[Update] Full Xiaomi Mi4C review Snapdragon 808 1080P

[GizBot]

Xiaomi Mi4C review Snapdragon 808 1080P

Sold retail internationally, Xiaomi is one of the best known China brands. They rose to the top in a very short time period due to a huge bank roll and […]

See the full Xiaomi Mi4C review: http://www.gizbeat.com/8966/xiaomi-mi4c-...808-1080p/

Xiaomi [email protected]: http://www.everbuying.net/china-mi4c.html

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[Trenzalore]

It sounds like a definite winner but the non-removable battery is a potential deal breaker for some. How does the camera do in low light? still impressive?

I just recently tried using a Xiaomi phone -- not this exact model but I have to agree, Xiaomi knows how to deliver a solid product. The OS on the note 2 I used is super stable and smooth, and you could use it with absolute confidence that it wouldn't burn itself and die on you. I did notice that the stock ROM was a bit heavy on the bloatware with the note 2. How was the mi4c?

Yep, that IR blaster is tons of fun. You can mess around with TVs at restaurants and play innocent hehe.

I've heard there are some issues with OTA updates -- taking hours to download 23MB updates and lots of times ultimately failing. I don't know if it's an issue with backed up servers or what not, but it's a huge avenue for improvement. Even downloads from their website and forum are too slow and lack mirror links.

Anyway, that's a bit off topic.
As always, great review! Thanks!

[GizBeat]

Thank you for taking the time to comment Trenzalore. I haven't had a chance to test it in low light yet. The Xiaomi camera does some interesting trickery to clean up noise from images, so I think they should be fairly clean, but possibly loss of detail.

Really, for very good low light shooting, need an APS-C sized sensor or bigger and good glass... Or a minimum of the 1" type sensor as used by G7X, Nikon J, Sony RX, Samsung NX Mini.

For snapshots though, and "good enough", the Xiaomi/Sony IMX combo is very solid.

Re the battery, you might think that, but there are a couple of things to consider:

- you don't need to remove the battery to flash.

- by the time the battery loses significant capacity, for most it will be time to upgrade

- if the battery loses significant capacity and still not ready to upgrade, new batteries are available for about $10

Re Xiaomi ROM downloads, there's actually a secret to DL Xiaomi ROMs and OTA if having issues. Just add an 'o' (the letter) to the beginning of the link. For me they are always fast and stable when adding the o.

Re bloatware, I didn't notice much. I'll look again though. They're very easily rooted, so not a problem regardless.

[Trenzalore]

well, I was just probing for a general "good enough" as you say, or if it's an outright potato cam in low light. I really doubt it's the latter, though.

One of the comforting things about having a removable battery is that, when situations get too sticky, there is always an option to force a shutdown. It's either pessimistic or realistic to consider such an instance, but even fancy shmancy Samsung phones have to potential to go bonkers on you to require drastic action of pulling out the battery (and possibly your hair).
Although, I do agree with the points you've made regarding battery life.

wait, what's this about the "o" thing?

[GizBeat]

If having issues, add an 'o' in front of whatever OTA/ROM/download link from Xiaomi servers. The download will then be stable and fast (assuming you're on a stable&fast local connection to begin with).

Example:

Code:

http://bigota.d.miui.com/V7.0.11.0.LXKCNCI/miui_MI4c_V7.0.11.0.LXKCNCI_35d159b1a9_5.1.zip

Becomes:

Code:

http://obigota.d.miui.com/V7.0.11.0.LXKCNCI/miui_MI4c_V7.0.11.0.LXKCNCI_35d159b1a9_5.1.zip

re bonkering out with, which you may know a bit about, for most Android phones, hold power button for 10 seconds and it should auto power-off.

I know, there's still this feeling of loss of control when not having a removable battery...I have it as well...but, there's no rational basis to it...Unless it's an MTK phone and trying to PC flash, then this bears heavy consideration for those who like to flash and root, etc. Especially since most of the new SoC/Lollipop MTK ROMs require flashing TWRP/CWM to root.

And re the camera, I know you know about sensor sizes etc..., but some people expect great low-light results from a phone's camera- thus the explanation... physics simply doesn't allow for it with a 1/3.2" sensor (or a 1/2.3 or a 1/1.7 for that matter). It's just so tiny.

Anyways, yes...They are good enough.

Here's a sample...No flash... Some minor sharpening applied.

[Trenzalore]

O...excellent tip!

should that 10-second power off work without fail?
Hehe. Point well made.

That's actually pretty impressive. Thanks for taking the time to upload a sample. I'm sure a lot more others will find it useful.

[GizBeat]

O...excellent tip!

should that 10-second power off work without fail?
Hehe. Point well made.

That's actually pretty impressive. Thanks for taking the time to upload a sample. I'm sure a lot more others will find it useful.

Let me know how the o works out for you. Or whomever may be using it.

In my experience, yes. It's some sort of low-level power off. Should work regardless of what the phone is doing (or not doing, eg locked up etc..). You can try it on your current mobile.

Re the pic, right... I was just thinking this... I was taking pics a short while ago with g7x, and DOF aside, they don't look a whole lot better when viewing at normal sizes. Maybe if looking back and forth between the two would be more obvious. Maybe not. Let's try tomorrow and see.