Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 with MediaTek Helio X20 deca-core SoC, 2.5D curved display launched in China

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 has been launched in China today. Seeing the overall design and specifications list, it seems to be an incremental upgrade over the popular Redmi Note 3.

As expected, Xiaomi has today launched the Redmi Note 4 in China. As the name suggests, the smartphone is the successor to the Redmi Note 3 and most of the specifications and features are in line with the leaks we have come across before. The Redmi Note 4 is going on sale in China, and will be available in two variants — 16GB variant with 2GB of RAM, and a 64GB variant with 3GB of RAM. The base variant is priced at 899 Yuan (Rs 9,000 approximately), while the 64GB variant is priced at 1,199 Yuan (Rs 12,000 approximately).

As you can see from the above photos the Redmi Note 4 looks quite similar to the Redmi Note 3, which is already available in India. In fact the only change in the design we can figure out is the 2.5D curved glass on the new Redmi Note 4. While Xiaomi has retained the unibody metal design, it has added Mi 5-like chamfered edges to the smartphone. The overall design language remains the same with the front dominated by the display, while the minimal back panel houses the camera lens, LED flash and the circular fingerprint scanner at the center.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 specifications

The Redmi Note 4 flaunts a 5.5-inch full HD (1920×1080 pixels) display with dedicated Night Display and Reading modes and covered in 2.5D curved glass. Under the hood is MediaTek’s Helio X20 deca-core processor paired with Mali T880MP4 GPU. On the left side of the smartphone is the SIM card tray, and Xiaomi has opted for a hybrid setup. In other words, users can either opt for two SIM cards (micro SIM + nano SIM) or a combination of one SIM card and a microSD card (up to 128GB).

In the photography department, the smartphone is equipped with a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, f/2.0 aperture and PDAF support. Up front, there is a 5-megapixel selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture, and 85-degree wide-angle lens. Though on paper the megapixels of the primary camera has come down (Indian version of the Redmi Note 3 has a 16-megapixel primary camera), some of the camera samples shared by Xiaomi hint at quite a capable shooter.

Like the Redmi Note 3, Xiaomi’s new smartphone too comes with a fingerprint scanner placed at the back which supports Mi Pay and Alipay in China. Connectivity options include dual-SIM card slots (hybrid setup), 4G with VoLTE support, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. There is a 4,100mAh battery that Xiaomi says is good enough to last for the day on a single charge, and on the software front, the Redmi Note 4 runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow wrapped under MIUI 8.

Looking at the new Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, it doesn’t seem to be a huge upgrade over the currently available Redmi Note 3. While the overall design is similar, the 2.5D curved glass and chamfered edges do add a touch of class to the new smartphone. On the specifications and features front there doesn’t seem to be much change either, except the processor bit. If you were to compare the Chinese version, the Redmi Note 3 was launched with a MediaTek Helio X10 octa-core under the hood and a similar 13-megapixel snapper at the back. It is only the Indian version of the Redmi Note 3, which came with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 650 hexa-core chipset and 16-megapixel rear camera.

It will be interesting to see when Xiaomi plans to launch the Redmi Note 4 in India. In order to do so, it will first have to opt for a Qualcomm chipset, as the ongoing court battle with Ericsson doesn’t allow the company to sell MediaTek-powered smartphones in India. The Redmi Note 3 has been Xiaomi’s most popular smartphone in India. Recently, Xiaomi revealed that it has sold 1.75 million units of the Redmi Note 3 in India in just five months. An IDC report also states that Xiaomi shipped 880,000 units of the Redmi Note 3 in India in Q2, 2016. This made it the ‘highest-shipped smartphone ever online in India in any given quarter’.

A comparison table follows.