Xiaomi Mi 4 Review: First impressions survey

In a little over six months of its entry in India, Xiaomi is offering buyers here its new flagship smartphone, Mi 4. The new phone that was announced for the Indian market on January 28 will be exclusively available on Flipkart starting from February 10. The phone, however, will be up for registrations on the e-commerce site starting 6 PM on January 28.

The phone may look powerful and feature-rich, but we understand that specs alone can not give you a true picture as to how the device appeals, grips and performs, and based on our brief experience with the phone, here are our first impressions (the detailed review will follow soon).
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What the Mi 4 brings with it to India is the new MIUI 6, which is the latest Android-based user interface for Xiaomi smartphones. The MIUI 6 is based on Android 4.4.4 KitKat and features flat app icons, revamped camera app, better notifications system, ease of moving apps and much more. The company has also announced its plans to roll out the new verison of its MIUI software for other Xiaomi devices in India. Xiaomi’s Hugo Barra said the company will be rolling out MIUI 6 for the Mi 3 and Redmi Note 4G early February and for Redmi 1S and Redmi Note in late March.
Xiaomi Mi 4: First impressions review

Coming to its hardware, the phone does not look attractive except for the stainless steel frame running all around. Its non-removable back has a ‘grating pattern design’, which the company says has been to designed to give it a better grip. I am of a different opinion here. To me the glossy and slippery back is uncomfortable to hold.

And with the power key and volume rockery key on one side, taking screenshots on the Mi 4 involves more effort than what should be necessary. The touchscreen is responsive and easily navigates – even with wet fingers or even with gloves on. The 5-inch 1080p display on the Mi 4 produces vivid colours and offers decent viewing angles.

At 13 megapixels, the Mi 4 maintains the same camera resolution as the Mi 3 but for the front camera the megapixel count on the Mi 4 goes up from 2 megapixel to 8 megapixel. In terms of quality, both camera capture images deatiled and rich in colours. The front shooter is apt for taking selfies.

Xiaomi has launched 16 GB model in India (of which user accessible is 12.15 GB), with no option of expanding its memory. The company has plans to introduce the 64 GB model in India, but there in no information as to when it will be made available.

Beating under its hood is a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor – the same engine that powers the new Moto X (2014) and the OnePlus One – coupled with 3 GB of RAM. The Mi 3, however, comes with 2 GB of RAM. This is another front where the Mi 4 shows improvement over its predecessor. But how fast the new processor and increased RAM make the Mi 4 is something we can comment on after putting it to different tests.

The speaker is positioned at the bottom of the phone and produces loud and clear results.

The Mi 4 launched in India is not 4G-enabled and unlike the Redmi Note 4G will not be able through Airtel stores.