[Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Guides, News, & Discussion] Alberto96:
Review (part 2)

Software

Just like all Xiaomi devices, the Redmi Note 4 comes with MIUI, the Xiaomi OS based on Android 7.0 Nougat (soon updated to 7.1), and we all know how the UI is and how well they take care of every single feature of the device.

Here is a good video that shows how to update the device to the latest MIUI 9 ROM and a first look of the new UI. In my opinion, i would have expected something more, there are no many new features compared to MIUI 8.

[YOUTUBE]JoBWPKlqT00[/YOUTUBE]

I am an Android Developer so i am not a fan of Custom UIs such as MIUI, eUI, etc... but MIUI is the only UI that i would use daily. There are many reasons for that: smoothness, feature-rich and updated. Memory Management (or LMK) struggles though to keep all apps running in background with only 3GB of RAM. I would recommend to get the 4GB variant instead, unless you are not an heavy user.

As regards the Fingerprint Scanner management, it is way better than the AOSP/Stock implementation since it gives the possibility to give a name to each finger, and also feels more polished.

[YOUTUBE]9VSI6kuxMKM[/YOUTUBE]

Benchmarks

I have used 3DMark, AndroBench, Antutu Benchmark, Epic Citadel, GeekBench 3, GFXBench, PCMark (Work 2.0, Computer Vision, Storage & Work 1.0) and Vellamo to stress the device to the limit. I won’t test Games or Video Playback because there are already some related tests included in these Benchmark suites.

3DMark – The Adreno 506 isn't meant to be used with heavy apps, and as a result, OpenGL 3 tests struggles to get high scores.

AndroBench – Disappointing Write Performance with Great Read Performance, this is weird sincerely.

Antutu Benchmark – I won’t say a lot about this benchmark, this isn’t as reliable as others (well benchmarks are not reliable at all, imagine how bad this is). I’m providing this just for Antutu lovers.

Epic Citadel – Somehow this test seems to be well-optimized to run even at 60fps on this GPU.

GeekBench – The Cortex-A53 bottleneck is noticeable in single-core tests, but multi-core performance is rather acceptable.

CPU

Compute

GFXBench – As expected, 3D Performance varies based on the amount of load requested on the GPU, and the results vary from test to test.

PCMark – Even PCMark says the Storage test provides lower results than usual, i guess Xiaomi messed up something on the Android 7.0 Nougat release.

Work 2.0

Computer Vision

Storage

Work 1.0

Vellamo – Most tests are not able to beat the Snapdragon 800, something i would not have expected at all.

As you can notice, the Snapdragon 625 is not the best-performing CPU at all, but thanks to the optimized software, you won't even notice the lack of performance in daily tasks.

Conclusions

After having reviewed lots of Mediatek devices, i finally managed to get my hands on a proper Qualcomm device. This is definitely the best-buy for all those is search for outstanding battery life and solid performance.

OK, it may not have a great camera, neither the best screen quality, but for the price target, excluding LeEco devices that unfortunately have been abandoned due to company issues, it is impossible to find something better (correct me if i am wrong).

I can recommend it with no doubts, and consider getting the more powerful variant for the best experience.

Pros:

Stable Performance and smooth UI

Outstanding Battery Life

Decent Rear Camera

Blazing-Fast Fingerprint Scanner

Best Price/Quality Ratio

Cons:

Awful Front-Facing Camera

Lack of Performance for some apps

Missing Stereo Speakers

Screen Quality could have been better

Rating: 9.3

Packaging and Accessories: 8.5

Design and Materials: 10

Performance and Heat Dissipation: 9

Screen: 8.5

Camera: 8.5

Sound: 8.5

Battery Life: 10

Software: 10

OEM Support: 10

Price: 10

You can find full-res images (I know, Quality isn't excellent) here: http://imgur.com/a/0o5SA

Official Website: http://www.mi.com/in/note4/

Check my Social Networks to know more about reliable places where to get the device and much more, i will be posting some updates too.

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