 "First impression: Xiaomi Mi4")
If you’ve always fancied that pricey iPhone or flagship Androids, the Mi4 might be able to satiate that desire very soon without burning a hole in your pocket. Slated to release this calendar year, the Mi4 is set to take on the premium smartphone market in India and, going by Xiaomi’s impressive pricing strategy, is sure to grab eyeballs.
Design & build
The Mi4 looks identical to the iPhone in terms of design but sports a much larger screen at five inches. It comes in a metal-like body that accompanies its glass display, featuring a stainless steel frame running around the sides, complete with slanting edges. The back panel is plastic but nevertheless feels premium.
Display & touch
The display of the phone is nothing less than sublime with a resolution of 1,080 x 1,920 pixels, having a pixel density of 441 and a high-definition screen. Xiaomi claims the Mi4’s screen ensures legibility in sunlight. The touch is responsive, even better and swifter than the Mi3.
Camera
The Mi4 comes with a 13-megapixel (MP) back camera sourced from Sony. But the front camera got us excited as it sports a resolution of 8 MP. The camera has all the belle and whistles with the HDR mode being the highlight, with its fast performance and crisp images. The Mi4 can also shoot 4K videos.
Performance
The Mi4 runs on Android 4.4.3 KitKat OS and is powered with the MIUI6 user interface, which is pretty attractive. With a quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset clocked at 2.5GHz and 3GB RAM, it offers what only phones like Oppo Find 7a & HTC One E8 have, at a much lesser price. The phone’s operation is devoid of lags. The Mi4 packs in a 3,080 mAh battery, which should last you through the day. There is, however, no option to expand the memory and an internal storage of 16GB or 64GB is expected, though we aren’t sure which version will finally be released in India.
A premium phone with high-end specifications is currently only available at Rs 35,000-45,000. But looking at Xiaomi’s international pricing, the phone is expected to be priced under Rs 25,000, which would be a very good deal.
TECH SPECS
Xiaomi Mi4
DIMENSIONS
139.2 x 68.5 x 8.9 mm
DISPLAY
1920×1080 5.0" (441 ppi) IPS LCD
PROCESSOR
2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801
RAM
3GB
MEMORY
16GB or 64GB, not expandable
OS
Android KitKat, 4.4.3 with MIUI 6
CAMERA
13 MP rear, 8 MP front
BATTERY
Non-removable Li-ion 3080 mAh battery
WEIGHT
149g
Design & build
The Mi4 looks identical to the iPhone in terms of design but sports a much larger screen at five inches. It comes in a metal-like body that accompanies its glass display, featuring a stainless steel frame running around the sides, complete with slanting edges. The back panel is plastic but nevertheless feels premium.
Display & touch
Also Read
Camera
The Mi4 comes with a 13-megapixel (MP) back camera sourced from Sony. But the front camera got us excited as it sports a resolution of 8 MP. The camera has all the belle and whistles with the HDR mode being the highlight, with its fast performance and crisp images. The Mi4 can also shoot 4K videos.
Performance
The Mi4 runs on Android 4.4.3 KitKat OS and is powered with the MIUI6 user interface, which is pretty attractive. With a quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset clocked at 2.5GHz and 3GB RAM, it offers what only phones like Oppo Find 7a & HTC One E8 have, at a much lesser price. The phone’s operation is devoid of lags. The Mi4 packs in a 3,080 mAh battery, which should last you through the day. There is, however, no option to expand the memory and an internal storage of 16GB or 64GB is expected, though we aren’t sure which version will finally be released in India.
A premium phone with high-end specifications is currently only available at Rs 35,000-45,000. But looking at Xiaomi’s international pricing, the phone is expected to be priced under Rs 25,000, which would be a very good deal.
TECH SPECS
Xiaomi Mi4
DIMENSIONS
139.2 x 68.5 x 8.9 mm
DISPLAY
1920×1080 5.0" (441 ppi) IPS LCD
PROCESSOR
2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801
RAM
3GB
MEMORY
16GB or 64GB, not expandable
OS
Android KitKat, 4.4.3 with MIUI 6
CAMERA
13 MP rear, 8 MP front
BATTERY
Non-removable Li-ion 3080 mAh battery
WEIGHT
149g