Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 (2021) in review: Affordable laptop with strong features

In terms of the case, Xiaomi has opted for an aluminum-based metal alloy. The display lid and the base unit are both made of the anodized metal. As a result, the case's rigidity is quite high; nevertheless, the screen can be twisted a bit, but the keyboard can only be pushed in by applying quite a lot of force. Everything about the device feels very high-quality. The design is so reminiscent of a certain American competitor that there are only a few rough differences compared to the MacBook Pro. Nonetheless, these minor differences have a big impact. For instance, there's a significantly more generous number and variety of ports. 

The RedmiBook Pro 15's size is almost the same as the 2019 MacBook Pro 15. However, Xiaomi's device is a bit lighter than most 15-inch competitors at around 1.7 kg. Moreover, the 16:10 format makes the laptop a bit narrower, but deeper than other 15-inch devices in return.

The RedmiBook has a total of four USB ports, two of which are USB-C. Both USB-C ports can be used to charge the Xiaomi laptop. The middle USB-C port also transfers video signals and is therefore ideally suited for connecting a suitable docking station. You can also connect a monitor via the HDMI connection. On the right side, there's also a 3.5 mm headset jack in addition to the USB 2.0 port.

The preinstalled operating system is usually a Chinese version of Windows 10 Home Edition. Xiaomi also provides the laptop with Microsoft Office 2019 Home and Student Edition, which allows the user interface language to be adjusted. It takes a bit of work to use everything in German, since language can't be changed in the Windows 10 Home Single Language Edition. The simplest way is to log in using a Microsoft account to transfer the Windows and Office licenses to it. Afterwards, Windows and Office have to be reinstalled. The article "How To: Xiaomi Mi laptop with QWERTZ keyboard layout and Windows 10 in German" describes the process. However, some vendors also offer the RedmiBook Pro laptops with a Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 Home edition that allows languages to be installed later. A closer look is worthwhile here.

Xiaomi installs the fast Intel AX201 Wi-Fi 6 module in the RedmiBook Pro 15. As a result, the Xiaomi laptop achieves a very good 1,343 Mb/s for receiving data in our standard Wi-Fi test. Apart from supporting all common WLAN standards (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax), the Intel module can also transmit data via Bluetooth 5.0.

Unlike the predecessor, the current RedmiBook Pro 15 at least has a webcam. However, the image quality of the 0.9-megapixel webcam is rather middling. Both the color reproduction as well as the image sharpness of the built-in camera are poor. Unfortunately, this is still a typical problem with modern laptops. In contrast, the built-in stereo microphone has good recording quality. Thanks to a good noise reduction, voices were picked up understandably even with louder background noise.

A TORX 5 screwdriver and a suction cup are needed to remove the case's bottom cover. After unscrewing the eight case screws, the suction cup should be placed approximately in the position indicated in the picture, since the aluminum cover is only reinforced in a few places. The cover comes off after a strong tug, revealing the interior of the Xiaomi laptop.

Apart from replacing the SSD and WLAN module, and cleaning the fan, there's nothing that can be easily improved on the device. The RAM, CPU, and GPU are soldered, the battery is largely glued in place, and even the cable of the BIOS battery runs in such a way that replacing it would only be possible with some tinkering.

When putting it together, you should make sure that the middle case clips also snap into place. After the cover is in position, you first tighten the outer case clips and then the inner ones.

Xiaomi offers a one-year manufacturer's warranty for the laptop. However, this should be taken with some caution. So far, Xiaomi doesn't have a European distributor for its laptops. Therefore, claiming warranty services could become problematic. A long (paid) round-trip shipment to China can't be ruled out.

Keyboard

Xiaomi's RedmiBook comes with an American keyboard layout. So far, there are no German keycaps available either. Users in Germany will probably miss the keys with the letters Ä, Ö, Ü, ß, and €. We describe three options for adjusting the layout in the article "How To: Xiaomi Mi laptop with QWERTZ keyboard layout and Windows 10 in German".

The backlit island-style keyboard has a comfortable standard size with 15 x 16 mm keys, but the key resistance is a bit low, and the pressure point is almost imperceptible. The key travel of 1.5 mm is average. With some practice, however, using the keyboard is no problem overall.

The function keys for controlling the volume, screen, open tabs, and keyboard illumination are standard. On the other hand, the button for Xiaomi's Xiao AI Voice Assistant, which is found at the top right, can't be used in our review sample because the corresponding app doesn't start. That being said, the software is still in the beta stage on Windows devices.

The backlight isn't very bright. In addition, it's controlled via PWM. The flickering of the LEDs is also present in the highest brightness level, and we measured it at about 135 Hz. According to a 2016 study by Dial, this flickering frequency is in a range that isn't directly perceptible for humans, but it can still lead to discomfort and quick fatigue.

Our test device has the most expensive configuration of all current RedmiBook Pro 15 models. With the Intel Core i7-11370H, 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, and the Nvidia GeForce MX450, good system performance should be achievable. Unfortunately, our test device initially had some problems with cooling. One of the four screws on the CPU cooler was loose. Since the test device we bought was used, it's impossible to determine whether this problem existed right out of the box or only appeared at a later point in time. During the repair, the existing thermal paste was replaced with the EC360 Ruby 13.4 W/mK thermal paste, since it was not possible to exclude that air bubbles had formed. Before the repair, the self-regulating maximum sustained power consumption (PL1) of the CPU was under 25 watts as determined by HWiNFO64. After the repair, this value had briefly increased to up to 40 watts.

However, the available long-term performance is also partly influenced by the battery and the firmware. If no charger is connected to the laptop, the PL1 value is set to 25 watts. If the battery is charging, PL1 is set to 28 watts. If the computer is booted with a full battery and a connected power adapter, it can happen that the regulation of the maximum long-term load is unlocked after startup. In this case, the processor clock rate increases up to 3.8 GHz under prolonged load. If the processor is fixed at 28 watts, the clock speed stays at around 3.1 GHz. The circumstances under which energy management clears the PL1 value could not be conclusively determined in our test.

Another point of criticism is that the graphics chip and the CPU share the same heat sink. This means that both have to define a common activity level during prolonged load. Combined, the CPU and GPU then consume about 30 to 40 watts. However, according to HWiNFO, the temperature of both is only a bit over 60 °C (~140 °F). But modern laptop processors are quite capable of sustained operation at 90 °C (~194 °F). Whether this behavior is caused by the cooling system is something that can't be determined with certainty either. Another possibility is that the voltage regulator modules (VRMs) installed aren't able to provide the required performance to consistently supply the CPU and GPU with high electrical power.

Overall, the Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 shows problems that occur in many current laptops. Manufacturers don't want to or aren't able to specify the performance level at which the built-in components run. Energy management shows erratic behavior at times, and design is more important than function here. Even with the best of intentions, it's not possible to make a prediction about the expected performance of such laptops. Benchmarks can only reflect this kind of behavior to a limited extent. In the case of the Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15, top components are operated at low voltages for reasons related to thermals or energy consumption; consequently, they offer considerably less performance than the spec sheets would suggest in some use cases.

The overall scores achieved in the PCMark 8 and 10 benchmarks are respectable values. However, the partial scores in the "Essentials" and "Digital Content Creation" areas reveal the laptop's problems once again. Consistently high multi-core performance is demanded from the RedmiBook Pro 15 in both categories. The Asus TUF Dash F15 equipped with the same Intel Core i7-11370H CPU scores much better in both areas. The Asus laptop has a much higher PL1 TDP of 36 watts and can therefore consistently deliver more CPU performance.

However, the Xiaomi laptop only shows these shortcomings to a limited extent in everyday use. Applications boot quickly thanks to the high Boost performance, and pages load quickly when browsing as well. Office applications work without problems in all areas. The generous amount of RAM proves to be advantageous particularly when it comes to processing large amounts of data with spreadsheet programs.

The RedmiBook Pro 15 has two graphics units. These are the Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 that is integrated into the processor and the Nvidia GeForce MX450. As long as there are no demanding graphics tasks, the Intel Iris Xe Graphics handles everything. The Intel graphics chip should deliver slightly better rates than the Nvidia GeForce MX350. The Nvidia GeForce MX450 is its successor, but it's based on the same architecture. Overall, it's more of an entry-level chip. Nevertheless, the dedicated GPU offers decent gaming performance thanks to its PCIe 4.0 connection and fast GDDR6 memory. According to our GPU Benchmarks article, the two graphics chips achieve similar scores in many benchmarks. Laptops with Intel Iris Xe G7 graphics even achieve significantly better scores than the Nvidia GPU found in our test device in some 3DMark benchmarks (Cloud Gate Standard Graphics and Fire Strike Graphics). This raises the question of whether this dGPU makes sense here.