Redmi A4 5G Review: Humble Phone, Big Ambitions

The ‘premiumisation’ of the finances smartphone section led to the decline of the entry-level smartphone market. Right this moment, most first-time smartphone consumers or characteristic cellphone upgraders go for mid- to high-budget smartphones for higher digicam high quality, shows, and battery life. This additionally made it simpler for many smartphone consumers to justify the 5G tax now that 5G networks are up and operating in a lot of the nation’s main cities.

With the entry-level section already feature-starved and most telephones struggling to supply a clean (or tolerable) software program expertise, there have been solely a handful of launches in recent times on this area, which once more will encourage consumers to search for dearer gear. With that mentioned, the information of Xiaomi launching a brand new smartphone on this largely ignored section on the finish of 2024 was nonetheless a shock. However as talked about in my first impressions, it goals to supply one thing new and completely different, which may see this cellphone within the palms of first-time smartphone consumers.

So what precisely does the Redmi A4 5G do in a different way? Let’s discover out!

Redmi A4 5G design

Xiaomi’s Redmi A4 5G does not seem like a typical entry-level smartphone. It’s out there in two finishes: Sparkle Purple and Starry Black. We obtained the Sparkle Purple end for evaluate and it actually appears to be like and appears like a contemporary finances smartphone. The purple shade has a metallic end on its rear panel, whereas the raised round digicam module has a refined clay sample on it. Each panels are fabricated from glass, whereas the center body of the sandwich is fabricated from polycarbonate, however it has an excellent end. Since its again panel just isn’t fabricated from plastic, it’s not a mud or smudge magnet both. This can be a very completely different method in comparison with the essential plastic choices out there from different manufacturers at this value level.

The Redmi A4 5G actually appears to be like nice for an entry-level smartphone

The cellphone is not too heavy or too mild at 212g, and Xiaomi additionally affords a fundamental IP52 score, however take into account that harm as a consequence of submersion or water publicity is not lined by the guarantee.

Given its 6.88-inch display, which is already fairly giant, the thick bezels surrounding it, particularly on the backside, add bulk to it, making it troublesome to function with one hand.

The one gripe with its spectacular design (for an entry-level smartphone) is the show notch on the high, which appears to be like slightly dated.

Redmi A4 5G efficiency

Its giant display, regardless of HyperOS’s greatest scaling efforts, does not look as sharp as could be seen on most higher-priced finances smartphones. This is because of its HD+ decision and its measurement, which makes textual content look a bit smooth. I nonetheless like how nicely HyperOS makes essentially the most of what is out there by utilizing a heavier font and good scaling to keep away from scratches.

Redmi A4 5G has many third-party apps and video games pre-installed

The Redmi A4 5G show is sort of shiny indoors, however shiny sufficient outdoor. Viewing it in direct daylight was a battle and its viewing angles are horrible, particularly when doing so outdoor because it feels prefer it has a pre-installed privateness guard. Indoors, distinction drops shortly when seen off-center.

Surprisingly, Xiaomi affords a strong Widevine L1 certification with this gadget, so media and content material in OTT functions seem as sharp as doable, even when the display can’t help Full HD playback decision.

The Redmi A4 5G’s show appears to be like good when seen entrance and heart (high), however tilt it barely and it really works as a privateness guard (beneath)

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 SoC someway dealt with the software program nicely, offered I compelled the show’s refresh price to 120Hz. Conserving it on “Auto”, which toggles between 60Hz, 90Hz and 120Hz, makes the software program appear a bit stuttery when scrolling. A 120Hz show at its value level can be unprecedented, although its sole objective is to serve up a smoother software program expertise.

With solely 4GB of LPDDR4x RAM and UFS 2.2 storage, I wasn’t anticipating a flawless software program expertise. Whereas the show’s MEMC (excessive refresh price) know-how makes scrolling appear clean, there are noticeable points, particularly when switching between apps and even launching apps, the place you may have to attend an additional second or two for a utility to load. App restarts are additionally quite common and infrequently keep in reminiscence for lengthy.

Regardless of the overwhelming number of third-party software program functions and video games, customers can fortunately uninstall all of them. Caught on Android 14, I really like that HyperOS’s Mi Sans font is compelled throughout all apps and retains the person expertise constant whether or not you are in a third-party app or browser. The remainder of the software program is often Xiaomi, and that additionally means undesirable notifications from the GetApps app.

Providing a most clock pace of two.0GHz, the processor is not constructed to carry out, however it does have some advantages within the battery division. I ran some benchmarks, and you may check out the outcomes beneath, that are typical for a smartphone at this value level.

The cellphone just isn’t designed for gaming, however I nonetheless tried to run some video games. One thing as fundamental as Asphalt 9 Legends: Unite stopped on the loading display itself. This was on the default graphics settings (set to low and 30 fps). Emptying the RAM by closing all different functions allowed me to launch the sport efficiently. Nonetheless, even after launch, the sport was removed from clean and addictive even when searching the menus. Informal video games like Subway Surfers and different video games labored wonderful.

The Redmi A4 5G affords FM radio performance by way of the three.5mm headphone jack

A much-discussed matter surrounding this cellphone is the selection of accessible 5G bands. Sadly, Xiaomi solely selected 5G standalone networks (SA: n1/n3/n5/n8/n28/n40/n78) and never non-standalone (NSA) networks. Many will discover this unsatisfactory, as Jio is the one operator within the nation to help standalone 5G networks. In case you are an Airtel subscriber, you’ll solely be capable of use the 4G/LTE bands with a lot slower knowledge speeds.

Whether or not watching films or answering calls, I discovered the one rear-firing speaker to be loud sufficient, even when it sounded a bit tinny. In contrast to most smartphones at this value level, you get a fingerprint reader, which labored as anticipated throughout the evaluate interval. FM radio can be out there through the three.5mm headphone jack.

Regardless of having a big digicam module, solely a kind of cameras is accessible to the person. The 50-megapixel primary digicam with its pretty shiny f/1.8 aperture managed satisfactory images with good dynamic vary, which had been low on element and regarded fairly smooth even in daylight! Utilizing 2X digital zoom additional degraded the picture high quality, so it’s best averted.

Redmi A4 5G primary digicam in daylight and low-light digicam samples (faucet photos to enlarge)

5-megapixel selfies supply satisfactory high quality in daylight with good edge detection and noticeable noise. Portrait mode images captured with the principle digicam seem sharp however with blown-out backgrounds, which was additionally an issue with the selfie digicam.

Instance of Redmi A4 5G selfie digicam (faucet picture to enlarge)

Low-light images from each cameras are unusable as they lack texture and element, showing principally flat. The cellphone maxes out at 1080p (30 fps) when recording video. There is not a lot element or decision with noticeable noise, and it is also fairly shaky when panning.

Battery life is common on your entry-level smartphone, managing 19 hours and 32 minutes in our video cycle check. In every day use, the cellphone lasted a full day and a bit extra as a result of I used to be principally restricted to informal use given its gaming and digicam capabilities. The gadget took about 2 hours to cost utilizing the 33W charger offered within the field, which is restricted to 18W.

Redmi A4 5G Verdict

Xiaomi has proved that it’s doable to supply a 5G smartphone below Rs. 9000. Nonetheless, the important thing requirement right here is 5G connectivity, as a result of it solely helps Jio’s standalone community. In case you are an Airtel subscriber, then you possibly can overlook the USP of the cellphone as it’ll solely connect with the 4G networks offered by the operator.

An influence person who runs a number of apps, multitasks and needs a high quality digicam and distinctive battery life could not discover the Redmi A4 5G thrilling. The cellphone primarily caters to a first-time smartphone person whose wants are restricted to cellphone calls and fundamental social media utilization.

With that in thoughts, Xiaomi’s Redmi A4 5G does issues slightly in a different way by packing all of the necessities into a sexy kind issue. It appears to be like like a sexy cellphone in case you are on a good finances and might’t spend over Rs. 9000. Alternatively, Motorola can be providing the Moto G35 5G (Evaluate) at a further Rs. 2000, which affords higher {hardware} and a bit extra energy.