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Xiaomi Redmi 1S Review, Unboxing, Benchmarks, Gaming, Camera and Verdict

Xiaomi Redmi 1S is such device which has given a great shock to the other phones which falls in the same price segment. It comes with some great hardware specs for the price, it makes other feels like ashamed of themselves at least at the time of writing this review. But everything which is so good does not get accessible to all and there comes issues as its about whether you can buy it not about you want to buy it. But for some minutes just ignore the above two lines. Read our review to find out whether its worth the money you spend on it and if its value for money smartphone for you.

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Xiaomi Redmi 1S Full In Depth Review + Unboxing [Video]

Xiaomi Redmi 1S Quick Specs

  • Display Size: 4.7 inch IPS LCD capacitive touch screen with 720 x 1080 HD resolution
  • Processor: 1.6 Ghz Quad Core Snapdragon 400 MSM8228
  • RAM: 1 Gb
  • Software Version: Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) OS
  • Camera: 8 MP AF camera.
  • Secondary Camera: 1.6 MP front-facing camera FF [Fixed Focus]
  • Internal Storage: 8 GB
  • External Storage: Expandable up to 64GB
  • Battery: 2050 mAh battery Lithium Ion
  • Connectivity: 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, aGPS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
  • Others: OTG Support – Yes, Dual SIM – Yes, LED Indicator – Yes
  • Sensors: Accelerometer, gyro, proximity and Magnetometer Sensor
  • SAR Value: – 1.21 W/KG (Max Value)

Box Contents

Inside the box you will  get a handset, microUSB cable, USB Charger ( 1 AMP output ), User Manual, Service Center List. ( There are no headphones in the package )

Build Quality, Design and Form Factor

It has good built quality and its build is actually much better as compared to the other phones offered at the same price point. It comes by default in black color with grey colored matte finish back cover of plastic. The overall design is not extraordinary but it looks decent. The rounded curved edges makes it easy to old in hands and 4.7 inch display does make sure that its one handed usage does not go for a compromise. At 158 grams it does not feel very heavy but its not the thinnest phone around, its fairly thick phone at 9.9 mm, but on the whole it feels like a solid good built quality phone in hand.

Camera Performance

The rear 8MP camera does a great job in day light and in low light as well the photos come out good if not great. The front 1.6 MP camera is one of the best camera you can get at this price point, it can take good selfie photos with light and can be used for decent quality of the video chat as well. Both the rear and front cameras can record HD video and rear camera can also record slow motion video.


Note: While recording HD video we faced a lag in camera when the device was hot in terms of temperature after using the camera app for some time, but Xiaomi should be able to fix this with a software update in future.

Camera Samples

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Redmi 1S Camera Video Sample Front Camera

Redmi 1S Camera Video Sample Rear Camera

Display, Memory and Battery Backup

It features 720p display which gives you great viewing angles and good color reproduction, the display also have protection for scratches and it does get scratched easily. Sunlight visibility of the display is also good. It has 8GB in built memory out which around 4.12 GB is available to the user which gives you enough storage for the apps and games. However you cannot install apps on the SD card without rooting the phone. You can get around 1 day of battery backup with moderate usage but on continuous use you will get around 4-5 hours of usage. Available amount of RAM is around 430 MB but if you run too many apps then some of the apps might have problem with low amount of available RAM.

Software, Benchmarks and Gaming

The software UI is MIUI 5 which runs on top of android is responsive and does not give you lag unless you load the phone with too many resource hungry apps and games. We played MC4, Front line Commando D Day and every games ran fine without any audio video lag.

Benchmark Scores

  • Antutu Benchmark: 18507
  • Nenamark2: 42.9
  • Multi Touch: 10 point

Redmi 1S Gaming Review [Video]

Sound, Video and Navigation

Loudspeaker on Redmi 1S is fairly loud and but the speaker is placed on the back so it might get blocked when you place the device flat on a table. You can play HD videos both at 720p and 1080p on this device, it did gave any issues in this department. GPS navigation works fine and it locked the coordinates pretty quickly outdoors and in indoors it may take some time, it also has magnetic field sensor.

Redmi 1S Photo Gallery

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What We Liked

  • Great Performance for the price
  • Good Camera
  • Value for money
  • Awesome Hardware

What We Did Not Liked

  • Video Recording Issues to heating

Conclusion and Price

Xiaomi is relatively new chinese brand who has entered india, but it their products are offering the best value for money to indian consumers. Redmi 1S is one such device which has given great results in our testing of different things, apart from video recording lag at high temperature we did not faced any problem with the device. Redmi 1S is retailing on flipkart and it comes for sale every week but gets out of stock in 2-3 seconds, last time 40,000 Redmi 1S were bought in india.

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Abhishek Bhatnagar

Abhishek Bhatnagar, a known technology blogger & YouTuber from India. A Software Engineer by qualification, now he works as the editor-In-Chief, Webmaster, & Managing Director at Gadgets To Use. He runs a number of other technology websites as well.