Xiaomi's budget big-screen phone gets a more luxurious look
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 packs a new deca-core processor, a 13-megapixel rear camera and comes for the low price of $135.
Aloysius Low is a Senior Editor at CNET covering mobile and Asia. Based in Singapore, he loves playing Dota 2 when he can spare the time and is also the owner-minion of two adorable cats.
Xiaomi found success with the Redmi Note 3, and it's not deviating too much with the new Note 4. Instead, this 5.5-inch phone refines its predecessor's metal body design with chamfered edges for a more premium look, while incrementally improving its insides.
The Redmi Note 3 used a Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 processor, but Xiaomi here has decided to go with a chip from rival MediaTek. The Note 4 packs a deca-core Helios X20 processor, which should be zippy, especially for a budget phone. The battery of the device gets a slight bump from 4,000 to 4,100 mAh, though the camera drops a few megapixels, from 16 to 13. It also runs Xiaomi's latest Android-based MIUI 8 software.
The Note 4 will sell in China for a mere 899 yuan ($135, £100 or AU$175 converted), for a version packing 2GB RAM and 16GB of onboard storage. A slightly more powerful variant, with 3GB RAM and 32GB of storage, will sell for 1,199 yuan (approximately $180, £135 or AU$235).
While it is currently on sale in China only, expect the phone to launch in other markets soon, particularly India, where Xiaomi hopes the Redmi Note 4 will do as well as its predecessor.
Key specs
- MediaTek 10-core Helio X20 processor
- 5.5-inch full HD 1,920x1,080-pixel screen
- 4,100 mAh battery
- Rear fingerprint sensor
- 4G dual-SIM
