If the Mi 4i isn’t up to your expectations, you’ll probably be pleased to know that the Mi 4 flagship can be yours at only RM899. With one “i” less, the Mi 4 gets a more upmarket metal frame and a much capable Snapdragon 801 Quad-Core processor with 3GB of RAM.
Initially Xiaomi Malaysia is offering the Mi 4 through a local distributor based at the northern states, and it carries the hefty price tag of RM1,199. Now DirectD is offering the same device for just RM899 that comes with official Xiaomi Malaysia warranty. Should you get this? The deal breaker is whether you’ll need 4G connectivity as this Mi 4 only supports up to 3G WCDMA.
The Xiaomi Mi 4 flagship wasn’t supposed to come due to its lack of extensive 4G LTE support. However for those who still wants the 5″ flagship that comes with a more premium metal frame, Xiaomi Malaysia has finally brought it in but it comes with only WCDMA 3G support.
Unlike other Xiaomi products, the Mi 4 3G version will be sold via Mont Asia, a local distributor which will be having roadshows soon. The device is priced at RM1,199 which is quite expensive considering it lacks 4G LTE and there are other 4G LTE flagship alternatives like the Honor 6, OnePlus One and even the ZenFone 2.
Furthermore, the Mi 4 for Malaysia comes with just 16GB of storage without any microSD card support. If you’re interested, they can be contacted via WhatsApp at +6017-4590001 and Mont Asia unfortunately has limited nationwide presence with stores located at Northern states like Penang and Kedah.
To recap on the specs, the Mi 4 has a 5″ Full HD display and it runs on a 2.5GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 801 processor with 3GB of RAM. For imaging it gets a 13MP main and 8MP front cameras with both sides having a f/1.8 lens. It gets a 3,080mAh battery which is slightly smaller than the newer Mi 4i global smart phone. Previously there are several grey importers offering the Mi 4 with 4G LTE but it only supports 1800MHz which isn’t as extensive as the widely used 2600MHz frequency.
Would you get this? Or would you rather wait for the more mid-range spec Mi 4i that comes with full 4G LTE support and a larger battery. It is coming this month and it is expected to be priced below RM800. If you’re looking for something bigger, the Mi Note will be coming to Malaysia soon and it was also certified along with the Mi 4 3G version.
Xiaomi will be announcing a new global phone this Thursday but here in Malaysia, there are 2 new smart phones being spotted in our local SIRIM database. As promised by Xiaomi, the Mi Note is heading for Malaysia in Q2 and it has just passed certification with the model number 2015011. It supports dual-SIMs and most importantly it supports our local 1800MHz/2600MHz 4G LTE bands. The same device was also spotted in Singapore’s IDA database with the marketing name “Mi Note”.
Meanwhile the 2nd device with the model 20140215 is none other than the Mi 4 3G version. Which is quite surprising considering Xiaomi mentions that they have no plans to bring the Mi 4 due to lack of full 4G LTE support especially the 2600MHz band that’s widely used in Malaysia.
For those of you who are hoping for the Xiaomi Mi 4 to make its official debut here in Malaysia, you’re out of luck because the VP of Xiaomi Global, Hugo Barra himself has confirmed that the device will not be coming to our shores.
The reason for this? Limited FDD-LTE support.
The Mi 4 currently only supports LTE band 1 (2100MHz) and band 3 (1800MHz). While Malaysian operators support band 3, the predominant LTE standard here is band 7 (2600MHz). This doesn’t mean that you can’t use the Mi 4 here in Malaysia, you can. But…your LTE access will be limited to the small number of band 3 sites that’s available here, the Mi 4 won’t be able to access to the band 7 sites which are more widely available in the country.
So can you get the Mi 4 here in Malaysia? Yes, you can but those units are grey imports and don’t come with official warranty. If you want to get the Mi 4 from Xiaomi Malaysia, it’s not going to be anytime soon. And that’s unfortunate for those who want a flagship Xiaomi but don’t want anything bigger than 5-inch. Bummer.
It has been a long wait and the Xiaomi Mi 4 which supports our local 4G LTE bands is now available in Malaysia. Retailer DirectD is offering it as a grey import unit at RM1,249 for the 16GB model. Take note that this isn’t the official Xiaomi Malaysia stock but DirectD will be covering it with their own 24 months in house warranty.
Before this, the Mi 4 was only available here (unofficially) in 3G, since the 4G variant for China uses TDD-LTE which isn’t supported by most international 4G networks. 3 weeks back, they finally had announced its FDD-LTE version that would work with our local 4G bands.
UPDATE: It comes to our attention that Xiaomi’s FDD-LTE model from China only supports Band 1 (2100MHz) and Band 3 (1800MHz). Meanwhile, our Malaysian 4G LTE networks operate in either 1800MHz and 2600MHz frequencies. As a result, 4G connectivity will be limited on the Mi 4 as it lacks support for 2600MHz that’s being widely used. This is a similar situation with the iPhone 5 in Malaysia which connects to 4G LTE solely on 1800MHz. Thanks anonymous tipster for the heads up.
The Xiaomi Mi 4 which was launched 6 months ago is finally available with 4G FDD-LTE support. Prior to this, the Mi 4 was only available in 3G (WCDMA), 3G (WCDMA + CDMA) and 4G (TDD-LTE) variants. For those who managed to get a unit locally had to settle for the 3G version.
The Mi 4 FDD-LTE (Unicom version) is priced at 1,999 CNY for 16GB which is about RM1,129 in our local exchange rate. At the moment, it isn’t available with 64GB of on-board storage. It will be going on sale in China on 16th December and there’s still no word of its international availability. For those craving for a 4G handset, the Redmi Note 4G is the only option right now and it is going on sale today for RM589.
UPDATE: DirectD is selling the Mi 4 smart phone at RM1,399. This is the 16GB 3G version.
Unofficially, of course. Local retail DirectD has managed to bring in a couple units of the latest Mi 4 smart phone and they will be available for purchase very soon. The first batch which went on sale a week after its official announcement are the China Unicom variant which are essentially 3G WCDMA units. If you’re hoping to get a Mi 4 with our local 4G LTE (FDD-LTE) support, Xiaomi says that it will be announced towards the end of this year without providing specific dates.
DirectD haven’t reveal its selling price yet but do expect a premium over its original 1,999 Yuan (about RM1,025) price tag for the 16GB model. To recap on the specs, the Mi 4 comes with a 5″ Full HD display encased in an aluminium frame body and it runs on a newer 2.5GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 801 processor with 3GB of RAM.
It also gets a new and improved 13MP f/1.8 camera, a front facing 5MP f/1.8 shooter and also a new InfraRed Blaster at the top. Juicing up the device is a slightly bigger 3,080mAh capacity battery and on the software side, it will be upgraded to the latest MIUI version 6 with Android 4.4 KitKat.
If you’re curious of what goes into the Xiaomi Mi 4, a couple of folks at the MIUI Forum had managed to give it a proper tear down treatment. The new flagship comes with a solid metallic frame and while the previous Mi 3 is still slimmer by 0.8mm, the curved back promises to offer a more comfortable grip that feels natural in the hands.
The Mi 4 back cover is removable and it is customisable with a range of wood, bamboo, textile, marble and leather textures but its battery isn’t user replaceable. From the tear down process, the 3,080mAh capacity unit is found to be sourced from Sony and its micro-USB port is seen to have 6 pins, which is a one extra than the standard 5-pin design. The 6-pin design is likely to support its rapid charging that claims to do 60% charger within 1 hour with its 9V 1.2A charger. As comparison, the Oppo Find 7 with VOOC Charging technology comes with a 7-pin micro-USB design. Since this isn’t from iFixit, there’s no repairability score for this one. From the photos, it looks easily dismantled with precision screw drivers and they have reported that each screws are labelled with tiny MI stickers which upon tampering would void its official warranty.
Check out the rest of the step by step tear down images after the break.
The recently announcedXiaomi Mi 4 is Xiaomi’s latest pride of joy to take on the high-end smart phone segment. It gets new top notch components that are wrapped around in a premium metal chassis. So how much of a difference is it compared to its former Mi 3 smart phone?
For starters, it gets a more powerful 2.5GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 801 processor mated with 3GB RAM, which gives it an edge over mainstream flagship smart phones such as the Galaxy S5, HTC One M8 and Sony Xperia Z2. Although it maintains the same 5″ Full HD display, you’ll noticed that Xiaomi manages to trim its dimensions tremendously when you compare both numbers side by side.
The Xiaomi Mi 4 was just announced a few moments ago and it boast an upmarket design with updated hardware. While it isn’t packing a higher resolution Quad HD display or a newer generation of Snapdragon 805 processors, Xiaomi is calling it the fastest smart phone yet. To see how it compares with the rest of the Android players, we stack up the Mi 4 numbers against the OnePlus One, LG G3, Oppo Find 7, HTC One M8, Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Sony Xperia Z2.
Internally, the Mi 4 matches up with other flagship models that were launched in the last quarter with the usual 2.5GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB of RAM and comes with a choice of 16GB and 64GB storage capacity. Like its previous Mi 3 smart phone, it still lacks microSD expansion and the only exterior slot is for a micro-SIM card.
Xiaomi has just lifted the covers off its latest flagship smartphone the Mi 4, a device that distinctively offers affordable performance and now in a premium built body.
The Xiaomi Mi 4 comes with a 5-inch 1080p, fully laminated display and top notch hardware: it runs on the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 system chip clocked at up to 2.5GHz, and comes with a plentiful 3GB of RAM. Just like last year with the Mi 3, Xiaomi claims that the Mi 4 is the fastest smartphone in the world at the moment, something that we’re eager to check in the near future.
