Xiaomi’s Beautifully Vibrant Mi 4i Crams In 5-Inch 1080p Display, Snapdragon 615, And 1.5-Day Battery
Chinese handset maker Xiaomi has a penchant for putting out great looking smartphones, and that talent is once again on display with the Mi 4i, a sleek looking device with a 5-inch Full HD 1080p (1920x1080; 440 pixels per inch) In-Plane Switching (IPS) display that boats 95 percent coverage of the NTSC color space.
Launched today in New Dehli, the Mi 4i is a mid-range handset that costs 12,999 Indian Rupees, or around $205 in U.S. currency. It sports a pretty decent spec sheet for the price -- second generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 Octa-Core 64-bit processor clocked at 1.7GHz with Adreno 405 graphics, 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, 5-megapixel front-facing shooter for those all-important selfies (selfie stick not included), 4G dual SIM, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, and a 3,120 mAh battery that's good for up to 1.5 days of "normal usage." On the software side, it runs Android 5.0 Lollipop.
Xiaomi is quick to point out that its Mi 4i is slimmer than Apple's iPhone 6 by 12 percent (7.8mm versus 8.9mm) and 13 percent lighter (130g versus 149g), yet has a 10 percent bigger display. Part of the reason Xiaomi was able to build a thinner device was because it used a One Glass Solution, which means the glass is laminated to the display (there's no air gap).
In fact, the display is a high point of the Mi 4i. In addition to the One Glass Solution, it also boasts technology that makes it perform well in direct sunlight. When there's a lot of light focused on the display, it will dynamically change tones to balance things out.
Finally, the Mi 4i is fairly resilient to damage. It's been tested for corner drops, vibrations, tumbles, thermal shock, and UV exposure. The device is also water resistant and abrasion resistant, and has an anti-grease coating.
It doesn't appear as though Xiaomi has any plans to launch the Mi 4i in the U.S. market, though at $200, it'd probably find some buyers if it ever did.
Launched today in New Dehli, the Mi 4i is a mid-range handset that costs 12,999 Indian Rupees, or around $205 in U.S. currency. It sports a pretty decent spec sheet for the price -- second generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 Octa-Core 64-bit processor clocked at 1.7GHz with Adreno 405 graphics, 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, 5-megapixel front-facing shooter for those all-important selfies (selfie stick not included), 4G dual SIM, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, and a 3,120 mAh battery that's good for up to 1.5 days of "normal usage." On the software side, it runs Android 5.0 Lollipop.
In fact, the display is a high point of the Mi 4i. In addition to the One Glass Solution, it also boasts technology that makes it perform well in direct sunlight. When there's a lot of light focused on the display, it will dynamically change tones to balance things out.
Finally, the Mi 4i is fairly resilient to damage. It's been tested for corner drops, vibrations, tumbles, thermal shock, and UV exposure. The device is also water resistant and abrasion resistant, and has an anti-grease coating.
It doesn't appear as though Xiaomi has any plans to launch the Mi 4i in the U.S. market, though at $200, it'd probably find some buyers if it ever did.
