Xiaomi Mi 4 4G FDD LTE

The Xiaomi Mi 4 4G phone is arguably the best all-round Android smartphone released in 2014. Priced lower than flagship phones from Samsung, HTC, Sony and LG, Xiaomi's top end smartphone is the best value for money.

Xiaomi is now the world's third largest smartphone maker behind Samsung and Apple, and Xiaomi Mi 4's popularity is a big factor behind this success.

Xiaomi Mi 4 comes in 3 different connectivity variations - we choose the model that is compatible with Australian carriers for you. We also guarantee 100% genuine phone sourced directly from Xiaomi, so you'll avoid counterfeit models.

Network

The 4G LTE model that you'll purchase through ShopJoy is compatible with Australia's mobile networks. In our test with the biggest Australian mobile carriers (Telstra and Optus), we're able to make phone calls as well as consume data over 4G and 3G networks. As you can see in the screenshot, the Telstra 4G network is picked up automatically by the phone.

Physical Size & Shape

Unlike many Android phones that are getting too big and borderline impractical, Xiaomi Mi 4's 5-inch size is easy to handle. Not only that, it's easy on the eyes too. The Mi 4 sports a slick and polished design.

Having an almost entirely flat back panel makes it seem thicker than other Android phones, but in reality it's actually as thin as the slim 2013 model of HTC One. In other words, thinner than LG G3.

Performance

Powered by the Quad Core 2.5 GHz Snapdragon 801 CPU, Xiaomi Mi 4's performance is ahead of LG G3 and on par with HTC One M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5, according to the AnTuTu benchmark app, though this statistic may have been boosted by users who run their phone on Performance instead of Balanced.

Display

Mi 4's IPS touchscreen packs 1080 x 1920 pixels with about 441 ppi pixel density, lower than LG G3's 538 ppi, but at this density level everything still looks sharp to normal human eyes. The screen's side bezel (the unvieawable area on the sides) is very narrow at 2.65mm, slightly narrower than LG G3. Considering that the latter has the highest screen-to-body ratio among all Android smartphones, this is a very impressive feat.

Software

The Mi 4 operating system is MIUI 6 - Xiaomi's altered version of Android KitKat 4.4. Unless you're an Android purist who insists on plain Android, you'll likely enjoy the beautiful and functional MIUI. Google's apps like Play Store, Youtube or Chrome are not installed by default, but installing them yourself is easy enough. You can find the complete step-by-step Google Play Store installation guide for Xiaomi Mi 4 on our blog post.

Language

After booting the phone for the first time, you will be asked to choose a language. English is, of course, available for selection. The MIUI 6 OS switches to English fine, but some pre-installed Xiaomi apps (for example the Notes app) still show remnants of untranslated Chinese text. We find that this is never a problem, as we follow the recommended practice of using Google's apps instead (for example Chrome instead of the built-in Browser, Gmail instead of the built-in Mail).

Future

The next iterations of this phone are Mi 4i and Mi 4C. It is rumoured that the next generation phone will be the Mi 5, possibly to be released in 2016.

Video Demo/Review

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