A fast-growing favourable reputation for Xiaomi Redmi A4 comes through the mix of affordability and performance it brings forth. The fairly achievable price range of ₹8,999 puts the Redmi A4 between quality and performance, against prices being dollar affordable. Let’s take a good look at the smartphone.
Design and Build Quality
The design of the Redmi A4 is trendy, upscale, and functional. The matte-finish plastic back fails to show up fingerprints and splotches, which adds to its beauty. The slightly rounded edges and lightweight body allow it to be comfortably held for long periods. The Redmi A4 comes in time-honoured colours like Midnight Black, Ocean Blue, and Moonlight White.
Even though this is a budget smartphone, it is built to last. It feels quite sturdy in the hand, and the build quality definitely is on par with a budget smartphone. The lack of an official IP rating for its dust and water resistance will sadly probably turn some people off.
Display
The display happens to be a 6.5-inch HD+ IPS LCD with a resolution of 1600 x 720 pixels. While this does not have the punchy and rich colour quality seen on premium AMOLED screens, it works fairly well in most situations. It’s right in the pocket of a decent palette, and bright enough to make outdoor usage feasible on direct sunlight.
The device also has reading modes that cut down on blue light to keep eyes comfortable during long readings. Bezel size is quite small, with quite a small water drop notch housing the front camera providing an immersive viewing experience for videos, games, and web browsing.
Performance and Software
Under the hood, the Redmi A4 packs the MediaTek Helio G35 chipset and is coupled with options of 3GB or 4GB of RAM, depending on the variant. Although not among the top-performing ones, it is good enough for running daily tasks, such as social media browsing, video streaming, and light gaming. Well-played games such as Subway Surfers and Free Fire do run well, with some lagging of graphics-intensive games.
As for the software, the Redmi A4 is based on MIUI 13 on Android 12, which offers a feature-rich yet user-friendly experience. Xiaomi has made quite a leap forward to reduce bloatware on almost all its products, and the Redmi A4 is no exception, with the fewest possible pre-installed applications. Features such as Dark Mode, Game Turbo, and Quick Ball enhance usability and make the overall experience pleasant.
Camera Performance
The Redmi A4 is equipped with a dual camera setup at the rear comprising of a 13-megapixel primary sensor and a 2MP depth sensor. Good lighting conditions enable the main camera to take nicely rendered and colourful images. The portrait mode can create decent background blur using the depth sensor, although the edge detection still has room for improvement.
Low-light performance may not be satisfactory, as there is quite a bit of noise left in the pictures taken. The Night mode improves things slightly and helps maintain decent clarity and details.
The 5MP front camera is respectable for selfies and video calls. It may not take the sharpest of images, but for a phone in this price range, it delivers amicably. AI beauty mode is on offer for the users who like to play up their facial features.
Battery Life
A massive selling point for the Redmi A4 is its 5,000mAh battery which promises a full day of usage with just one charge. Be you one streaming videos or browsing on social media, this phone is a mighty battery juggernaut.
Charging isn’t done fast – it’s done standard for this price segment at 10W through USB-C. It takes about 2.5 hours to charge this from 0 to 100%, so overnight charging may be realistic for the user.
Connectivity and Features
Known for dual sim cards, the Redmi A4 sports a dedicated microSD card space for further storage expansion of up to 512GB. The connectivity options are fairly solid at 4G VoLTE, Wifi, Bluetooth 5.0, and GPS. There is also a 3.5mm headphone jack for users who are still keen on wired ear pieces.
For extra security, it comes with a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and AI face unlock. Both perform smoothly, albeit the fingerprint is a little quicker, pre-accessing saves some seconds.
Price and Competition
The entry-level Redmi A4 is priced at ₹8,999. Its closest competitors at that price are the Realme C33, Infinix Zero 5G, and the Samsung Galaxy M04. All these come with specific value additions, but the Redmi A4 is a sturdy development with capable performance and amazing battery life.
Final Verdict
Xiaomi sets up a great example of another value mobile in an affordable category with the Redmi A4. This makes it viable for students, first-timers, or someone as a second device lookup. Modern looks, great battery, and performance make it one of the most probable contestants in the budget segment.
However, for those seeking high-end gaming performance or high-level photography, this is not a device aimed at that, unless one could spare further stretch in one’s budget. At an unbeatable price of ₹8,999, though, the Redmi A4 constitutes a sound investment for the budget-conscious.
Redmi proves that an entry-level device does not limit a quality experience. The competitive price makes it an ideal choice for consumers looking for a dependable device at an affordable price.