Xiaomi Mi4i "Mi 4 India" launched at $205

Today over in New Dehli the Xiaomi team have unveiled a new smartphone ~~device aimed at theIndian market only.~~ The Mi4i will be launched in all current Xiaomi markets later in the year. Keep reading for details of the Xiaomi Mi4i.

In his introduction of the new Xiaomi phone, Hugo Barra told reporters that the Xiaomi Mi4i is a device for India, even telling that Mi4i means “Mi 4 India”. So what is the Xiaomi Mi4i? Well the leaks told us to expect something along the lines of the Mi4, only with a plastic shell, and this is exactly what Xiaomi have delivered.

The Mi4i comes in a choice of yellow, blue, pink, black or white and is made of polycarbonate. Think of the 5-inch unibody device as Xiaomi’s version of the iPhone 5C. The Mi4i measures in at 69.6 x 138.1 x 7.8mm which makes the phone slightly thinner than the metal bodied Mi4 at a weight of 130g

Update 1: Hugo Barra has announced the Xiaomi Mi4i has a 3120mAh battery under the bright plastic body with quick charge feature. The Samsung/Sony sourced battery is apparently good for up to 1.5 days of usage.

Update 2: Sharp and JDI supply the 5-inch OGS display for the Xiaomi Mi4i. JDI and Sharp have been the screen choice for plenty of big name brands over the past few years from OnePlus, to Xiaomi and others.

Update 3: Xiaomi say the 5-inch 1080 panel on the Xiaomi Mi4i uses a new technology called “Sunlight Display”. At this point I am not 100% sure how it works but it is described as HDR but applied to the display. The effect means easier viewing in direct sunlight.

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Camera specifications include the same 13 mega-pixel rear sensor with F2.0 aperture as the flagship, and premium priced, Xiaomi Mi Note with dual tone LED flash. The front camera is an F1.8 5 mega-pixel sensor with beautification software.

Update 4: At the heart of the Xiaomi Mi4i is a 2nd generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 615. This new chipset has faster cores than the current version of the chipset running 8 x A52 cores running at 1.7ghz. The new SoC has apparently been designed and enginnered in India. Along with the SoC there is 2GB RAM, and 16GB memory. Xiaomi claim Antutu scores are 40,000+.

MIUI Version 6 comes on the Mi4i out of the box, but fans will be happy to learn that this is based on Android 5.0 so you won’t need to wait for updates for some sweet Lollipop Android.

Update 5: What will really set the Mi4i apart from the standard Mi4 is the dual SIM support. This is teh second non-Redmi phone Xiaomi have released with dual SIM support and like the Mi Note the phone offers 4G LTE on both SIMs.

Update 6: The Xiaomi Mi4i has will go on sale for 12,999 INR in India (around $205), but will not be an India exclusive. Other Xiaomi markets can expect the phone to be released later in the year for a similar price. In addition to the Mi4i, Xiaomi have also released the Mi Band in India too.

That’s a wrap for now, but keep posted for our first hands on impressions of the Xiaomi Mi4i coming as soon as Yash get’s his hands on the phone.

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About the author

Andi

Great phone, hope for good price. 🙂
desponent
April 23, 2015
- Jason45
  April 23, 2015
  - balcobomber25
    April 23, 2015
    I prefer the cloud to SD Cards. I have never not had access to it, I don’t pay for it and I never have to worry about damaging/losing a card. I once had an SD card that failed and I lost hundreds of pictures.
    - Caxxo
      April 23, 2015
      - balcobomber25
        April 23, 2015
        Ciarán Kenny
        April 23, 2015
        And do you find it difficult to bring your PS4 and TV on the bus with or do you kinda get used to it after a while?
        balcobomber25
        April 23, 2015
        I have a car which would make it difficult to play any games when driving. If I do take a bus I never really find the need to play games on it, usually I try to get some work done.
        Ace Maguire
        April 24, 2015
        dude u have to agree 10gb useable space and going with no sd card slot is very poor choice.. not everyone prefers cloud and would want to waste their bandwidth on downloading and uploading over capped data connection.
        balcobomber25
        April 24, 2015
        It depends on your priorities. Not everyone uses a smartphone the same way. For some people 10GB of usable space is more than enough, for others it is not.
- Ace Maguire
  April 24, 2015
- Jason45
  April 23, 2015
  - Sayan Sarkar
    April 23, 2015
    It is not a steal deal at all in India too! In india we have the YU Yureka for 8.9k and Lenovo A7000 for the same! Lenovo A7000 has a powerful CPU as compared to the SD 615! It has a 6572M.
    - balcobomber25
      April 24, 2015
  - Balaji Chandrasekaran
    April 23, 2015
    - Jason45
      April 23, 2015
      In China you have Meizu M1 note, Jiayu S3 for example. Pricing is around 199 USD dollar worldwide shipping. If you live in China, you can buy these phones for around 160 usd with similar specs.
      Of course, if you really want a 5 inch phone, then this Xiaomi phone could be an option.
      - Balaji Chandrasekaran
        April 23, 2015
        5.0 inch is usable…and 3150mAh battery …
        INDIAN’s trust Snapdragon Soc..they don’t like MTK
        And now it’s tough for Meizu to enter INDIA given Xiaomi’s dominance
Shahin Mustafa
April 23, 2015
- Andrew P
  April 23, 2015
  - Shahin Mustafa
    April 24, 2015
    Maybe
    The taste and color of all the markers are different. Joke, I do not know whether it is true I have translated. It was my personal opinion.
    - balcobomber25
      April 25, 2015
- balcobomber25
  April 23, 2015
  Xiaomi has the Redmi Note 2 coming out soon if you want a screen over 5 inches.

Sayan Sarkar
April 23, 2015
In India the YU Yureka with a Snapdragon 615, Sony IMX 135 sensor (same as the one found on Mi3) and CM 12 is available for Rs 8,999. It scores about 31.5k in Antutu despite even having a HD display. So I jusn’t don’t know what Xiaomi is trying to say? 40k+ score with the same chip plus a higher resolution (Full HD) display! Are they crazy or what! I accept Mi4i has a better camera and Xiaomi has a track record of building really great camera, but I don’t think the Snapdragon 615 has the image processing unit to use the f2.0 camera to it’s full potential.
On the flipside when Meizu M1 note will launch in India it will shake the market because the MT6572 at a price of Rs 9,999 is a hell better deal than both YU and Mi4i.
- Ace Maguire
  April 23, 2015
  40k score i believe could be coz of 2nd gen 615 SoC. 5″ display in Iphone 6 form factor with JDI Full Hd display thats my selling point.. and if we go by how Miui handle camera processing on mi4 i think we are good.. the only two concern for me is right now didmt hear anything about memory card slot and that it will be flash sale
  - Jason45
    April 23, 2015
    - Ace Maguire
      April 23, 2015
      yup thats a deal breaker for me and i guess many other.. Sold my mi3 for the same reason
  - Sayan Sarkar
    April 23, 2015
    40k score with a Full HD display it really hard to believe. If that happens Snapdragon 615 will be at par with the last generations SD 800/801s! Plus I don’t know what they have changed in the 2nd gen of SD 615! Because the clock speed of the core of both gen are the same. Mediatek 6752 would have better. What say?
    - Ace Maguire
      April 23, 2015
      no doubt Mediatek 6752 is much better, and 615 was qualcomm desperate attempt to counter it.. but as a former mi3 user had high hopes for this one even though it had inferior processor. the only option right is to wait for meizu m1.. and lenevo a7000 over yu anyday
    - Jason45
      April 23, 2015
      I believe the cores are higher clocked in SD615 second generation. That’s why they have reached similar Antutu scores compared to MT6752
      - Ace Maguire
        April 23, 2015
        then there might be heating issues… coz my yureka heats up quiet a bit.. i guess used Mi3 is still a better option than this… the only upgrade worth is display tech and the camera
      - Sayan Sarkar
        April 23, 2015
        In most probability unboxed Mi3 would be available through Overcart in India within a few months. At a price of about 10k it would be a much better deal!
        I personally had bought a Redmi 1s from Overcart and they provide damn good service!
      - fido futte
        April 24, 2015
        Yes , 2-gen has same clock as MT6752, and SoC quality should be highere than MT6752 , and price is the same- that is why they use the 615- 615 should be very stabil. I am also looking forward to Andi do an test of the “Newman Button” , which as far as i have heard should have very good spec and also using the 615 , but maybe it is the 1-gen version at 1,5Ghz
- Yash Garg
  April 23, 2015
  To answer your question on AnTuTu: the Mi 4i has a 2nd gen Snapdragon 615 chip with faster cores which makes the difference.
  - Sayan Sarkar
    April 24, 2015
    Even if it does we are missing out on one very important point. SD 615 GPU is simply not powerful enough. Has they increased the clockspeed? MT6752 has a much much better GPU!
    - balcobomber25
      April 24, 2015
seven7dust
April 23, 2015
lot of excitement about the product , too bad giz china readers will look at Sd 615 and laugh , but it’s more than enough for 90% of the people out there.
good price , impressive screen and camera.
- Sayan Sarkar
  April 23, 2015
  - seven7dust
    April 23, 2015
    - balcobomber25
      April 23, 2015
      They are also infamous for horrible overall build quality. And if the camera on the Mi4i is the same as the Mi4 (conflicting reports right now as to which camera they used) then the Yu Yureka doesn’t come close.
      - April 23, 2015
        Barra mentioned it’s the same sensor as the one used on the Mi Note. Regardless, even if it is the one from the Mi 4, it easily beats the Yureka — unless software/processor screws it up.
- Jason45
  April 23, 2015
  Camera (on the back) seems to be ok for its price range, not impressive in my opinion.
  I wonder if the Samsung or Sony camera module will really give the same results. Maybe you will get some reviews that the camera is ok (because for example you have the Samsung camera module inside) and some other reviews say the camera is very good (because a Sony camera module is inside)
  - balcobomber25
    April 23, 2015
    They announced the camera is the same one on the Mi4/Note which is very good especially at this price range.
    - Jason45
      April 23, 2015
      But you will most likely never know what rear camera module you are going to get when you buy this phone: Samsung or Sony.
      If you can choose, then I rather go for the Sony camera module, especially if it is the same as on the mi4/note (sony imx214).
      - balcobomber25
        April 23, 2015
        What makes you think this? As Yash pointed out above Hugo specifically said it is the same exact sensor on the Mi Note (Sony).
        Jason45
        April 25, 2015
        Go to the official xiaomi site, it is mentioned Sony/Samsung 13 MP camera: http://www.mi.com/in/mi4i/camera/#camera-slide-next
        So, it is possible that they are using the same sensor as on the mi note, there is also a possibility that they are using a samsung rear camera sensor.
        This info was also mentioned on a slide in the press conference. They are not going to write Sony/Samsung 13MP camera for no reason. Just like they are using two suppliers for their screens: Sharp/JDI.
        balcobomber25
        April 25, 2015
        i saw that too but we don’t really know why it says that. Maybe they mean rear (Sony) /front (Samsung). Or maybe they were undecided which one they were using when they made the website. Hugo specifically said though that it was the Sony sensor used in the Mi Note.
- drifter77
  September 5, 2015
  I’m only worried about the SD615 overheating, or picking up heat in general usage. Is the 2nd gen SD615 any better in terms of thermal management?

pueblo23
April 23, 2015
hi, what LTE bands does it support? It will be available in India and all XIAOMI markets = China and?? so whats global about this phone? i like the specs and prices too though
- Sayan Sarkar
  April 23, 2015
  - pueblo23
    April 23, 2015
    so not global 🙂 but if the phone will support european FDD LTE bands 800/1800/2100/2600 i will buy it. SoC is capable to do so.
- - pueblo23
    April 23, 2015
    if there are FDD-LTE B3/B7 bands only i will buy some other, more europe user friendly device…pitty
    - Jason45
      April 23, 2015
      It is mentioned on the official site that it only has fdd B3 and B7 bands
  - fido futte
    April 24, 2015
Guaire
April 23, 2015
- Jason45
  April 23, 2015
  Agreed, resellers price is most likely around 250-270 USD dollar. Meizu M1 note or Jiayu S3 can now be bought for only around 199 USD dollar or less. Only if you really want a 5 inch phone, then this Xiaomi phone could be an option.
  - balcobomber25
    April 23, 2015
    Serious question: Where are you finding the M1 fo $199 or less? The cheapest I have seen it is around $220. I am looking to get it for the wife.
    - Jason45
      April 23, 2015
      On aliexpress. If I want to buy something (whether it is a phone or something else, I usually go to aliexpress instead of ebay nowadays). You have to look for sellers that have great positive feedback, because just like on ebay, there are scammers. Of course, you will have buyers protection on this site.
      A quick search reveals you can get the Note M1 for 199.99 USD dollar from a reliable reseller with great positive feedback. Jiayu S3 for around 190 USD.
      - balcobomber25
        April 23, 2015
        I have had bad experiences on Aliexpress even from trusted sellers with positive feedback, I avoid it like the plaque.
        Ace Maguire
        April 24, 2015
        care to share? coz i m planning to buying either M1 or Jiayu S3
        balcobomber25
        April 24, 2015
        I bought two phones on Aliexpress both were from trusted sellers with positive feedback, both ended up being fakes. I got my money back thanks to Paypal’s fraud protection but I am good with going through that hassle again. Since then I have used three websites almost exclusively: Antelife (which many don’t like), Merimobiles and 1949deal. I never had any issues with any of these three and always get my phones quick.
        Ace Maguire
        April 24, 2015
        cool thanks for the info
    - Sayan Sarkar
      April 23, 2015
      The way things are going it looks like soon Indian would start reselling phones! 😀 Mi4i for 13k, Mi3 for 14k (lower than the price for which it sold in China), Lenovo A7000 for 8.9k (it sells for 999 Yuan i.e. approx. 10k in China), Meizu M1 note for a predicted 10k! Chinese brands are flooding India with cheap and VFM tech!
    - Angry Mobile Nerd
      April 23, 2015
      I thought you said you were in Shenzhen just a while back, did you try the Meizu store there?
      Also, resellers in Hong Kong have them for around 1400/1700 HKD ($180/$220 USD) for 16/32GB versions.
      - balcobomber25
        April 23, 2015
        I was in Shenzen on business but really didn’t have time to shop. I was able to make it to a few of the markets but didn’t know at the time my wife needed a new phone so was more just window shopping.
Tomáš Jedno
April 23, 2015
lte bands?
antidumb
April 23, 2015
zenfone 2 (2GB version) still lot better option tho, but if you want better design i choose this
- balcobomber25
  April 23, 2015
  If you want better design choose anything, the Zenfone 2 is one of the ugliest phones I have ever seen.
Simon
April 23, 2015
Come with Lollipop 5.0 – MIUI v6, too cool.
realjjj
April 23, 2015
Another overpriced Xiaomi, they are doing great at launching the wrong thing at the wrong price this year.

Xiaomi Mi4i “Mi 4 India” launched at $205 (12,999 INR), coming to all Xiaomi markets later in the year

Andi

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