Xiaomi announced its budget priced Redmi 1S smartphone today at an unexpected price of Rs. 5,999. Here's what the phone looks like at first glance.
The much awaited Xiaomi Redmi 1S smartphone has been launched today. Yes, the company is following its flash sale strategy and yes, the phone presents specifications higher than any other in this range. Also, the company decided to price the device Rs. 1,000 lower than its originally announced cost, Rs. 6,999. The Xiaomi Redmi 1S will instead cost Rs. 5,999 in India.
The phone has a 4.7 inch 720p HD display along with a 1.6 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core SoC. In addition, it has an 8 MP rear camera along with a 1.6 MP front camera. It is powered by a 2,000 mAh battery and AGC Dragon Glass protection on the display. It has 8 GB of internal storage, out of which about 5 GB is usable. There is also micro-SD support. On the specs side, the Xiaomi Redmi 1S is certainly ahead of the current leader in the budget Android smartphone space, the Moto E
Click images to enlarge.
The Xiaomi Redmi 1S feels like a sturdy smartphone, albeit plasticky. It is evident that Xiaomi has made no efforts to get rid of the plastic feel of the device, except for the matte finish of the back. The back is openable, revealing the micro-SD and two SIM (3G+2G) slots. The 2,000 mAh battery sits pretty below these slots. The plastic feel to the phone though isn’t a negative, considering that it presents specs above any other in this range and is priced lower than competitors.
Surprisingly though the plastic feel continues when you come to the screen. Tapping on the screen with a key makes a distinct plastic sound suggesting that its slightly different from other smartphones. This is the only 720p HD screen in this range though and it is made of Dragontrail Glass from Japanese sheet glass producer AGC. What this does is it makes the screen practically scratch-proof. Keys and scissors didn’t make a single mark on it, even after rubbing with full force. No wonder Hugo Barra challenged everyone to try and scratch this glass.
The sound that it made on tapping though could suggest that the screen won’t be able to take a fall very well, but more on that after a full review. It is also somewhat fingerprint intensive and a little low on brightness. It is not surprising that Xiaomi has cut a few corners though, considering the price of the device.
Performance wise, the UI seemed fluid on this smartphone. It has 1 GB of RAM and the Snapdragon 400 chipset provides the power it needs. The MiUI 5 showed no lags on the demo units. That said, we have mentioned in our MiUI review that it is resource intensive, which means a verdict can only be passed once the Redmi 1S has been put under duress in our labs.
One thing I liked is the Lite version for the MiUI, which is available only on the Redmi 1S. This allows you to use a much simpler version of the UI, making your phone very easy to use. It gives you a slide-to-unlock screen and large square icons for apps and contacts to make things very easy. This makes a lot of sense for a phone catering to the entry level segment where many are first time smartphone users. Incidentally, in China they call this mode the ‘Senior Mode’, so you know what kind of users they’re targeting.
Next up is the 8 MP rear camera, which proves one thing. Xiaomi has got the algorithm behind its cameras right. This is a big step down from the Mi3, but that’s only because the Mi3’s camera is quite exceptional. For an 8 MP camera that costs only Rs. 6,000, this is quite good. The HDR mode took some clear shots and pictures weren’t grainy. The colour reproduction is also quite good.
Camera samples. (Click to enlarge)
HDR Shot. (click to enlarge)
Overall, at first glance, I’m impressed and the Xiaomi Redmi 1S seems like a steal for the price that Xiaomi is asking. I'll reserve my verdict for a few days though, till the full review has been done. It will also ship with two SIM card adapters for micro-SIMs and the company has also made a number of back covers available on Flipkart. The accessories section also includes a screen protector kit, which includes a Matte finish screen guard, clear screen glass and cloth for screen cleaning. The device goes up for registration today at 6 pm and the first flash sale starts at 2pm on September 2.
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Prasid Banerjee
Trying to explain technology to my parents. Failing miserably. View Full Profile
