Xiaomi has finally announced the launch of Xiaomi Mi 4 smartphone in India. However, it has only launched its 3G version and that too with 16 GB internal storage. Notwithstanding that, we have here pitted the Xioami Mi 4 (3G, 16 GB) with the OnePlus One, which too is being sold via flash sales and carries a price tag of Rs 21,999. Note that the Mi 4 will be available from Flipkart while the later can be purchased from Amazon.in.
Design and Display
The Mi 4 offers a 5 inch display with full HD resolution. The display is of IPS LCD in nature. It doesn’t have any protective glass covering like the Corning Gorilla Glass. It measures 139.2 x 68.5 x 8.9 mm and weighs 149 grams.
The OnePlus One has dimension of 152.9 x 75.9 x 8.9 mm and weighs 162 grams. It has a bigger 5.5 inch display with full HD resolution. This means that the OnePlus One’s display has lower pixel density than that of Mi 4.
However the One’s display has Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection and it offers up to 10 point touch input.
OS and CPU
The OnePlus One is based on Android 4.4.2 version but is upgradable to Android 4.4.4 KitKat version. It comes with CyanogenMod 11S which is renowned for its features. The Mi 4, on the other hand, is based on Android 4.4.3 version and offers MiUi user interface which is much simpler than the Stock Android version. It is rumoured that Xiaomi has started beta-testing for MIUI 6.0 on Android Lollipop, and there should be a rollout in the coming months.
At this point of time though I wouldn’t comment on the pros and cons of their user interface as I have not got the devices for review.
In terms of processing power, both are on the same level as both the handsets come armed with Snapdragon 801 quad core Processor and 3 GB RAM.
The OnePlus One comes with 64 GB storage while the Xiaomi Mi 4 offers only 16 GB internal storage. Neither of them have any micro SD card slot.
Camera
Both the phones offer 13 Megapixel rear camera but the Mi 4 has a bigger 8 megapixel front camera against a 5 megapixel unit in the OnePlus One. The OnePlus One’s rear camera is armed with f/2.0 Aperture and offers auto-focus, geo-tagging, face detection, HDR, and video recording ability 2K resolution as well as in slow-motion.
The Xiaomi Mi4 has a 1/3 inch Sony sensor and an aperture of f/1.8. It also offers HDR, auto-focus, geo-tagging, smile detection, and 2K video recording features.
At the launch event of Mi 4, we did captured few samples which you can check out here.
Although, spec for spec, the Mi4 has the better camera, I will reserve my judgement till the time I review both the phones.
Connectivity
Both the phones come with one SIM slot (micro SIM). But the OnePlus One has clear advantage over the Mi 4 due to its 4G/LTE connectivity. The Xiaomi Mi 4 though has MHL (mobile HD link) using which you can connect it to an HDMI supporting TV but that cannot be as good as 4G connectivity.
Other than that there are no other differences between the two vis-a-vis connectivity as both have the same features like WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and NFC.