Xiaomi’s Redmi 4 is meant to succeed and supplant Redmi 3S and 3S Prime, the phones that have been the best-selling budget options for several months now. As the hardware might point out, Xiaomi isn’t doing anything radical with the budget hardware but has still thoughtfully integrated several subtle and well-pronounced changes to better the user experience. Does Redmi 4 qualify as the best under 10,000 INR phone that you can buy? Let’s try and answer that in our review.
Design and Build
Design and build are the biggest upgrades in Redmi 4. With rounded corners, 2.5D laden fascia, and curvier back, the Redmi 4 is way ahead of Redmi 3s and 3s prime in terms of look and feel. We, for one, are enchanted by compact, easily manageable phones and the Redmi 4 was right up our alley. Arguably, it looks even better than its elder sibling, the Redmi Note 4.
All buttons and ports are aptly placed. The speaker grill also has been shifted to the bottom edge this time. The Volume rocker and Power button aren’t wobbly and the fingerprint sensor on the rear is always within reach, extremely fast, and accurate. Overall, the design and build quality of Redmi 4 is quite impressive for a budget phone.
Display
The 720p HD resolution feels apt on the 5-inch Redmi 4 display. Time and again we did notice some softness, but such moments were few and fast between.
The colors, contrast, and brightness are fairly good too. Outdoor visibility, however, has room for improvement. Overall, the display is really good but you do have full HD display option under 10,000 INR nowadays.
Camera Performance
The Redmi 4 has a 13MP camera has PDAF to lock focus quickly and can shoot great amount of details in good light. The low light shots are noisy, but that’s expected for phones in this budget. The HDR mode works fine.
The camera software is minimalistic and easy to maneuver. You can also shoot up to 1080p resolution decent quality videos. Overall, the image quality has improved over last generation 3s prime and it is one of the best camera you an find under 10,000 INR. The front camera also works well and it is capable of capturing decent selfies.
Performance and Software
The Redmi 4 is powered by Snapdragon 430 processor, paired with different RAM and storage combinations based on what you are willing to pay. The one we are testing is 3GB RAM and 32GB storage variants.
The chipset doesn’t stutter with day-to-day or heavy usage, but it’s also noticeably slower than chips like Snapdragon 625. Heavy games we played worked just fine at medium settings and were also playable at high settings.
The software on the phone is MIUI 8 which is, by now, a very popular and familiar UI. It’s rich in customization options. You get features like double storage, scrolling screenshots, theme stores, and more. It isn’t the lightest UI skin around, but we didn’t notice any lag in the interface.
On the Redmi 4, the base software is still Android Marshmallow, but Xiaomi is working on a Nougat update nd it should be released soon.
Battery, Price, and Verdict
The 4100mAh battery on the Redmi 4 is one of its primary highlights. The phone can easily last for 2 days with moderate to heavy usage. However, fast charging isn’t supported.
The Redmi 4 is a decent phone for budget Android buyers with basic and moderate usage needs, especially those who are looking for a compact, easily manageable handset. The phone offers good design & build quality, powerful hardware and impressive battery.
The base Redmi 4 variant costs 6,999 INR and can be considered as a more premium alternative to Redmi 4A. The middle 3GB RAM variant with 32GB storage costs 8,999 INR and seems well worth the price. The 4GB RAM variant costs 10,999 INR, but if you are willing to spend as much, you might as well go for the Redmi Note 4.
