SHARES
Xiaomi’s line-up of budget smartphones has just expanded with the addition of the Redmi Note 4X, which is a powerful mid-range device priced like an entry-level smartphone. For it’s low price of USD $227 (SGD $318), the Redmi’s powerful processor and outstanding battery life makes it an attractive buy compared to its competition in the market.
Design
The Redmi Note 4X resembles the older Redmi Note 3, which was a spectacular smartphone. The phone is built like a rock-solid slab of metal, with a glossy glass front that comes with a matte screen protector and a metallic chassis on the rear that’s slightly curved to give you a more comfortable grip over the device.
The Note 4X has a fingerprint sensor on its rear, right under the camera, which is placed optimally so that reaching it with your index finger when you hold the phone is intuitive.
On the top of the smartphone’s frame, you will find yourself an infrared sensor that can be used to control countless number of appliances in your home, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Speakers are found on the bottom frame of the phone, and the base holds a USB Type B port. We had hoped for an upgrade to a USB C device but that didn’t happen.
Nevertheless, the Redmi Note 4X feels like a premium device despite its low price point and it’s fairly easy well-sized at 151 x 76 x 8.45mm and a weighs 165g, which is a tad heavier than other 5.5” devices.
Display
The Redmi holds a 5.5” screen with a full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080px and a pixel density of 403ppi, which is decent for a budget level phone.
Maximum and minimum brightness were commendable and I had no difficulty reading off the screen even under the harsh sunlight at noon. Using it at night before bed proved to be fairly alright as well, with a low minimum brightness that didn’t cause a disturbing glare in a dark setting.
Performance
The Redmi Note 4X holds a Snapdragon 625 processor, which is a fairly capable chipset that is commonly found in midrange phones $100-200 above the 4X’s price, so you’re getting a really good deal in terms of processing power with the Redmi Note 4X. It also comes with an Adreno 506 GPU, which is a standard issue chipset for midrange smartphones as well.
With 3GB worth of RAM, the Redmi Note 4X should hold itself fairly well when it comes to multi-tasking.
In general, I found the Redmi Note 4X so be quite a fast device. It’s not lightning fast like flagships, but its speed rivals midrange devices such as the Asus Zenfone 3, and the Moto Z Play, which are all a few hundred dollars more expensive than itself.
Antutu benchmarks confirm my estimations on the Note 4X’s speed, giving a rating of 62,209. This rating usually means that a phone wouldn’t lag normally in day to day processes and productivity functions, but may slow down when intensive applications for photo and video editing are used in conjunction with other applications.
Gaming performance, was average compared to other budget smartphones. The 3DMark test gave a score of 461, which isn’t spectacular, so you might want to consider a higher end Xiaomi device like the Mi 5 if you wish to game on the go.
User Experience
The Redmi Note 4X was a joy to use. It’s snappy fingerprint sensor on the rear works really well and allows for the phone to be unlocked quickly.
The MiUI 8 on the device also offers a clean and aesthetic look that will appeal to many users, especially Apple lovers. It’s flat design is intuitive and simple to use.
There are tonnes of MiUI tips and tricks you can do to make your smartphone experience a lot better. Using read more for night reading to reduce blue light or the App Twin function to create 2 of the same application like WhatsApp for dual-SIM users is absolutely brilliant and hard to find in other devices today.
Camera
The Redmi Note 4X holds a 13 MP camera on the rear and a 5MP selfie shooter on the front, which is more than reasonable.
Your 13 MP rear shooter shoots surprisingly crisp and clear photos. Clarity was great on the Redmi Note 4X, with the camera shooting shots that had quite little noise in them. However, the colours on the Redmi Note 4X did appear to be a little faded and washed out. It is possible to try and correct this by shifting the default settings on the camera to one of a higher saturation, but I wouldn’t count on it.
The front camera seems to appear rather standard, taking selfies with it isn’t an issue, since you don’t actually really need high-definition selfies, but I wouldn’t recommend using it to shoot selfies with a majestic background in the rear (in hopes to get a gorgeous landscape shot).
Battery
The Note 4X has a commendable 4,100mAh battery, which is above the average for smartphones in the market. Using the Note 4X the entire work day from 8am to 7-8pm still left me with about 15% battery, and that was with fairly consistent usage, typically involving internet browsing and texting. The battery life does appear to last a little longer than other smartphones, so carrying around a portable charger might not be necessary.
Verdict
The Redmi Note 4X comes highly recommended. The outstanding processing speed of the Redmi Note 4X places other midrange smartphones from its rival to shame. It’s perhaps one of the best entry-level priced phone in the market and you really cannot ask for more in a smartphone at such a low price.
Purchase it here.
