5-inch 1080 phones not your style, fancy something a little smaller but still want a high quality rear camera and quad-core MT6589 CPU? Then the UMi X1s and JiaYu G4 should be on your list!
With all the large screen 5-inch Android phones coming to the market, it makes a refreshing change to see not all manufactures are following the same trend, and some are creating powerful next generation MT6589 phone based on smaller displays.
Two to look out for over the next few months are the JiaYu G4, and the lesser known UMi X1s, but which of these new Chinese phones is going to suit you best?
JiaYu G4
If you have been following Gizchina, then you more than likely know the full spec of the G4 memorised. For those of you who don’t know the phone thank yourself lucky you found this post!
The G4 is set for launch shortly after the Chinese New Year holiday, and will be JiaYu’s flagship MTK phone for 2013 with great features including a quad-core CPU, 13 mega-pixel rear camera and 4.7-inch 720 HD display.
Two versions of the G4 will be available with the base model starting at 999 Yuan ($160) with 1GB RAM and a 1850mAh battery, the top of the range G4 will pack 2GB RAM and a larger 3000mAh battery (it is suggested that the 1GB version will accept the larger 3000mAh battery too).
Built-in memory is a generous 32GB, but if that isn’t enough a micro SD card slot will sit alongside the dual-sim cards to increase storage.
From a design point of view the G4 offers a similar design to the Xiaomi M2, and one of the colour options will be a white back panel just like the M2. There will also be a black model too along with a choice of aftermarket shells in various colours.
UMi X1s
The UMi X1s might not be as anticipated as the its big brother the X2, but tho updated quad-core phone could offer just enough performance at the right price to dissuade potential G4 customers.
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Although we have seen plenty of photos of the G4 (and the Umi X2) no real leaked images of the X1s have been uncovered, but this doesn’t matter as from the exterior the X1s is going to be identical to the current dual-core Umi X1.
In fact many of the features of the X1 are present in the X1s with the only real difference between the old and new phones being the addition of a quad-core 1.2Ghz MT6589 processor.
Like the current Umi X1, the X1s will feature a thin 8.5mm body topped with a 4.5-inch 720 IPS display. A front 2 mega-pixel camera will take care of video calls, while the rear camera is an 8 mega-pixel sensor, however this is said to be an updated version and not the same camera as found on the current phone.
While the G4 gets up to 2GB RAM and 32GB of memory, the X1s will only offer 1GB RAM and 4GB memory, but it does offer a micro SD card reader and there will also be dual-sim support.
UMi have been quite helpful with providing a full spec sheet of the X1s, which even shows the supported networks for the phone which are GSM: 850/800/1800/1900 WCDMA 2100.
You might be looking at the specs of the X1s and think that the comparison between this and G4 is a little unfair, and if they were to be priced the same we would agree, however seeing as the X1 currently sells for 899 Yuan ($144) and that the X1s will no longer be a flagship phone, we could see prices drop to the 700-800 Yuan mark ($112 – $128).
JiaYu G4 Vs UMi X1s
[table id=21 /]So which would you buy?
While on paper it seems that the JiaYu G4 would make a better choice of phone, there are some other matter to consider.
From past experience with the JiaYu G3 we know that the G4 is going to be one of the hottest phones of the year and will be very difficult to buy. What’s more, resellers have been known to increase prices of JiaYu phones more than they do for comparable phones from other brands.
As the X1s isn’t as well-known, and isn’t as anticipated as the G4 and Umi X2, it is likely to be easier to buy and will be cheaper internationally too.
So which do you go for? Pre-order a G4 or go for the lower spec UMi X1s?
Shall I wait for the g4 or buy MI 2??
I am in India so will be ordering from one if the resellers..
ALSO Can you do a comparison between MI2 and Honor 2 u9508??
Hard to make a choice here…: D thanks!
I have the MI2 for about a month now. You wont regret if you buy it. But the G4 looks great in specs and design. So it’s up to you mate
The Qualcomm Quad-Core Snapdragon S4 (APQ8064) in the Mi2 is in a completely different league to the MTK6589, In terms of raw processing power it obliterates the MTK6589, hence why it costs almost twice the price of the G4. If you can afoord a mi2, get one as there is really no contest.
Yet that much power (offered by snapdragon) probably doesn’t matter since it uses twice the power and only gives an incremental update on real time usage. To all my friends I recommend mtk6589 because of its low power consumption and thermals.
If you’re not gaming or use video/photo processing much, jelly bean equipped machines can run perfectly on single core cortex a8 (nexus s), much more so on A7 quads (like mtk6589). To phones power is often a disadvantage, don’t be fast to recommend it…
Not to mention the heat, see mediatek video regarding heat test of MT6589 phone vs Mi2 and one other quad core phone.
If you can the just buy the Mi2.
Is there a chance that any of these Chinese phones will get Android 5.0 “Key Lime Pie”?
Hello!
Checking all these chinese android phones it is really hard to find a model that would have 3G at 900MHz. All have 850 and 2100 MHz. My operator mainly uses 900MHz so it is mandatory for me. DO you know if any of the following quad core models will have this feature?
hi andy, danke für das appetit machen ;). ich war schon ziemlich scharf auf das X1, aber nach deinem bericht würde ich lieber das X1s in den händen halten wollen. Wann soll den das X1s auf den markt kommen und wo hast du die tollen Preise (112-128$) her?
Ups, her the english version 😉
hi andy, thanks for the appetite make;). I was pretty keen on the X1, but according to your report, I would prefer to keep the X1s in hands. When to come to the market on the X1s and where did you get the great prices ($ 112-128) from?
The prices are what UMi are saying. However, these are the Chinese mainland prices and for international markets they prices will be a little higher.
Thx u have a a release date?
There are few misstakes for the x1s, the camera is a 8Mpixels and his battery is a 1750 mAh(sorry for my english)
X1s glass is dragontail
If weight is important, x1s is about 30 grams lighter at 131 gr