Xiaomi Redmi 1S is seen as the first strong alternative to the Moto E and Asus Zenfone 4, the best options for 7K Android smartphones. The Redmi 1S surely beats both of them in terms of specifications, but the build quality isn't very inspiring (we had a chance to use it at the Xiaomi Mi3 launch). Let's start the overview with the heart of the Redmi 1S the processing power, click on the next arrow on the image to go to the next slide.
Four cores: Packed performance The phone comes with a quad-core 1.6 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC, combined with a Adreno 305. The phone comes with 8GB internal storage which can be expanded to 64GB.
How good is the SoC? In terms of performance, the Snapdragon 400 SoC is capable of excellent performance for the sub 10K smartphone segment, Heck! it should beat the Moto G in terms of pure performance.
4.7 inch display: 720p HD The Redmi 1S comes with a 1280 x 720p display with 312 ppi.
The good part about the display is the size and resolution. Again, this might be the only phone in the segment to give a 4.7-inch 720p display. But the overall size and width of the device isn't compact by any standards. The thick bexels makes the Redmi 1S almost as large a device as the Nexus 5, which offers a 5-inch screen.
8MP camera: 1080p video recording The phone boasts an 8MP rear camera with an extra large 1.4um sensor and 5 piece lens assembly. The camera has 28mm wide lens with f/2.2 aperture. On paper the 8MP camera specs and the fact that the phone also offers flash sounds like a good package for a 7K phone. But, as we have seen with the Megapixel wars in the imaging space, the real performance and quality cannot be assured by the numbers alone. We will have to wait for the review unit to give you more details.
2400 mAh battery pack and Mi Sound with Dirac sound technologies Redmi features sound system technologies used by big names like BMW and Rolls Royce. The phone will adapts to music and then adjust the audio for best possible performance. We have experienced the same system on the Mi3 and the results aren't as impressive or imactful as the claim.
The 2400 mAh battery-pack should surely come handy for a 4.7-inch display. Expect good battery performance.
MIUI: Unique theme based UI The phone runs on the company’s custom UI called MIUI. MIUI is a simple and a very customizable. MIUI is very well known among Android users and on XDA forums.
The Xiaomi MiUI 6 factor: The next version of the MiUI is expected to hit the retail devices soon and while the UI is heavily inspired by iOS 7, what matters is that you will get the latest and greates MiUI with the 7K phone.