I loved the look and feel of the Xiaomi Mi4i, but the performance and optimisation issues upset the device as a whole. Is the new Xiaomi Mi4c any better? I go hands on with the latest Xiaomi Mi4c in my first hands on impressions.
The Xiaomi Mi4c launched a few weeks ago and we have already received our review unit from shop.gizchina.com. Physically the phone is very similar to the Xiaomi Mi4i, but it has an updated chipset and also ships with MIUI 7 Beta (or at least our review model did). After a few days with the phone here are my first impressions.
Xiaomi Mi4c first impressions – Design
Physically the new Xiaomi Mi4c and previous Xiaomi Mi4i are almost identical but not quite. Both phones have a 5-inch 1920 x 1080 FHD display and both have the same polycarbonate bodies, but there are a few slight differences.
The new Xiaomi Mi4c ships with a USB Type C plug where as the Mi4i has a standard USB. Another slight difference is the colours of the phones. The Mi4i is a brighter, purer, white colour, and the Mi4i has English markings on the back.
Other than that they both look and feel the same, which is perfect for me. I love the 5-inch form factor of this phone, the soft to the touch finish and the super convenient one handed operation. No matter how accustomed I am to using 5.5-inch+ phones, its always a pleasure to get my hands on a decent 5-inch phone.
For those of you not familiar with either Mi4i or Mi4c here is a quick tour around the exterior of the phone. The front has a 5-inch FHD display with 5 mega-pixel front facing camera.
Xiaomi used a polycarbonate unibody design which keeps the Xiaomi Mi4c slim while retaining a large battery. The white body (other colours are coming soon) has the power and volume rockers located on the right (the same as all Xiaomi devices). There is a 3.5mm headphone jack and IR remote sensor at the top, and USB Type C in the base.
The rear of the Mi4c has a speaker, Mi logo, dual tone LED flash and 13 mega-pixel camera. Xiaomi are using both Sony and Samsung rear sensors on the Mi4c, I’m not sure which my phone has but I’m more than happy with the performance.
Xiaomi Mi4c Impressions – Hardware
While a lot of the Xiaomi Mi4c is the same as the Mi4i there are differences in hardware. That terrible Snapdragon 615 chipset (which has ruined plenty of good phones) has been ripped out and a Snapdragon 808 has been put in its place. The 808 is a 6-core processor with Adreno 418 GPU, and so far runs much better than the SD615.
Xiaomi will eventually release 2 versions of the Mi4c, but so far only the base model is available and this is what I have on review. To confirm this means that my Xiaomi Mi4c has 2GB RAM and 16GB internal memory (another model with 3GB RAM will be launched). If you think 16GB won’t be enough storage for you then you had better wait for the 3GB RAM model which will get 32GB internal memory. Neither version has SD card support, but both offer dual SIM standby.
USB Type C is a change on the Mi4c, but it isn’t the faster 3.0 so no super fast data transfer speeds. There is fast charging though and the large 3080mAh battery can charge to around %40 in an hour.
The Mi4c also has a new “Edge Tap” feature. What it basically does is allow you to tap the edge of the phone to take a photo. It might seem like a gimmick but it is such a neat little feature I find myself using it quite a lot, it’s especially good for selfies. By default only camera support is on, but head in to settings and you can also set up “edge tap” to work like a back button too.
Xiaomi Mi4c Impressions – Photo samples
Xiaomi Mi4c Impressions – Performance
I’ve not really had time to play any games on the Xiaomi Mi4c yet, but I can see that the new phone is much better optimised than the previous Mi4i. General day to day performance is blistering, the phone is fast and there is no lag or slow down. What makes the performance even more impressive is that I’m running a Beta of MIUI 7.
There are no crazy over heating issues yet either. Using the phone for general smartphone use can build a little heat, which is to be expected, but we aren’t seeing anything that raises any alarms. I’m so impressed with MIUI 7 that, I’ll be updating the Mi4i to it this weekend too.
Xiaomi Mi4c Impressions – Gallery
Xiaomi Mi4c Impressions – Specifications
| Model: | Mi4C |
| Sim Card: |
|
| Color: | White | Black | Blue | Pink | Yellow |
| Capacity | RAM: 2GB
ROM: 16GB |
| Multi-Languages | English,Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese |
| Chipset | CPU: Snapdragon™ Snapdragon™ 808 CPU, 1.8GHz
GPU: Adreno 418 GPU |
| System | MIUI 7 base on Android 5.1 OS |
| Screen | Display Size: 5″ Sharp/JDI Full HD display
Resolution: 1920 x 1080 resolution, 441 PPI Multitouch: Yes Technology: All-new Sunlight display with hardware-level,pixel contrast adjustments IPS 178° wide viewing angle |
| Camera | Rear Camera:13MP Sony/Samsung camera,5-element lens, f/2.0 aperture
Front Camera: 5MP front camera, f/2.0 aperture Features: Two-tone flash,Supports manual mode, real-time HDR, Torch Supports 1080p video recordings Others: 5-element lens, f/2.0 aperture |
| Network and Wireless Connectivity | 4G FDD-LTE: Bands 1(2100 MHz)/ Bands 3(1800 MHz)/ Bands 7(2600 MHz)
TDD-LTE:Bands 38(TD 2600) / 39(TD 1900) / 40(TD 2300) / 41(TD 2500) 3G: TD-SCDMA:Bands 34 (TD 2000) / 39(TD 1900) WCDMA:Bands 1(2100 MHz) / 2(1900 MHz) / 5(850 MHz) / 8(900 MHz) CDMA 2000:Bands BC0 / BC1 2G GSM: Bands 2(1900 MHz) / 3(1800 MHz) / 5(850 MHz) / 8(900 MHz) CDMA 1X:BC0 / BC1 GPS:GPS, AGPS,GLONASS,Positioning by BDS(BeiDou Navigation Satellite System) Bluetooth:Bluetooth 4.1,Bluetooth HID WiFi: 802.11 a/b/g/n, 802.11ac wave 2 include MU- MIMO, supports 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands，Wi-Fi Display,Wi-Fi Direct OTG:Yes USB: Type-C Port |
| Battery capacity and life |
3080mAh all-day battery Sony/Samsung/ATL 4.4V lithium-ion polymer battery 3080mAh (typ) 3000mAH (min) Standby Time: About 2~3 days |
| Sensor | Electronic compass,Gravity sensor,Light sensor,Gyroscope,Hall sensor,Proximity sensor |
| Multi-media | Supported video formats: Supports: H.264–Baseline/Main/High, MPEG4–simple/ASP, H.264–0, VC-1/WMV9–Simple/Main, VC-1–Advanced Supported audio formats:Supports: PCM, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+ , MP3, WMA – V9 and V10, AMR – NB and WB, FLAC, APE |
| Size | Dimensions: 138.1mm×69.6m×7.8mm
Net Weight: 132g |
Xiaomi Mi4c Impressions – Conclusion
I will continue to use the Xiaomi Mi4c through the weekend and get some gaming time on the device, but so far I am confident that the Mi4c is the phone the Mi4i should have been. This though fills me with mixed emotions. On the one hand I am happy that we finally have a decent product to take up the lead in the flagship mid-range Xiaomi fleet, but on the other I’m upset for the owners of the Mi4i and what they could have had.
We have pushed the Xiaomi Mi4c review ahead and it will be complete on Monday. If you have any questions about the Xiaomi Mi4c let us know.
Andi… Typo. Mi4c ships with USB type C not Mi4i
got it thanks
i got some questions, how much ram is free on boot without a lot of third party apps already in it?
how is the picture quality in comparision to the letv or other devices? (your opinion)
i’m currently looking to either get the 3/16 MI4 or the 3/32 mi4c, which one would you reccomend? its more like style vs features?
i’m also a bit wondering i’ve seen tons of different antutu results with it i’ve seen a person get 56k (which is close to the xiaomi claimed 57k in the presentation)
but i’ve also seen a lot with 40-45k and your 50k i’m just wodnering if the persons with 40k used like soemthing like balanced mode or is it the firmware? not sure but i guess we’ll find out
maybe i should also go for the 2/16 version as i was always happy with my 16gb phones in terms of storage..i’m more worried about the ram consumption of miui with my 6-7apps running in the background ..i dunno i just hate if if phones reload an app i dont know why ^^
1) 1GB
2) Picture quality. It’s as good as the Le1, obviously not up there with the Mi Note and OP2.
3) I personally don’t like the design of the Mi4, so I would say the Mi4C.
4) My 50k score is in the high performance setting in MIUI 7 (which is a bit different from in MIUI 6) I guess the lower scores are in the default battery setting. 57K might be on a internal version of MIUI 7 and might be what we can expect on the final MIUI 7 release. But you aren’t going to notice the difference from 45k – 55k in real world usage to be honest.
5) Better to have more memory just in case
Not trying to thread hijack here, but Andi, it would be great if you were to try MIUI 7 on the Redmi Note 2… Your version of that device used MIUI 6, and you were seemingly not so impressed with it. But as MIUI 7 is supposedly much speedier, I wonder if that would change your opinion of the Redmi Note 2?
Hey,
nice review 🙂
did you have a chance to try it with a phone case? regarding to the tapping actions, does it works with a phone case, or only if you tap the phone itself?
thx
Does anyone know how edge tap feature is implemented, technically? Some new sensor, or good old accelerometer? 🙂
Hey – I am now using an Lg G4 which has sd808 – i was surprised to see that i had 57k antutu points more than most of the youtubers – recently my friend bought an Lg G4 and had only 52k antutu he was like mad at me – aparently the korean rom is somewhat difderent – One of my relatives got a blue version from Best buy and he haf only 47 k lol
i agree with anything that Andi said.
i own a MI4 3/16 and i would totally change it for the MI4c 3/32.
the only pro about the MI4 is the metal frame, but i don’t think it’s a feature at all since it makes the phone kinda heavy.
Antutu scores can vary wildly from one device to the next. I ran 10 straight Antutu tests on my Meizu MX5 when I first got it, I had scores ranging from 49,000-57,000. There was no rhyme or reason to it. Antutu is nothing more than numbers to compare for bragging rights. In real world performance the numbers mean very little.
How about the infrared sensor? Is there? For what?
yes, there is an IR sensor, and the reason for implementation is that you can use it as a remote control for TV, Home audio / video, AC etc…
it is just as perfect as in original mi4!
finally I can control my dslr without any remotes!
IR sensors are pretty cool they act like a universal remote and there are thousands of devices they are compatible with.
is very nice to see such a phone perform nicely hope the finil OS will retain all the wonderfull performance you mentioned Andi. can you elaborate on the performance settings rigth from the settings menu? is that like stock? is it something like tose apps for rooted phones that will control how fast the SoCs can perform in order to keep them cool ???
in a different NOTE: most likely if you guys here are like me you do look around other tech pages and you tube. so DID YOU GUYS CHECKED THE BESSELS AT THE NEW LG V10 ((nice phone btw but clearly will be crazy expensive$$$)) reminds me of some brand around here seen often…. cough cough, elep… cough cough… 🙂
audio quality with speaker and earphones ?
too expensiv
No you’re wro….. never mind
all criticism accepted my friend 🙂
Compared to the nexus 5X, this a good buy
Andi… Couple of typos in first impressions – design section, second para. Mi4c ships with USB type C not Mi4i
got it thanks
Andi, could you please put an end to quick charge issues people are commenting all around the web? They say there’s nothing quick in quick charge 2.0 on this phone. Is it true? 40% in an hour? That’s not quick at all. If the current is always constant, 2.5 hours for a full charge doesn’t impress me much. How long would it take without that feature? 🙂 Last but not least, they could’ve implemented usb type c based on usb 3.1 standard. Such a pity. This way it’s nothing special, except you can’t connect it the wrong way…
40% in an hour is horrible for quick charge, I can 100% in an hour on the MX5.
I get you. Even my E. Aurora charges to 50% to 60% in an hour and it didn’t even marketed that feature. :-I
But Aurora has smaller 2500mah battery, so in the end it’s about the same charging speed. But I agree, it’s not worth mentioning, as it’s more a con than a pro. If they were excluding QC2.0 from the specs, I would probably say nevermind, but this way it’s close to lying. If all of this is true, I’m afraid it’s a deal-breaker for me. I didn’t expecting that from Xiaomi. But let’s hear what full review will say on Monday…
Ecoo Aurora Plus (ej. E04 3gb) has 3000mah and nothing on the performance wise makes me think otherwise. I play Asphalt an Gangsta Vegas for 4 to 5 hours while at the same time having to chat and stuff so that 2500 I don’t believe it as accurate maybe at the worst 2900 or I got lucky and my battery out performs!!!
Sorry my bad. First link I opened said 2500mah, now I see other sites show 3000mah.
is the mx5 a good phone? can you comment about its’ battery life, camera, wifi and over-all stability. thanks.
I love the MX5. Battery life is excellent with normal usage I get almost two days of usage, and the quick charge I can go from 0-100% in about 50 minutes. Camera I wasn’t a fan of at first, but after one update from Meizu and switching out the stock app for Open Camera it is very good. Wifi I have had no issues, it works great wherever I use it. I have had no stability issues with it, the only complaint I have with it is occasionally the fingerprint sensor acts up and won’t read my fingerprint. Doesn’t happen often, maybe once a week and if I shut the screen off and turn it on, it works fine.
Thanks, I’m thinking of dumping my bt2 for a mx5.
It really is a great phone, overall I would give it a 8.5 out of 10. Another few software updates and it could be a 9 (very few phones I would ever give a 10).
i got some questions, how much ram is free on boot without a lot of third party apps already in it?
how is the picture quality in comparision to the letv or other devices? (your opinion)
i’m currently looking to either get the 3/16 MI4 or the 3/32 mi4c, which one would you reccomend? its more like style vs features?
i’m also a bit wondering i’ve seen tons of different antutu results with it i’ve seen a person get 56k (which is close to the xiaomi claimed 57k in the presentation)
but i’ve also seen a lot with 40-45k and your 50k i’m just wodnering if the persons with 40k used like soemthing like balanced mode or is it the firmware? not sure but i guess we’ll find out
maybe i should also go for the 2/16 version as i was always happy with my 16gb phones in terms of storage..i’m more worried about the ram consumption of miui with my 6-7apps running in the background ..i dunno i just hate if if phones reload an app i dont know why ^^
1) 1GB
2) Picture quality. It’s as good as the Le1, obviously not up there with the Mi Note and OP2, but better than the MI4i.
3) I personally don’t like the design of the Mi4, so I would say the Mi4C.
4) My 50k score is in the high performance setting in MIUI 7 (which is a bit different from in MIUI 6) I guess the lower scores are in the default battery setting. 57K might be on a internal version of MIUI 7 and might be what we can expect on the final MIUI 7 release. But you aren’t going to notice the difference from 45k – 55k in real world usage to be honest.
5) Better to have more memory just in case.
Out of interest I just installed MIUI 7 on the MI4i to see if it would perform better. No joy, the Mi4c is killing it, the Mi4i still overheats doing nothing.
Hey – I am now using an Lg G4 which has sd808 – i was surprised to see that i had 57k antutu points more than most of the youtubers – recently my friend bought an Lg G4 and had only 52k antutu he was like mad at me – aparently the korean rom is somewhat difderent – One of my relatives got a blue version from Best buy and he haf only 47 k lol
i agree with anything that Andi said.
i own a MI4 3/16 and i would totally change it for the MI4c 3/32.
the only pro about the MI4 is the metal frame, but i don’t think it’s a feature at all since it makes the phone kinda heavy.
Antutu scores can vary wildly from one device to the next. I ran 10 straight Antutu tests on my Meizu MX5 when I first got it, I had scores ranging from 49,000-57,000. There was no rhyme or reason to it. Antutu is nothing more than numbers to compare for bragging rights. In real world performance the numbers mean very little.
Not trying to thread hijack here, but Andi, it would be great if you were to try MIUI 7 on the Redmi Note 2… Your version of that device used MIUI 6, and you were seemingly not so impressed with it. But as MIUI 7 is supposedly much speedier, I wonder if that would change your opinion of the Redmi Note 2?
Hey,
nice review 🙂
did you have a chance to try it with a phone case? regarding to the tapping actions, does it works with a phone case, or only if you tap the phone itself?
thx
Does anyone know how edge tap feature is implemented, technically? Some new sensor, or good old accelerometer? 🙂
How about the infrared sensor? Is there? For what?
yes, there is an IR sensor, and the reason for implementation is that you can use it as a remote control for TV, Home audio / video, AC etc…
IR sensors are pretty cool they act like a universal remote and there are thousands of devices they are compatible with.
Too bad no sd card. but what about the battery lifetime?
Camera doesn’t look too impressive to me.
Yeah. Surprised here, too. Andi is happy, but the pictures don’t really impress that much. In bright light it looks fine (like most of the phones), but the dino one is of very average quality.
Hi Andy, great phone imo especially if you compacte it with the Nexus 5X. Could you please check the following:
1. How YOU feel about the comparison with the Nexus 5X? 😉
2. How much space do you have with no apps installed?
3. Is all space available for installing apps (so directly shared with the same space for files, pictures, audio, etc.)?
4. How is the performance if you have over 100 apps installed?
5. What are the features of the camera? HDR, burst, slomo for video?
6. Does the IR also work in the EU for daily use?
Looking forward to your review!
is very nice to see such a phone perform nicely hope the final OS will retain all the wonderfull performance you mentioned Andi. can you elaborate on the performance settings rigth from the settings menu? is that like stock? is it something like tose apps for rooted phones that will control how fast the SoCs can perform in order to keep them cool ???
in a different NOTE: most likely if you guys here are like me you do look around other tech pages and you tube. so DID YOU GUYS CHECKED THE BESSELS AT THE NEW LG V10 ((nice phone btw but clearly will be crazy expensive$$$)) reminds me of some brand around here seen often…. cough cough, elep… cough cough… 🙂
audio quality with speaker and earphones ?
too expensiv
No you’re wro….. never mind
all criticism accepted my friend 🙂
Compared to the nexus 5X, this a good buy
in one of your previous posts about the MI4c I’ve read a comment about the company Tronsmart in which they claim that the MI4c doesn’t work with QC2.0 and they claim that the charging time is over 2.5 hours.
can you confirm this please?
Andi just said “battery can charge to around %40 in an hour”.
As result, 80% in 2 hours… Yes, 2.5 hours seems legit, so it really doesn’t look like it has qc :-/
i missed that part.
thanks for pointing me out.
so it looks like it’s confirmed now.
very disappointing and deal breaker for me.
i have settled with way too many things already, i can’t add QC to the list.
Are you thinking that the Mi4c is still a great value for the money?
i wouldn’t considering buying because that’s a deal breaker for me.
although i still consider it a big bang for the buck.
what else can you get at this price range? Some MT6752 /MT6753 that don’t have fast charging anyway and the best ones (Meizu note or Jiayu S3) are already 1 year older.
If we take the same SoC then you have put aside 400$.
so yes, it still has a great value.
how would i spend my 250/300$ ?
i would probably go with the LeTV x600 (199$ on honorbuy) or the LeTV x800 (299$ on shop.gizchina.com)
Is it because of the quick charge? Apparently it is much more about the charger provided by Xiaomi. Check the first message. I admit that for $200 is really tempting but am afraid by its size. Redmi Note 2 might be a great deal too but some people had hardware issues with it. I am still considering the 3gb/32gb rom version of the Mi4c, hope the price will fall below $245.
I meant the LeTV x600 for $200 is really tempting.
yes, because the quick charge.
Apparently a well known shop in france will sell the LG G4 during a couple of hours at a special price of 359€ – 50€ = 309€ (where 50€ is an offer made by LG). I really don’t know what to do now. When I look at the price of the MI4C which around $275 for the 3gb Ram version, adding DHL shipping costs + a few accessories the final price will be above 300€. I seriously believe that the Mi4c is overpriced.
The MI4c is anything but an overpriced phone.
Xiaomi charges 200$ for the basic version and 250$ for the premium one.
which one is the best deal for Muto? the LG G4 (for the reasons you explained above)
which one is the best deal for Bruce Lee from China?
The MI4c since the G4 costs 200$ more.
which one would be for me living in the US? i would say the MI4c since i can get the MI4c for 300$ plus shipping while the G4 is sold on eBay for 410$ plus shipping.
Thanks for the reply, you are probably right. I have seen on gsmarena that MI4c has heating issue. Just wondering if it will be fixed with system updates. I don’t think that I will be able to get a LG G4 at FNAC during their offer, many people are aware of it so if the stock is limited it is going to be very challenging. I am only interested by the Mi4c, just waiting the black version of 3gb ram version.
even if i trust Xiaomi i don’t give them any special treatment.
when a new phone comes out i always wait a couple of months until it gets fully reviewed.
speaking of heating…
all Snapdragon phones run a little “warm” since the SD800.
What will you get in coming months? Just curious…
i need to change my phone (MI4) but not necessarily soon.
I’m planning to do it by December.
for this reason I’m not in a rush and i promised myself to wait until the new SoC (Helio x20, SD820, SD620) come out.
there are good deals out there now (LeTVs, OPT,MI4c,Redmi Note 2,Honor 7,MX5,G4,MotoX,Ulefone Paris…).
i honestly don’t need the power of the new upcoming SoCs but i’d like to get the premium features you see on flagships (great camera, design, fingerprint scanner,NFC..).
i have a feeling that the new MI5 is going to be epic.
I wouldn’t say there are heating issues. Here’s some info for italian native speakers (temps after some FIFA16 gaming):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vThGo2I61I&feature=youtu.be&t=11m55s
According to a seller, the back camera on the standard MI4C is random. Sometimes it is sony and sometimes it is samsung. Just hope that the premium will get a sony camera.
that’s absolutely right.
it can be a Sony or a Samsung sensor.
that shouldn’t be a concern though because both sensors are equivalent.
optics and camera module are the same so you won’t tell the difference in the final picture.
Which shop?
Yeah, QC wasn’t a feature i valued that much in the past, but now i think it’s a nice feature to have: with mere minutes of recharge you can have enough battery for the rest of the day… Still fan of big ass battery phones though 😀
same here.
once you experience fast charging you can’t even picture going back.
And I’m also in love with big batteries.
i barely use my laptop anymore, i do everything through the phone and even a 3000 mha battery it’s getting tight.
needless to say i have replaced all the chargers with the new QC2.0 certified ones, even the one in the cars.
How about sar value of the device?
Andi, could you please put an end to quick charge issues people are commenting all around the web? They say there’s nothing quick in quick charge 2.0 on this phone. Is it true? 40% in an hour? That’s not quick at all. If the current is always constant, 2.5 hours for a full charge doesn’t impress me much. How long would it take without that feature? 🙂 Last but not least, they could’ve implemented usb type c based on usb 3.1 standard. Such a pity. This way it’s nothing special, except you can’t connect it the wrong way. Eagerly waiting for a full review. Then I’ll decide whether to buy it or not. Maybe from gizchina shop if 3/32gb version comes in next 10 days or so.
40% in an hour is horrible for quick charge, I can 100% in an hour on the MX5. Other phones I have used have been anywhere from 50 to 70 minutes for 100%.
I get you. Even my E. Aurora charges to 50% to 60% in an hour and it didn’t even marketed that feature. :-I
But Aurora has smaller 2500mah battery, so in the end it’s about the same charging speed. But I agree, it’s not worth mentioning, as it’s more a con than a pro. If they were excluding QC2.0 from the specs, I would probably say nevermind, but this way it’s close to lying. If all of this is true, I’m afraid it’s a deal-breaker for me. I didn’t expecting that from Xiaomi. But let’s hear what full review will say on Monday…
is the mx5 a good phone? can you comment about its’ battery life, camera, wifi and over-all stability. thanks.
Ecoo Aurora Plus (ej. E04 3gb) has 3000mah and nothing on the performance wise makes me think otherwise. I play Asphalt an Gangsta Vegas for 4 to 5 hours while at the same time having to chat and stuff so that 2500 I don’t believe it as accurate maybe at the worst 2900 or I got lucky and my battery out performs!!!
Sorry my bad. First link I opened said 2500mah, now I see other sites show 3000mah.
I love the MX5. Battery life is excellent with normal usage I get almost two days of usage, and the quick charge I can go from 0-100% in about 50 minutes. Camera I wasn’t a fan of at first, but after one update from Meizu and switching out the stock app for Open Camera it is very good. Wifi I have had no issues, it works great wherever I use it. I have had no stability issues with it, the only complaint I have with it is occasionally the fingerprint sensor acts up and won’t read my fingerprint. Doesn’t happen often, maybe once a week and if I shut the screen off and turn it on, it works fine.
Thanks, I’m thinking of dumping my bt2 for a mx5.
It really is a great phone, overall I would give it a 8.5 out of 10. Another few software updates and it could be a 9 (very few phones I would ever give a 10).
Too bad no sd card. but what about the battery lifetime?
Camera doesn’t look too impressive to me.
Yeah. Surprised here, too. Andi is happy, but the pictures don’t really impress that much. In bright light it looks fine (like most of the phones), but the dino one is of very average quality.
Hi Andy, great phone imo especially if you compacte it with the Nexus 5X. Could you please check the following:
1. How YOU feel about the comparison with the Nexus 5X? 😉
2. How much space do you have with no apps installed?
3. Is all space available for installing apps (so directly shared with the same space for files, pictures, audio, etc.)?
4. How is the performance if you have over 100 apps installed?
5. What are the features of the camera? HDR, burst, slomo for video?
6. Does the IR also work in the EU for daily use?
Looking forward to your review!
how does it compare to the Redmi Note 2 Prime?
Why are you trying to compare phones from two different shelves? Prime is 100$ cheaper phone and I assure you you can feel it in your hands straight away.
in one of your previous posts about the MI4c I’ve read a comment about the company Tronsmart in which they claim that the MI4c doesn’t work with QC2.0 and they claim that the charging time is over 2.5 hours.
can you confirm this please?
Andi just said “battery can charge to around %40 in an hour”.
As result, 80% in 2 hours… Yes, 2.5 hours seems legit, so it really doesn’t look like it has qc :-/
i missed that part.
thanks for pointing me out.
so it looks like it’s confirmed now.
very disappointing and deal breaker for me.
i have settled with way too many things already, i can’t add QC to the list.
Are you thinking that the Mi4c is still a great value for the money?
Yeah, QC wasn’t a feature i valued that much in the past, but now i think it’s a nice feature to have: with mere minutes of recharge you can have enough battery for the rest of the day… Still fan of big ass battery phones though 😀
same here.
once you experience fast charging you can’t even picture going back.
And I’m also in love with big batteries.
i barely use my laptop anymore, i do everything through the phone and even a 3000 mha battery it’s getting tight.
needless to say i have replaced all the chargers with the new QC2.0 certified ones, even the one in the cars.
i wouldn’t considering buying because that’s a deal breaker for me.
although i still consider it a big bang for the buck.
what else can you get at this price range? Some MT6752 /MT6753 that don’t have fast charging anyway and the best ones (Meizu note or Jiayu S3) are already 1 year older.
If we take the same SoC then you have put aside 400$.
so yes, it still has a great value.
how would i spend my 250/300$ ?
i would probably go with the LeTV x600 (199$ on honorbuy) or the LeTV x800 (299$ on shop.gizchina.com)
Is it because of the quick charge? Apparently it is much more about the charger provided by Xiaomi. Check the first message. I admit that for $200 is really tempting but am afraid by its size. Redmi Note 2 might be a great deal too but some people had hardware issues with it. I am still considering the 3gb/32gb rom version of the Mi4c, hope the price will fall below $245.
I meant the LeTV x600 for $200 is really tempting.
yes, because the quick charge.
Apparently a well known shop in france will sell the LG G4 during a couple of hours at a special price of 359€ – 50€ = 309€ (where 50€ is an offer made by LG). I really don’t know what to do now. When I look at the price of the MI4C which around $275 for the 3gb Ram version, adding DHL shipping costs + a few accessories the final price will be above 300€. I seriously believe that the Mi4c is overpriced.
The MI4c is anything but an overpriced phone.
Xiaomi charges 200$ for the basic version and 250$ for the premium one.
which one is the best deal for Muto? the LG G4 (for the reasons you explained above)
which one is the best deal for Bruce Lee from China?
The MI4c since the G4 costs 200$ more.
which one would be for me living in the US? i would say the MI4c since i can get the MI4c for 300$ plus shipping while the G4 is sold on eBay for 410$ plus shipping.
Which shop?
Thanks for the reply, you are probably right. I have seen on gsmarena that MI4c has heating issue. Just wondering if it will be fixed with system updates. I don’t think that I will be able to get a LG G4 at FNAC during their offer, many people are aware of it so if the stock is limited it is going to be very challenging. I am only interested by the Mi4c, just waiting the black version of 3gb ram version.
According to a seller, the back camera on the standard MI4C is random. Sometimes it is sony and sometimes it is samsung. Just hope that the premium will get a sony camera.
even if i trust Xiaomi i don’t give them any special treatment.
when a new phone comes out i always wait a couple of months until it gets fully reviewed.
speaking of heating…
all Snapdragon phones run a little “warm” since the SD800.
that’s absolutely right.
it can be a Sony or a Samsung sensor.
that shouldn’t be a concern though because both sensors are equivalent.
optics and camera module are the same so you won’t tell the difference in the final picture.
What will you get in coming months? Just curious…
I wouldn’t say there are heating issues. Here’s some info for italian native speakers (temps after some FIFA16 gaming):
i need to change my phone (MI4) but not necessarily soon.
I’m planning to do it by December.
for this reason I’m not in a rush and i promised myself to wait until the new SoC (Helio x20, SD820, SD620) come out.
there are good deals out there now (LeTVs, OPT,MI4c,Redmi Note 2,Honor 7,MX5,G4,MotoX,Ulefone Paris…).
i honestly don’t need the power of the new upcoming SoCs but i’d like to get the premium features you see on flagships (great camera, design, fingerprint scanner,NFC..).
i have a feeling that the new MI5 is going to be epic.
How about sar value of the device?
how does it compare to the Redmi Note 2 Prime?
Why are you trying to compare phones from two different shelves? Prime is 100$ cheaper phone and I assure you you can feel it in your hands straight away.
Wouldn’t that be just too beautiful if they didn’t spoil something for once. USB-C, but not USB 3.0 one?? WTF? Why did they take the SD slot away? QC only exists on parper it looks and I don’t think NFC is present here.
Is it just impossible for them to build a complete phone for once? Sooo close to building an absolute hit!
Also, it’s priced to close to a current flagship, especially, when we consider the downsides.
Xiaomi sucks!
? it is not priced close to the current flagship the mi note pro
band 20 is only needed for a very small amount of european countries and in those even only a few need that, its a chinese company and they build it for china, so why would they support every band everywhere?
i can tell you they will probably sell as well as always.
Band 20 is very useful and is growing fast in EU, so yes, we need it. I thought their flagship is still Mi4 and sizes are comparable if you havent noticed.
They will sell well? Mi4i could be considered well for some small Chinese producer, but not for Xiaomi and these are amounts theyre about to reach.
Is this really all you had to say for all downsides I listed?
And already, as SnowyCat said, why should they add Band 20 (European Band), if this phone is exclusively for the chinese market?
Seriously – just this one saves the day, out of everything I listed??
Why give it any European bands at all then? Either you do something right, or you don’t even start doing it – easy as that.
Are you serious? You just can’t talk this way only because they didn’t add one of european band (reason explained).
– NFC and Micro SD this isn’t even the first Xiaomi’s smartphone without them. (Same with Oneplus Two in the Android Pay era). Too bad.
– USB 3.0 type C. Really? Is this the first smartphone without it? (LG Nexus 5x and it cost twice this price)
There are also things that I don’t like of this company and this phone (Quick Charge, we will see), but, hey it’s so easy to say “Xiaomi sucks”, right?
P.S. Did you put a “like” to you first comment 😀 ?
They didn’t support band 20, but supported the other EU ones – for me it’s a downside, obvious enough, but as I mentioned – not the main one.
You seem to be escaping from my arguments and they’re quite accurate if you stop forgeting the fact, that this phone was meant as a market replacement for Mi4i. It was meant to hold it’s pros and eliminate the cons. Obviously it doesn’t providethat at all. USB type C without USB3 transfers is just unnecessary complication, we don’t really take any advantage here – just the opposite, so why?
I also don’t care about other phones, what they have, or lack – Mi4i would be my choice if not for the lousy CPU. Mi4c was to fix that problem, but it isn’t – therefore, for me this phone is lost. An opportunity and potential wasted.
If it also appears that camera is worse than with Mi4i (and the dino sample picture does not impress at all) then really I don’t get the idea why Xiaomi went this way.
@PS. Obviously, I am very generous to myself and not fair to Sirr, who meant to have it … :facepalm:
Forgive me if I seem to escape your argument, it’s not my intention. But English is not my native language, I work hard to write without errors. Sorry, again 🙂
Anyway, Xiaomi mi4c it’s not meant to replace the mi4i. The first one is for Chinese market, while the second one is for Indian market. It’s just a coincidence (?) that great part of mi4c’ supported bands coincides with European band.
USB type C (ok it’s not a 3.0) in my opinion is a great pro, in this way I can finally plug the cable at the first attempt. It would obviously be a huge pro if it was a 3.0.
The first serious review (android from china) conclude that this CPU is almost perfect for this phone. There isn’t overheating problem, lag, or things like that, it’s all ok (they said).
The photo: we will see the final review, but who have already tested this phone said that this is an incredible camera at this price.
Now I don’t want to convince you to buy this phone, but it’s an injustice to say “Xiaomi sucks”, expectations (I think) not met.
They should’ve based usb type c on usb3.1 standard, or leave micro usb like majority of phones have it, because, according to current info we have, type c won’t charge the battery any faster. If you haven’t learned how to properly connect micro usb connector to the phone during last 10 years, well, practice makes perfect. Or use a wireless charger with phone that supports it. Or whatever.
And please stop with that china phone exclusiveness. It has English UI language, and most of 3g/4g bands are covered, so why on Earth do you call it china phone, or a phone for china market only, or indian market only, or bs like that? China only phones have td-scdma bands only without the support for other languages, so I don’t see a point calling mi4c a china only phone. True, it’s not a world phone in full sense, but majority of the world is covered.
Andi, where’s the full review you promised? 🙂 You said Monday, which is 4 more hours in my gmt+2 zone… 🙂
Why do you talk me like a little crying girl on her period? I’ve tried patiently to explain my point of view to another user, in a civil manner, I think.
Who are you to tell me “If you haven’t learned how to properly connect micro usb connector to the phone during last 10 years, well, practice makes perfect”.
If you don’t like the phone, surely I can’t force you to buy it, I don’t earn anything from it, I will not try to convince you. So shut up, learn the education, and don’t talk to other people you don’t know as if they are part of your family
Ouch. You need to cool down a bit my friend. I’m about to order mine, don’t know about you. We’re here to discuss, so I gave my arguments too. And stop with that kids talk with me, it won’t get you anywhere when talking to me.
Because one Chinese mobile network provider is using the same bands as in Europe and in Asia.
Wouldn’t that be just too beautiful if they didn’t spoil something for once. USB-C, but not USB 3.0 one?? WTF? Why did they take the SD slot away? QC only exists on paper it looks and I don’t think NFC is present here. And Band 20 missing, while cheaper Ule Paris supports it!
Is it just impossible for them to build a complete phone for once? Sooo close to building an absolute hit!
Also, it’s priced too close to the current flagship, especially, when we consider the downsides.
Xiaomi sucks!
? it is not priced close to the current flagship the mi note pro
band 20 is only needed for a very small amount of european countries and in those even only a few need that, its a chinese company and they build it for china, so why would they support every band everywhere?
i can tell you they will probably sell as well as always.
Band 20 is very useful and is growing fast in EU, so yes, we need it. I thought their flagship is still Mi4 and sizes are comparable if you havent noticed.
They will sell well? Mi4i could be considered well for some small Chinese producer, but not for Xiaomi and these are amounts theyre about to reach.
Is this really all you had to say for all downsides I listed?
This comment was deleted.
Seriously – just this one saves the day, out of everything I listed??
Why give it any European bands at all then? Either you do something right, or you don’t even start doing it – easy as that.
This comment was deleted.
Because one Chinese mobile network provider is using the same bands as in Europe and in Asia.
They didn’t support band 20, but supported the other EU ones – for me it’s a downside, obvious enough, but as I mentioned – not the main one.
You seem to be escaping from my arguments and they’re quite accurate if you stop forgeting the fact, that this phone was meant as a market replacement for Mi4i. It was meant to hold it’s pros and eliminate the cons. Obviously it doesn’t providethat at all. USB type C without USB3 transfers is just unnecessary complication, we don’t really take any advantage here – just the opposite, so why?
I also don’t care about other phones, what they have, or lack – Mi4i would be my choice if not for the lousy CPU. Mi4c was to fix that problem, but it isn’t – therefore, for me this phone is lost. An opportunity and potential wasted.
If it also appears that camera is worse than with Mi4i (and the dino sample picture does not impress at all) then really I don’t get the idea why Xiaomi went this way.
@PS. Obviously, I am very generous to myself and not fair to Sirr, who meant to have it … :facepalm:
This comment was deleted.
They should’ve based usb type c on usb3.1 standard, or leave micro usb like majority of phones have it, because, according to current info we have, type c won’t charge the battery any faster. If you haven’t learned how to properly connect micro usb connector to the phone during last 10 years, well, practice makes perfect. Or use a wireless charger with phone that supports it. Or whatever.
And please stop with that china phone exclusiveness. It has English UI language, and most of 3g/4g bands are covered, so why on Earth do you call it china phone, or a phone for china market only, or indian market only, or bs like that? China only phones have td-scdma bands only without the support for other languages, so I don’t see a point calling mi4c a china only phone. True, it’s not a world phone in full sense, but majority of the world is covered.
Andi, where’s the full review you promised? 🙂 You said Monday, which is 4 more hours in my gmt+2 zone… 🙂
This comment was deleted.
Ouch. You need to cool down a bit my friend. I’m about to order mine, don’t know about you. We’re here to discuss, so I gave my arguments too. And stop with that kids talk with me, it won’t get you anywhere when talking to me.
@Gizchina:disqus try to charge it with the phone off and see how it goes!
Also i find those topics about QC 2.0:
en.miui.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=107042&highlight=Quick%2BCharge
en.miui.com/thread-167805-1-1.html
I still don’t get it. Is it then about the voltage? Does Xiaomi provides 9V charger, and if yes, how much time is needed for a full charge?
Hmmm, from that forum:
“So lets get to the newer Quickcharge 2.0 technology: It increase the input power from 10W to 15W and supports 3 max input modes: 5V 3A, 9V 1.67A, 12V 1.25A which also supports the older 5V 2A input. If we charge using any of the max input modes, we could get up to 60% charge in just 30 mins.”
@Andi could tell us what says on the mi4c’s charger.
Apparently, a QC 2.0 Qualcomm certified charger is need it.
Here is a list with all the phones with QC 2.0 and also all the certified chargers from Qualcomm:
qualcomm.com/documents/quick-charge-device-list
It means the QC3.0 adapter (Charger) will charge QC1.0 devices with QC1.0 speed, not QC3.0 speed
@Andy : Both SIM slots support 3G right ? even we could only activate one slot at a time for data. And could we install plays store ? As this phone is for China market at the moment. Thanks.
@Gizchina:disqus try to charge it with the phone off and see how it goes!
Also i find those topics about QC 2.0:
en.miui.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=107042&highlight=Quick%2BCharge
en.miui.com/thread-167805-1-1.html
and also this:
gsmarena.com/charge_test-review-1239p2.php
So, in conclusion, for QC 2.0 to fully work it seams that a 9 volt/1.67 amp charger is need it!
I still don’t get it. Is it then about the voltage? Does Xiaomi provides 9V charger, and if yes, how much time is needed for a full charge?
Hmmm, from that forum:
“So lets get to the newer Quickcharge 2.0 technology: It increase the input power from 10W to 15W and supports 3 max input modes: 5V 3A, 9V 1.67A, 12V 1.25A which also supports the older 5V 2A input. If we charge using any of the max input modes, we could get up to 60% charge in just 30 mins.”
I am also a bit confuse, ’cause English is not my native language. What does it means: “…. which also supports the older 5V 2A input”
@Andi could tell us what says on the mi4c’s charger.
Apparently, a QC 2.0 Qualcomm certified charger is need it.
Here is a list with all the phones with QC 2.0 and also all the certified chargers from Qualcomm:
qualcomm.com/documents/quick-charge-device-list
It means the QC3.0 adapter (Charger) will charge QC1.0 devices with QC1.0 speed, not QC3.0 speed
@Andy : Both SIM slots support 3G right ? even we could only activate one slot at a time for data. And could we install plays store ? As this phone is for China market at the moment. Thanks.
I have a question, which one is the best?
Oneplus 2 (3gb ram) or Xiaomi Mi4C (3gb ram)?
if you dont need more than 16gb of storage the oneplus 2 will beat the mi4c in performance and camera (in terms of camera by a mile)
I have a question, which one is the best?
Oneplus 2 (3gb ram) or Xiaomi Mi4C (3gb ram)?
if you dont need more than 16gb of storage the oneplus 2 will beat the mi4c in performance and camera (in terms of camera by a mile)
When will it be released In India
When will it be released In India
Please check shutter speed under manual mode. Is it still limited to 1/60s, which was the case in mi4i? Thanks
Does it overheat like Mi4 ?
And what about construction.. Is it solid, compared to mi4 ?
Please check shutter speed under manual mode. Is it still limited to 1/60s, which was the case in mi4i? Thanks
Does it overheat like Mi4 ?
And what about construction.. Is it solid, compared to mi4 ?
Does the MI4C have the same camera as the MI4I ?
thx in advance
Does the MI4C have the same camera as the MI4I ?
thx in advance
Well its Tuesday and no review.. i cant wait for it
Me too waiting for review, please upload it
Well its Tuesday and no review.. i cant wait for it
Me too waiting for review, please upload it
is the test available? thanks 🙂
is the test available? thanks 🙂
Mi4c or Honor 7? Both are available at 300€ for me (3GB/32GB Mi4c), which one would you pick? I’m leaning towards the Honor 7 but since there’s no custom rom development for Honor phones I might still get an Mi4c. My biggest issues with the Mi4c are: no sd-slot, no band 20 support and no fast charging.
Honor7 for 300€? That’s a steal. Are you sure it’s not 7i version? Mind sharing a link? Or is it some special deal just for you? 🙂
Official price is 349€ but it’s been available twice in one month for 299€ at Vmall.eu, I’m expecting another flash sale soon but they’ve been out of stock for a few weeks now. I also know someone who is willing to sell his Honor 7 for 290€.
Thanks for the info. I’ll keep my eye on that webshop, since I’m from EU too. I’m afraid of customs duty when higher priced gadgets from China are involved (25% VAT for my country). Like it’s not enough 4 weeks waiting for it, paying in euros while others pay the same amount in dollars, and on top of all that +25% to customs, not mentioning they need additional 10-15 days to multiply my bill amount with 0.25, utterly complicated math lol. It’s more of a comedy than a tragic story. Should try buying a plane ticket and sort it all out myself in 2 days lol:)
I just received a 50€ voucher for the Honor 7. Sale will go live next Wednesday from 12PM till midnight!
Mi4c or Honor 7? Both are available at 300€ for me (3GB/32GB Mi4c), which one would you pick? I’m leaning towards the Honor 7 but since there’s no custom rom development for Honor phones I might still get an Mi4c. My biggest issues with the Mi4c are: no sd-slot, no band 20 support and no fast charging.
Honor7 for 300€? That’s a steal. Are you sure it’s not 7i version? Mind sharing a link? Or is it some special deal just for you? 🙂
Official price is 349€ but it’s been available twice in one month for 299€ at Vmall.eu, I’m expecting another flash sale soon but they’ve been out of stock for a few weeks now. I also know someone who is willing to sell his Honor 7 for 290€.
Thanks for the info. I’ll keep my eye on that webshop, since I’m from EU too. I’m afraid of customs duty when higher priced gadgets from China are involved (25% VAT for my country). Like it’s not enough 4 weeks waiting for it, paying in euros while others pay the same amount in dollars, and on top of all that +25% to customs, not mentioning they need additional 10-15 days to multiply my bill amount with 0.25, utterly complicated math lol. It’s more of a comedy than a tragic story. Should try buying a plane ticket and sort it all out myself in 2 days lol:)
I just received a 50€ voucher for the Honor 7. Sale will go live next Wednesday from 12PM till midnight!
any news regarding the review of Mi4c? thanks 🙂
any news regarding the review of Mi4c? thanks 🙂
plz help me how to get rid of heating issue of this phone…???
plz help me how to get rid of heating issue of this phone…???