handful of Redmi Note models with two different SoCs. The MediaTek variant was usually intended for Mainland China, while the Snapdragon one was made available worldwide (including India). Be it performance or software updates, the latter was always superior.

redmi_note_4_front_back
Redmi Note 4: Compared to the Snapdragon model, MediaTek variant was an absolute trash

However, Xiaomi and MediaTek are collaborating once again with 2019’s half yearly refresh of the Redmi Note series. Redmi Note 8 Pro is the first phone to sport the brand new gaming focused MediaTek Helio G90T SoC and the 64 MP Samsung camera sensor.

While the Chinese smartphone maker is still shipping Snapdragon chipset on the regular Note 8, the inclusion of MediaTek platform inside the Pro model ignites some doubts among modders. Redmi Note phones are very much popular among custom ROM users, but the Helio SoC might be a roadblock for them.

redmi_note_8_pro_front_back
Redmi Note 8 Pro

Nonetheless, we got our hands on the day-one software update for the Redmi Note 8 Pro. The firmware is intended for Chinese units, as the phone was announced merely a day ago in China. Indian release may take around 8 more weeks, as hinted by Xiaomi’s Manu Kumar Jain.

As you may speculate, the Android version is still 9.0 in this firmware. Xiaomi should deliver Android 10 as MIUI 11 for this phone shortly, but we can’t give any ETA. The MIUI layer comes with 10.4 build tag, similar to Mi 6. The changelog is pretty generic tough.

Other

– Optimized system performance

– Improved system security and stability

FYI, the codename of Redmi Note 8 Pro is ‘begonia’. Xiaomi has a knack towards flowers while naming new age Redmi Note models, as it’s ‘violet’ for Redmi Note 7 Pro and ‘lavender’ for Redmi Note 7/7S.

redmi_note_6_pro_red_front_back
The codename of Redmi Note 6 Pro is ‘tulip’

You can find the download links from the following section:

  • Device: Redmi Note 8 Pro
  • Codename: begonia
  • Channel: China Stable
  • Version: V10.4.4.0.PGGCNXM
  • Android: 9.0
    • Type: Recovery
      • Download: Link
      • MD5: e6424b96ea451323843d8a1a63731d6a
    • Type: Fastboot
      • Download: Link
      • MD5: 4f0c626db6f7859af131cdedbf14c9bb

Credit goes to yshalsager and the Xiaomi Firmware Updater project for tracking the OTA update URLs.

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Kingshuk De
896 Posts

I came from a mixed background of Statistics and Computer Science. My research domains included embedded computer systems, mobile computing and delay tolerant networks in post-disaster scenarios. Apart from tinkering with gadgets or building hackintosh, I like to hop on various subreddits and forums like MyDigitalLife and XDA.

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