Xiaomi Mi4

“When we decided to order the Mi4, we wanted to learn more about Android in China, but we also expected it to be kind of a laugh. It's easy to look at the pictures and dismiss the Mi4 as a cheap iPhone knockoff, but it is so much better than that.Take a Galaxy S5, give it more RAM, a bigger battery, up the build quality, and for the final kicker, cut the price in half. Spend just a few minutes with a Mi4 and you'll get an idea of just how much disruptive potential Xiaomi has. It has built a premium, no-nonsense smartphone that nails every important category, which makes it one of the best smartphones of the year.Xiaomi is a company in need of some self-confidence, though. It has built an amazing device, but it has sullied the Mi4 by cloning the iPhone design. Xiaomi is like an extremely smart student that still cheats off the person next to it because it doesn't trust itself to come up with the right answer. You can do it Xiaomi! Just be a little more original.Xiaomi's continued derivative design hurts the company in so many ways. It makes it easy for people to dismiss the company as yet another cheap clone maker. It also limits the countries Xiaomi can expand to, because in many places, Apple would sue the company out of existence.Everything here is top notch: The best specs, fantastic build quality, a beautiful screen, a dirt cheap price, and software that, while different, works both aesthetically and functionally. If only the company came up with its own hardware design. If Xiaomi ever does apply itself with some original designs, look out world, because this company will be going places.”

“Well made, good-looking proper flagships with all the trimmings coming from China should be no surprise by now. Least of all, the Xiaomi Mi 4. Probably the biggest surprise here is it took Xiaomi less than a year to bring out the next generation.True, the upgrades to the Mi 3 may not be too many but they're all made to count. 4K videos and 4G data speeds sure make it an apt choice of model name. A more up-to-date chipset brings about LTE and UHD video recording, the front camera is the whopping 8MP while an IR port and wired TV-out are nice things to have.That's on top of the smartphone being blazing fast, with sleek and friendly MIUI skinning Android KitKat. All this at a bargain price. The Mi 4 also delivers excellent craftsmanship, a very capable camera with great picture quality, a solid battery backup and the kind of attention to detail one would only expect from world-renowned manufacturers.”

“This smartphones is another good example of how the Chinese mobile industry is trying to show the world what is capable of. And, in this regard, the Xiaomi Mi 4 is a proof of success. You get a package that is easy on the eyes, and easy to use, thanks to the somewhat controversial take on Android called MIUI.We’re seeing a new batch of metal-clad smartphones in the Asian market, and it seems that they’re all coming to the US, one way or another. In the case of the Xiaomi Mi 4, we’re off to a good start.”

“The Mi4 is undoubtedly the best thing to come out of Xiaomi's Chinese factory so far, and offers cutting-edge power, an eye-catching, iPhone-like design and an excellent custom version of the Android OS. However, for buyers outside of China, it's something of a hard sell, despite the £200 price point.”