The wait is finally over, the Redmi Note 4X rumors has been speculating since December 2016 and finally it did push thru, a Snapdragon powered Redmi Note 4, question now, if you holded back buying the Redmi Note 4 last September 2016 hoping Xiaomi would launch a Snapdragon Edition, was it worth all the trouble waiting for this unit? Lets all find out.







Before we push the review further, let me introduce to you Hatsune Miku. Hatsune who? Hatsune Miku is a singing synthesizer application that has been enjoying quite a bit of popularity in Japan. In essence, it is an app for Windows or macOS that sings and completes the experience with an avatar of what is said to be a 16-year old girl with signature turquoise hair. The little digital singer, apparently has such a fan following that she fills up concert halls, performing as a holographic avatar. Frankly, if you are that into Hatsune Miku, chances are you are going to enjoy a Redmi Note 4 in one of the two new unique colors - Hatsune Green and Cherry Pink, complete with a signature on the back. You also get a stylized package, a printed protective case and limited edition Mi Power bank.






Redmi Note 4X Specs Sheet
5.5-inch Full HD display @ 1920 x 1080 pixels, 403ppi, 72% NTSC Color Gamut
2GHz Snapdragon 625 Octa-core CPU
Adreno 506 GPU
3GB / 4GB Ram
32GB / 64GB Internal storage
Expandable via microSD, up to 128GB (uses SIM 2 slot)
13MP Rear Camera, f/2.0, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash
5MP f/2.0 front-facing camera, 1080p
Dual-SIM (Nano + Micro)
4G LTE, 4G +
Wi-Fi 802.11ac
Bluetooth 4.2, A2DP, LE
GPS w/ A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
Fingerprint scanner
Micro USB Port
4100 mAh battery
Android 6.0 Marshmallow w / MIUI 8
151mm x 76mm x 8.45mm
165 g
Available in Hatsune Turquoise Blue, Black, Pink, Gold, Grey





Whats in the Box


















Unboxing Video





Design


The Redmi Note 4X resembles much of the Redmi Note 4 design, nothing really changed much except some placement of the cameras and ports. We tried the case of Redmi Note 4 in the Redmi Note 4X since there are no readily available cases, its exactly the same, just that the ports above are not of the same hole, as well as the camera placement as well as the fingerprint scanner.






The Redmi Note 4X, like the Redmi Note 4, no longer has the curved sides that is present in the Remi Note 3, but rather a little chamfered square edged corner that is present in the Redmi Pro and Redmi 3X. The unibody construction gives your the premium feel in your hands, it is not edgy and not very round, just enough to hold the phone comfortably in the hands. One noticable change from Redmi Note 4X from Redmi Note 4 is its plastic battery cover versus metal from its predecessor, otherwise, nothing has changed.





Design of Xiaomi will always be simple yet elegant, we have the IR Blaster, voice cancellation mic and 3.5mm audio jack on top ( glad they did not follow Iphone 7 and took out the audio jack socket otherwise all the pistons headset I collected will render useless already)





On the right sports the volume rocker and the power button. On the left lies the sim card tray which you can use dual sim or single sim with micro sd expansion up to 128GB. Sim 1 is micro sim size and sim 2 is nano sim size.





Down there we can see the micro usb charging slot and the loudspeaker (remember just one side is the loudspeaker, the other side is Mic). Xiaomi listened to its fans and placed the speaker on the bottom, it used to be at the back for Note 3G to Note 3 and the problem is when you lie your phone on its back, you can not hear your phone ringing especially when your ringtone is weak. We hope Xiaomi keeps this design in their future upgrades of the Redmi Note series.





Up front we have the 5MP selfie camera together with the 3 capacitive buttons and the notification light. At the back sports the Mi Logo, Finger print scanner and the 13MP Camera.





Snapdragon 625


We were able to fully test the power of this unit to the extent, running games and multitask, in my opinion this unit did a pretty good job in multitasking, as well as playing some basic games, we even did play NBA2k17 and the graphics rendered was quite good, we were expecting a little lag during game play, but we played 2 season games and the experience was quite decent I can say. Surfing, Chatting, Calls and Navigating all done at the same time and it was quite stable not seeing the unit clamp down due to too many task being done at the same time.





AnTuTu gave a score of 62317 points to the Redmi Note 4X 3GB RAM 32GB ROM variant, which is quite a bit lower compared to its predecessor sporting the Helio X20 which notched a 81841 points for the 3GB RAM 64GB ROM variant. Again like I said, benchmarks should not be the determining factor in purchasing the phone, its the actual experience and performance that matters most.





MIUI 8


All Redmi Note 4X ships in MIUI 8 installed, but there are 2 variants as of presstime, v8.1.8.0 and v8.1.10.0. Now whats the difference between the two? There is something different, please take note that the v8.1.8.0 can be flashed using the EDL mode, while in 8.1.10.0 the EDL is no longer available, you will need to unlock bootloader first before you can flash your unit.





Connectivity


The Redmi Note 4X supports 8 different LTE bands, it's easy to switch to LTE network inside the settings but once your do the second sim will be running on GSM connectivity only. You can freely choose which sim you want to use your LTE data, since this is a Dual LTE, Dual standby smartphone. We have experienced no problem surfing using LTE or 3G in our home country in the Philippines as well as dual stanby mode is working seamlessly. Wireless connectivity via Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac is also smooth and it also supports Wi-Fi Direct. Wireless screen mirroring is also available via the Miracast protocol, tethering data is also working perfectly. Bluetooth 4.2,GPS, and GLONASS are all present. We also have a smooth navigation using Google Maps while cruisin in the city. 4G+ was achieved in some part of the city and 2-Carrier Aggreggation is available in this unit as the official site claimed.





Here are the supported bandwidth by the Redmi Note 4X based from the official website
The B2 the GSM / the B3 / B5, / IN8
a WCDMA B1, / the B2 / B5, / IN8
the TD-SCDMA B34 / B39
cdma2000 / 1X BC0
an FDD-B1, the LTE / the B3 / B5, / b7
the TD-the LTE B38 / B39 / B40 / B41 (2555-2655MHz )


Audio and Video

• MP4
  
• m4v
  
• MKV
  
• XVID
  
• WAV
  
• AAC
  
• MP3
  
• AMR
  
• FLAC
  
  

Support H.264 / HEVC (Main profile), H.264 (Baseline / Main / High profile), MPEG4 (Simple profile / ASP),
VC-1 (Simple / Main / Advanced profile) and other video formats, support PCM, AAC / AAC + / eAAC +, MP3, AMR-NB / WB,
FLAC, APE, DSD, WAV and other audio formats





We watched some movies and was happy with the experience, sounds using Mi Pistons In Ear Pro was good at the same time the movie rendered was good as well. There is no poblem during watching movies or streaming music from Spotify.


Camera


The main reason why we keep upgrading to a newer phone is simply the camera, we love taking pictures, who doesn't? Now the debate is that will the Redmi Note 4X camera outperform the Redmi Note 4 camera? The MTK version of the Redmi Note 4 sports a 13MP camera while the Redmi Note 4X sports a 13MP snapper as well, we have no information about the camera sensors at the moment. Now people always think the higher the Megapixel, the better. For us reviewers its not the case, it will be based on how good the sensors that they are using.




The camera takes good photos in daylight and average in low light areas, its best performance is outdoors, taking crisp and great photos. Still there is room for improvement for pictures taken in dim areas, but of course its a Redmi Series, we cant argue to much due to the price point.


Photo Gallery




































More Redmi Note 4X Photos




































Battery Performance


We were able to achieve a good battery rating for this unit since its a Snapdragon (Qualcomm is known for their battery efficiency), we lasted a day on normal usage without hitting the charging port or power bank. PC Mark Battery Stress Test result gave it a 15 hour and 27 minutes SOT, pretty impressive.







Other Benchmarks













Conclusion


After playing around with the Redmi Note 4X, it comes down to the final verdict, is it worth upgrading from the Redmi Note 4? In some aspect we will give it a yes, in some aspect we will give it a no. Now let me explain a little bit more on my verdict, if you are looking at the value for money point of view, my answer is no simply becuase at the same price you get the same RAM and ROM size but in terms of feel for the phone, Redmi Note 4 metal body is better at that aspect. But if you are looking at better battery performance, Redmi Note 4X is definitely the better option.










Prices
3GB RAM 32GB ROM 999 RMB
4GB RAM 64GB ROM To Be Announced

Redmi Note 4X




Disclaimer: Please don't send me any PM regarding any type of Sales related inquiries. I'm a Xiaomi enthusiast but not a seller of Mi Products. I'm just a hardcore Xiaomi Fan, one notch higher than many of you here. Also I'm a Tech Blogger in the Philippines and all my review devices are either bought by myself from Xiaomi or borrowed from someone for a short period of time.

you guys are always welcome