Xiaomi Redmi 4A review: An entry-level phone never looked so good

An entry-level phone could mean different things to different people. It could mean a no-nonsense, physical numpad-toting feature phone, most of which have insanely long battery life. Or it could mean a very basic smartphone packed with only the bare necessities. In either case, an entry-level phone is supposed to be a hitchhiker's guide to the world of voice calling and text messaging, and that's the most you could expect from it. Of course, a smartphone will give you a few more benefits, but, at the end of the day, an entry-level phone is an entry-level phone for a reason.

The Redmi 4A, from Xiaomi, takes a different route altogether. It's a feature packed smartphone masquerading as an entry-level offering. It's not aiming to become your very first feature phone replacement, or perhaps, even a secondary phone that you could use to manage your Facebook account, or maybe WhatsApp someone. The Redmi 4A, from Xiaomi, is a full-scale smartphone that's high on specs and low on price. An entry-level phone has never looked so good.

Mi 4i looks

Although the Redmi 4A is a 2017 phone, it would remind you of Xiaomi's yesteryear classics, the Redmi 1S and Redmi 2 (along with the Redmi 2 Prime). Xiaomi, however, insists that the Redmi 4A shares its DNA with the Mi 4i. Whatever be the case, the Redmi 4A doesn't look like it belongs in Xiaomi's current generation of smartphones, a generation that takes great pride in being all-metal.

The Redmi 4A is all-plastic, a trade-off that seems fair considering its Rs 5,999 price tag. But, come to think of it, it's really hard to believe that Xiaomi would launch an all-plastic phone (now) when all one expects from it is all-metal premium at rock-bottom prices. I can't even remember the last time Xiaomi launched an all-plastic phone. Early 2015, was it?

Clearly, the Redmi 3S and 3S Prime have spoiled me for good. The Redmi 3S costs only Rs 1,000 more and it's all metal. I guess, that's the thing about the ultra-affordable price segment. Every rupee counts. While spending Rs 1,000 more would give you metal (among other things) going lower would have its consequences. Xiaomi, however, has a different take. It says, the Redmi 4A belongs to a different product category -- of entry-level phones -- and mustn't be confused with the Redmi 3S (and 3S Prime) phone. The Redmi 4A mustn't be confused with a toned-down Redmi 3S. Moving on, there would be more such smartphones -- as the Redmi 4A -- and chances are most of these smartphones would be all-plastic. A Redmi 3S successor is meanwhile coming very soon to India.

The Redmi 4A, from Xiaomi, is a full-scale smartphone that's high on specs and low on price. An entry-level phone has never looked so good

All said and done, a metal body or the lack of it isn't necessarily a deal breaker, especially in this price segment. Because the Redmi 4A shares its DNA with the Mi 4i, it doesn't matter whether it is plastic or metal. It's obvious that it's beautiful. It's obvious that it's very ergonomic. It's a good looking plastic phone, the Redmi 4A, and it certainly feels very nice too. Just like the Mi 4i, the Redmi 4A has a slight matte finish on the back that's smooth to the touch and because the rear seamlessly wraps around its front, the phone feels all the more comfortable in the hands.

The right edge houses the volume rocker and the power button, both of which appear firm and well-placed. They offer decent feedback. The left edge, meanwhile, houses a hybrid card slot for one SIM and one micro-SD or two SIM cards (micro + nano) and no micro-SD. The speaker vent is, meanwhile, located on the lower end of the back.

The lower end of the display panel houses three capacitive keys for navigation, without any backlit. There's also an LED notification light on the front.

The Redmi 4A -- just like the Mi 4i -- is surprisingly thin and light-weight, even more so considering that it packs in a fairly respectable battery (3,120 mAh) inside. Adding to the overall ergonomic score are some well-trimmed bezels so that not an inch of real estate seems out of place or a waste of it.

Feature packed like the Redmi 3S

The Redmi 4A comes with a 5-inch HD IPS LCD display with a 720x1280 pixels resolution which roughly translates to 294ppi pixel density much like the Redmi 3S (and Redmi 3S Prime). The quality of the panel may not be as good as the one on-board the Redmi 3S, but, at its price point, the Redmi 4A can afford to get away with it.

Colours look rich and vibrant -- a little warm by default -- but there's a manual mode inside that helps achieve slightly better results. There's also an in-built reading mode that turns colours to the warmer end of the spectrum for night-time reading. Brightness levels leave a lot to be desired, so do the phone's viewing angles. The Redmi 4A will give you a hard time in direct sunlight.

On the inside, the Redmi 4A comes with an entry-level 1.4GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processer coupled with Adreno 308 GPU and 2GB of RAM. The phone comes with 16GB of internal memory which is further expandable by up to 128GB via a hybrid micro-SD card slot. The dual-SIM phone supports 4G LTE, VoLTE and USB OTG.

The Redmi 4A with a Snapdragon 425 may not inspire the same level of confidence as a certain Redmi 3S with a Snapdragon 430, but, that's beside the point. The Redmi 4A isn't looking to replace the Redmi 3S. It's merely looking to offer a cheaper alternative. It may not be as powerful (and as power efficient) but it's certainly no slouch either. In fact, at its price point, the Xiaomi Redmi 4A, is the most powerful (and most power-efficient) smartphone that you can buy in the Indian market right now.

Because the Redmi 4A is an entry-level phone, it's only fair that it is treated like one. It should do just fine as long as you're aware of its limitations. Nay, it should do better.

The Redmi 4A is quick and responsive in every sense of the word. There were no immediate visible lags or stutter while navigating between home screens and/or multitasking in our review unit. Remember, its speed and multitasking prowess are being compared with phones in this price range. The phone does have a tendency to slow down or stutter when you have too many apps running simultaneously in the background, something that isn't very surprising if you take into account the hardware that is inside it. One of the first things to do, then, is to ensure you're not treating the Redmi 4A as a multitasking beast. It isn't.

Basic games like Candy Crush and Subway Surfers are handled well by the phone, but GPU-intensive games like Asphalt 8: Airborne are prone to occasional lags and frame rate drops even at low graphical settings especially when being played for longer periods.

On the software front, the Redmi 4A comes with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow-based MIUI 8 out-of-the-box. Since, Xiaomi maintains the same level of consistency on this front across all its phones, the Redmi 4A basically runs the same sofware that's inside the Redmi 3S. But, if you're too much into the technicalities, the Redmi 3S originally ships with MIUI 7 and is upgradable to MIUI 8. At the end of the day, though, both the Redmi 3S and the Redmi 4A, run the same exact software.

As expected, you get a user interface with lots of fancy colours schemes and animations, and no app drawer. MIUI 8 offers all the bells and whistles that you'd want from a fully-functional operating system, including themes, as long as you're not a stock Android fanatic. Key takeaways from Xiaomi's new MIUI include dual apps (imagine, running two WhatsApp accounts on one phone), secure folder (imagine, two different home screens one for home another for work) and scrollable screenshots (imagine longer screenshots of complete webpages that can be edited at will). Additionally, the Redmi 4A also comes with an IR-blaster that can be used (in tandem with the Mi Remote app or even some third-party solutions) to control smart home appliances.

The mono speaker on-board the Redmi 4A is average at best. It gets loud but there is often some digitisation observed at peak volume. Also, it's rear placement means sound is muffled when the phone is kept with the back facing down. Voice quality during calls made with the Redmi 4A was excellent.

The budget phone segment would not have been the same without the Redmi 1S and Redmi 2. The Redmi 4A aims to recreate the magic of the original Redmi 1S

The Redmi 4A is backed by a 3,120mAh battery which is non-removable. Moderate to extreme usage saw us cross the one whole day barrier with ease, while toning down further should get most users one and a half days out of the phone. Extreme usage scenarios got us close to 14 hours on the Redmi 4A, which is kind of amazing.

On the camera front you get a 13-megapixel camera on the rear with f/2.2 aperture, autofocus along with an LED flash. On the front you get a 5-megapixel snapper. The Redmi 3S (and Redmi 3S Prime) was an excellent camera phone for its price. The Redmi 4A has more or less similar camera specs with the devil in the details. And it's those minor details that make the Redmi 4A a lesser mortal -- in the camera department -- when compared with the Redmi 3S.

The phone captures some good-looking photos in good light with good amount of detail and mostly spot-on colours. But, zooming into these photos -- more often than not -- gives out the real picture. It isn't that good. Noise is quite evident and resolved detail missing. The phone, for the lack of a better word, has a rather hit or miss camera in good light. Still, it should suffice for most budget-conscious buyers. Remember, the Redmi 4A is not a bad camera phone, it is just inconsistent. It is a pretty disappointing camera phone in tricky and low light though.

The front-facing selfie camera is, meanwhile, just about average clicking average at best selfies with some noise, even in good lighting.

Redmi 1S pricing

The Redmi 1S and Redmi 2 (along with the Redmi 2 Prime) have done well for Xiaomi. Together with Motorola's Moto E, these phones have given buyers on a tight budget some good options. These are also the prime examples of value for money. The budget phone segment would not have been the same without the Moto E, or for that matter, the Redmi 1S and Redmi 2. The Redmi 4A aims to recreate the magic of the original Redmi 1S.

The Redmi 1S, when it was launched in India, was easily among the most powerful phones that you could buy without burning a hole in your pocket. The Redmi 4A is more or less the same deal, in fact, it's even better. It has a more premium body, a better screen, a more powerful and power-efficient chipset, better cameras and better battery life. Xiaomi's MIUI has also come a long way since then. But, at the same time I would have liked Xiaomi to launch the 32 gig model of the Redmi 4A in India which would have been a killer deal at Rs 5,999. Even more so because the Redmi 4A 16GB model has quite a few unwanted apps and gives you only 10GB of memory straight off the bat.

Should you buy it?

Boasting of an all-metal body, the Redmi 3S -- at Rs 6,999 -- offers all the bells and whistles that someone on a tight budget would want. You're better off buying the Redmi 3S -- provided you can get a hold of it -- because for Rs 1,000 more you're getting a premium body, a better screen, better hardware and a much bigger battery. Also, the Redmi 3S' rear camera comes with PDAF: it's not a deal-breaker but when you're in the budget segment, every rupee counts and a potentially faster camera would mean a great deal for many. As for the Redmi 4A, well, it's not a bad phone. It just doesn't make sense the way the Redmi 1S did once upon a time.

But, here's the thing. If you're someone who is looking for a basic smartphone at dirt-cheap prices, but, also someone who loves to flaunt it, the Redmi 4A should get the job done. The phone, although plastic, feels premium from every nook and corner and is also quite high on specs for its price as long as you know its limitations. Just don't expect it to better the Redmi 3S, because, Xiaomi hasn't built it that way.