Xiaomi Mi 4c Comprehensive Review Specs and Pricing

Overview

The Xiaomi Mi 4c is one of the popular mid-range smartphones released by Xiaomi in September 2015. Known for its affordability and decent features, the Mi 4c embodies a balance of design, performance, and usability, making it a preferred choice for many users during its time.

Design and Build

The Xiaomi Mi 4c comes with a compact design that fits comfortably in one hand. It measures 138.1 x 69.6 x 7.8 mm and weighs only 132 grams, making it lightweight and easy to carry around. The device features a glass front with a plastic back and frame, offering a balance between durability and cost-effectiveness. The phone is available in a variety of colors, namely white, grey, pink, yellow, and blue, giving users several options to choose from based on their preferences.

Display

The Mi 4c boasts a 5.0-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels. This results in a high pixel density of approximately 441 ppi, which ensures vibrant and sharp imagery. The display covers about 71.7% of the phone’s front, providing a decent amount of screen real estate for its size. The color reproduction and viewing angles benefit from the IPS technology, making media consumption a satisfactory experience.

Performance

Under the hood, the Mi 4c is powered by the Qualcomm MSM8992 Snapdragon 808 chipset, a hexa-core processor consisting of four 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 cores and two 1.8 GHz Cortex-A57 cores. This setup ensures the phone handles multitasking and everyday tasks with ease. The Adreno 418 GPU handles graphics processing, delivering a smooth gaming experience for moderate graphics-intense games.

RAM and Storage

The Mi 4c comes in two variants: one with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, and another with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. However, the phone does not feature a card slot for expandable memory, which means users need to manage their storage space efficiently to accommodate apps and media.

Operating System

The device initially launched with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop and is upgradable to Android 7.0 Nougat, overlaid with Xiaomi’s MIUI 10. This software combination offers a user-friendly interface with a plethora of customization options and additional features that enhance the overall user experience.

Camera

The Xiaomi Mi 4c is equipped with a single 13 MP rear camera with an aperture of f/2.0 and a wide-angle 24mm lens. The camera setup includes phase detection autofocus (PDAF) and a dual-LED dual-tone flash, ensuring decent quality photos in various lighting conditions. Additionally, it supports HDR and panorama modes, offering more versatility for photography enthusiasts.

Front Camera

For selfies, the Mi 4c provides a 5 MP front-facing camera with an aperture of f/2.0. It supports 1080p video recording at 30fps, which is impressive for a front camera in its range during the time of release.

Battery Life

The device houses a non-removable Li-Ion 3080 mAh battery. It supports 18W fast charging, which is advertised to charge the battery to 40% in 60 minutes. While the battery capacity might seem modest by today's standards, it was adequate for moderate usage, complementing the device’s efficient processor for a satisfactory user experience. The phone has an endurance rating of 52 hours, which was solid for its time.

Connectivity and Other Features

The Mi 4c includes a range of connectivity options, such as dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS with GLONASS and BDS, and an Infrared port for remote control functionality. However, it does not support NFC or radio but features a USB Type-C port, which was a significant inclusion at the time.

Sensors

The device is equipped with a variety of sensors including an accelerometer, gyro, proximity sensor, and compass, ensuring it can handle a variety of user interactions and applications that rely on these sensors.

Audio

For audio, the Mi 4c includes a loudspeaker along with a 3.5mm headphone jack, offering versatility in audio output options for different user preferences. Audio quality tests show decent results with noise levels and crosstalk being quite satisfactory for the category and price range.

Price and Value

At launch, the Xiaomi Mi 4c was priced at around 210 EUR, which positioned it as an attractive budget-friendly option. The device delivered substantial value for its price, offering performance and features that catered well to users not looking to spend on flagship models.

Conclusion

In summary, the Xiaomi Mi 4c was undoubtedly a capable smartphone in its time. It brought a commendable array of features that appealed to a wide range of consumers looking for value for money. Despite the lack of expandable storage and a few missing connectivity options like NFC, the Mi 4c managed to provide a satisfactory experience due to its balanced performance, good camera capabilities, and a user-friendly interface. It remains a testament to Xiaomi’s mission of offering high-quality devices at competitive prices.