MI 4 : price, Spec, FAQ

The Hottest Questions regarding the Mi 4

Question 1: What is the unique selling point of the Mi 4?

The Mi 4 is still the world's fastest mobile phone. The stainless steel metal frame uses a very complex manufacturing process, providing excellent grip on the side. The screen is 5 inches of high color saturation on a full IPS lamination screen. Finally, the CPU is the outstanding Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core 2.5GHz processor, running on 3GB of RAM, a 3080mAh battery and a rear camera driven by Sony's 13 million-pixel camera.

Question 2: What is the price, colour and performance of the Mi 4?

The 16GB model will go on sale for RMB 1999, while the 64GB model will be selling for RMB 2499. The 2 models use eMMC5.0 ROM, which doubles the read speed and bumps write speed up by 50%. There will be 2 colours to choose from. Black or White. The Mi 4 utilises the Adreno 330 graphics chip, resulting in graphics processing speed increase of 45%.

Question 3: What is the Mi 4 hardware configuration?

The Mi 4 is using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 quad-core 2.5GHz CPU and has a 3D graphics processor clocked at up to 578MHz. 3GB RAM and 16/64GB high-speed flash memory. It is equipped with a 3080mAh battery and the rear camera is the excellent Sony Exmor RS stack 13 mega pixel Image Sensor, with 6 lenses, a large f1.8 aperture, LED flash and blue glass infrared filter. The front camera is 8 mega pixel unit. The screen is 5 inches of high color saturation on a full IPS screen, running a pixel resolution of 1920x1080, 441PPI. With a maximum brightness of 450cd/m2 and color gamut 17% higher than the iPhone5s, the color is brillant and eye catching.

Question 4: When and where is the Mi 4 available? What are the sales options?

It will go on sale on 29 July at www.mi.com using the open sales concept. There will be no pre-orders, but 1 million units will be available within 2 months.

Question 5: Which networks will the Mi 4 support?

29 July will see the WCDMA (China Unicom) version shipped, while the CDMA version will ship in August. The highly anticipated TDD-LTE version will arrive in September. Xiaomi is committed to ship the FDD-LTE version by the end of the year. All 4G models will also be backwards compatible to 3G networks.

Question 6: What is the Mi 4's LTE characteristics?

The TDD-LTE network has peak download speeds of up to 100Mbps per second, which is up to 10 times the mainstream 3G network speed. It can download a 2GB movie within a few minutes. It is also capable of upload speeds of up to 10Mbps per second. Watching a HD movie on demand anytime, anywhere, browsing the web, even playing the most popular online games, the 4G network speed is always up to the task.

Question 7: Does the Mi 4 support dual SIM and external SD cards?

The Mi 4 accepts only 1 Micro SIM and has no SD card expansion.

Question 8: Does the Mi 4 offer Accident Protection Services?

Yes for an additonal RMB 99, the customer may purchase Accident Protection Insurance. It covers accidental damage, for example water damage and cracked screens. Customers will receive free repairs or replacement.

Question 9: What does the Accident Protection Insurance cover? How can claims be made and which Xiaomi phones are covered?

The insurance is only available in China and is provided by 众安在线财产保险股份有限公司. Their hotline (400-999-9595) is open 7 X 13 hours. The hotline staff will after verification, direct the customer to the nearest repair center. This service is only for the Mi 4.   

Question 10: What is the Mi 4 back cover made of? Can it be changed?

The Mi 4 back cover uses a raster pattern and employs a 9 layer in-mold transfer technology which is only 0.06mm thick. It has an effective anti-UV coating layer and is also anti fingerprint. The cover can be changed and Xiaomi will introduce more cover options in time to come.

Question 11: Is the Mi 4's battery removable?

The built in battery cannot be replaced. In fact, according to teardown reports, the battery is glued into the phone and needs to be forcefully ripped out for removal. You may read the teardown here.

Bonus MiBand Question: When will the MiBand ship? What functions does it have? Will it only unlock the Mi 4?

The MiBand will ship in August 2014. It supports Fitness monitoring, Sleep tracking, Smart alarm and Phone unlock without password. The MiBand will unlock any phone running MIUI ROM and Android 4.4 or greater.