Redmi A4 Review: A Whole Lot of Smartphone for A Whole Lot Less

India has seen a surge in the number of affordable 5G smartphones in the past couple years. However, only a handful of smartphone support 5G connectivity in the sub-10K segment.

So when Xiaomi confirmed it was bringing the Redmi A4 5G under Rs 10,000, we couldn't wait to see just how much the Chinese smartphone maker offered at such an affordable price. After nearly ten days of testing, here are my thoughts on one of the most affordable 5G phones in India.

Design and Build

The Redmi A4 5G comes in two finishes - Starry Black and Sparkle Purple, I got the latter of the two. While the black model appears to offer a more subtle look, the purple variant felt a bit too flashy for me, particularly because of the shimmering pattern on the back. On the flip side, the panel didn't attract any fingerprints or smudges.

The circular camera island on the top gives the phone a premium look but don't be fooled by its size as there's only one usable sensor on the inside. Unlike traditional budget smartphones, the Redmi A4 5G is massive, I'm talking taller than the Pixel 9 Pro XL (Review). The handset weighs around 212 grams and measures 8.2mm thick with glass protection on the front and back.

While the phone is on the heavier side, the glass back is a rarity at this price. The Redmi A4 also comes with a plastic frame and a dust and splash repellent design. The Redmi A4 5G has a SIM tray on the left and a power and volume button on the right. Additionally, the power button doubles as a fingerprint reader.

Additionally, there's a USB Type-C port on the bottom along with the speaker grille and a headphone jack on the top. While the Redmi A4 5G does look quite edgy, its sheer size made it feel a little bulky. And while I didn't prefer the bulky design, it doesn't take long to get accustomed to it. But I'll dive into another reason why this form factor works later.

Display

For the display, the Redmi A4 5G opts for a large 6.88-inch HD+ LCD screen with a pixel density of 260 PPI. The display features a peak brightness of 600 nits and is easily visible outdoors. The panel boasts a super-smooth 120Hz refresh rate, which makes using the phone quite responsive.

Considering the size of this screen, the Redmi A4 5G feels tailor-made for watching content. The Redmi A4 has one downward firing speaker that gets fairly loud but isn't quite clear past 70% volume. However, considering this is an ultra-affordable smartphone, you can't have too many complaints.

Performance

The Redmi A4 is the first smartphone in India to use the Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 chipset. The chip is paired with 4GB of LPDDR4x RAM and up to 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage. In terms of real-world usage, the Redmi A4 5G delivers fluid multitasking performance. I found navigating through the phone quite smooth. We also ran a few benchmarks on the phone. In Geekbench 6, the Redmi A4 managed a single-core score of 825 points and a multi-core score of 1869 points.

In AnTuTu, the Redmi A4 5G managed an overall score of just under 398710 points. Surprisingly, both BGMI and Call of Duty: Mobile ran on the Redmi A4 5G, albeit at low graphics and frame rates. However, gameplay was a bit jittery, which is to be expected at this price range. Overall, the Redmi A4 5G performs admirably, it will run more casual games smoothly, while multitasking and navigation are quite fluid.

{review}

Cameras

For optics, the Redmi A4 5G features a dual-rear camera setup with a 50MP primary sensor paired with a 2MP auxiliary lens. Up front, there's a 5MP selfie camera. The main camera does a decent job in daylight, capturing shots with mostly accurate colours and quite a bit of detail.

The Redmi A4 captures scenes with natural colors but struggles with soft details and noticeable noise. In low light, its slow shutter speed often causes blurry images from minor hand movements. However, with steady hands, it delivers photos with decent color accuracy, albeit lacking sharpness and detail.

The Redmi A4 5G's camera performs well for portraits, delivering natural skin tones and reliable edge detection. The front camera captures decent selfies but struggles in low light, introducing noticeable noise and smoothing skin tones. While skin colours remain fairly accurate, the overall detail in images could be sharper, revealing the camera's limitations.

Battery

The 5,160 mAh battery on the Redmi A4 5G delivers more than enough juice to last an entire day under regular usage. I often had battery to spare to take into day-two. In our PCMark battery test, the phone lasted 19 hours and 37 minutes. The phone also supports 18W fast charging, although a 33W adapter is included in the box. It takes a little under two hours to fully charge the phone, which isn't surprising at this price.

Software

The Redmi A4 5G runs on Xiaomi's HyperOS, based on Android 14, offering a clean, customizable, and smooth user experience. While bloatware persists, most pre-installed apps, including third-party games, can be removed. Unlike other Xiaomi devices like the Redmi Pad Pro, HyperOS here feels lighter, ensuring optimal performance.

The UI is snappy and thoughtfully designed for the hardware. A neat touch is the option to hide the waterdrop notch, though it slightly reduces screen space. Packed with extensive customization options, the software adds a layer of personalization. Xiaomi also promises two years of Android OS updates and four years of security updates with the Redmi A4 5G.

Verdict

The Redmi A4 5G sets a new benchmark for affordability in the 5G smartphone market, offering solid performance, a large display, and decent cameras for under Rs 10,000. Its design, while bulky, feels premium with a glass back, and the smooth 120Hz display enhances usability. With a massive battery, large display, and a headphone jack, the Redmi A4 delivers an optimal entertainment experience, which offsets the bulkiness of the handset.

The Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 chipset ensures smooth multitasking and casual gaming, although demanding games run at lower settings. The 50MP main camera performs well in daylight but struggles in low light. If you are looking for an affordable 5G smartphone under Rs 10,000, then the Redmi A4 5G should be at the top of your list.