As we reported earlier, Xiaomi’s Mi 4 smartphone will be available for the first time today in the Indian market via Flipkart. To ruin the Mi 4’s arrival, OnePlus has decided to hold an open sale on the same day and is terming it as the celebration of their ten-weeks in the country.
As OnePlus One is typically sold only using invites, so the timing of their open sale is quite interesting, but it is a good opportunity for the consumers, who plan to buy a smartphone in INR 20,000-25,000 price-bracket. They are getting the chance to get one of the two most-touted smartphones in this budget today itself and be done with their smartphone shopping, which in the era of flash sales has become a big ordeal.
So, the question arises, which one should you go for – OnePlus One or Xiaomi Mi 4?
To begin with, both are excellent smartphones and it is the little things that will decide your purchase. For example, the display size of the smartphone. OnePlus One with its 5.5-inch display is clearly big for anyone looking to get a standard size and in that department, the 5-inch screen on Mi 4 makes more sense. On the other hand, if you live in a city, where Airtel has launched its 4G services and you want to use them, you should go with OnePlus One, because there is no 4G LTE support on Xiaomi smartphone.
Similarly, on the storage front, OnePlus One offers 64GB, while the Mi 4 will get 64GB variant later this month and it is going to cost INR 4K more than the 16GB version.
In terms of the software, if you like your Android stock-ish, then MIUI-based Mi 4 is not for you, it is simply too iPhone-ish to be loved by any stock Android enthusiast. However, stock or no-stock, it doesn’t matter for you, then you can go for any of the two. It is important to note here that OnePlus One is more likely to get Android 5.0 update first, as Xiaomi cares more about MIUI updates than core-Android updates. In the defense of Xiaomi, it often includes features from newer Android versions to the existing MIUI ROMs.
The imaging capacities as well as processing chops of the both smartphones are pretty much at par. There is not much difference in the pricing either, unless you have a specific amount to spend for your next smartphone. Then, I guess, you know which one to go for.
| Smartphone | OnePlus One | Xiaomi Mi 4 |
| Display | 5.5-inch full HD IPS LCD with Gorilla Glass 3 | 5-inch full HD IPS LCD |
| Processor | 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 | 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 |
| Memory | 3GB of RAM | 3GB of RAM |
| Cameras | 13MP f2.0 rear camera with dual-LED flash and 5MP front shooter | 13MP f1.8 rear camera with LED flash and 8MP front shooter |
| Connectivity | 4G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC | 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, IR LED, |
| Battery | 3100 mAh | 3080 mAh |
| OS | Android 4.4.4-based Cyanogen OS (Will get Android 5.0-based OxygenOS) | Android 4.4.3-based MIUI OS (will get Android 5.0-based MIUI OS) |
| Size | 152.9×75.9×8.9mm | 139.2×68.5×8.9mm |
| Price | INR 21,999 (64GB) | INR 19,999 (16GB), INR 23,999 (64GB, goes on sale Feb 24) |
I don’t want to be the resident LTE troll on Androidos, but IMO a non-LTE phone is a strict no-no, now that 4G tariffs are slated to go lower than 3G by the end of the year, what with RJio launching their services next month and planning to expand aggressively thereafter. Of course, Airtel and Aircel has bigger plans for 4G as well and are slated to lauch in Mumbai and elsewhere by Q2.
Seeing the 3G roll-out over the past few years, I don’t have confidence in getting a reasonable 4G coverage even in metro cities over the next year. Even if they do manage it, the plan prices are going to be inexplicably unaffordable.
I am pretty sure that by the time I get in a 4G comfort zone this phone will be outdated.
Reliance Jio’s partial launch has already happened in Kolkata on the 5th of this month. Google it up.
They’ve already said that they plan to roll it out to 800+ towns by the end of this year. They’ll have to, or else they’ll lose their spectrum according to the terms set by the Telecom ministry at the time of allocation in 2010.
The article shared only goes on to indicate that 4G might be costlier, as the service providers will look to recover the spectrum costs while waging in a voice plan reduction war.
Also merely a roll-out in a given city doesn’t ensure good coverage, as has been proved earlier.
All said and done, I hope my skepticism is proved wrong, I have a 4G ready OPO if 4G comes to town at reasonable tariff.
I’m using redmi note 4g with Airtel 4g in Bangalore. Speed is too good and priced at 3g tariff only.
Thank you Gokul for saying that. I don’t know what this guy is arguing with me about! I’m hoping for Reliance Jio to drag prices down even further. 🙂
IMO OPO
OPO (4G, More open and is cheaper)