Xiaomi Redmi 4 review

Xiaomi Redmi 4, Redmi 4A and Redmi 4 note smartphones is brand new version of the budget Xiaomi Redmi 3 series, have been announced in China few days ago. The Redmi 3 phones were first launched in January 2016, and 11 months on, Xiaomi has upgraded them with three new variants named as Redmi 4. Redmi is the budget series of the Chinese technology company and offers solid specifications at an affordable price.

For starters, the Redmi 4 phones comes in three variants: Redmi 4 Standard Edition, Redmi 4 Pro edition, and finally the budget Redmi 4A. For Xiaomi launching different versions of the same with a tweak in RAM, storage options or processor has now become a standard practice. For instance, the Redmi Note 3 came in a 3GB RAM +32GB variant, as well as 2GB RAM+16GB variant.

Redmi 4 Pro edition has a 5-inch 1080p display, better than the 720p resolution offered by the earlier Redmi 3 phones, and on the standard Redmi 4, Redmi 4A variants. The Pro version also gets extra RAM and storage at 3GB and 32GB, along with a higher-end Snapdragon 625 octa-core processor clocked at 2.0 Ghz. The GPU is Adreno 506 clocked at 650 Mhz.

The new Redmi 4 phones come with a metal unibody design and curved 2.5D glass on the front. Also both phones come with a fingerprint sensor on the back. The design language is very similar to what we have seen on the earlier Redmi 3S, Redmi 3, Redmi Note 3 series.  With the Redmi 4 standard edition, the processor is a Snapdragon 430 octa-core one clocked at 1.4Ghz and it comes with 2GB RAM+16GB storage. The GPU on the Redmi 4 standard edition is Adreno 505 clocked at 450MHz.

Xiaomi has kept the camera as same on both phones: 13MP on the back with PDAF, flash and 5MP on the front. Both phones also sport the exact same dimensions and weight: 141.3mm x 69.6mm x 8.9mm and 156g. The battery remains the same as the Redmi 3 series at 4100 mAh.

Sensors on the Redmi 4 Pro and Standard edition are: GPS, AGPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Infrared, Gyro, Acceleration, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor. Xiaomi is sticking with its hybrid dual-SIM slot on both the phones.

The below chart shows the difference between the Redmi 4 series and the Redmi 3, Redmi 3S/3S Prime.

 Xiaomi Redmi 4, Redmi 4A vs Redmi 3, Redmi 3S series: A look at the specifications.

With the Redmi 4A, Xiaomi has kept the display at 5-inch 720p. The processor is a quad-core Snapdragon 425 one clocked at 1.4Ghz, and the GPU is Adreno 308 clocked at 500MHz. The camera is the same at 13MP on the back and 5MP on the front. However, the Redmi 4A has a smaller battery at 3120mAh.

It comes in Gold and Rose Gold colours only with a metallic matte finish design. This one has smaller dimensions as well 139.5mm x 70.4mm x 8.5mm and is lighter at 131.5g. Redmi 4A also has a dual-SIM slot, but no fingerprint sensor.  The Redmi 4A is also cheaper at 499 Yuan, which is around Rs 5,000.

Redmi 3: Xiaomi launched Redmi 3 in January 2016, and this one came with a metal body and a textured rear panel. Colours included Gold, Grey and Silver. Redmi 3 also has the same 5-inch 720p HD display, and 1.2GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 processor with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. It supports microSD cards of up to 128GB.

When the phone was launched it was running Android 5.1 with MIUI 7 on top, and also has the same 13MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP front facing camera. This was also a dual SIM device with support for 4G. The battery is the same as the new Redmi 4 series at 4,100mAh. Dimensions of the Redmi 3 are: 139.30 x 69.60 x 8.50 mm and weight is 144 grams.

 Xiaomi Redmi 4 series sticks with the same battery size as the Redmi 3: 4100 mAh.

Redmi 3S/3S Prime:   Xiaomi launched Redmi 3S/ Redmi 3S Prime, which come with a 5-inch 720 p display, Snapdragon 430 processor, 13MP rear camera and 5 MP front camera. The difference was that the Prime version had a fingerprint scanner and 3GB RAM+32GB storage, while the cheaper variant came with 2GB RAM+16GB storage and no fingerprint scanner.

So what’s changed?  

If you look at the Redmi 3 vs Redmi 4 series, it is pretty much the same in terms of design, camera and battery. However, Xiaomi has upgraded the display for the high-end variant as well as processor, RAM and storage. With the Redmi series, Xiaomi has made the 4100 mAh battery as the USP, offering nearly two days of usage at a budget price which is not often available in this price range.