Xiaomi Mi4S launched in China, dual glass, fingerprint and new low price


xiaomi mi4s

While the Xiaomi Mi5 was wowing us here in Barcelona, the Chinese press got their hands on the all new Xiaomi Mi4S.

Not present in Barcelona was the new Xiaomi Mi4S, this new device from Xiaomi is an update of the original Mi4, retaining the same 5-inch FHD form factor, but with a new alloy and dual glass design.

xiaomi mi4s

The dual glass panels come in white, black, pink or gold with the CNC alloy chassis getting matching silver, grey or gold fishes. Materials isn’t the only external change as the rear of the phone features a round fingerprint scanner similar to that found on the back of the all alloy Redmi Note 3 Pro.

xiaomi mi4s

A 16 mega-pixel F2.0 camera with PDAF is specced on the rear, which sounds like the same spec as the Mi5 but without OIS, The front camera is an 8 mega-pixel unit also with F2.0 aperture.

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Update: seems the camera specs were a little mixed up and the Mi4s has a 13 mega-pixel camera not a 16 mega-pixel. We need to also confirm the aperture and front camera details.

xiaomi mi4s

Specification changes continue with a 6 core Snapdragon 808 chipset, 3GB RAM, 64GB EMMC 5.0 memory, and even micro SD to boot (or dual SIM cards).

xiaomi mi4s

Xiaomi have even found time to boost the battery capacity to 3260mAh which is charged for USB Type 2 and Fast Charge 2.0.

xiaomi mi4s

The Mi4S will support all Chinese networks out of the box and will also include VoLTE. The launch date is the 1st March (the same as the Mi5) with pricing being a very competitive 1699 Yuan.

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89 Comments

  1. Jiraya Ziane
    February 24, 2016

    Look amazing to me and it is Great on the paper at least. i will wait for a ful review to see how does that battery perform.but are you sure it has 16 mp and 8 mp instead of 13/5 ? I have a doubt about that.

    • February 24, 2016

      Im confirming now, the cloud image says 13 but our source said 16.

      • Jiraya Ziane
        February 24, 2016

        Thank you

  2. Assefa Hanson
    February 24, 2016

    well im just waiting to see what vivo has to offer, will oppo release anything else too later on?

    • February 24, 2016

      Nothing from Oppo for MWC other than the charge and camera tech. Xplay 5 looks like its going to be the most interesting

  3. Sbz
    February 24, 2016

    nah. thanks. I’m infinitely disappointed in Ciao-mi. Maybe I will have a change of mind but not now.

  4. balcobomber25
    February 24, 2016

    Actually not a bad phone at all.

    • Xiaolu
      February 24, 2016

      I was thinking the same… beats my OnePlus out of the water (and people complain!), while it means significant saves. This ‘super-mid range’ phones are winning my heart. Just can’t justify the premium any longer.

      • Vlada
        February 25, 2016

        If it only supported 800MHz LTE. 🙁 I don’t understand why they do it. People were able to unlock the frequencies on some Xiaomi phones. The HW can support it but it is blocked in SW.

    • yalok
      February 24, 2016

      That’s what I expected mi4c to be.

    • VMortens
      February 25, 2016

      Very true, but price positioning is strange. Way too close to Mi5.
      On the other hand, maybe that’s it – it’s close to Mi5 just to keep low profile and just so customers are not dragged away from Mi5, later they can offer interesting discounts…

  5. VMortens
    February 24, 2016

    So, it’s going to be a mSD verisonof Mi4c, with a higher price … quite disappointing.
    I’d rather go for cheaper Mi4c, or slightly more expenesive Mi5 entry.

    • Giulio Dainese
      February 26, 2016

      …and fingerprint, metal and +32gb

  6. ksuuk
    February 24, 2016

    Does it support LTE band 20?

  7. tauerman
    February 24, 2016

    This seems to be a more fitting device for me, since the Mi5 is too expensive.

    • Xalis
      February 24, 2016

      Actually it would be madness to get this instead of the cheapest Mi5.

      • tauerman
        February 24, 2016

        Why?
        The Mi5 has only 32GB rom and costs 1999Yuan which is 288€ and with assumed free shipping it is 350€ incl. VAT.
        ( I only want to pay ~200€).

        But on the Mi4S I get 64GB rom and only pay 1699 Yuan, which is 236€ -> 280€ incl. VAT (much closer to the ~200€, <=230€)

  8. realjjj
    February 24, 2016

    Selling SD808 is not acceptable anymore. they should have retired the 4c not launch more of it.

    • Nico
      February 24, 2016

      True I am disappointed, would have preferred a SD650 SOC on the MI4S. I mean the MI4C’s will have a price cut soon so it is better to go for the Prime MI4C instead the MI4S.

    • MaxPower
      February 24, 2016

      The 4C is still one one of the best midranger or there. It needed an update with metal body.
      The SoC is way more than enough for the category. Better than SD615, SD616, SD617 MT6752, MT6753 that other companies are using lately

      • realjjj
        February 24, 2016

        The SoC is defective, there is no other way to put it. Better than much much cheaper ones (that actually work as advertised i might add) is not a valid argument.

        • MaxPower
          February 24, 2016

          Where did you read that it’s defective? I haven’t read anything regarding that.

          There always going to be better SoCs but that’s not enough.

          • realjjj
            February 24, 2016

            SD650 would be an alternative in the same price range if not cheaper, it is a valid alternative not a random example.
            Pretty much everybody knows SD808 is defective, including you.
            When a product can’t function as advertised , it is defective and SD808 can’t come even close to advertised speeds.
            If you insist on playing dumb, compare on screen T-Rex perf for the 4c vs long term performance in that GFX bench in my comment. The difference is caused by throttling. You got 25.8 Fps and then it overheats and performance drops to 20.7 Fps.
            On the CPU side you can see here towards the bottom of the page how LG G4 and Nexus 5x throttle with just the 2 big cores loaded http://www.anandtech.com/show/9878/the-huawei-mate-8-review/5
            But you already knew that you just need to defend Xiaomi at all cost.

            • MaxPower
              February 24, 2016

              I’m not defending Xiaomi at any cost. I’m trying to figure out what you mean by defective.
              So everything that runs below 25 fps is defective in your opinion?
              You forget we are talking about a mid ranger.

              The link you provided doesn’t mention any drop in framerate.

              Phones don’t have cooling systems so we can’t pursue crazy performances and not deal with heat.

              And lastly, not everybody is a benchmark junkie.
              All the SD808 phones (Xiaomi and non) runs smoothly better than SD615 and better than SD810.
              The phone wasn’t born to achieve crazy performance for gamers.
              It’s a $200 phone.

              Sure, there are better SoCs out there and better are coming but they might be more pricey.
              Companies (not just Xiaomi) build a phone that satisfy the majority of the customers and not just gamers.

            • realjjj
              February 25, 2016

              oh wow
              lol ok just keep saying random things

            • MaxPower
              February 25, 2016

              Huh? Who me?
              You gotta be kidding me. Lol

              I always ask you details about phones and you come out speaking of A72 arm cores or bringing benchmark scores.

              I asked you a reliable source that states that the SoC is defective.

            • willysson
              February 28, 2016

              You’re an idiot and obviously you don’t know what the definition of “defective” is. MaxPower’s argument is logical, your’s is fan-boyish.

            • Karly Johnston
              February 25, 2016

              The 4c doesn’t throttle and 808 was chosen over the 810 as flagship by several OEMs because it didn’t throttle. I know you love your X10 but i am STILL waiting for your X20.

      • xi7
        February 24, 2016

        still my top 1 mid-range !

      • Stef
        February 24, 2016

        I honestly don’t see how a metal body is an upgrade though. If you “wear” a case -if anything- it’s a downgrade as it interferes with the signal (yeah there are the “signal bars”, but in principle a non-metal body is better) without it (the metal body) being visible to onlookers. If you don’t “wear” a case it gets trashed very rapidly.

        As for the look itself, it’s obviously a personal preference. I’m not accustomed to see “shining objects” as valuable, others are. A material that’s durable is premium (to me at least), one that is not, it isn’t, no matter whether it shines or not…

        • MaxPower
          February 24, 2016

          That’s what the market says:
          Metal makes the phone feel more premium.

          My opinion?
          Just like you, I prefer a good plastic
          (The Moto G if you know what I’m talking about)
          The phone looks good, lighter and lasts longer.

          • Stef
            February 24, 2016

            I know and I honestly can’t see why… Coca Cola cans are aluminum, nobody thinks of them as “premium”, I think it’s the “shiny factor” .

            Premium plastic, or carbon fiber honestly feels great to the hand too… oh well, metal phones is a trend and it will probably be replaced eventually, hopefully with a more … suitable material…

        • cyril dieudonné
          February 25, 2016

          very well said.

  9. Muhammad Yasir
    February 24, 2016

    $260 :/

  10. Jiraya Ziane
    February 24, 2016

    Look amazing to me and it is Great on the paper at least. i will wait for a ful review to see how does that battery perform.but are you sure it has 16 mp and 8 mp instead of 13/5 ? I have a doubt about that.

    • Andi Sykes
      February 24, 2016

      Im confirming now, the cloud image says 13 but our source said 16.

    • Jiraya Ziane
      February 24, 2016

      Thank you

  11. Assefa Hanson
    February 24, 2016

    well im just waiting to see what vivo has to offer, will oppo release anything else too later on?

    • Andi Sykes
      February 24, 2016

      Nothing from Oppo for MWC other than the charge and camera tech. Xplay 5 looks like its going to be the most interesting

  12. Sbz
    February 24, 2016

    nah. thanks. I’m infinitely disappointed in Ciao-mi. Maybe I will have a change of mind but not now.

  13. balcobomber25
    February 24, 2016

    Actually not a bad phone at all.

    • Xiaolu
      February 24, 2016

      I was thinking the same… beats my OnePlus out of the water (and people complain!), while it means significant saves. This ‘super-mid range’ phones are winning my heart. Just can’t justify the premium any longer.

    • yalok
      February 24, 2016

      That’s what I expected mi4c to be.

    • Vlada
      February 25, 2016

      If it only supported 800MHz LTE. 🙁 I don’t understand why they do it. People were able to unlock the frequencies on some Xiaomi phones. The HW can support it but it is blocked in SW.

    • VMortens
      February 25, 2016

      Very true, but price positioning is strange. Way too close to Mi5.
      On the other hand, maybe that’s it – it’s close to Mi5 just to keep low profile and just so customers are not dragged away from Mi5, later they can offer interesting discounts…

  14. VMortens
    February 24, 2016

    So, it’s going to be a mSD version of Mi4c, with a higher price … quite disappointing.
    I’d rather go for cheaper Mi4c, or slightly more expenesive Mi5 entry.

    • Giulio Dainese
      February 26, 2016

      …and fingerprint, metal and +32gb

  15. tauerman
    February 24, 2016

    This seems to be a more fitting device for me, since the Mi5 is too expensive.

    • Guest
      February 24, 2016

      Actually it would be madness to get this instead of the cheapest Mi5.

    • tauerman
      February 24, 2016

      Why?
      The Mi5 has only 32GB rom and costs 1999Yuan which is 288€ and with assumed free shipping it is 350€ incl. VAT.
      ( I only want to pay ~200€).

      But on the Mi4S I get 64GB rom and only pay 1699 Yuan, which is 236€ -> 280€ incl. VAT (much closer to the ~200€, <=230€)

  16. slartiblart
    February 24, 2016

    I got the mi4c, very happy with it for the time being.

  17. realjjj
    February 24, 2016

    Selling SD808 is not acceptable anymore. they should have retired the 4c not launch more of it.

    • Guest
      February 24, 2016

      True I am disappointed, would have preferred a SD650 SOC on the MI4S. I mean the MI4C’s will have a price cut soon so it is better to go for the Prime MI4C instead the MI4S.

    • MaxPower
      February 24, 2016

      The 4C is still one one of the best midranger or there. It needed an update with metal body.
      The SoC is way more than enough for the category. Better than SD615, SD616, SD617 MT6752, MT6753 that other companies are using lately

    • realjjj
      February 24, 2016

      The SoC is defective, there is no other way to put it. Better than much much cheaper ones (that actually work as advertised i might add) is not a valid argument.

      SD650 50% better sustained GPU perf https://gfxbench.com/compare.jsp?benchmark=gfxgen&did1=28864307&os1=Android&api1=gl&hwtype1=GPU&hwname1=Qualcomm+Adreno+%28TM%29+510&D2=Xiaomi+MI+4C

      Significantly better single threaded perf (before overheating,that can cripple SD808 further) http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/compare/5394159?baseline=5393675

      The point being that they have alternatives today and choosing SD808 is absolutely not ok. For anyone, not just Xiaomi.

    • realjjj
      February 24, 2016

      Or the Note 3 Pro if it meets one’s needs.
      The SD650 doesn’t throttle and it is faster in both CPU and GPU
      Note the long term perf numbers (scroll all the way down) https://gfxbench.com/compare.jsp?benchmark=gfxgen&did1=28864307&os1=Android&api1=gl&hwtype1=GPU&hwname1=Qualcomm+Adreno+%28TM%29+510&D2=Xiaomi+MI+4C

    • MaxPower
      February 24, 2016

      Where did you read that it’s defective? I haven’t read anything regarding that.

      There always going to be better SoCs but that’s not enough.

    • xi7
      February 24, 2016

      still my top 1 mid-range !

    • Stef
      February 24, 2016

      I honestly don’t see how a metal body is an upgrade though. If you “wear” a case -if anything- it’s a downgrade as it interferes with the signal (yeah there are the “signal bars”, but in principle a non-metal body is better) without it (the metal body) being visible to onlookers. If you don’t “wear” a case it gets trashed very rapidly.

      As for the look itself, it’s obviously a personal preference. I’m not accustomed to see “shining objects” as valuable, others are. A material that’s durable is premium (to me at least), one that is not, it isn’t, no matter whether it shines or not…

    • MaxPower
      February 24, 2016

      That’s what the market says:
      Metal makes the phone feel more premium.

      My opinion?
      Just like you, I prefer a good plastic
      (The Moto G if you know what I’m talking about)
      The phone looks good, lighter and lasts longer.

    • Stef
      February 24, 2016

      I know and I honestly can’t see why… Coca Cola cans are aluminum, nobody thinks of them as “premium”, I think it’s the “shiny factor” .

      Premium plastic, or carbon fiber honestly feels great to the hand too… oh well, metal phones is a trend and it will probably be replaced eventually, hopefully with a more … suitable material…

    • realjjj
      February 24, 2016

      SD650 would be an alternative in the same price range if not cheaper, it is a valid alternative not a random example.
      Pretty much everybody knows SD808 is defective, including you.
      When a product can’t function as advertised , it is defective and SD808 can’t come even close to advertised speeds.
      If you insist on playing dumb, compare on screen T-Rex perf for the 4c vs long term performance in that GFX bench in my comment. The difference is caused by throttling. You got 25.8 Fps and then it overheats and performance drops to 20.7 Fps.
      On the CPU side you can see here towards the bottom of the page how LG G4 and Nexus 5x throttle with just the 2 big cores loaded http://www.anandtech.com/show/9878/the-huawei-mate-8-review/5
      But you already knew that you just need to defend Xiaomi at all cost.

    • MaxPower
      February 24, 2016

      I’m not defending Xiaomi at any cost. I’m trying to figure out what you mean by defective.
      So everything that runs below 25 fps is defective in your opinion?
      You forget we are talking about a mid ranger.

      The link you provided doesn’t mention any drop in framerate.

      Phones don’t have cooling systems so we can’t pursue crazy performances and not deal with heat.

      And lastly, not everybody is a benchmark junkie.
      All the SD808 phones (Xiaomi and non) runs smoothly better than SD615 and better than SD810.
      The phone wasn’t born to achieve crazy performance for gamers.
      It’s a $200 phone.

      Sure, there are better SoCs out there and better are coming but they might be more pricey.
      Companies (not just Xiaomi) build a phone that satisfy the majority of the customers and not just gamers.

    • Karly Johnston
      February 25, 2016

      The 4c doesn’t throttle and 808 was chosen over the 810 as flagship by several OEMs because it didn’t throttle. I know you love your X10 but i am STILL waiting for your X20.

    • cyril dieudonné
      February 25, 2016

      very well said.

    • realjjj
      February 25, 2016

      oh wow
      lol ok just keep saying random things

    • MaxPower
      February 25, 2016

      Huh? Who me?
      You gotta be kidding me. Lol

      I always ask you details about phones and you come out speaking of A72 arm cores or bringing benchmark scores.

      I asked you a reliable source that states that the SoC is defective.

    • Guest
      February 28, 2016

      You’re an idiot and obviously you don’t know what the definition of “defective” is. MaxPower’s argument is logical, your’s is fan-boyish.

  18. Sirrr
    February 24, 2016

    This phone makes me sad…cause I will never get my hands on it.
    Beautiful and balanced. Best mid-ranger out there. WD Xiaomi.

  19. Guest
    February 24, 2016

    $260 :/

  20. slartiblart
    February 24, 2016

    I got the mi4c, very happy with it for the time being.

  21. Sirrr
    February 24, 2016

    This phone makes me sad…cause I will never get my hands on it.
    Beautiful and balanced. Best mid-ranger out there. WD Xiaomi.

  22. erictheking87
    February 25, 2016

    Any info about Audio Specs? DAC+amp???

  23. Karly Johnston
    February 25, 2016

    With the launch of the Mi5 this seems rather redundant.

  24. xplorr
    February 25, 2016

    Will there be a European version soon?

  25. erictheking87
    February 25, 2016

    Any info about Audio Specs? DAC+amp???

  26. K-Paxian
    February 25, 2016

    actually its for competing oneplus x..! can i get one in india

  27. Karly Johnston
    February 25, 2016

    With the launch of the Mi5 this seems rather redundant.

  28. xplorr
    February 25, 2016

    Will there be a European version soon?

  29. realjjj
    February 25, 2016
  30. K-Paxian
    February 25, 2016

    actually its for competing oneplus x..! can i get one in india

  31. realjjj
    February 25, 2016
  32. Angel Angelov
    February 26, 2016

    And what about the rumored MI5 Plus or whatever it is called? The one with the bigger display? I would gladly buy a 6″ (or 5.7″ at worse) Mi5 phone…

  33. Angel Angelov
    February 26, 2016

    And what about the rumored MI5 Plus or whatever it is called? The one with the bigger display? I would gladly buy a 6″ (or 5.7″ at worse) Mi5 phone…

  34. xplorr
    February 27, 2016

    Please Xiaomi bring out a European version soon!

  35. xplorr
    February 27, 2016

    Please Xiaomi bring out a European version soon!

  36. Dasha Konfetka
    March 4, 2016

    Пошли в продажу уже по 300$ на aliexpress. Цена немножко кусается, но он того стоит!!!
    http://mygip.ru/xiaomi-mi4s/

  37. Dasha Konfetka
    March 4, 2016

    Пошли в продажу уже по 300$ на aliexpress. Цена немножко кусается, но он того стоит!!!
    http://mygip.ru/xiaomi-mi4s/