Earlier today, April 23, 2015, Xiaomi debuts the new Mi4i, a sub-iteration of last year’s Mi4. India will get first dibs of the device, and followed by its neighboring countries like the Philippines (probably) and Indonesia. The new flagship device will initially be available on Flipkart, and later across all online retail channels in Mi India website.
The new Mi4i is Xiaomi’s first Mi phone with MIUI 6 based on Android Lollipop. You will probably remember that the recently announced Redmi 2 already packs a MIUI 6 but based on Kitkat.
In terms of performance and system, the new Mi phone boasts a brand new 2nd gen Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core 64-bit processor. It is supported by a 2gb LPDDR3 RAM, and has an internal 16gb storage. For everyone’s reference, Xiaomi did a few benchmark tests and registered the following scores on various applications:
- Antutu: 40,253
- Quadrant: 25,686
- 3D Mark: 5,606
- CFBench: 57,216
Obviously, based on the above benchmark scores, Mi4i is one hell of a smartphone! And if you’re into specifics, here’s what you can find in its SoC:
- 4 performance cores clocking 1.7GHz
- 4 power-saving cores on lower 1.1GHz
- Andreno 405 GPU that supports OpenGL ES 3.0
- 2GB LPDDR3 RAM
Another strong feature of Mi4i is its Full HD 5-inch display with 95% NTSC color gamut and insane 441 ppi. (iPhone 6’s retina HD display only has a 326ppi display). It is protected by Corning OGS glass to ensure its resistance to unintentional drops. In case you’re wondering how tough its screen is, and even how sturdy its case is, check out the video below:
https://youtu.be/K_HMqWQsTkA
The display also has a technology, which Xiaomi calls Sunlight display. According to Xiaomi, it uses a hardware-level technology to adjust contrasts for each pixel in real time, dramatically improving readability in sunlight. Xiaomi demonstrated how this works, and I was astounded with how it can really be useful in real life scenarios.
https://youtu.be/XTEUdhaJvVI
The new phone also has a 13mp Sony/Samsung camera with f/2.0 aperture, and a 5mp front facing one. So you won’t get confused, the sensor and specs of Mi4i’s camera are co-developed by Sony and Samsung, which totally bring a lot of value to the table. Check out this sample photo and this one in HDR for your appreciation.
The phone’s camera is more than just specs; it has lots of practical features, which will definitely delight mobile photographers like: its two-tone flash to help the camera produce a natural looking photo despite the use of artificial light; de-noised HDR mode; Magic Focus; Night Image stabilization; torch; quick exposure adjustment; beautify mode; manual mode; and countdown timer.
Just like the Redmi 2, Mi4i also features 4G Dual SIM, Dual Standby capability. This ensures that you won’t miss any calls, and gives you the flexibility to use different telcos without having to succumb to bringing multiple smartphones.
Connectivity-wise, Mi4i is packed with the latest connection technologies like the 802.11ac Wi-Fi, which is 3x faster than previous Wi-Fi speeds; and Bluetooth 4.1 LE. Unfortunately, the device does not have an NFC chip and Qi wireless charging installed.
The phone also comes with a non-removable 3120mAh battery, which can put the phone up and running for 11 hours on HD video playback or 35 hours on 3G talk time. But despite its big battery, Mi4i maintains a very slim profile thanks to the double-sided printed circuit board and custom ultra-thin display.
Perhaps, other than all the features above, one of the best things about the Mi4i is its hardware design. As Xiaomi would put it, the device is designed for your hand. Mi4i is finely textured and matte-sprayed for resistance to fingerprints and grease. It’s a functional design, which is primarily inherent to devices made by Apple, but now made available thru Xiaomi’s Mi4i.
Here’s a short clip about Xiaomi Mi4i’s design:
Price and Availability
Mi4i is priced Rs12,999 or roughly around $205. Mi Philippines didn’t give us information if it’s officially coming to the Philippines. But just in case it’ll come, it could be priced somewhere around PhP11,000 to PhP12,000 after-taxes.
Xiaomi Mi4i Full Specs
- OS: Android 5 Lollipop, MIUI 6
- Processor: Qualcomm MSM8939 Snapdragon 615, Quad-core 1.7 GHz Cortex-A53 & quad-core 1.0 GHz Cortex-A53
- GPU: Adreno 405
- Memory: 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage (not expandable)
- Display: 5-inch Full HD IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 441 ppi, 71.7% screen-to-body ratio
- Camera: 13 MP, 4128 x 3096 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash; 5mp front-facing camera
- Connectivity: 4G LTE; WiFi, WiFi hotspot; Bluetooth 4.0; GPS w/ A-GPS; microUSB 2.0, USB OTG
- SIM: Dual SIM, Dual Standby, Dual 4G
- Battery: 3120mAh Li-ion battery, removable
- Dimensions: 138.1 x 69.6 x 7.8 mm (5.44 x 2.74 x 0.31 in), 130g
Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.
