NEW DELHI: Xiaomi has again managed to deliver a jaw-dropping spec sheet with its Mi 4 smartphone. However, it has failed to impress with the price tag like before. Many feel the phone, which is almost a year old, is over-priced in India, given the limited 12GB internal storage available to the user and the lack of 4G support.
It might be too early to talk about whether 4G is essential, but just 12GB of user memory for a smartphone which is meant for power usage is paralysing, especially since there is no way to expand memory. For the record, a minute of 4K UHD video recording on a phone like OnePlus One needs around 500MB of memory. It would have been a better deal if Xiaomi offered the 64GB 4G variant of the Mi 4 smartphone at Rs 19,999. That would have been a real Xiaomi product at a Xiaomi price.
During the launch of the Redmi Note smartphone, the company said that it wants to future-proof low-cost smartphone buyers by offering the 4G version of the Redmi Note at Rs 1,000 more than the 3G version. But with the Mi 4, it seems Xiaomi have realised that 4G penetration will take more time in the country and people would anyway opt for a new handset by the time 4G goes mainstream.
Specs of Mi 4: 5-inch HD IPS display (Corning OGS Glass) | Android 4.4.4 KitKat operating system with MIUI 6 | 2.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 CPU | 3GB RAM | 16GB internal memory | 13MP rear camera (4K video recording) | 8M front camera | 3G, 2G connectivity| 3080 mAh battery| Price: Rs 19,999
While Xiaomi boasted about the stainless steel frame in its Mi 4, to be honest, one glance at it and it reminded me of the Huawei Honor 6. The Honor 6, which is now priced at Rs 17,999 on Flipkart offers good overall value with support for 4G and 16 GB internal memory which can be expanded up to 64GB.
Huawei Honor 6 review
Specs of Huawei Honor 6: 5-inch Full HD display (445 ppi) | 1.3 GHz octa-core Hi Silicon Kirin 920 processor | 3 GB RAM | 16 GB internal memory (up to 64 GB expandable) | 13 MP rear camera | 5 MP front camera| Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS | Emotion 2.3 UI | 4G ready | 3100 mAh battery | Price: Rs 17,999
On the storage front, the OnePlus One clearly wins the battle. Priced at Rs 21,999, the device with its design, hardware and user experience, will easily please any buyer. Plus, it has a great camera.
OnePlus One review
Specs of OnePlus One: 5.5-inch Full HD (1920x1080p, 401 PPI) LTPS IPS with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with 2.5GHz Quad-core | 3GB RAM | 64GB internal storage, no external slot | 13MP rear camera + 5MP front camera | 4K video recording with slowmotion | 3100 mAh battery | 4G with nano and micro SIM trays in box | Cyanogen 11S OS based on Android 4.4 | Price: Rs 21,999
The Lenovo Vibe X2 smartphone impressed us with its overall performance. Priced at Rs 19,999, the Vibe X2 introduced layers to the smartphone market.
Lenovo Vibe X2 review
Specs of Lenovo Vibe X2: 5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen (1080x1920p, ~441 ppi) | MediatTek MT6595m 2.0 GHz True8Core Octa-core processor | 2 GB RAM | 32GB internal (no external memory) | 13MP rear camera + 5MP front camera | 4G dual SIM (micro + Nano) | 2300 mAh battery | Android 4.4 with Vibe UI | Price: Rs 19,999
No doubt the Xiaomi Mi 4 smartphone is a beast of a device with its camera and hardware specifications. However, it might fall behind when it comes to storage, if not support for 4G, at Rs 19,999.
