“The Mi 4 is a powerhouse, and if it lands at an affordable price, can disrupt the market”
Update: The Xiaomi Mi 4 has been officially launched in India at a sticker price of Rs 19, 999.
There’s something about Xiaomi that’s different. For those who’ve been trying to buy the Mi 3 ( or have successfully bought one) , it could be the promise of a fast, stylish smartphone that comes at an unheard-of price. For those who aren’t interested in the device but are wondering what the brouhaha is about, Xiaomi could still be a relatively unknown brand that’s trying to find its feet in the country, which is not really far from the truth anyway. For those of us who've had the chance to look at its products closely and interact with its executives, it’s a brand that’s genuinely trying its best to offer capable devices at affordable prices, with its custom MIUI firmware being the common thread. While the inexplicable early retirement of the Mi 3 has flummoxed us, the Redmi 1s promises to be yet another market disrupter when it lands next week, holding the potential to create big waves in the budget smartphone market. Even the accessories we've seen so far seem to defy the usual price vs specs ratio – take the loaded yet affordable power banks for instance. Crammed with power, solidly built, and loaded with features – the 10, 400mAh power bank costs a mere Rs 999. That’s a pocket-friendly price, without cutting corners. Fortunately or unfortunately, this is the benchmark that we've now come to identify Xiaomi with, and hope that the brand can continue in the same vein with its upcoming launches too. These thoughts run through our minds as we get down to reviewing the Xiaomi Mi 4 ( first impressions) , the brand’s latest flagship that’s yet to reach our shores.
It’d be worth mentioning right at the outset that our review unit comes straight from China, and isn’t the exact same model you’ll see when the Mi 4 launches officially in India. Xiaomi has already confirmed that it will be bringing the 4G variant to India, but only the 3G version is currently available in China. There’s a good chance Xiaomi tweaks a few features and specs in the 4G model, so do keep that in mind when you read this review.
Specs at a glance
5-inch, 1, 920 x 1, 080 pixel OGS display ( 441ppi)
2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor
3GB RAM
13-megapixel primary camera, 8MP front
16GB storage ( non-expandable)
USB OTG, infrared, 3G, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS, GLONASS, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Hotspot, USB 2.0, TV-out via MHL
Android KitKat 4.4.2 with MIUI
3, 080mAh battery
FM Radio
Half the taste is in the presentation
Xiaomi’s called the Apple of China for the cult following it enjoys in its home country and also for the iconic products it offers. That doesn’t mean its products resemble Apple’s in any way, but one look at the Mi 4 is enough to see how closely it matches the iPhone’s design. Clad in white, the Mi 4 features a stainless steel frame running around the sides, complete with chamfered edges.
While on one hand, the Mi 4 loses a few points for lack of originality, but on the other, it makes up for those by gaining lots more for the premium looks and the solid build quality it offers. Not that the standard candybar form factor used by touchscreen smartphones these days offers too many possibilities for innovation in design anyway. Playing the devil’s advocate, the likes of HTC have managed to innovate quite a bit too. All said and done, the Xiaomi Mi 4 is a scrumptious-looking device… carrying oodles of oomph and screaming premium at the top of its voice.
While both the Mi 3 and the Mi 4 sport 5-inch displays, the latter feels more compact in the hand thanks to slimmer bezels, and this bodes well for one-handed usage. The fascia includes the Mi branding up top, along with the usual sensors, earpiece and front camera. The three standard Android keys are present below the screen in the form of backlit capacitive buttons. Inste
