New Delhi March 6 (IANS) Riding on the success of its flagship device Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 that offered high-end specifications the Chinese electronics major has launched Redmi Note 4 -- its first device this year.
Bullish over its over $1 billion India revenue last year Xiaomi is set to launch some eye-popping devices this year and the Note 4 is just the beginning.
Let us see what works for the Rs 12 999 Note 4 (4GB RAM and 64GB on-board memory).
Similar to its predecessor Note 4 has an all-metal body. The premium-looking device fits well in the hands with slim borders and 2.5D curved-edge glass on front.
The device has a hybrid SIM tray on the left bumper and volume toggles and power button on the right. The speaker grills have been moved below (Note 3 had those in the back).
The 5.5-inch device with full-HD IPS display returned sharp text images and videos. There was no eye strain while watching movies (with highest brightness) for a longer period of time.
Xiaomi Note 4 is powered by the 2Ghz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor that makes gaming (Asphalt 8) and multitasking a charm.
At the back panel (with fine antenna bands running across top and bottom) a centrally-aligned 13MP camera is placed above the fingerprint scanner and a dual-tone LED flash is sandwiched between them.
The photos taken by the rear camera with f/2.0 aperture and PDAF (phase detection autofocus) in bright-light conditions were impressive. The 5MP selfie camera also worked just fine.
Note 4 has a non-removable 4 100mAh battery -- bigger than Redmi Note 3 s 4 050mAh. The battery charge went 0-100 in an hour.
Average daily use (light surfing and chatting) gave us a 20-hour back-up on a full charge.
Note 4 runs on MIUI 8 that is based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. The Gallery app automatically syncs stored photos on the device with Mi Cloud. Users can turn off the sync if they don t want the photos to be synched.
Like some of the previous devices Note 4 offers Dual Apps and Second Space. While Dual Apps feature allows users to create a second copy of an app Second Space lets people separate business and personal data on the same device.
The performance however could vary for different variants (2GB RAM + 32GB storage variant comes for Rs 9 999 and 3GB RAM and 32GB of storage device is for Rs 10 999).
What doesn t work?
The camera is still the problem when it comes to low-light conditions as photos get too grainy. Also the focus is slow when clicking a photo in low-light conditions.
Conclusion: Overall the Redmi Note 4 is a good deal especially at a time when no other device in the same bracket has been launched till date this year. Try to spend a little more to buy the Rs 12 999 Note 4 (4GB RAM and 64GB on-board memory).
(Sourah Kulesh can be contacted at sourabh.k@ians.in)
--IANS
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Xiaomi Note 4: Stunning specs at just Rs 12,999 (Tech Review)
