Xiaomi teases 5.5-inch phablet Redmi Note

Since Hugo Barra left Google for Xiaomi last year, everyone has had their eye on Xiaomi to see what they are up to. And they know it. It’s been rumored for a while that the OEM would be producing a 5.5-inch phablet known as the Redmi Note. Now just because it has the word “Note” in the title doesn’t mean that it’s going to have the stylus like Samsung’s Galaxy Note line of smartphones and tablets.

The leaked Redmi phone we saw a couple of days ago is coming sooner than we expected, and it now bears an interesting name: Redmi Note. Does it mean we’ll be getting a stylus with this Chinese phone? No idea, as Xiaomi’s midnight teaser — pictured above — doesn’t reveal much, other than confirming the 5.5-inch screen (the leak indicates a 720p resolution) and the octa-core processor (1.4GHz or 1.7GHz). What’s missing is the price, but it should sit somewhere between the current Redmi’s CN¥699 (about $110) and the MI2a’s CN¥1,499 ($240) — so maybe CN¥999 ($160) at most. Folks in China will be able to pre-order at local time 8pm on March 19th using Tencent’s Qzone app, which got the exclusive for the Redmi Note’s debut sale. For those outside China, your usual gray market channels are standing by.