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January 24, 2025
The budget 5G phone segment is truly getting a lifeline thanks to the new Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 chipset which has launched with the Redmi A4 5G phone from Xiaomi in India this year. The sub-Rs 10,000 market has lost its shine since the focus on 5G phones but things are gradually changing which will allow more people to upgrade.
The Redmi A4 5G priced at Rs 8,499 looks to benefit from this hardware and Xiaomi is promising an overall package that does not cut the corners and looks to give you an experience which mimics devices that cost a lot more. But how does the new Redmi A-series phone perform and will it deliver good value for the price? Here’s the answer you need.
Redmi A4 5G costs under Rs 10,000 but it would be easy to view it as a more costlier device. The glass finish at the back, a large circular module for the camera and the sleek dimensions give it the ideal budget in-hand experience without feeling cheap by any means.
The phone comes with 8.2mm thickness and even with a large capacity battery it only weighs 212 grams which makes it easy and comfortable to use with one hand. You have the USB-C port at the bottom next to the speaker grill and headphone jack at the top. If Xiaomi wants to change the design perception of a budget phone, this is a good start.
Xiaomi has retained some budget elements with the Redmi A4 and most of them are linked to the screen. You get a large 6.88-inch LCD display that offers HD+ resolution but with a 120Hz refresh rate screen. The peak brightness at 600 nits is not the best we’ve heard lately, and its limits are evident when you step outside.
The Qualcomm chipset supports Full HD+ resolution so we would have liked Xiaomi to bring it on board but the overall quality doesn’t feel like a deal breaker. The display gets a water drop notch which is a classic budget phone trait that we have seen over the years. The colours are punchy, not AMOLED level but still good enough for its use case.
Redmi A4 5G is using the Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 chipset with 4GB RAM and offering up to 128GB storage which is further expandable with a dedicated microSD card slot. The new hardware is the talk of this piece, and we were eager to see if the chipset is capable of handling the daily grind and a bit more extra. The good news is that the Redmi A4 5G is a capable performer and it can even let you play some form of light games.
The benchmark scores are clearly telling us about the ability of the chipset which is neither a strong workhorse nor a slouching turtle. The performance of the phone will let you access apps without major stutter and efficiency is another aspect of this chipset that shows its worth. However, the multimedia prowess has its limits which means the phone is going to serve a basic purpose. We didn’t notice the device heat up much but any major strain with gaming made it slightly uneasy.
Redmi A4 5G does get the HyperOS version out of the box which is based on Android 14 and will get two more OS upgrades along with three years of security updates. We are hoping the company can stay to its promise with the updates. The UI is fluid and works well on the 120Hz screen but it has preloaded apps, and you will have to turn off notifications to stop some of these apps from popping up on the lock screen.
We also have to mention that the Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 chipset cannot run Non-standalone 5G networks. Which means the Redmi A4 5G can only support the Jio 5G network, and unless Airtel changes its technology, you are limited to just one operator for now. Having said that, if you are happy using 4G then Airtel will work.
The Redmi A4 5G has a deceivingly large module at the back for the cameras but you only get one 50MP sensor which captures acceptable photos in daylight with decent details but lacking quality in low light conditions which was expected.
The colours look natural but the sharpness can be definitely improved. The front camera just about does its work but the skin tones are missing which isn’t the best results you want.
Redmi A4 5G comes with a 5160mAh battery which may not sound like a lot but it delivers. We got the phone to run for over a day and a half with our level of usage and the PCMark score of 20 hours+ means it can easily go on for a couple of days easily.
The device supports 18W charging via the bundled 33W charger and you get it with a USB C charging point which isn’t the fastest but still acceptable for its overall range and efficiency.
The Redmi A4 5G shows a budget phone can give you quality, premium design and other aspects covered with some cut backs. The display offers punchy colours with the 120Hz screen, the hardware is reliable but limited to SA 5G networks. The battery life will keep most people happy and you can manage to click some shots with the single camera.
