Redmi Note 4: A slightly buffed up Redmi Note 3

 
Redmi Note 4 has the onus of carrying the legacy of low price and premium specs that Xiaomi and its predecessor Redmi note 3 has set for it. This strategy has worked wonders in India and contributes to the $1 billion that Xiaomi made through revenue in India last year. Following the footsteps of its precursors, Redmi Note 4 is finally launched in the Indian market. Lets cut to the chase and find out whether this is the device which will help continue their dream run in India

Design:
The design is quite similar to the Redmi Note 3. There are similar capacitive navigation buttons below the screen and slim borders around it. The only changes made are for the better. There is a 2.5D curved-edge glass giving a premium feel. The Redmi Note 3 had a pretty slippery back, something which the Note 4 corrects with its premium all metal finish.

There are fine antenna bands running across the top and bottom. The rear camera, LED flash and Fingerprint Scanner are pretty much the same as Redmi Note 3. This time though, the speaker grilles have been shifted to the bottom. The bottom also packs a Micro-USB(no Type-C) port while the top has a 3.5mm audio jack and a Infrared (IR) Blaster, for universal remote control. The power and volume buttons are on the right and are easily reachable.

The phone is 8.3mm and is slimmer than its precursor but a gram heavier(we're going to let that pass). The rounded edges make it fit well in palm and is easy to use, even for long hours.

The design is impressive since it borrows the best of the Note 3, and brings quirks of its own. Design-wise it is better than most of the phones that Xiaomi provides, probably even the best. In India, it has been launched in the Gold and Matte Black variant.

The phone features a 5.5 inch full-HD IPS display with a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels, which works out to a density of 401ppi. The display offers vibrant colours, sharp images and text. The sunlight legibility is also great. The colour temperature and the reading mode packs the display with a lot of features.

Specs:
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 is powered by the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 (MSM8953) processor clocked at 2GHz with an integrated Adreno 506 GPU. This marks an improved performance over the Note 3, but that also depends on the version you buy. There are three variants of this model in India: 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage; 3GB of RAM and 32GB storage; and 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

The device has a hybrid SIM tray - one with a Nano SIM and the other can be used for a Micro SIM or micro-SD card. It supports Micro-SD of upto 128GB.

Camera:

Camera is one area left untouched from the original Note 3. The device sports a 13MP f2.0 aperture camera with dual tone LED flash. The camera works out fine for daylight photography, and allows for some pretty decent shots. But expect no more. The front facing shooter is a 5MP f2.0 aperture camera, with Mi's traditional beauty enhancement and age prediction features.

Hardware:

The battery is 4100 mAh, a 50mAh increase over the Note 3. So we can expect the similar all day battery performance. The device has  dual band WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity. It supports USB OTG, and has Bluetooth 4.1 enabled. Sadly, NFC is given a miss, again.

Price:

The device starts at Rs. 9999, for the 2GB RAM and 32GB storage version. The 3GB RAM + 32GB Storage version goes for Rs.10999 while the maxed out version having 4GB RAM and 64GB onboard storage is priced at 12999.

Verdict:

As the title mentions, the Note 4 is basically a juiced up Note 3. The major competition that this device will receive in the market, will be from its predecessor itself. We were disheartened to see Mi include 2GB RAM in the 9999 version. It would have been much more competitive to put the 3GB version there. This leaves the buyer with little reason to switch over. In our opinion, the 4GB version is the real disruptor out there. For that price point, nothing beats it. So if you can go for that one, well and good. Otherwise, there is competition to consider. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.