This one arrived today, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4. The successor to the super popular Redmi 3/Redmi 3 Pro I reviewed a while back. This time around it’s powered by a deca-core MediaTek Helio X20, Mali T880 MP4 GPU, the rest of the specs are the same. 5.5″ 1080p IPS panel, dragon tail glass with 2.5D edges. 4100 mAH battery. The build is slightly different, better even as it has the new style rear alloy housing like the Redmi Pro.
Feels very similar to the Redmi Pro in hand, it solid feel to it not a bad build. But it’s not quite as good as premium mobiles like the Samsung Galaxy S7 of course. This is a $199 mobile.
My first impressions:
Good:
- Build quality
- Helio X20 10 Core CPU
- Loud peaker is acceptable. Good volume.
- Bright screen with vivid colors
- Feels quick and fluid
- Front camera can record 720p (Redmi Pro only does 480p)
- Dual SIM 4G
- MicroSD support
Bad:
- No fast charger included
- No MIUI 8 out of the box, must be updated via OTA.
- Still using MicroUSB 2.0, it’s time now Type-c was standard (Redmi Pro has Type-c) Xiaomi seems to think it’s a premium feature reserved for only their more expensive mobiles?
- No 4k video support, mobiles like the LeEco Cool1 Dual for the same price can record 4k.
This will be my last mobile for a while, but so far it looks good for the price.
Questions? Please ask below in the comments:
Neil SP
Does someone have any idea when the snapdragon version will be available?
Chris G
Give in 3-4 months and we might see the Note 4 Pro version.
highwind
Thanks for the review
You might be wrong about the charger, though…
According to this source http://en.miui.com/thread-105602-1-1.html the charger model “MDY-08-EF Input” which you got is QC 2.0 enabled. The problem might be that the Redmi Note 4 feateres a Mediatek based SOC which uses a different technology called “Pump Express” and that it might not be compatible with Qualcomms “Quick Charge”.
Its a shame they didnt put Type-C in there… it would have been understandable to limit the port to 2.0 speeds to save on costs and have a difference to the higher priced “Mi” devices but still going with Micro-USB is kinda meh.
I think with the rather limited upgrades the Redmi Note 4 offers, the LTE Band 20 enabled version of the Redmi 3 Pro is still the better option for EU based users.