[Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Guides, News, & Discussion] Alberto96:
Introduction

This is the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Global Version.

Hardware

This device is powered by the well-known power-friendly Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 MSM8953 (Octa 2GHz Cortex A53 and Adreno 506 GPU). In this case, with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of ROM (a 4/64 variant is available too). This is basically the Redmi Note 4 sold officially in India, but with the addition of the 4G 800MHz (B20) band, essential for best 4G signal reception in coutries like mine where it is used.

Unboxing

Packaging comes with some accessories: 1x Micro-USB Cable, 1x 5V/2A USB Charger with EU plug, 1x Quick Start Guide, 1x Warranty Certificate (India-only), 1x SIM Card Tray Tool, and the Smartphone (of course). There isn't any case or screen protector included in the box.

Unlike the previous Redmi Note 3 Pro, this successor comes with a more premium chassis. The device feels solid, with the speaker finally positioned on the lower side near the USB port. Unfortunately though, Xiaomi choose to go with the Micro-USB port, something unexpected considering that they choose a Type-C port for the Mi Max 2 instead.

It is 15.10x7.58x0.83cm and weights 169g, impressive considering the 4000mAh built-in battery.

On the front side there is the 2.5D curved glass, something pretty common nowadays, and the upper front side of the device features a Front-Facing Camera, an Earpiece, and the Sensors hole that includes Light and Proximity Sensors. The Hall Sensor can't be noticed, but it is here. Also, an RGB Notification LED is here on the left, even though it isn't perfect since it doesn't support a complete palette of colors.

On the lower front side there is the Touch Keys area, with Multitasking, Home and Back touch buttons. All buttons are backlit, even if not too much.

On the back side there is the unibody metal chassis, with plastic bands for the top and the bottom.

The upper rear side of the device features the Camera Sensor (Sony IMX258) supported by a Dual-LED - Dual-Tone Flashlight, together with the Fingerprint Scanner.

On the lower rear side there is just the classic MI (Xiaomi) logo with nothing else since, as already mentioned before, the speaker has been moved on the bottom.

Device

Screen

There are some discussions online about the screen used on this device, some units are shipped with BOE panels, others with Tianma panels. Mine has a BOE panel and does seem to have the yellow tint someone reported. It is perfectly usable though, it will just look a bit warmer compared to another Redmi Note 4 with a Tianma screen.

Light Sensor supports ultra-smooth light changes, this is its maximum brightness.

Viewing Angles are excellent for an IPS screen, one of the best i have ever tested.

Camera

Thanks to the Sony IMX258 camera sensor, there are huge improvements compared to the predecessor. It is well-known that the number of megapixels doesn't matter too much (13MP vs 16MP), and here it is possible to have a confirm. Photos shot with the Redmi Note 4 are way better, with more realistic colors and less noise.

The Flashlight is pretty powerful, and the Dual-Tone config helps to not mess with colors even in low-light conditions.

As regards Video Recording, the camera is able to record 4K and Full-HD videos at maximum 30FPS (no 1080p60 is here), and the quality is decent, with stable frame-rate and an overall high amount of details.

Unfortunately the front-camera is pretty awful, this time the number of megapixels make the difference, since a 5MP camera sensor won't provide superb quality for selfies or video-chat.

Audio

Speaker is decent, produces a nice balanced sound, and it is loud enough. It lacks low frequencies just like the majority of all mid-range devices, but there isn't any distortion.

In-Call Quality is nearly perfect, and i say nearly because the earpiece seem to lack some low-frequencies, but the Dual Microphone config works great.

GPS

As i always say, Qualcomm devices are the best it comes it GPS Quality, and here i have the confirm. Excellent Indoors and Outdoors.

Indoors on the left, outdoors on the right.

Telephony, Mobile Network & WiFi

Being the Global Version, this Redmi Note 4 have no issues with European 4G Networks. Signal Reception is stable with pretty fast switching between 3G and 4G networks.

4G Network Speed is as good as expected, my mobile operator is not able to reach better speeds at home but, compared to other smartphones i reviewed, this is one of those who used the maximum upload bandwidth available here.

WiFi Reception is excellent, supporting 5.0GHz networks. Connected at 150MBps to my network, it is able to use all the bandwidth from my VDSL connection (70/20).

Battery Life

It is well known that, starting from the Redmi Note 3, this series has excellent battery life, able to reach almost three days for my usage. 4000mAh Battery + Snapdragon 625 = Perfect Combo for infinite battery runtime.

Here you can see some battery stats, reached almost 8h of screen-on time with a pretty heavy usage and unstable signal reception (since it isn't great here).

I won't show whether the battery capacity matches the declared value or not since it has been confirmed by everyone who already reviewed the device, and also there are no reason to not trust Xiaomi since they never lied to consumers about the hardware they use.

Something i don't like is the inability to get any Quick Charge compatibility, since Xiaomi, to reduce the cost, disabled this feature and also used hardware that would not be able to handle Quick Charge voltages. I hope they do not do the same for its successor.​