Xiaomi has just finished launching the Redmi 4 in India. The 3GB variant priced at Rs. 8,999, is intended to replace the Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime. The latter has been one of the most demanded smartphones in the country. Going by the specifications, the Redmi 4 does not seem to have any major improvements over its predecessor. So, let’s find out if it’s a worthy upgrade or just old wine in a new bottle.
Xiaomi Redmi 4 vs Redmi 3S Prime Specifications
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Coverage
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Xiaomi Redmi 4 FAQ, Pros & Cons, User Queries, and Answers
Design and Build Quality
Coming to the design language, the Redmi 4 looks like a hybrid of the Redmi 3S and the Redmi Note 4. The phone looks genuinely premium and feels great in hands. The Redmi 3S Prime is a very well-built handset too. Both the phones feature a metal back with plastic inserts at the top and the bottom.
However, the Redmi 4 is around 0.2 mm thicker than its predecessor and 6 grams heavier too. This is actually a downgrade since the Redmi 3S Prime sports similar internals with the exact same battery capacity.
Verdict: The Redmi 3S Prime felt a bit more solid in hand than the Redmi 4. The latter looks more premium though.
Display
There is absolutely no difference in the displays of the Redmi 3S Prime and the Redmi 4. Both sport good quality 5-inch IPS LCD panels with HD (1280 x 720) resolution. The latest phone comes with a new ‘Night Mode’ which adjusts the screen for optimum night time usage. This is not a deal breaker though. However, it is the 2.5D display of the Redmi 4 which gives it an upper hand.
Verdict: Redmi 4’s 2.5D display looks more premium.
Hardware and Storage
The Xiaomi Redmi 4 comes with a Snapdragon 435 chipset while the Redmi 3S features a Snapdragon 430 SoC. Coming to processing power, both the chips are absolutely identical. The only difference between the SD 435 and SD 430 is in their 4G modems.
Storage-wise, the two smartphones are similar too. They both rock 3 GB of LPDDR3 memory combined with 32 GB of internal memory. However, there is also a 2 GB / 16 GB and 4 GB / 64 GB variant of the Redmi 4 priced at Rs. 6,999 and Rs. 10,999 respectively.
Verdict: Tie in terms of processing power, while the Redmi 4 has an edge ahead regarding connectivity.
Software and Performance
Both the competing phones run on similar Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow operating system with MIUI 8 on top. Performance, as well as gaming, is exactly the same as the both have similar kind of horsepower.
The Redmi 4 also comes with an optional Android 7.0 Nougat based beta version of MIUI 8. You may opt to install it at your own discretion or wait for the stable release.
Verdict: Tie
Camera
Speaking of the camera, the Redmi 4 performs slightly better than the Redmi 3S Prime. Hardware-wise, both the sensors are absolutely identical though. We suspect Xiaomi has done some fine tuning on the newer phone. This is only valid for the rear shooter as the selfie quality is basically same in both the handsets.
Verdict: Redmi 4 has the upper hand.
Connectivity
Here is where all the differences accumulate! The Snapdragon 435 of the Redmi 4 comes with a better 4G modem than the SD 430 of the Redmi 3S Prime. The former offers up to 300 Mbps / 100 Mbps download/upload speeds while the latter is restricted to 150 Mbps / 75 Mbps only. The newer smartphone also comes with dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), while the older model features a single band Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz only).
Verdict: The Redmi 4 is a clear winner.
Battery
Both the Redmi 4 and Redmi 3S Prime boast 4100mAh batteries. So, power backup is not an issue in any of them.
Verdict: Tie
Conclusion
By now, you must have understood that the Redmi 4 and Redmi 3S Prime are more similar than you thought. Those who are presently using the latter will find no difference if they are asked to use the newer smartphone. The only difference lies in the designing of the handsets and connectivity, while the internal functionality is just the same. It is the ‘always in stock’ facility which makes Redmi 4 the more desirable one.