Redmi A4 5G Review: Premium Power In Pocket-Friendly Package

Redmi A4 5G Review: Redmi A4 5G comes with a starting price of Rs 8,499 for its 4GB + 64GB variant (the 4GB + 128GB one will set you back by Rs 9,499).

Redmi A4 5G Review: The recently released Redmi A4 brings the "budget but brilliant" factor back to the Redmi portfolio that the original Redmi Note used to have. The phone has a strong spec sheet for this segment and is a sub-Rs 10,000 5G no-brainer.  

Redmi A4 Review: Quick Pointers

What we love:

• Tall, large display 


• Great main camera 


• Long battery life 


• Generally smooth performance 

What we don't:

• Slow charging speed 


• No full-HD display


• Sub-par front camera 


• No support for NSA 5G networks (Airtel 5G won't work on it)

Packing Some Strong Specs 

The Redmi A4 comes with some really powerful specs for its price. The phone brings a tall 6.88-inch LCD HD+ display with 120 Hz refresh rate.  It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 processor, which is a rarity in this price segment and is usually seen in slightly highly priced smartphones. 

This is paired with 4 GB RAM and up to 128 GB storage, with support for microSD cards. There is a 50-megapixel sensor on the back while a 5-megapixel lens takes care of selfies and video calls. 

The phone runs on a 5,160 mAh battery which charges at 18W, and Xiaomi has added a 33W charger in the box. Android 14 runs the Redmi A4 show and has a layer of HyperOS on top. You get a single speaker, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, an IR blaster, 5G support, and IP52 dust and splash resistance. 

All in all, a very good spec sheet for the price segment, although some might have had expectations of an FHD display. 

Premium Looker

The design of the Redmi A4 will easily get it mistaken for a more expensive device. Just by the looks of it, one cannot place it under the Rs 10,000 category. It has a tall display on the front which is coupled with a water-drop notch. 

The bezels around would be considered thick by today's standards but it still looks like a typical smartphone front, one that can easily blend in the sub Rs 20,000 category as well. The back is actually what gives the phone a more premium look. 

It has a huge circular camera unit that protrudes just a little on the top half of the back. There are four small circles within the camera unit, giving the impression that there are multiple cameras on the phone. In reality, one houses the main sensor, one carries an auxiliary lens, another has an LED flash and the fourth one just comes with '50 MP AI camera' branding. 

Adding to the premium feel is the combination of glass front and back which is quite rare in this price segment, where you usually only see plastic backs. We received the Starry Black unit and it has a really fine shimmer all over which sparkles when you move the phone in light - a very subtle touch - with a Redmi logo in silver near the base. 

The back does attract smudges and dust quite easily but looks good nonetheless. The frame is plastic but does not feel cheap as it is matte black. The right side carries a volume rocker and power/ lock button while the left side is home to the SIM card slot. 

The top holds the Redmi staple IR blaster while the base has USB Type C port and speaker grille. The phone also comes with dust and splash resistance, making it a tough bird. It is a very tall phone at 171.9 mm, but is relatively slim at 8.2 mm, and feels slightly heavy at 212.4 grams. 

Steady Everyday Performance

The phone cruises through everyday smartphone chores without any glitches. Switching between apps like messages, social media, and gallery was seamless and casual titles like Candy Crush and Subway Surfer played smoothly on the device too. 

Binge-watching on the phone is a pleasure given its battery life and that big display. It has a mono speaker, so we ended up using wired earphones to add to the experience. The tall display is an LCD one and could have used a bit more vibrance, and well, in a perfect world, we would have liked it to be full HD. 

While it is quite bright, under harsh sun, it can be a task to read text on it sometimes. But the 120 Hz refresh rate makes scrolling a delight on the device. It is not meant for high-end games, but then which phone at this price point is? 

The 50-megapixel sensor on the phone is quite impressive, taking good, detailed shots in well-lit conditions. Surprisingly, zooming in did not disappoint either, and even the photos that we clicked did not get too grainy when we zoomed in. Quality dips a bit when the lights go down but we rarely got shots we couldn't use at all. Video quality is decent too but do not expect too much.  

The 5-megapixel selfie sensor is incapable of capturing a lot of skin texture and the results can feel a little washed out but the selfies are good enough for social media use. 

Good Battery Life But With 5G Blues 

The phone runs on Android 14, which is a year old but HyperOS works smoothly enough and Redmi promises two years of updates which is a plus at this price point. 

There are a lot of third-party apps on the phone but Redmi has organised them in folders so they do not come across as too overwhelming. The phone comes with 5G, but at the time of writing came with support only for 5G standalone (SA) networks, which are mainly seen in India from Reliance Jio, although other operators are also moving towards this. 

However, 5G on this phone will not work at this stage with Airtel's 5G which has non-standalone (NSA) networks, and that could be a dealbreaker for some.   

The fingerprint scanner works smoothly and the IR blaster comes in handy as a substitute TV and AC remote from time to time too. 

Once charged, the phone can easily see you through more than a day of moderate to heavy use. The phone takes slightly less than two hours to charge, which is a long time in today's fast-charging world. 

You do get a 33W charger in the box, but it still charges the phone at 18W. 

Redmi A4 5G Review: Final Verdict

The Redmi A4 5G comes with a starting price of Rs 8,499 for its 4GB + 64GB variant (the 4GB + 128GB one will set you back by Rs 9,499), which is frankly amazing value for money for a phone with a good spec sheet and steady performance in every department. 

The combination of a tall display, a big battery and a 3.5 mm audio jack makes the Redmi A4 5G a great device for content consumption, and an impressive 50-megapixel sensor is the icing on its cake. 

It does face competition from the Motorola duo of the Moto G35 and Moto G45 in this zone, which also comes with decent specs and 5G support as well. But all said and done, the Redmi A4 5G is a solid, steady budget 5G driver, perhaps the best you can get for under Rs 10,000. One which will keep your smartphone going smoothly on 5G roads, without any major disappointments.