A worthier Xiaomi flagship; the Mi 4c officially launches in China

Xiaomi is busy as always and today is no different, as the electronics company has just revealed its newest smart phone, the Mi 4c. Seen as a welcomed step up to the Mi 4i only 5 months after its own launch, which has seen the device taking some flak for (earlier) only being available in the 16GB model. Xiaomi has been taught lessons based on its experiences and have listened to consumers, providing a choice of either a 16GB or 32GB option for the Mi 4c.

Marketed to be a young and hip device, it’ll be available in the same array of colours as its predecessor – white, black, baby blue, yellow and pink. The 5-inch colourful pocket companion will run a Hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor mated to either 2GB or 3GB of RAM, depending on which option you opt for.

It’s screen will push Full HD at 1920 x 1080 resolution and have Sunlight Display technology to adapt to brightly lit conditions. Attached on the front is a 13-megapixel lense equip with phase detection autofocus (PDAF) that’ll allow you to focus at speeds of 0.1ms, while on the front you’ll see a 5-megapixel wide-angle front camera.

The device will be Xiaomi’s first smartphone to make use for the latest USB Type-C reversible connector and here’s the kicker, it supports Quick Charge 2.0; ensuring your 3080 mAh battery charges up quickly; probably to mediate lessening the battery’s capacity from 3120 mAh (Mi 4i). If you’re friends are still using devices on micro USB, you’re not all out of luck as Xiaomi has thought about you and have made an adapter for USB Type-C to micro USB that costs RMB 5 (RM 3.40). Connectivity-wise, it’ll support Dual-SIMs (LTE) and have an infrared blaster for any remote control related tasks.

Providing a new way to increase accessibility in a smart phone, Xiaomi has come up with Edge Tap. Allowing users to control their Mi 4c by lightly tapping on either side – double tapping lets you to go “back”, while a single tap snaps a photo when in the camera app.

The device weighs in lightly at 132g, its dimensions are 138.1 x 69.6 x 7.8mm and ships together with MIUI 6, raising some eyebrows but Xiaomi promises a MIUI 7 update will arrive soon. On paper, the Mi 4c seems to be a pretty great at its price: RMB 1299 (RM 874) for the 2GB RAM and 16GB storage, while the 3GB RAM and 32GB storage option costs RMB 1499 (RM 1011). Available in China only, for now, we’ll be sure to keep you updated when/if this device heads our way.

You can check out the device page here.

Together with the phone announcement, the Mi corporation has added to its existing ventures into other products (air purifier, water filter, and TV), as they’ve also announced that they will provide prepaid plans through an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) service platform.

The Mi Mobile plans come in two variations and their SIMs are available in a triple-cut orientation to allow users to instantly enable their devices with their new SIM card, regardless of SIM compatibility.

Buyers can choose from the two offerings below:

Pay As You Go:

China Unicom 2G/3G/4G
RMB 0.10 (RM 0.07) per minute, SMS and 1MB data
To go on sale from the 23^rd of September onwards

3GB Data Bundle for RMB 59 per month (RM 40):

China Telecom 2G/3G/4G
RMB 0.10 (RM 0.07) per minute, SMS or 1MB data exceeding 3GB
Available in public beta starting October

Mi 4c Product Images