Well, I was searching for the significance of the number 4 and I got to the Wikipedia article on the number 4. There was a lot of information on this number's relation to various aspects, like in religion, politics, science, transport, sports, etc. But the most near significance to the topic at hand was '0x04'. As stated in the Wikipedia article, '0x04' is the ASCII code of the character End of Transmission, which is abbreviated to EOT.
Why is this relevant to the topic at hand? Well, the most recent launches in the Xiaomi Redmi branded smart phones are the number 4 iterations. And, basically these just do not justify a bump in the version number. Maybe, this signals a lack of interest of Xiaomi in the Redmi brand or may be they are looking to end the Redmi brand or at least stall it to a crawl.
There have been two version 4 in the Redmi brand: Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 and Xiaomi Redmi 4. The previous iteration were Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and the Xiaomi Redmi 3s. The Note 3 is one of the best selling smart phone in India. As per the latest news on this smart phone by Xiaomi, they have sold nearly 2.3 million (23 lac) units of Note 3 smart phone in India. This is an astounding number considering Xiaomi's online only strategy. And the Redmi 3s Prime has no other competition in its price range and for its bang for the buck. I have highlighted this fact in my previous post. Hmm, maybe Xiaomi has become complacent or maybe the lack of competition has made them lazy to roll out significant changes. Only time will tell.
The latest iterations, the number 4 of these two smart phones bring nothing significant and for one device, this iteration actually goes a step backwards.
Lets take a look at the major differences between the Note 3 and Note 4 smart phones (from gsmarena website):
From the above, the only bump up is from a Hexa-core CPU to a Deca-core CPU. But, from using various Chipsets on PCs, I can safely say that the performance improvement will definitely be debatable.
Other than that, in Note 4, we get a bulkier device with inferior Primary and Secondary Cameras and inferior Battery Life even with the bump up of battery capacity.
Next, lets look at the main features of Redmi 3s Prime and Redmi 4 Prime (again from gsmarena website):
The major change is in the screen resolution and the Chipset. But, the question is would the new Chipset handle the increased load of the new resolution, since the bump up on the GPU side is just one number, from Adreno 505 to Adreno 506. Would the increased CPU speed and performance create a bottle neck on the GPU, eliminating any visible improvement.
I am also concerned about the Battery Life in the newer Redmi. With the increase in the screen resolution and the Chipset, would the Battery Life remain on par with the older Redmi, since both have the same Battery Capacity. I have my doubts.
So, like in our earlier comparison, here too we see that the new device is bulkier and could potentially have inferior Battery Life.
So, what we have is Xiaomi taking a few steps back in the number 4 iteration. Maybe Xiaomi is taking a gamble and seeing what the other competitors can come up with. I believe this is the perfect time for an Indian brand to rise up and launch a competitive device.
Why is this relevant to the topic at hand? Well, the most recent launches in the Xiaomi Redmi branded smart phones are the number 4 iterations. And, basically these just do not justify a bump in the version number. Maybe, this signals a lack of interest of Xiaomi in the Redmi brand or may be they are looking to end the Redmi brand or at least stall it to a crawl.
There have been two version 4 in the Redmi brand: Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 and Xiaomi Redmi 4. The previous iteration were Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and the Xiaomi Redmi 3s. The Note 3 is one of the best selling smart phone in India. As per the latest news on this smart phone by Xiaomi, they have sold nearly 2.3 million (23 lac) units of Note 3 smart phone in India. This is an astounding number considering Xiaomi's online only strategy. And the Redmi 3s Prime has no other competition in its price range and for its bang for the buck. I have highlighted this fact in my previous post. Hmm, maybe Xiaomi has become complacent or maybe the lack of competition has made them lazy to roll out significant changes. Only time will tell.
The latest iterations, the number 4 of these two smart phones bring nothing significant and for one device, this iteration actually goes a step backwards.
Lets take a look at the major differences between the Note 3 and Note 4 smart phones (from gsmarena website):
| Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 | Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 | |
| Weight | 164 g (5.78 oz) | 175 g (6.17 oz) |
| Chipset | Qualcomm MSM8956 Snapdragon 650 | Mediatek MT6797 Helio X20 |
| CPU | Hexa-core (4x1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 & 2x1.8 GHz Cortex-A72) | Deca-core 2.1 GHz |
| GPU | Adreno 510 | Mali-T880 MP4 |
| Primary Camera | 16 MP, f/2.0, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash | 13 MP, f/2.0, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash |
| Secondary Camera | 5 MP, f/2.0, 1080p | 5 MP, f/2.0, 720p |
| Battery Capacity | Non-removable Li-Po 4050 mAh battery | Non-removable Li-Po 4100 mAh battery |
| Battery Life | 93h endurance rating | 83h endurance rating |
From the above, the only bump up is from a Hexa-core CPU to a Deca-core CPU. But, from using various Chipsets on PCs, I can safely say that the performance improvement will definitely be debatable.
Other than that, in Note 4, we get a bulkier device with inferior Primary and Secondary Cameras and inferior Battery Life even with the bump up of battery capacity.
Next, lets look at the main features of Redmi 3s Prime and Redmi 4 Prime (again from gsmarena website):
| Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime | Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime | |
| Weight | 144 g (5.08 oz) | 155 g (5.50 oz) |
| Display Size | 5.0 inches (~71.1% screen-to-body ratio) | 5.0 inches (~69.4% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Resolution | 720 x 1280 pixels (~294 ppi pixel density) | 1080 x 1920 pixels (~443 ppi pixel density) |
| Chipset | Qualcomm MSM8937 Snapdragon 430 | Qualcomm MSM8953 Snapdragon 625 |
| CPU | Octa-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 | Octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 |
| GPU | Adreno 505 | Adreno 506 |
| Internal Memory | 32 GB, 3 GB RAM | 32 GB, 3 GB RAM |
| Primary Camera | 13 MP, f/2.0, phase detection autofocus, LED flash | 13 MP, f/2.2, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash |
| Secondary Camera | 5 MP, f/2.2, 1080p | 5 MP, f/2.2, 1080p |
| Sensors | Fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | Fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
| Battery Capacity | Non-removable Li-Ion 4100 mAh battery | Non-removable Li-Ion 4100 mAh battery |
The major change is in the screen resolution and the Chipset. But, the question is would the new Chipset handle the increased load of the new resolution, since the bump up on the GPU side is just one number, from Adreno 505 to Adreno 506. Would the increased CPU speed and performance create a bottle neck on the GPU, eliminating any visible improvement.
I am also concerned about the Battery Life in the newer Redmi. With the increase in the screen resolution and the Chipset, would the Battery Life remain on par with the older Redmi, since both have the same Battery Capacity. I have my doubts.
So, like in our earlier comparison, here too we see that the new device is bulkier and could potentially have inferior Battery Life.
So, what we have is Xiaomi taking a few steps back in the number 4 iteration. Maybe Xiaomi is taking a gamble and seeing what the other competitors can come up with. I believe this is the perfect time for an Indian brand to rise up and launch a competitive device.
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