Xiaomi Mi 4i review: 3.Display

Display

The Xiaomi Mi 4i features a similar 5" Full HD IPS display to the one we saw on the Mi 4. It has 441ppi for pleasantly sharp imagery. Unfortunately, the glass covering the display isn't scratch-resistant.

 

The 5" IPS display Xiaomi Mi 4i

Taking a closer look at it under our digital microscope reveals a standard RGB arrangement of the sub-pixels that make up the Xiaomi Mi 4i LCD panel.

The display on the Xiaomi Mi 4i has a lower maximum brightness level compared to the one on Xiaomi Mi 3, while retaining the same good contrast and colors.

Xiaomi is providing options for color temperature and saturation, so you can tweak the display to your liking.

Display test	50% brightness			100% brightness
	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio
Xiaomi Mi 3	0.18	142	809	0.61	557	907
Xiaomi Mi 4	0.17	164	940	0.73	679	929
Xiaomi Mi Note	0.09	130	1450	0.43	626	1453
Xiaomi Mi 4i	0.15	161	1063	0.51	542	1055
Oppo R1x	0.31	250	816	0.59	490	836
Samsung Galaxy A5	0	191	∞	0	398	∞
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua	0.17	176	1012	0.74	828	1115
Xiaomi Redmi 2	0.3	273	943	0.58	561	974

The sunlight legibility has been slightly improved and the Xiaomi Mi 4i's screen performs very well outdoors. You will be able to comfortably see what's happening on the screen even on the brightest day.

Xiaomi has also included a display tech for boosting the brightness of darker areas of your screen to make them more visible when there's bright light source present. It's similar to what Sony has been doing with its flagships lately only here it works throughout the interface and not just in the gallery.

Sunlight contrast ratio

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• Nokia 808 PureView
  4.698
• Samsung Galaxy S II Plus
  2.801
• BlackBerry Z30
  2.79
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  2.765
• Sony Xperia ZR
  2.672
• Huawei Ascend P1
  2.655
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  2.641
• Sony Xperia Z3
  2.618
• Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
  2.616
• Sony Xperia T3
  2.609
• BlackBerry Passport
  2.595
• Microsoft Lumia 640
  2.563
• Samsung Galaxy mini 2
  1.114

Connectivity

The Xiaomi Mi 4i supports 6 LTE bands and you can tap to an LTE network on either SIM, but the other will default to a GSM band. The Mi 4i also offers quad-band GSM connectivity and tri-band 3G connectivity with HSPA support.

The rest of the connectivity features include dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac support and Wi-Fi Direct. There is also support for Bluetooth 4.1, GPS and GLONASS, plus an FM radio.

A microUSB 2.0 port handles charging and data connections. Media transfer mode is supported for accessing the phone's built-in memory over a USB connection. The microUSB port also supports USB On-the-go for connecting USB peripherals such as pen drives, keyboards or real USB hard drives.

Wireless screen mirroring is available via the Miracast protocol.

Battery life

Xiaomi has put a 3,120mAh battery inside the Mi 4i, a solid capacity for a 5" device. In our battery test the Xiaomi Mi 4i scored a 64h rating, which means you can count on a little over two and a half days if you do an hour each of calling, browsing and video playback a day.

Opting for using the device with just one SIM card active, you can squeeze a little more out of the battery. The single-SIM endurance rating is 67 hours.

Our proprietary test also measures the battery draw in standby, which is not featured in the scorecard but is calculated in the overall rating.

The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties.

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