Xiaomi announced the Mi4 smartphone in India today at an event in New Delhi. The device will be priced INR 19,999 ($325) for the base 16GB variant, and will also come in a 64GB variant, price for which hasn’t been revealed yet.
As for the availability of Xiaomi Mi4, the company hasn’t shared any detail at the press event, but has revealed that the device will go on sale on a “Tuesday”. Also, interestingly, Xiaomi will soon be hosting two flash sales a week, instead of one that the company has been doing ever since it entered the Indian market. The two flash sales model will begin as and when Mi4 goes on sale.
The Xiaomi Mi4 specs include a Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.5 GHz, 3GB RAM, 3080 mAh battery and a 5 inch JDI 1080p display. As for the camera, Mi4 boasts a 13MP on back and 8MP on front, both of which are Sony Exmor RS image sensors.
At the price point and specs of Xiaomi Mi4, it seems the device will be competing directly with OnePlus One which is currently selling for INR 22,000 ($359) in the country and boasts almost similar specs as Mi4, but only a bigger 5.5 inch screen and a massive 64GB internal storage.
Mi4 runs on MIUI, one of the most customizable custom skin ever built atop Android. It was also popular as a custom ROM available for many Android devices long before Xiaomi began using it on their Android devices. This, interestingly, is another point where the Mi4 again competes directly with OnePlus One, as the latter runs on Cyanogen OS, which is another popular custom ROM available for Android devices.
Xiaomi Mi4 release date isn’t announced yet, but now that the device has officially announced in India, it should go on sale anytime now. And when it does, you know it’ll be exclusively on Flipkart as that has been the company’s selling plans so far in the country. Also, initially, the device will be available in White color only.
At the press event, Xiaomi has also revealed that it plans to begin selling its devices directly via its own online store at some point later this year.
Update: Xiaomi Mi4 will go on sale on February 10. Registrations for the sale will go online at 6 PM today on Xiaomi’s website.