Xiaomi Redmi 1S Full In Depth Review + Unboxing [Video]
Xiaomi Redmi 1S Quick Specs
Display Size: 4.7 inch IPS LCD capacitive touch screen with 720 x 1080 HD resolutionProcessor: 1.6 Ghz Quad Core Snapdragon 400 MSM8228RAM: 1 GbSoftware Version: Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) OSCamera: 8 MP AF camera.Secondary Camera: 1.6 MP front-facing camera FF [Fixed Focus]Internal Storage: 8 GBExternal Storage: Expandable up to 64GBBattery: 2050 mAh battery Lithium IonConnectivity: 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, aGPS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM RadioOthers: OTG Support – Yes, Dual SIM – Yes, LED Indicator – YesSensors: Accelerometer, gyro, proximity and Magnetometer SensorSAR Value: – 1.21 W/KG (Max Value)
Box Contents
Inside the box you will get a handset, microUSB cable, USB Charger ( 1 AMP output ), User Manual, Service Center List. ( There are no headphones in the package )
Build Quality, Design and Form Factor
It has good built quality and its build is actually much better as compared to the other phones offered at the same price point. It comes by default in black color with grey colored matte finish back cover of plastic. The overall design is not extraordinary but it looks decent. The rounded curved edges makes it easy to old in hands and 4.7 inch display does make sure that its one handed usage does not go for a compromise. At 158 grams it does not feel very heavy but its not the thinnest phone around, its fairly thick phone at 9.9 mm, but on the whole it feels like a solid good built quality phone in hand.
Camera Performance
The rear 8MP camera does a great job in day light and in low light as well the photos come out good if not great. The front 1.6 MP camera is one of the best camera you can get at this price point, it can take good selfie photos with light and can be used for decent quality of the video chat as well. Both the rear and front cameras can record HD video and rear camera can also record slow motion video. Note: While recording HD video we faced a lag in camera when the device was hot in terms of temperature after using the camera app for some time, but Xiaomi should be able to fix this with a software update in future. Camera Samples
Redmi 1S Camera Video Sample Front Camera
Redmi 1S Camera Video Sample Rear Camera
Display, Memory and Battery Backup
It features 720p display which gives you great viewing angles and good color reproduction, the display also have protection for scratches and it does get scratched easily. Sunlight visibility of the display is also good. It has 8GB in built memory out which around 4.12 GB is available to the user which gives you enough storage for the apps and games. However you cannot install apps on the SD card without rooting the phone. You can get around 1 day of battery backup with moderate usage but on continuous use you will get around 4-5 hours of usage. Available amount of RAM is around 430 MB but if you run too many apps then some of the apps might have problem with low amount of available RAM.
Software, Benchmarks and Gaming
The software UI is MIUI 5 which runs on top of android is responsive and does not give you lag unless you load the phone with too many resource hungry apps and games. We played MC4, Front line Commando D Day and every games ran fine without any audio video lag. Benchmark Scores
Antutu Benchmark: 18507Nenamark2: 42.9Multi Touch: 10 point
Redmi 1S Gaming Review [Video]
Sound, Video and Navigation
Loudspeaker on Redmi 1S is fairly loud and but the speaker is placed on the back so it might get blocked when you place the device flat on a table. You can play HD videos both at 720p and 1080p on this device, it did gave any issues in this department. GPS navigation works fine and it locked the coordinates pretty quickly outdoors and in indoors it may take some time, it also has magnetic field sensor.
Redmi 1S Photo Gallery
What We Liked
Great Performance for the priceGood CameraValue for moneyAwesome Hardware
What We Did Not Liked
Video Recording Issues to heating
Conclusion and Price
Xiaomi is relatively new chinese brand who has entered india, but it their products are offering the best value for money to indian consumers. Redmi 1S is one such device which has given great results in our testing of different things, apart from video recording lag at high temperature we did not faced any problem with the device. Redmi 1S is retailing on flipkart and it comes for sale every week but gets out of stock in 2-3 seconds, last time 40,000 Redmi 1S were bought in india.
