Xiaomi slashes price of Mi4 smartphone by Rs 2,000 to Rs 17,999

The Mi 4 is available on Flipkart and The Mobile Store for now, and will be available on Snapdeal and Amazon India soon, the company added.

By ET Online | Updated: Apr 16, 2015, 01.39 PM IST

Xiaomi slashes price of Mi4 smartphone by Rs 2,000 to Rs 17,999

NEW DELHI: Betting big on the Indian smartphone market, Xiaomi has slashed the prices of its flagship Mi4 to Rs 17,999 from Rs 19,999 for the 16 GB model. The 64 GB model will now be available for Rs 21,999, down from Rs 23,999.

"Mi India offered a special price for Mi 4 during Mi Fan Festival, and it was very well received. We have thus decided to make this price drop permanent," the company said in a release.

The Mi 4 is available on Flipkart and The Mobile Store for now, and will be available on Snapdeal and Amazon India soon, the company added.

The Mi 4 improves upon the Mi 3 in every aspect. The 8.9mm device has a metal body with replaceable rear panels. It has a 5-inch full HD IPS display (no Gorilla Glass again) along with a 13MP primary camera capable of 4k video recording.

Hardware specifications include a quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB RAM, 16GB storage and a 3,080mAh battery. Mi 4 also features a quick charge technology that charges the phone up to 60% in just 30 minutes. Other features include 8MP front camera, 3G, dual band WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, USB host and radio.

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Xiaomi Mi 4 review: Faces tough competition at the price

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Karan Bajaj, ET Bureau

2014 saw Xiaomi launch in India with the Mi 3 - at the same time, they launched their new flagship, the Mi 4, in China. Now in 2015, when Xiaomi announced their new flagship in China (Mi Note), the company has chosen to launch the Mi 4 in India.

The 16GB variant of the Mi 4 has been launched first. The 64GB variant with support for 4G networks will launch on 24 Feb at a price of Rs 23,999.

Karan Bajaj, ET Bureau

2014 saw Xiaomi launch in India with the Mi 3 - at the same time, they launched their new flagship, the Mi 4, in China. Now in 2015, when Xiaomi announced their n..

Xiaomi has managed to reduce the footprint of the Mi 4 even though it has the same size display as the Mi 3. Where the Mi 3 had a polycarbonate unibody construction, the Mi 4 improves on it with a solid steel frame. We loved the look and feel of the Mi 4 as compared to Mi 3 - it feels two generations ahead. At 149 grams, the phone is a tad bulky but overall we liked how the phone felt in hand.

The flat metal sides, chamfered edges and slim display bezels make the phone look premium and stylish. The rear glossy plastic panel has a pattern finish that adds to the overall look but is also prone to fingerprints.

On the right side of the phone are metal power and volume keys while the left side has a microSIM slot. On top is a 3.5mm audio jack and IR emitter. Xiaomi has clearly given a lot of thought to the design, finish and construction of the phone as well as the ergonomic placement of the buttons and ports.

Display size and resolution remains unchanged from the Mi 3. The Mi 4 has a 5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels that gives it a pixel density of 441 ppi. The screen is gorgeous with rich colours, wide viewing angles and sharp details. Brightness levels are top notch and so is the sunlight legibility. There is a built-in high sensitivity mode to use the phone with gloves and it works well.

Special mention goes to the surprisingly slim bezels on the side of the screen - from a distance it almost feels as if the display is edge to edge on the sides. You also have the option to adjust the color temperature and saturation to your liking.

Only issue is that the display does not use Gorilla Glass for protection, so it is more prone to scratches. All-in all we were highly impressed by the Mi 4's display.

The Mi 4 is the cheapest with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 801 processor. You also get 3GB RAM, Adreno 330 graphics and a 3,080mAh battery. There is 16GB of internal storage (of which 13GB is available to you). There is no microSD slot for expansion, but the device has USB host support so you can connect flash drives with a cable adapter. In terms of sensors you get accelerometer, gyro, proximity sensor, compass and barometer.

Even though the Snapdragon 801 chipset is 4G ready (OnePlus One has the same processor and offers 4G support), the current version of the Mi 4 is restricted to 3G connectivity in India. Other connectivity includes dual band WiFi 801ac, WiFi Direct, DLNA and Bluetooth 4.0.

There is also an IR emitter on top that can be used with the Mi Remote app to control many brands of TV, A/C, DVD/Blu-Ray player and set top box. The issue is that currently it only supports a limited set of manufacturers.

As expected from the hardware, Mi 4 is a powerhouse when it comes to performance. The phone ran everything we tried without a hitch - graphic intensive games, 4k resolution videos or photo editing apps. Even with more than 10 apps running in the background, the Mi 4 had 1GB of RAM free allowing seamless switching between apps.

With synthetic benchmarks, the Mi 4 scored an impressive 44,294 - placing it above the HTC One M8 as well as the Samsung Galaxy S5. With Vellamo browser benchmark, the Mi 4 topped the chart with a score of 4065 - OnePlus One scored 2934 where as HTC One M8 scored 2880.

The Mi 4 runs the latest version of Xiaomi's customized MiUi OS (MiUi 6) that is based on Android 4.4. Like its previous iterations, MiUi 6 has all the icons placed on various home screens along with widgets. However, there are many more subtle tweaks in MiUi 6 that make using the phone more intuitive.

The interface has more vibrant colors, smoother animations and revamped icons. Even the default interface is improved for calendar, calculator, weather, compass and clock.

On the lock screen, you can view a quick snapshot of notifications and if you have an app running in the foreground, incoming notifications appear on top in a floating panel. Other improvements include the option to identify and block calls/messages from numbers, pin important messages on top, record a call when required, batch edit icons, smart calendar reminders and an improved mail app.

Clean Master has been integrated in the user interface to keep the phone clean from junk, control data usage, optimise battery, manage app permissions and protect from viruses.

Among other settings, you can set enhancements for headphones including the option to assign functions to in-line controls and change the function of the capacitive buttons. We think that MiUi 6 is one of the best Android customizations around.

Mi 4 features a 13MP primary camera that has a back illuminated 1/3" Sony- sensor (1.12µm pixel size) with f1.8 aperture. Plus, it can also record smooth video in 4k resolution. In our usage, the camera impressed us with its quick focus speed and ability to shoot and save images in a less than a second. Xiaomi has improved the interface enabling instant exposure adjustment at the time of focus - this makes it easy to take photos.

The interface is gesture-based: swipe down to access filters and swipe up to access additional shooting modes. Apart from the usual HDR, burst and panorama modes is a new refocus mode. Refocus shooting mode allows you to change focus point in an image after it has been captured (for a better depth of field effect).

Images taken had good details, rich colors with minimal visible noise be it daylight or indoors. Even in low light, the 13MP camera took remarkable photos with or without flash. Video recording in 4k resolution is also of high quality.

However, because of limited storage, you have to be careful while recording a video. Video shooting modes include slow motion, time lapse and HDR video - all of which work really well with high quality output.

The front 8MP camera has an aperture of f1.8 which gives it excellent low light performance. Photos are bright with good details, although we do wish that the lens had a wider coverage area. However, this is one of the best front cameras we have seen on a smartphone.

With a massive 3,080mAh battery, the Mi 4 gave us one and half days of battery life on a regular basis. This is with two email accounts, Facebook, Twitter, camera use, multimedia as well as constant 3G/WiFi connectivity. Even with heavy usage including a lot of calls, the phone will last a full day without any issues.

Mi 4 is Xiaomi's India flagship for 2014 and we loved it for its build quality, design and performance. However, without 4G connectivity and just 16GB of internal storage, a lot of users might think of skipping. In comparison, you can get the Lenovo Vibe X2 with similar feature set, 32GB storage and 4G connectivity for about Rs 2,000 less.

The OnePlus One for just Rs 2,000 more gives you a larger display, 64GB storage and 4G. Tough call! Our pick would be the OnePlus, followed by the Lenovo. This order will likely change once the 64GB Mi 4 variant comes around.

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Xiaomi slashes price of Mi4 smartphone by Rs 2,000 to Rs 17,999

The Mi 4 is available on Flipkart and The Mobile Store for now, and will be available on Snapdeal and Amazon India soon, the company added.

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