I purchased Redmi Note 4G from Flipkart about 2 months ago. I have been using this phone as my secondry phone for 2 months. My primary phone is Xiaomi Mi4. I am very experienced in gadgets. I have Mi4, Redmi Note 4G, Mi pad, Redmi 1s, Nexus 7 and One Plus One.
Friends are you hesitating to buy this phone because it is a CHINESE phone and you have nevr hear of the company before? Do not worry friends, this was the same case with me. However when I first purchased Redmi 1s, it was the best phone ever. Xiaomi also has service centers all over India.
LOOK AND FEEL
The black front face is offset by a shiny white rear shell and very noticeable red icons for the three capacitive buttons below the screen.The whole look is pretty understated. There’s only a small silver Mi logo on the lower back and no branding on the front. The buttons are lined up on the right edge, while the left is blank. The headset socket is on top and the Micro-USB port is on the bottom. Xiaomi uses a non-standard squared-off Micro-USB port which makes it difficult to see which way the plug needs to go in.The rear shell is a bit difficult to pry off, but the first major difference between the Xiaomi Note twins is visible beneath it. The 4G version of this phone has only a single regular-sized SIM card slot. You still need to take out the battery in order to swap SIM and microSD cards.As far as phones with 5.5-inch screens go, the Redmi Note 4G isn’t all that difficult to handle. It’s reasonably wide and tall, but you’ll definitely feel its weight and you’ll have to balance it carefully in order to reach all parts of the screen with one hand.
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SPECIFICATIONS
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The Redmi Note 4G shares most of its specifications with the Redmi model, with one key difference. While the previous model was based on an octa-core MediaTek MT6592 processor, the 4G version uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400. The main reason for this is Qualcomm’s integrated LTE capabilities, but there’s a very interesting side effect in India. Thanks to legal hurdles brought on by a patent infringement dispute with Ericsson, Xiaomi has been restrained from selling MediaTek-based products in the country. A Qualcomm version allows the company to keep selling this product in India while the case is being heard.The screens on both models are the same 5.5" 720x1280 panels, and there’s still 2GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage space. MicroSD capacity support has been bumped up to 64GB, and there’s faster Wi-Fi 802.11ac support.The 13-megapixel cameras are also identical, as are the Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and FM radio features. Both models have accelerometers, gyroscopes, digital compasses and proximity sensors. The 3, 100mAh batteries also appear to be exactly the same as Redmi Note 3G.
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SOFTWARE(MIUI)
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Xiaomi’s MIUI skin is one of the most polished we’ve seen from the major Chinese manufacturers. As we’ve come to expect, all icons and widgets live together on the homescreens and there is no separate app drawer. This is something users who like simplicity might prefer, but we feel hampered because it’s difficult to arrange widgets, and as we install more apps, things get really disorganised.The system app icons are also customised, and thankfully they aren’t too difficult to tell apart. Everything looks crisp and clean, without being over the top. Xiaomi includes an online wallpaper catalog within the Settings app itself. You can change the transition animation and some other visual effects if you like.There are quite a few options to discover in the Redmi Note’s Settings app. You can play around with settings for the buttons, notifications LED, lockscreen and more. There’s a massive variety of ringtones and message alert sounds to choose from. The notifications shade is also clean, and you can choose whether to show quick settings shortcuts in a separate page or in a scrolling bar at the bottom.
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PERFORMANCE
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The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G did not feel any different to use than the earlier model did, and users should be quite happy with the way this device handles everyday tasks. We had no trouble running common apps and light games. The Redmi Note 4G consistently performed just a little bit slower than the original Redmi Note did. We’ve seen devices with Qualcomm’s quad-core Snapdragon 400 and MediaTek’s octa-core MT6592 go head-to-head before, but never two that were so closely matched in all other regards. The MT6592 usually has an advantage in CPU-intensive tasks but loses out in the graphics department. However in this case, the Snapdragon 400 lagged behind across the board.
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BATTERY AND CAMERA
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The relatively power efficient processor and big battery(3100 mAh) gives the Note 4G excellent battery life. When used to access two social media accounts, two email accounts, web browsing for nearly an hour, calls for nearly an hour, some gaming and little of photography, the phone lasts around 14 hours. For most users, it is safe to say that it will give a battery life of around 16 to 18 hours.
The Note 4G packs in a very good rear camera. It clicks 13-megapixel images and when used in daylight, it clicks photos that sharp, clear and have good colours. The level of detail is less than what we usually expect from a 13-megapixel camera but keeping in mind the price of the phone, we have to say that it does well. The colours in images are punchy, especially if you have taken care of holding the phone steady and if the light is good. In low light, the performance is not so good but it is also not terrible. In low light if you hold the phone steady while clicking an image, you will be able to snap photos that you can share on social media.
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SHOULD YOU BUY IT? ABSOLUTELY!
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At a price of Rs.7, 999 the RedMi Note 4G is an excellent value for money. It is a capable device and offers very good smartphone experience at a very nice price point. The UI is also very stable and Xiaomi also Promises future software updates.( I just updated my Redmi Note 4G to MIUI 6)
The Note 4G is a perfect choice. It is a safe buy if you are looking to get a smartphone for less than Rs.10, 000. This is the best smartphone you can buy at such a low price!