Xiaomi, dubbed China’s iPhone, is at it again. After the hugely successful Xiaomi Mi3, they have now released the Xiaomi Mi4. The Chinese behemoth seeks to dethrone the iPhone 6 as the cream of the crop in its market. Despite its recent entry into the market, Xiaomi has proved to be a match for the best of the best in the industry, with gross sales of about $5.4 billion, in the first half of this year. To put this into perspective, it surpassed the iPhone’s market share in China and is only second to Samsung.
The Xiaomi Mi4 is poised to be the company’s flagship phone from here on. So what does it hold for enthusiasts?
The phone features a sleek stainless steel frame around the edges that gives it a somewhat premium look. The back and front panels are, however, made from plastic. The phone comes with a range of back covers that allow you to customize the device, as you please.
Display and Camera
The phone boasts of a massive 5 inch IPS LCD screen, with a resolution of 1080×1920 pixels and a pixel density of 441 ppi. It was expected that the manufacturer would move to a 5.5 inch display, but this was not to be.
The Mi4 has an 8 MP rear facing camera, which is an upgrade from the Mi3 and an impressive front facing 13 MP camera. It also features one of the best dual-LED flash, smile and face detection, HDR and Geo tagging. It supports 3,840 x 2,160 (4k) recording capability.
Storage and Battery
The Mi4 has an internal storage of 16GB or 64GB. This is enough for most people to install all sorts of apps and store a decent number of files. Unfortunately, the phone does not have a memory card slot, but comes with 3G of RAM that makes it super fast. The Mi4 has a 3080 mAh battery that is an upgrade from the Mi3’s 3050mAh.
Connectivity
The phone has 4G capabilities with options for 3G, EDGE, Wi-Fi, A- GPS, USB, NFC and GLONASS.
Processor and Operating System
The Xiaomi Mi4 is a power packed phone featuring a Quad core 2.5GHz Krait 400 processor. Unlike the Mi3, which rocks the Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chip, the Mi4 has a faster 801 chipset. It also has an inbuilt graphics processor. It runs on Android KitKat (Version 4.4.3) MIUI. This is a custom ROM that comes without bloatware and is very customizable.
Price
For its features, the Xiaomi Mi4, like its predecessors, is very a fairly priced phone. Retailing at only $320 for the 16GB version and $400 for the 64GB version, it is clear why this phone has knocked the iPhone off its perch in China. The company has made a habit of offering high-end hardware at very low prices. Competitors such as Apple and Samsung sell their phones at double the price.
Verdict
The Xiaomi presents great value for money, but would have done with an expandable memory slot.
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