? WHAT IS THE XIAOMI MI4C
The latest member of the Mi4 family, the Mi4C is Xiaomi's attempt to secure some more mid-range market share before the launch of the hotly anticipated Mi5 early in 2016
Boasting a polycarbonate body, 5-inch 1080p screen, USB Type-C, Snapdragon 808 processor and Xiaomi's Android-based MIUI 7 operating system, it offers similar power to Google's recently-released Nexus 5X – but at less than half the cost
XIAOMI MI4C – DESIGN AND BUILD
Like its forerunner the Mi4i, the Mi4C has an all-plastic exterior. The polycarbonate shell brings to mind the iPhone 5C, but the finish is matte rather than glossy, increasing grip in the hand. While metal-clad smartphones are becoming more common due to the premium nature of the materials, you can't accuse the Mi4C of feeling cheap and nasty; the case is solid and well-made, with no creakiness to speak of
This is partly down to the fact that the battery inside can’t be removed, ensuring that the unit can be sealed tightly and securely at the point of manufacture. With a height of 138mm and thickness of 7.8mm, it's a pleasingly compact unit - certainly much smaller than the Nexus 5X, which boasts a similar-sized screen
The front of the phone showcases the 1080p, 5-inch IPS LCD screen, which has the three traditional Android commands at the bottom. At the top you'll see the Mi logo, earpiece and front-facing 5-megapixel camera. Around the rear are a 13-megapixel snapper, dual-LED flash and speaker, which is surprisingly loud and punchy
The left-hand side has the micro-SIM tray – which can accommodate two SIMs, as is the tradition with many phones aimed at the Chinese market – while the right-hand side has the volume rocker and power button
On the top of the phone you'll find the 3.5mm headphone socket. Personally, I’d have preferred this to be along the bottom edge, like it is with the Galaxy S6. An IR blaster sits up here too, which turns the phone into a remote control for your TV or stereo
On the bottom there's the USB Type-C connector – a first for Xiaomi. This banishes the issue of plugging the power lead in the wrong way around, and also means the phone supports faster data transfer (assuming the other device also has Type-C) and quick charging
There's no fingerprint scanner, nor NFC inside, so the Mi4C won't support Google's contactless Android Pay system when it rolls out next year. The lack of NFC is disappointing when you consider how long it has been commonplace in other Android handsets, but Xiaomi has claimed in the past that very few people actually use it. That might have been true a few years ago, but thanks to Apple's efforts in the contactless payment arena, it's about to become a pretty essential feature – and it's a shame the Mi4C doesn't have it
The lack of a microSD card slot may also put off some buyers. Instead you're stuck with the standard 16GB of storage (32GB if you opt for the more expensive model, which also has an extra 1GB of RAM)
XIAOMI MI4C – DISPLAY
The 1,080 x 1,920 pixel IPS LCD screen on the Mi4C is 5-inches from corner to corner and boasts a 441ppi pixel density – more than adequate for a display of this size. For an LCD panel the contrast is excellent, with deep, convincing blacks mixing neatly with brighter, more vibrant colours. For a phone that costs this little, it's a remarkable display in terms of quality
Xiaomi has included a sunlight mode, which makes the screen easier to see outdoors. In general it works well – although the shininess of the glass that covers the display does sometimes make it hard to see past the glare and reflections
While we're on the topic of glass, it's worth pointing out that Xiaomi hasn't specified what material has been used here – there's no mention of Gorilla Glass anywhere in the specification list. While this doesn't preclude the use of some form of protective covering, I noticed that the screen on my review unit has already picked up quite a deep scratch, so it might be prudent to treat the phone with kid gloves
One feature I really liked – which was disabled in the options menu by default – is the ability to double-tap the display to wake up the handset. I'm amazed that more mobile manufacturers don't include this as standard in their products
XIAOMI MI4C – MIUI 7
Xiaomi, like the vast majority of Android OEMs, places its own UI skin over the top of Google's mobile OS. MIUI is one of the more comprehensive skins on the market, boasting its own user account system and marketplace, and is now up to version 7, which looks more like Apple's iOS than ever before. Xiaomi has been criticised in the past for slavishly copying the iPhone maker's every move, and if you've used iOS recently then you'll spot a lot of similarities here
There's no app drawer, as you'd find on most Android phone. Instead, all of your apps are arranged on your homescreen, just like they are in iOS. Xiaomi has also adopted a "flat" design for app icons, again taking its lead from Apple. Another "borrowed" idea is alert badges on icons, denoting unread messages or notifications. Many other elements of the UI are stylistically similar, such as the Wallpaper settings menu
Such shameless replication of ideas would be annoying were it not for the fact that they all work so well. Xiaomi has combined the best elements of Android – such as a more robust notification system and wider user customisation (you can apply user-generated themes to the UI and even create your own) – with the best aspects of iOS to deliver a Frankenstein-style OS that offers an intuitive and appealing experience. Every element is meticulously designed and rendered, making stock Android look a bit dull and uninspired in comparison. This is perhaps a matter of personal preference, but I vastly prefer MIUI to Android 6.0 Marshmallow on the Nexus 5X in terms of pure aesthetics
For all of its cloning, Xiaomi does have some ideas of its own. New to the Mi4C is the concept of "Edge Controls", which allow you to perform certain actions by double-tapping the side of the phone with your finger. You can set this feature to take you backwards through the UI, which is by far the most useful application. The other is to take a photo when the camera app is running, but this isn't quite as effective – the process of tapping the phone usually means the resultant photo is blurry
MIUI 7 is available in two forms: developmental and stable. Most units imported to the West by Chinese resellers will come with the former installed, as development ROMs can easily be hacked and packaged with a wide range of useful (and not so useful) apps. The main reason, however, is so that Western users can gain access to Google's suite of programs, which don't come with the Mi4C as standard
Even so, you'll want to flash the global stable ROM the moment your phone arrives, which is a simple matter of downloading the file to the phone's internal storage and using the MIUI Updater app to flash the update. You'll lose Google apps, but it will also remove any bothersome bloatware that will almost certainly have been included by the ROM creator, leaving you with a more stable version of MIUI 7
It also means you’ll have an unrooted phone – out of the box, my Mi4C review unit was rooted and therefore wouldn't play nice with some of my essential downloads, such as the Barclays mobile banking app. You can get Google apps back by installing a program from the Mi Market. While the entire process takes only a few minutes, it might be a bit beyond casual users, so keep this in mind when mulling over a potential purchase
XIAOMI MI4C – PERFORMANCE, SPEAKERS & CALL QUALITY
The similar-looking Mi4i was saddled with a Snapdragon 615, but Xiaomi isn't cutting corners with its successor. The Mi4C has a Snapdragon 808 – the same chipset seen in LG's flagship G4 and Nexus 5X devices. It's backed with 2GB of RAM, although a 3GB variant – with more storage to boot – is also available
Despite the technical parity with the Nexus 5X, I actually found the Mi4C supplied a faster, smoother experience overall. This is almost certainly down to the optimisations found within MIUI 7, which seems to prioritise touchscreen responsiveness and animations, giving the phone an iOS-like level of smoothness. However, like the Nexus 5X, the Mi4C becomes hot very quickly, which suggests that Qualcomm's problems with the overheating Snapdragon 810 haven't been totally solved with the revised 808
In terms of benchmarks, the Mi4C predictably ranks alongside the Nexus 5X. Using Geekbench, the phone returns a single-core score of 1,285, while the 5X scores 1,263. The same app's multi-core score is 3,336 for the Mi4C and 3436 on the 5X. That's impressive in itself – after all, the 5X costs more than twice as much as Xiaomi's phone – but the AnTuTu test is even more striking. The Mi4C scores over 50,000, placing it above the LG G4, Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 and HTC One (M8). While the price is undeniably a budget one, the handset is capable of delivering mid-to-top tier performance
The Mi4C's main mono speaker is located on the rear of the phone, which means when it's in your pocket – screen facing in – you're more likely to hear it in public. It's not as loud as the one on the Nexus 6 or Galaxy S6, and there's some distortion at full volume, but compared to the feeble speaker on the Nexus 5X, the difference is like night and day
Thanks to a second noise-cancelling microphone, the Mi4C performs brilliantly when it comes to making and receiving phone calls. Audio quality is high, and I never experienced any issues hearing the person on the other end of the line
If you're with O2 – or use an operator that uses O2's network, such as Giffgaff or Tesco Mobile – then you'll be limited to just 3G data on the Mi4C. It supports the 1,800MHz and 2,600MHz 4G LTE bands, but not the 800MHz 4G band that O2's network uses
XIAOMI MI4C – CAMERA
It wasn't very long ago that mid- and budget-level smartphone owners had to endure terrible cameras with basic options and poor video recording, but those days seem to be well and truly behind us. The Mi4C sports a 13-megapixel sensor – made by either Sony or Samsung, depending on which production batch you have – with phase-detection autofocus, two-tone dual-LED flash, 1080p video recording and much more besides
Colours are suitably rich
Photos are full of detail
Night time shots aren't terrible
Compared to the unacceptably sluggish camera seen on the Nexus 5X, the one on the Mi4C feels fast and responsive – not quite Galaxy S6 standard, but certainly impressive for a phone in this price bracket. Focus time – even in low light – is swift, although the lack of optical image stabilisation does mean that some shots end up a little blurry. It's a bit much to expect a budget device to come with OIS, however – Apple reserved the feature for the iPhone 6S Plus, but denied it to iPhone 6S owners
The biggest gains are felt within the camera software, which Xiaomi has constructed from scratch, and – surprise, surprise – is heavily inspired by Apple's own camera app. HDR, face detection and on-the-fly filters all come as standard, as do a few unusual features, such as a fish-eye lens effect and an audio-shutter option, which allows you to trigger the photo using your voice
Manual controls are also supported, so you can tinker with elements such as the white balance and ISO. Compared to the frustratingly slow, buggy and feature-poor camera app on the Nexus 5X, this is a joy to use
XIAOMI MI4C – BATTERY
For a phone that’s so compact and svelte, it's surprising to find that the Mi4C packs a 3,080mAh battery – quite a high-capacity unit for this kind of phone. By comparison, the Nexus 5X has a 2,700mAh battery and the Galaxy S6 has a 2,550mAh battery
MIUI 7 comes with a power profile manager that allows you to scale back the processor in order to conserve juice, but we were pleasantly surprised to find that we didn't really need it. Even with moderate usage the Mi4C comfortably lasted well over a day, and in some cases we were able to wring almost two out of a single charge. If you choose to use both SIM card slots on the phone then you'll see a considerable drop in stamina, however
The fact that it supports USB Type-C and comes with a quick-charging wall charger also helps. While it doesn't top up as quickly as the blisteringly fast Galaxy S6, the Mi4C doesn't need long on the mains before it reaches 100%
??? SHOULD I BUY THE XIAOMI MI4C
Based on the specs, build quality and software alone, the answer is a resounding yes. The Mi4C is well made, has a fantastic 1080p screen, sports a wonderful camera and is compact and comfortable to use. It also has one of the best Android UI skins on the block in the shape of MIUI 7 – even if it does copy Apple's iOS to an almost shameless degree
However, as we always say when reviewing phones primarily intended for the Chinese market, buyers should beware that this isn’t like purchasing a handset from your local high-street retailer. It will most likely come with software you won't want, and therefore you'll need to go to a little more effort to ensure you get a stable version of the firmware and you're able to use Google's suite of apps. It's not as onerous a task as it sounds, but it's worth keeping in mind before making a purchase
It's also worth noting that the Mi4C supports 4G on only certain UK networks, and lacks features such as NFC and fingerprint security – two things that are becoming very common on smartphones. There's no microSD card slot, either. These grumbles might sink any other handset, but on a device that costs £160, they're far easier to stomach
VERDICT
The Mi4C comes with some caveats, but the fact that it offers the same power as the Nexus 5X at less than half the price makes it a purchase I can fully recommend
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