The Xiaomi Mi 4 is generating a lot of buzz with its affordable price and high-end specs. The company has fitted it with a Snapdragon 801 chipset with a quad-core CPU and 3GB of RAM. The Chinese have even managed to fit a larger battery than the one found in the Mi 3.
However, the difference in capacity is minor. The Xiaomi Mi 4 features a 3080mAh Li-Ion unit, whereas its predecessor has a 3050mAh one. As you’ll see though, the difference is noticeable. That’s because on paper it’s hard to notice the subtle differences between the two devices, while there is a good handful of those in reality.
The chipset in the Xiaomi Mi 4 is the MSM8974AC version, while the Mi 3 rocks the slightly older MSM8974AB. The difference isn’t just in the clock speed of the CPU and GPU, but also in the modem as the Mi 4 comes with LTE support. This makes it all the more interesting to see how the Mi 4 will stack up.
So, let’s dig right into it, starting with the call test. Here, the Xiaomi Mi 4 scored a talk time of 18 hours and 15 minutes. That’s 4 hours and 47 minutes more than the time of the Xiaomi Mi 3 (13 hours 28 minutes). Quite possibly, the different modem on the Mi 4 is responsible for the considerably better talk time.
Talk time
Nokia Lumia 1520 28:34h
Sony Xperia Z1 26:53h
LG G3 25:54h
Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.7 25:45h
LG G Pro 2 25:37h
LG G Flex 25:19h
Sony Xperia T2 Ultra 25:16h
Huawei Ascend Mate 25:12h
Alcatel Hero 25:02h
Oppo N1 25:01h
LG G2 25:01h
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo 24:52h
Sony Xperia Z Ultra 24:23h
Samsung P6200 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus 22:42h
Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue 22:16h
Sony Xperia Z2 22:13h
HTC One Max 22:13h
Nokia Lumia 1320 22:13h
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE 22:13h
Nokia Lumia 1020 22:13h
Samsung Galaxy S5 21:20h
Motorola RAZR MAXX 21:18h
LG Optimus G Pro E985 20:45h
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact 20:42h
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 20:24h
Motorola RAZR i XT890 20:07h
Oppo Find 7 20:03h
HTC One (M8) 20:01h
BlackBerry Q10 20:00h
OnePlus One 19:56h
Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 19:55h
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 I9200 19:54h
Sony Xperia SP 19:49h
Sony Xperia T3 19:48h
HTC Butterfly S 19:14h
Oppo R819 19:03h
Asus PadFone X 18:45h
Xiaomi Mi 4 18:15h
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 18:12h
LG G2 mini 18:11h
Oppo Find 7a 18:11h
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 18:03h
Sony Xperia ZR 17:48h
HTC One (E8) 17:47h
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 16:57h
HTC Desire 700 dual sim 16:56h
Samsung Ativ Odyssey I930 16:41h
Sony Xperia M2 16:40h
Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active 16:40h
Nokia Lumia 930 16:40h
LG Nexus 5 16:40h
Motorola Moto E Dual SIM 16:38h
Motorola Moto E 16:38h
Sony Xperia Z 16:03h
Samsung Galaxy K zoom 16:01h
Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom 15:32h
LG Optimus G E975 15:30h
Sony Xperia ZL 15:22h
Nokia Lumia 720 15:17h
HTC Desire 816 14:46h
Nokia Lumia 630 14:46h
BlackBerry Q5 14:31h
Pantech Discover 14:17h
Huawei Ascend P6 14:17h
Oppo Find 5 14:17h
Nokia Lumia 620 14:17h
LG Nexus 4 E960 14:17h
Nokia Lumia Icon 14:15h
Motorola Moto G 13:41h
HTC One 13:38h
Huawei Ascend P7 13:36h
Nokia Lumia 520 13:33h
HTC One X+ 13:31h
Sony Xperia C 13:29h
Xiaomi Mi 3 13:28h
Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo 13:20h
Samsung Galaxy Alpha 13:20h
Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini 13:10h
HTC Desire 616 dual sim 13:00h
Samsung Galaxy Grand I9082 12:45h
LG Optimus GJ E975W 12:39h
HTC First 12:31h
Motorola DROID RAZR M 12:31h
Sony Xperia M 12:31h
Sony Xperia L 12:30h
Huawei Ascend P1 12:30h
Nokia Lumia 928 12:27h
Samsung Galaxy S5 mini 12:18h
HTC Butterfly 12:18h
Samsung Galaxy S III I747 12:18h
Samsung Galaxy Note N7000 12:14h
HTC One mini 12:04h
HTC Desire 600 dual sim 11:58h
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 11:58h
Samsung Galaxy Core I8260 11:52h
Gionee Elife S5.5 11:32h
HTC Desire 500 11:31h
Samsung Galaxy Premier I9260 11:30h
HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE 11:25h
Asus PadFone 2 11:20h
Nokia X 11:13h
HTC DROID DNA 11:07h
Samsung S8600 Wave 3 11:07h
LG Optimus L9 P760 11:07h
HTC One SV 11:07h
HTC Windows Phone 8X 11:07h
Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus 11:06h
HTC Desire X 11:03h
Meizu MX3 11:02h
Samsung I9500 Galaxy S4 11:01h
Apple iPhone 5s 10:46h
Apple iPhone 5c 10:18h
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 10:15h
Samsung S7710 Galaxy Xcover 2 10:03h
Samsung Galaxy Express I8730 10:00h
Meizu MX 4-core 10:00h
HTC One V 10:00h
HTC One mini 2 09:58h
HTC One X 9:57h
HTC One S 9:42h
HTC One S C2 9:42h
Samsung I9103 Galaxy R 9:40h
Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 9:32h
HTC Sensation XL 9:30h
Sony Xperia J 9:14h
Nokia Lumia 810 9:05h
Acer CloudMobile S500 9:05h
Nokia Lumia 710 9:05h
Motorola ATRIX HD MB886 9:04h
HTC Vivid 9:02h
Nokia Lumia 920 8:56h
Nokia Lumia 610 8:51h
HTC Rhyme 8:48h
Apple iPhone 5 8:42h
LG Optimus 3D Max P720 8:42h
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V 8:41h
Meizu MX 8:39h
Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II 8:35h
Samsung Galaxy S Duos S7562 8:28h
Nokia Lumia 800 8:25h
Samsung Galaxy Nexus I9250 8:23h
Nokia Lumia 510 8:22h
Samsung Galaxy Fame S6810 8:21h
BlackBerry Z10 8:20h
Samsung i927 Captivate Glide 8:20h
Sony Xperia T 8:15h
HTC Rezound 8:10h
Samsung Galaxy Note I717 8:02h
LG Optimus Vu F100S 7:57h
Apple iPhone 4s 7:41h
LG Optimus 4X HD P880 7:41h
Samsung Focus S I937 7:25h
Nokia Lumia 900 7:21h
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G T769 7:14h
Samsung Rugby Smart I847 7:09h
Nokia Lumia 820 7:09h
Sony Xperia acro S 7:09h
Nokia N9 6:57h
Sony Ericsson Xperia pro 6:57h
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos S6802 6:53h
HTC Radar 6:53h
BlackBerry Curve 9380 6:52h
Sony Xperia E dual 6:42h
Sony Xperia E 6:40h
Samsung Galaxy mini 2 S6500 6:28h
Samsung I8190 Galaxy S III mini 6:22h
Sony Xperia P 5:58h
Samsung Galaxy Pocket S5300 5:54h
Nokia Lumia 900 AT&T 5:53h
Sony Xperia ion LTE 5:52h
Nokia 808 PureView 5:16h
LG Nitro HD 5:16h
BlackBerry Bold 9790 5:00h
Pantech Burst 4:46h
Next up is the web browsing test, where the Xiaomi Mi 4 topped the Mi 3 yet again. The Mi 4 managed to last 9 hours and 31 minutes, whereas the Mi 3 did 8 hours and 4 minutes.
Web browsing
Samsung Galaxy S5 mini 13:14h
Sony Xperia C 12:45h
Nokia Lumia 1520 12:40h
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact 12:37h
HTC Desire 700 dual sim 12:30h
Sony Xperia T2 Ultra 12:17h
HTC Desire 816 11:48h
Sony Xperia Z2 11:32h
LG G2 11:22h
HTC One Max 11:20h
Sony Xperia ZR 11:20h
HTC Butterfly S 11:07h
Asus PadFone X 11:07h
LG G2 mini 11:02h
Nokia Lumia 1320 10:58h
BlackBerry Q5 10:04h
HTC One (E8) 10:02h
HTC One 9:58h
Apple iPhone 5s 9:58h
Apple iPhone 5 9:56h
Samsung Ativ Odyssey I930 9:54h
Sony Xperia M2 9:48h
Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini 9:47h
OnePlus One 9:46h
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo 9:43h
Alcatel Hero 9:40h
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE 9:37h
Samsung Galaxy S5 9:36h
Xiaomi Mi 4 9:31h
LG G Pro 2 9:31h
LG G Flex 9:31h
Sony Xperia T3 9:23h
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 LTE 9:16h
Motorola RAZR MAXX 9:12h
Samsung Galaxy K zoom 9:10h
HTC One (M8) 9:06h
Oppo N1 9:05h
Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 9:05h
Apple iPhone 5c 9:05h
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 9:04h
Motorola Moto G 9:04h
Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom 8:51h
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 8:48h
BlackBerry Q10 8:42h
Motorola Moto E Dual SIM 8:42h
Motorola Moto E 8:42h
Samsung Galaxy Alpha 8:25h
Asus PadFone 2 8:20h
Nokia Lumia 810 8:20h
Huawei Ascend Mate 8:17h
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 I9200 8:17h
HTC One mini 8:12h
Xiaomi Mi 3 8:04h
Nokia Lumia 610 8:01h
HTC One X+ 7:56h
Nokia Lumia 630 7:54h
Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo 7:43h
Motorola DROID RAZR M 7:42h
Sony Xperia E dual 7:42h
Samsung I8190 Galaxy S III mini 7:38h
Nokia Lumia 720 7:37h
Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active 7:35h
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 7:24h
Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue 7:23h
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 7:23h
HTC Radar 7:17h
Nokia Lumia 520 7:15h
Huawei Ascend P7 7:13h
LG Optimus GJ E975W 7:11h
Oppo Find 7a 7:09h
Samsung Galaxy Grand I9082 7:09h
Sony Xperia M 7:09h
Meizu MX3 7:09h
Samsung Galaxy Express I8730 7:09h
Motorola RAZR i XT890 7:06h
Sony Xperia J 7:06h
Samsung I9500 Galaxy S4 6:58h
Apple iPhone 4s 6:56h
Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.7 6:54h
Samsung Galaxy Core I8260 6:54h
HTC One V 6:49h
LG G3 6:40h
LG Optimus G Pro E985 6:40h
Sony Xperia L 6:40h
Samsung Galaxy Premier I9260 6:40h
HTC DROID DNA 6:40h
Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus 6:40h
Motorola ATRIX HD MB886 6:40h
BlackBerry Curve 9380 6:40h
Sony Xperia E 6:40h
HTC First 6:39h
Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 6:38h
Sony Xperia Z 6:37h
Samsung S7710 Galaxy Xcover 2 6:35h
HTC Desire 600 dual sim 6:34h
HTC One mini 2 06:33h
HTC Desire 500 6:31h
Huawei Ascend P6 6:30h
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 6:27h
BlackBerry Z10 6:27h
HTC Butterfly 6:24h
Sony Xperia SP 6:18h
Samsung Galaxy S III I747 6:16h
HTC One SV 6:15h
Samsung Focus S I937 6:15h
Nokia Lumia 510 6:13h
Sony Xperia ZL 6:04h
Samsung Galaxy mini 2 S6500 6:03h
Samsung P6200 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus 6:02h
Oppo R819 6:01h
HTC Windows Phone 8X 6:01h
Sony Xperia Z1 5:59h
Sony Xperia ion LTE 5:56h
Samsung Galaxy Fame S6810 5:55h
Samsung Rugby Smart I847 5:53h
Pantech Burst 5:51h
Nokia Lumia 1020 5:50h
HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE 5:48h
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G T769 5:45h
Nokia Lumia 920 5:40h
Nokia Lumia 928 5:36h
Samsung S8600 Wave 3 5:34h
Pantech Discover 5:33h
Oppo Find 5 5:33h
Samsung i927 Captivate Glide 5:33h
Sony Xperia T 5:33h
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 5:28h
Nokia Lumia 900 5:25h
HTC Desire 616 dual sim 5:24h
Samsung Galaxy Note I717 5:24h
Sony Xperia Z Ultra 5:23h
Samsung Galaxy S Duos S7562 5:23h
HTC Sensation XL 5:20h
Meizu MX 4-core 5:19h
Nokia Lumia Icon 5:17h
HTC Desire X 5:16h
HTC Rezound 5:16h
Sony Xperia acro S 5:16h
LG Optimus G E975 5:15h
Gionee Elife S5.5 5:10h
HTC Rhyme 5:08h
Samsung I9103 Galaxy R 5:07h
Oppo Find 7 5:02h
LG Optimus L9 P760 5:02h
Nokia Lumia 930 4:57h
Nokia X 4:55h
Sony Ericsson Xperia pro 4:50h
LG Optimus Vu F100S 4:49h
LG Nexus 5 4:46h
HTC Vivid 4:46h
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos S6802 4:45h
Meizu MX 4:35h
LG Nexus 4 E960 4:34h
Nokia N9 4:33h
Acer CloudMobile S500 4:32h
Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II 4:24h
Nokia Lumia 820 4:24h
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V 4:20h
HTC One X 4:18h
Nokia 808 PureView 4:14h
LG Optimus 3D Max P720 4:10h
Nokia Lumia 900 AT&T 4:10h
Nokia Lumia 800 4:07h
HTC One S 4:03h
HTC One S C2 4:03h
BlackBerry Bold 9790 4:02h
LG Nitro HD 4:00h
LG Optimus 4X HD P880 3:59h
Sony Xperia P 3:59h
Nokia Lumia 710 3:51h
Nokia Lumia 620 3:50h
Samsung Galaxy Pocket S5300 3:47h
Samsung Galaxy Note N7000 3:35h
Huawei Ascend P1 3:23h
Samsung Galaxy Nexus I9250 3:01h
Finally, let’s take a look at the video playback part of the battery life test. Surprisingly, the Mi 4 scored exactly 7 hours of video playback, nearly 2 and a half hours less than its predecessor. In its defense, the Mi 4′s display is slightly brighter when set to 50% than the Mi 3′s (164 nits vs 142 nits @ 50% brightness).
Video playback
LG G Flex 19:57h
Motorola RAZR MAXX 16:35h
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 14:17h
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 13:32h
Sony Xperia T2 Ultra 13:12h
Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini 13:12h
Nokia Lumia 1020 13:12h
HTC One Max 13:11h
Sony Xperia C 12:53h
Samsung Galaxy Premier I9260 12:51h
Nokia Lumia 1520 12:31h
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 12:30h
BlackBerry Q5 12:28h
Huawei Ascend Mate 12:18h
Sony Xperia Z2 12:16h
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 LTE 12:10h
LG G2 11:51h
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo 11:38h
Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.7 11:37h
Samsung I9500 Galaxy S4 11:29h
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 11:27h
OnePlus One 11:23h
HTC One (E8) 11:16h
Oppo N1 11:15h
BlackBerry Q10 11:15h
HTC One (M8) 11:14h
Samsung Galaxy S5 11:05h
Samsung Galaxy S5 mini 11:02h
Asus PadFone X 11:01h
HTC Desire 816 10:34h
Apple iPhone 5s 10:31h
LG G2 mini 10:23h
Apple iPhone 5 10:12h
Samsung Galaxy K zoom 10:08h
Sony Xperia M2 10:04h
HTC First 10:03h
HTC One 10:02h
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact 10:01h
Samsung Galaxy Express I8730 10:00h
Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus 10:00h
LG G3 9:57h
Sony Xperia T3 9:56h
Nokia 808 PureView 9:53h
Alcatel Hero 9:49h
Sony Xperia M 9:49h
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 9:42h
Samsung Rugby Smart I847 9:34h
Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom 9:30h
Xiaomi Mi 3 9:28h
HTC One S 9:28h
HTC One S C2 9:28h
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 9:27h
Apple iPhone 4s 9:24h
Samsung Galaxy mini 2 S6500 9:22h
Oppo Find 7a 9:19h
Nokia Lumia 1320 9:17h
HTC Butterfly S 9:03h
Motorola DROID RAZR M 9:00h
Sony Xperia E 9:00h
Samsung Ativ Odyssey I930 8:59h
Sony Xperia Z Ultra 8:45h
BlackBerry Z10 8:44h
Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 8:41h
LG Optimus G Pro E985 8:40h
Nokia N9 8:40h
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 I9200 8:34h
HTC Butterfly 8:28h
Samsung Galaxy Note N7000 8:25h
LG Optimus GJ E975W 8:15h
Samsung Galaxy S III I747 8:14h
HTC One X+ 8:11h
Samsung Galaxy Grand I9082 8:11h
Motorola RAZR i XT890 8:11h
Sony Xperia J 8:11h
Huawei Ascend P7 8:10h
Samsung Galaxy Alpha 8:05h
Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II 8:00h
Samsung Focus S I937 7:55h
Samsung S8600 Wave 3 7:52h
HTC Desire 500 7:50h
Samsung I8190 Galaxy S III mini 7:46h
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V 7:45h
Apple iPhone 5c 7:41h
Asus PadFone 2 7:38h
Huawei Ascend P1 7:38h
Nokia Lumia Icon 7:34h
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G T769 7:33h
Sony Xperia ZR 7:30h
Samsung Galaxy Core I8260 7:30h
HTC DROID DNA 7:30h
Samsung S7710 Galaxy Xcover 2 7:30h
Samsung Galaxy Note I717 7:30h
Sony Xperia SP 7:27h
HTC One mini 7:23h
Nokia Lumia 610 7:23h
LG Optimus G E975 7:16h
Nokia Lumia 630 7:06h
Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active 7:03h
Xiaomi Mi 4 7:00h
Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo 6:55h
Huawei Ascend P6 6:55h
HTC One SV 6:55h
Pantech Discover 6:55h
Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 6:54h
Nokia Lumia 928 6:54h
HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE 6:51h
HTC Desire 600 dual sim 6:49h
Nokia Lumia 720 6:43h
Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue 6:40h
Motorola Moto G 6:37h
Nokia Lumia 900 6:37h
Meizu MX 4-core 6:33h
Nokia Lumia 620 6:32h
Motorola Moto E Dual SIM 6:31h
Motorola Moto E 6:31h
Sony Xperia E dual 6:27h
HTC Windows Phone 8X 6:27h
HTC Desire 700 dual sim 6:26h
Nokia Lumia 810 6:26h
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos S6802 6:25h
Nokia Lumia 820 6:25h
Nokia Lumia 510 6:23h
LG Optimus Vu F100S 6:23h
Samsung I9103 Galaxy R 6:21h
Nokia Lumia 920 6:19h
Sony Xperia Z1 6:12h
HTC Sensation XL 6:12h
Nokia X 6:10h
LG Nexus 5 6:06h
Samsung Galaxy Pocket S5300 6:06h
HTC One mini 2 06:05h
Samsung i927 Captivate Glide 6:04h
Sony Xperia ion LTE 6:03h
Gionee Elife S5.5 6:02h
Samsung Galaxy Nexus I9250 6:02h
Motorola ATRIX HD MB886 6:01h
Sony Xperia T 6:01h
HTC Vivid 6:00h
Oppo Find 7 5:58h
HTC Radar 5:54h
Oppo R819 5:54h
LG Optimus L9 P760 5:53h
Nokia Lumia 800 5:52h
Nokia Lumia 520 5:50h
LG G Pro 2 5:49h
Nokia Lumia 930 5:48h
BlackBerry Bold 9790 5:47h
HTC One X 5:45h
Sony Ericsson Xperia pro 5:44h
Sony Xperia Z 5:39h
Meizu MX3 5:38h
Pantech Burst 5:38h
HTC Desire X 5:38h
Sony Xperia acro S 5:38h
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE 5:34h
Sony Xperia ZL 5:28h
Meizu MX 5:27h
HTC Rhyme 5:23h
HTC One V 5:20h
Oppo Find 5 5:18h
Acer CloudMobile S500 5:18h
Nokia Lumia 900 AT&T 5:18h
Samsung P6200 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus 5:16h
HTC Desire 616 dual sim 5:15h
BlackBerry Curve 9380 5:09h
HTC Rezound 5:03h
Samsung Galaxy Fame S6810 5:02h
LG Nexus 4 E960 4:55h
Sony Xperia L 4:44h
Samsung Galaxy S Duos S7562 4:30h
Sony Xperia P 4:30h
LG Nitro HD 4:17h
LG Optimus 4X HD P880 4:14h
LG Optimus 3D Max P720 3:28h
Nokia Lumia 710 3:27h
All things considered, the Xiaomi Mi 4 boasts an endurance rating of 68 hours – 2 hours more than the Xiaomi Mi 3. This means the phone will last you just short of 3 days if you do an hour each of calling, browsing the web and video playback. It also means that the difference between the two in reality is non-existent.
We urge you to check out our Xiaomi Mi 4 review for all the phone’s details.
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