Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G

Visually, it's impossible to tell the difference between the Redmi Note and Redmi Note 4G. They both feature the same combination of a black front and white rear panel, and are equally chunky, measuring 9.45mm around the waist. They’re not the lightest of smartphones either, although the 4G variant sheds a few grams, weighing in at 185g, as opposed to the 3G version which tips the scales at 199g. The front panel features thick bezels around the display, adding even more bulk to the already large form factor.

In terms of software, the Redmi Note 4G runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat, as opposed to the dated Android 4.2 Jelly Bean on the Redmi Note. However, both devices run Xiaomi's heavily customised MIUI 5, so you can't really tell the difference. An update to MIUI 6 is expected to roll out for the smartphone in February. MIUI is one of our favourite custom user interfaces, packing in tons of features such as a theme store, a full-fledged security suite, Lite Mode and Do Not Disturb, to name a few. For a better understanding of what MIUI offers, check out our reviews of earlier Xiaomi smartphones. It's also worth noting that the smartphone comes pre-loaded with the Fleksy third-party keyboard, in addition to SwiftKey. 

The key difference between the two Redmi Note variants lie in their processors. While the 3G Redmi Note is powered by a 1.7GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6592 chipset, the Redmi Note 4G is equipped with the LTE-enabled quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 MSM8928 SoC clocked at 1.6GHz. Both variants get the same 2GB of RAM. In our daily use, we found the Redmi Note 4G to be just as capable as its octa-core sibling, powering through multi-tasking and intensive games with ease. We did notice a few jitters when playing graphics-heavy games like Riptide GP2, but nothing that gave us cause for concern. On the plus side, we didn't encounter the overheating issue we experienced with the 3G variant. In terms of connectivity, the smartphone comes fully loaded, packing in dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, GPS and USB-OTG, in addition to 4G.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G is a dual-band LTE device, supporting both the spectrums available in India. TDD-LTE 2,300MHz (Band 40) is what's currently being used by Airtel, and FDD-LTE 1,800MHz (Band 3) has been allotted to Vodafone and is expected to roll out commercially this year. Airtel's 4G network in Bangalore has been around right from the beginning, and is fairly widespread. We tested the speeds in several locations across the city using the OOKLA Speedtest app. On average, we got good download speeds of 20-28Mbps, but upload speeds averaged at around 2Mbps. However, the speeds tend to fluctuate a lot, sometimes with noticeable changes in different areas of the same house. Overall though, we were quite impressed with the 4G experience.