Trendy model of New Xiaomi Redmi 4A now available in Poorvika mobiles.com

When Xiaomi entered the Indian market in July 2014, we got a chance to check out its budget-centric Redmi 1s, and stated that it heralded a new era of capable smartphones in the sub-segment. Two years later, Xiaomi has made a name for itself in the budget and mid-range categories with its Redmi series – and the recently-launched Redmi Note 4 (review) is carrying forward that legacy. But now it seems that the brand has set its sights even higher (or lower, if you consider the price tag) as it has pulled back the curtains from its latest offering, the Redmi 4A. Dubbed as its “most affordable smartphone ever”, the device seems to be well set to disrupt the sub-Rs 6k entry-level phone market.

While our review will take an in-depth look on whether it’s able to fulfil its goal, before that let’s take a quick look at its box contents followed by our initial impressions. Like its siblings, the Xiaomi Redmi 4A comes hidden in a nondescript white rectangular box with subtle branding. Inside, you’ll find the phone, a wall charger, micro-USB cable, SIM-ejection tool and some documentation. Holding the Redmi 4A makes us immediately reminiscent of the Xiaomi Mi 4i. Both devices are compact 5-inchers, fitting well in the hand. Both phones are also made out of plastic, although the metallic finish on the Redmi 4A is of a high quality and offers a solid feel. The fascia of the Xiaomi Redmi 4A is dominated by the IPS display panel, which bears a resolution of 1,280 x 720 pixels. The screen is quite sharp, and colours are vibrant as well. The brightness levels are also impressive, though viewing angles are just about average.

Along with the screen, you’ll find the earpiece, a couple of sensors above and a row of capacitive Android navigation keys below, which unfortunately aren’t backlit.

The placement of buttons and ports is fairly standard, and the device features a unibody construction. At the back of the Redmi 4A, you’ll find the primary camera complemented by the LED flash. While the handset sports a dark grey hue, it seems to have a bluish tinge, making it look different from other phones.

While the Xiaomi Redmi4A is priced aggressively, Xiaomi has tried not to cut any corners. At its core lies the Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset, which offers four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.4Ghz. The 64-bit processor is mated to 2 gigs of RAM, and the hardware should be able to deliver smooth usage. You’ll have to wait for our review to see if it can handle heavy apps or graphics-intensive games easily. 

Talking about storage, the Redmi 4A comes with decent 16GB of memory on board, which is further expandable up to 256GB with the use of microSD cards. However, you will need to sacrifice on the dual-SIM capability to top up the memory. The device does score in terms of connectivity options on offer though, as it supports 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. It also has an IR emitter, letting you control TV and other appliances.

In terms of software, the phone runs Xiaomi’s custom MIUI 8 atop Android 6.0 Marshmallow. We expect it to be updated to Android Nougat eventually. The Redmi 4A sports a 3,120mAh battery which should be sufficient enough to ensure a day’s worth of backup.

The Redmi 4A holds a lot of promise, especially because of its attractive pricing essentially making it Xiaomi’s cheapest smartphone in India. The segment in India hasn’t seen a strong contender for a while, and is peppered mostly with devices from homegrown manufacturers. But will the Redmi 4A be able to deliver a smooth real-life experience without any major compromises? Our review will have all the answers, so keep watching this space.