Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G: A Phablet for the masses, now with 4G

The first half of the year has been busy for Xiaomi as they set up their presence in Singapore and launched the original Redmi that has broken barriers and re-classified what a budget smartphone should aspire to be. It's not just about good phones at great value, but it's also about the excitement of the purchase process with their weekly flash sales that has been making waves for the right and wrong reasons. Speaking of the latter, while there were allegations regarding leaked personal data, Hugo Barra has since clarified on this issue.

Beyond the S$169 Redmi, Xiaomi has been on a role releasing a slew of other affordable mobile gadgets for their respective class such as the Mi 3, Redmi 1S, even power banks and just about five months ago, one the most affordable phablets with the 5.5-inch Redmi Note. However, all these devices lack one major function: LTE connectivity.

With the local telcos supporting 4G LTE connectivity islandwide since the end of 2013 and the minimal extra costs to having a 4G capable plan along with reasonable priced 4G capable phones, there was growing adoption and use of the LTE network. More than ever, this year has seen a bumper crop of high-tier 4G phones, along with really affordable devices below S$300 that enable 4G LTE connectivity. As such, the absence of such a function becomes more glaring on Xiaomi's stable, especially when competing against other low to mid-range mobile devices that do offer 4G LTE connectivity such as HTC Desire 816 and ASUS ZenFone 5 LTE.

Xiaomi, acknowledging this, had in Q3 of this year launched the LTE version of their Redmi Note. However the first salvo was aimed at the China market and it was just days back that they confirmed bringing in a variant that will work with our local telco's LTE network spectrum. Simply known as the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G, this S$229 phablet will immediately replace the existing Redmi Note (previously sold at S$199) and is set for battle against the other budget 4G phones in the market come 18th November.

Priced $30 higher than its predecessor, does it still do well in giving us consumers great value for money? And what more do you get besides 4G connectivity on this updated model? This review will answer those questions, but first, here is a quick overview of the recent Xiaomi phones made available in Singapore:-

Design

On the exterior, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G looks exactly like its non-4G counterpart. As such, you can read more about our take on its exterior design and handling in the original Redmi Note review. One aspect that has differed though is the phone's handling because Xiaomi has managed to reduce the weight of the Redmi Note 4G down by 14g to a final weight of 185g. The older Redmi Note is quite hefty at 199g and quickly becomes tiresome to handle. As such, the reduced weight is immediately appreciable, making the phone feel slightly lighter. Even so, it is still heavier than many mid-range phones with the same large screen - the Nokia Lumia 830, HTC Desire 816, Huawei Honor 3X and more. Nevertheless, for the phone's low asking price, the additional weight might just be 'tolerable'. 

Most of the advances made with the Redmi Note 4G is in its innards. Firstly, Xiaomi eschewed the dual SIM functionality in favor of 4G connectivity. This switch was brought about with a new Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor with integrated LTE modem - it supports 4G, but is unable to support dual-SIM simultaneously. Despite many locals showing dismay for the small data bundle with 4G plans, the market adoption for high speed data connectivity is high in Singapore (although most of that is because of inconveniences of staying put with older phone plans). Dropping dual-SIM support will however impact users who travel frequently or have very high mobile usage and have different numbers to manage their contact base.

However, it is very intriguing that while it's a 4G phone, the device still uses a traditional sized SIM card slot. Most phone and especially 4G phones sold these days use micro-SIM card slots. This will definitely inconvenience many who are switching from other devices.

Back to the note of the processor used - it's a welcomed change, even though it sounds like the Redmi Note 4G had a downgrade from the eight-core Mediatek processor used on the Redmi Note. In actual use, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor has made the device a lot more smoother to use and we share the same findings we observed with the Redmi 1S against the original Redmi. This is an aspect we've voiced strongly to Xiaomi and we're glad that they have considered our professional opinion.

Yet another improvement will be its microSD card support. It now supports microSD card capacity up to 64GB - a marked improvement over its predecessor's support of 32GB. This is because internal storage still remains the same at just 8GB, with 1.7GB taken up by the operating system. To round up the hardware improvements, the new phone supports Wireless 802.11ac networking standard with dual-band operation support and Bluetooth 4.0.

Software

The Redmi Note 4G runs on Android 4.4.2 (KitKat), with MIUI v5 as its UI overlay. Compare that to the still-Jelly bean (4.2) of its non-4G cousin. Notwithstanding that, the UI is still the same as its predecessor. Much of its functionality has been discussed before in previous articles, so we'll point you to them for further reading if you're not yet familiar:-

• Understanding MIUI
• Top Five Features of MIUI
• The Complete Guide to Xiaomi's MIUI V5 OS
• Seven Hidden Tricks You Didn't Know About Xiaomi's MIUI V5 OS

Performance

As mentioned earlier, the Redmi Note 4G now uses Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 Quad-core 1.6GHz processor in favor of the MediaTek MT6592 octa-core processor found in its predecessor. Qualcomm has marketed the Snapdragon 400 as a low cost processor with integrated LTE, henceforth it is no surprise as to the reason for the switch. It also bodes well that we generally find Qualcomm equipped devices to respond more fluidly then MediaTek equipped products.

In our previous assessment of the Redmi Note (3G), there was a brief explanation on the differences between the MediaTek MT6592 processor and Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, which you can read over here. Given that we now have two nearly identical devices, with the processor as one of the key differences, it would be interesting to see how the Redmi Note 4G fares. We also pit the newcomer against its predecessor and other budget phablets such as the HTC Desire 816, ASUS ZenFone 6 and the Huawei Honor 3X.

Do note that among the compared, only the Xiaomi and HTC devices offer 4G connectivity.

Sunspider

SunSpider Javascript helps measure the browsing performance of a device when processing Javascript. It not only takes into consideration the underlying hardware performance, but also assesses how optimized a particular platform is at delivering a high-speed web browsing experience.

As seen below, most devices chalk up around 1100ms, except the Asus ZenFone 6 which takes the crown for having the best Sunspider score. This could be down to processor clock speeds since most others run around 1.6 to 1.7GHz while the Intel Atom Z2580 on the ZenFone 6 operates at a much faster 2.0GHz. According to this benchmark, Intel's slogan of having more cores isn't necessarily better turns out to be true (more references can be inferred from the ZenFone 6 review comparisons). 

Quadrant

Quadrant evaluates a device's CPU, memory, I/O and 3D graphics performances. The quadrant score of the Remi Note 4G loses to its predecessor by a significant margin. It also loses to the HTC Desire 816 - even when they are of the same processor.

3D Mark (2013)

Originally developed as a PC benchmarking tool, 3DMark is now expanded to support multiple platforms including Android OS. The Ice Storm benchmark is designed for smartphones, mobile devices and ARM architecture computers. 

For an in-depth understanding of 3DMark for Android, do head over to our article, "3DMark - Android Device GPU Performance Review." In a nutshell, it is an OpenGL ES 2.0 benchmark test that uses fixed off-screen rendering to run two graphics tests designed to stress the GPU performance of your device and a physics test to stress its CPU performance. The benchmark consists of three test portfolios:- Standard (720p resolution rendering), Extreme (1080p resolution rendering with higher quality textures and post-processing effects) and Unlimited (disabled v-sync, display scaling and other OS factors that make it ideal for chipset comparison).

We ran the latter two modes and found the Remi Note 4G garnering lower scores than the predecessor, but it ranks on par with the HTC Desire 816 that uses similar underlying hardware. 

Real World Experience

Despite the lower benchmark scores against the non-LTE predecessor, the experience when using the Note 4G actually feels smoother. Likewise, regardless of the 3DMark scores, we also observed a marked difference in 3D gaming quality on the Redmi Note 4G - the experience is smoother than in the original Note. This definitely bodes well for the newcomer and it can be attributed to both the usage of Qualcomm's processor that seems to be better optimized for its hardware specs and the improved optimization of graphics transitions in Android KitKat (the predecessor still runs on Android Jelly Bean).

Battery Performance

Our standard battery test for mobile phones includes the following parameters:

• Looping a 800 x 480-pixel video with screen brightness and volume at 100%
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity turned on
• Constant data streaming through email and Twitter

The Redmi Note 4G lasted only about 6 hours 31 minutes, more than 100 minutes less than its competitors. This is intriguing, especially given that the HTC Desire 816, with almost similar specs and lower battery capacity, can last longer than the Note 4G. The same can be said when contrasting against the Huawei Honor 3X too. Power consumption figures are much higher than expected and this adversely affected competing with the other phones. As a result, it ranks the lowest in the Portability Ratio, even worse than a bigger device like the 6-inch ASUS ZenFone 6.

 

Camera Performance

The camera in the Note 4G is exactly the same as that found in its predecessor: a 13-megapixel rear camera with an aperture of f/2.2, 28mm wide angle lens and a LED flash. For in-depth analysis of the camera capabilities, you can refer to the Note’s article here. In short, it's not bad, but the competitors like the ASUS ZenFone 6 and HTC Desire 816 deliver better photography under normal and low light conditions.

Conclusion

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G is more of a replacement to the original Redmi Note with minor updates thrown in rather than a proper successor. As mentioned earlier, Xiaomi will stop selling the original Note, in favor for the 4G flavor. Clearly, there's no reason for existing Redmi Note (3G) owners to upgrade to the the Redmi Note 4G given the small improvements. Meanwhile, those who still yearn for dual-SIM capabilities will have to settle for the smaller Redmi 1S.

One one hand, Xiaomi managed to improve the overall usability of the phone by reducing its weight, equipping it with a better processor and updated wireless networking standards. On the other hand, it actually has far less battery performance than its predecessor and it's still bulky and tacky from a handling perspective versus other devices.

As an affordable LTE phablet, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G at S$229 still offers great value and is only one of the very few choices in this segment other than the HTC Desire 816. The HTC device costs nearly twice as much but offers better camera performance, a simpler user interface, a better looking device that's easier to handle, a much longer battery life and NFC support. There's always a catch to the affordable price tag to the Redmi Note 4G and this time round it boils down to what you personally hold as important and acceptable. There's certainly nothing wrong that we wouldn't recommend the Redmi Note 4G, but there are other products that offer a better all-rounded device that might matter more than just being the most affordable LTE phablet.

If you are looking for the most affordable reasonable specced device that is usable and without any expectations, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G is a no-brainer - if you can manage to get one from the weekly flash sales. Given that the phones are often sold out in literally a "flash", you should factor that the chances of you securing one could be small. If you're not in a hurry, patience might pay out eventually.

But what if you need a large screen phone immediately without spending too much? Well, the HTC Desire 816 is a ready option if you need a 4G capable device. If LTE connectivity is secondary, you can also consider the ASUS ZenFone 6. With a 6-inch screen, this device is larger, but yet delivers great battery and camera performance. Plus, it comes with 16GB of internal storage, which is double that of all other phones compared. It also has one of the best UIs and user friendly features. Not to mention, it has a more polished look and feel. At just S$100 more than the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G, it's a serious contender and more so, it's actual retail price is much lower and can be obtained for as low as S$285.

All said and done, if you find the new Xiaomi Redmi 4G is still the perfect fit for your needs, then look out for it next week on 18th November at Xiaomi's Singapore website.

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