Xiaomi Mi 4 Review

The Mi 4 launched in Beijing on 22 July 2014 at CNY 1,999 for the 16GB model, about $320 at the time. It never had a US launch, so the price here is that conversion. What you got for the money was a proper 2014 flagship: Snapdragon 801 at 2.5GHz, 3GB of RAM, a 5-inch 1080p IPS panel sourced from Sharp and JDI with a colour gamut Xiaomi spent a good part of the keynote on, and a 13MP Sony IMX214 behind an f/1.8 lens, with an 8MP IMX219 on the front.

The stainless steel frame was the story. Machined from a solid plate, it gave the Mi 4 a solidity nothing else at the price came close to, and it also made the phone look like an iPhone 5s from the side, which Xiaomi did not seem to mind. The plastic back was swappable for wood and bamboo effect covers. NFC, which the Mi 3 had, was dropped. The 3080mAh battery got through a day and no more, and there was no quick charging.

The camera was strong in daylight for the class and soft at night. Software is the weak leg. The phone shipped on MIUI V5 over Android 4.4.3 KitKat, skipped Lollipop entirely and reached Android 6.0.1 late, though MIUI itself kept coming until MIUI 10, by which point Xiaomi had started putting ads in its system apps. No bootloops, no bendgate, just a phone that held up. Not an original design, but the phone that made the world take Xiaomi seriously.