XIAOMI MI4: Sundar aur Acha.

The Indian market was once again at buzz, when xiaomi also knows as “China ka Apple” decided to launch its much awaited Smartphone the Mi4 in the Indian market. Much like the previous Mi3 this was also solely available through Flipkart.

The first thing you will notice and love about the phone is its high quality hardware specially the IPS display. For a 5 inch display size the phone doesn’t feel “halka” to hold but the build quality is pretty solid. It has taken inspiration from Apple and provided metal frame which is a likeable design. The display is sharp and has good contrast ration but struggles to provide good viewing angle under sunlight.

The phone has a “Bhaari” processor and supporting specs to prove that it stands out from the crowd of flagships. The 64 bit processor and 3Gb ram make sure that there is no frame droop or lag while playing high end game or 1080p video play back. The Mi4 runs MIUI 6 on top of the Android kitkat. The MIUI has basically “chaap dala” the ios user interface. It has good animation effect but it may make you feel that you aren’t using the best interface, there is scope for improvement at lott stages. The camera on the Mi4 packs and impressive combination of 13MP rear camera and 8MP front facing camera. The camera app is itself very responsive and clean. 

Image taken by the Phone.

Here are the basic specifications of the Mi4:

Features	Details	Remarks
Screen	5 inch IPS touchscreen.	It has a ppi of 441 and gorgeous display. However low sunlight visibility.
Os	Android 4.4.4 MIUI 06	The phone is snappy but there is scope of improvement in the interface.
Camera	13Mp back and 8Mp front	The image quality is great both the front and back camera take good pictures.
Battery	3080 MAh	The battery lasts an entire day without charging.
Connectivity	3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot, Bluetooth.	The phone lacks NFC and 4G LTE which is there in other competing phones.

If you go by the spec sheet, Mi 4 falls under the list of reasonably priced devices. Moreover, the phone is also designed well and feels perfect to hold considering the 5-inch display factor. Although, you might have to compromise on the lack of storage space, 4G LTE support, and some lags in MIUI. Taking a look at some of the pros and cond of the Mi4:

Pros: •  Great design. •  Outstanding value. •  Vibrant display. •  Better than average battery.

Cons: •  No 4G. •  No NFC. •  No microSD slot.

Final verdict:

The Mi4 is a great phone if you judge by display, camera and battery factor only. It has the power to capture the smart phone market under the Rs.20000 bracket as it priced at Rs. 14,999. Other main competitor to the Mi4 are the OnePlus One, Htc desire 820 and the Lenovo vibe x2.