Xiaomi has released a number of Smartphones in India which have been highly successful. They recently released the much awaited budget friendly Xiaomi Mi 4i, which is also a variant of flagship Mi4. Just like all previous smartphones, Xiaomi launched the new Mi 4i on Flipkart which goes on sale via flash sales.
The Mi4i is a budget-minded yet a powerful device which has the ability to compete with several high end smartphones in the market right now. Priced at just Rs. 12,999 it is pretty cost efficient in accordance to the features it provides. Xiaomi has been manufacturing amazing low end devices and cost-effective high end devices, while Mi 4i is somewhere in the middle. Most of the time in Flash sales, reportedly 40000 units Mi 4i devices gets sold in mere 15 seconds. It is all because of its impressive hardware and software features. We will take a close look at all those aspects but before that, let’s have a look at the highlights of Xiaomi Mi 4i.
Xiaomi Mi 4i Specifications:
- MIUI 6 based on Android 5.0 Lollipop
- Dual SIM (micro SIM)
- 5 inch Full HD IPS display with Corning Gorilla glass protection
- 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution with 441 PPI
- Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 ( 4 x 1.1 GHz Cortex A53 + 4 x 1.7 GHz Cortex A53) 64-bit processor
- 2GB of RAM
- Adreno 405 GPU
- 16 GB internal memory
- 13 Megapixel rear camera with 5-element lens, f/2.0 aperture and two-tone LED flash
- 5 Megapixel front-facing camera with f/1.8 aperture and 80-degree wide-angle lens
- 4G LTE / 3G, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), Bluetooth 4.1 and GPS
- 3120mAh battery
Design and Packaging:
The new Xiaomi Mi 4i comes with a compact unibody design which gives an exceptional grip and the screen is covered in an anti-fingerprint matte cover which just requires the softest of touch. This device comes with an ultra-thin 7.8 mm frame is just 130 grams in weight but comes with a power packed battery and a full HD display. Below the display you will find three capacitive buttons for back , home screen and recent apps. Unlike the Mi 4 and Mi Note which have metal bodies, the Mi 4i comes with a polycarbonate frame which has an anti-grease coating that will allow you to erase ink from permanent markers. A tough magnesium alloy support structure has been embedded inside the plastic frame which is the vital in protecting the phone’s internal components from falls and accidents.
Mi 4i has a soft touch back side and you also have an option to add a soft-touch cover for an offbeat look . The design exhibits great quality despite the fact that it comes with a plastic body. The Mi 4i comes in a number of flashy colors namely white, black, blue, orange and pink.
It comes with a 3120 mAh power packed battery. It has space for dual SIM 4g slot which is located at the right side of the device. The only thing that seems to be missing is the MicroSD card slot for expanding storage. It is overall very pleasing and appealing the way the device has been designed.
Display Quality:
One of the best feature of Mi 4i is its display. It is a complete hands down when it comes to display. It comes with a sparkling 5 inch full HD display ( 1920 x 1080 pixels ) giving a density of 441 pixels per inch which keeps it in line with larger screen devices. The pixel per inch density of Mi 4i is higher than iPhone 6 and iPhone 6+ which have a pixel-per-inch density of 326ppi and 426ppi respectively. Which itself tells you why it is a great deal. The colors appear to be dynamic and the text appears sharp.
Mi 4i is made of One Glass Solution while the screen is resistant to smudges and fingerprints thanks to the anti-fingerprint matte cover on the display.
One amazing technology that is very exciting is the Sunlight display which allows you to view images, videos and other UI elements including the keyboard easily when you are out in the sun. This technology also helps you to click images with ease when you are outdoors especially when you are under sunlight. In this technology the brightness is adjusted selectively in accordance to the shadow/highlight areas and the sunlight.
Software and UI:
Mi 4i runs on MiUI 6 skin which is based on Android 5.0.2 Lollipop, the latest Android OS. The skin is totally different from the original Lollipop UI and resembles the IOS. It doesn’t come with an app drawer and the apps are displayed in the home screen itself. It comes with new interface for notifications and interactive gestures.
Xiaomi has come up with support to six Regional Indian languages which include Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil Telugu and Kannada. It also comes with an exciting built-in feature of recording calls. Another amazing feature which I liked very much is the Visual IVR, which allows you to skip the annoying voice response systems (Press 1 for Hindi… Press 2 for Marathi…..) Through menu based options on screen. It currently supports about three services which include IRCTC, Indigo and Cleartrip. You can block calls and 1also recognize unknown callers which is a notable feature.
Overall Mi 4i sports a sleek design and comes with smooth transition effects and also comes with an exceptional multitasking capability.
Hardware Performance:
The Xiaomi Mi 4i is powered with Qualcomm’s new 64-bit 1.7GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 615 processor, which is very fast when it comes to performance and doesn’t lag at all. It boasts Adreno 405 graphics and 2GB RAM. One major drawback is that it comes only with a 16 GB internal storage (12.9GB available for usage) without any microSD card slot, so you can’t store a lot of multimedia files.
The phone has a tendency to heat up a little after playing games or when multiple apps are open in the background which does affect the performance and makes the interactive user experience slow. The high end games like Asphalt 8 and GTA work fine with a few lags in balance mode the performance gets better in performance mode and makes the experience better for users but the battery drains faster in performance mode.
The network reception is pretty excellent and there are no issues while making calls or receiving them, it works well even in weak reception areas.
The device scored around 38,000 in AnTuTu Benchmark 64-bit v 5.7, 2,926 in Geekbench 3 benchmark, 24,606 in the Quadrant benchmark and 7,721 in the 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited benchmark all in performance mode. The benchmark scores place it above Google Nexus 5 Yu Yureka and LG G3, but lower than Mi 4.
The dual SIM phone supports both 4g SIM card slots which is laudable. We are waiting for software updates from Xiaomi for better optimization. Overall the performance of the phone is excellent and is a powerhouse at such a reasonable price.
Camera Quality:
The device comes with a wonderful 13 megapixel Sony/Samsung rear camera with f/2.0 aperture and 5-element lens for a perfect photography experience. It also sports a 5 megapixel front camera which lets you click amazing selfies. The camera comes in Still and Default and Panorama mode. The Beautify mode for the front cam enhances your look and makes your selfies better. You can click pictures in HDR mode too.
For shooting videos you have an option to shoot videos at 480p, 720p and 1080p. So you can shoot your videos in HD. You also have an amazing option to shoot in fast motion or slow motion mode to enhance your video experience. The Video and Audio quality is pretty good. One drawback is that it does not feature Optical Image Stabilization.
Overall the phone provides terrific cameras which are a lot better when compared to other mid-range Smartphone’s.
Battery Backup:
The Mi 4i boasts a 3120mAh battery which lasts relatively long. Hats off to Xiaomi for packing such a big battery in such a compact device. The device allows you to choose from two modes performance mode (eats more battery) and balance mode (battery friendly). The battery can easily last 11-12 hours in performance mode and 13-14 hours in balance mode, with the brightness kept high, connected to 3g internet and using all multimedia apps. On an average the phone battery can last easily for an entire day which is pretty satisfying. You can charge your battery using Quick Charge to 40% in less than an hour and the battery gets fully charged in 3 hours.
