We just received great news from Mi Philippines yesterday that they are finally launching Mi4i in the Philippines on July 20, 2015.
Announced last April 2015, 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
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.
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.
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
During the launch, Mi4i is priced Rs12,999 or roughly around $205. When it’s finally launched on the 20th, 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.
