Ahead of the Xiaomi Mi 5 flagship’s official launch, Xiaomi has pulled back the covers of a lower spec smartphone — the Mi 4S — which as it’s name suggests, is an upgrade over the existing Mi 4.
Bearing the more premium Mi badge, the Mi 4S isn’t exactly a slouch. On the inside, the 5-inch device with a full HD 1080p screen will be powered by a Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor — the same chip powering the LG G4 — mated with 3GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, doing away with the depressing 16GB storage that usually plagues Xiaomi smartphones.
For optics, it gets a 13-megapixel primary camera with Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF) plus a dual LED flash to help out in those tricky low-light conditions. On the front, it is a downgrade from the Mi 4 as it only sports a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. That said, keeping the lights on is a larger 3,260 mAh battery which should do pretty well especially since it is only powering a 1080p display.
It will also have a fingerprint sensor at the back of the smartphone, like that on the Redmi Note 3. What’s good is that this device will be sporting a glass front and back plus rounded metal rails much like those on the newly announced Sony Xperia X series.
The device will also feature dual-SIM support plus 4G with VoLTE support. Xiaomi’s new Mi 4S will come in four colours — White, Gold, Black, and Lavender — and will go on sale in China from 1st March at a price of RMB1,699 (around RM1,100).
That’s a pretty good deal considering the specs and if you factor in the fact that it has a premium metal and glass build, this phone is a steal. Unfortunately, this smartphone is currently only available in China with no word on outside availability yet.
