Xiaomi Redmi 4A review: An entry-level phone never looked so good.

An entry-level phone could mean different things to different people. It could mean a no-nonsense, physical numpad-toting feature phone, most of which have insanely long battery life. Or it could mean a very basic smartphone packed with only the bare necessities. In either case, an entry-level phone is supposed to be a hitchhiker's guide to the world of voice calling and text messaging, and that's the most you could expect from it. Of course, a smartphone will give you a few more benefits, but, at the end of the day, an entry-level phone is an entry-level phone for a reason.

The Redmi 4A, from Xiaomi, takes a different route altogether. It's a feature packed smartphone masquerading as an entry-level offering. It's not aiming to become your very first feature phone replacement, or perhaps, even a secondary phone that you could use to manage your Facebook account, or maybe WhatsApp someone. The Redmi 4A, from Xiaomi, is a full-scale smartphone that's high on specs and low on price. An entry-level phone has never looked so good.

Mi 4i looks

Although the Redmi 4A is a 2017 phone, it would remind you of Xiaomi's yesteryear classics, the Redmi 1S and Redmi 2 (along with the Redmi 2 Prime). Xiaomi, however, insists that the Redmi 4A shares its DNA with the Mi 4i. Whatever be the case, the Redmi 4A doesn't look like it belongs in Xiaomi's current generation of smartphones, a generation that takes great pride in being all-metal.

The Redmi 4A is all-plastic, a trade-off that seems fair considering its Rs 5,999 price tag. But, come to think of it, it's really hard to believe that Xiaomi would launch an all-plastic phone (now) when all one expects from it is all-metal premium at rock-bottom prices. I can't even remember the last time Xiaomi launched an all-plastic phone. Early 2015, was it?

Clearly, the Redmi 3S and 3S Prime have spoiled me for good. The Redmi 3S costs only Rs 1,000 more and it's all metal. I guess, that's the thing about the ultra-affordable price segment. Every rupee counts. While spending Rs 1,000 more would give you metal (among other things) going lower would have its consequences. Xiaomi, however, has a different take. It says, the Redmi 4A belongs to a different product category -- of entry-level phones -- and mustn't be confused with the Redmi 3S (and 3S Prime) phone. The Redmi 4A mustn't be confused with a toned-down Redmi 3S. Moving on, there would be more such smartphones -- as the Redmi 4A -- and chances are most of these smartphones would be all-plastic. A Redmi 3S successor is meanwhile coming very soon to India.

The Redmi 4A, from Xiaomi, is a full-scale smartphone that's high on specs and low on price. An entry-level phone has never looked so good

All said and done, a metal body or the lack of it isn't necessarily a deal breaker, especially in this price segment. Because the Redmi 4A shares its DNA with the Mi 4i, it doesn't matter whether it is plastic or metal. It's obvious that it's beautiful. It's obvious that it's very ergonomic. It's a good looking plastic phone, the Redmi 4A, and it certainly feels very nice too. Just like the Mi 4i, the Redmi 4A has a slight matte finish on the back that's smooth to the touch and because the rear seamlessly wraps around its front, the phone feels all the more comfortable in the hands.

The right edge houses the volume rocker and the power button, both of which appear firm and well-placed. They offer decent feedback. The left edge, meanwhile, houses a hybrid card slot for one SIM and one micro-SD or two SIM cards (micro + nano) and no micro-SD. The speaker vent is, meanwhile, located on the lower end of the back.

The lower end of the display panel houses three capacitive keys for navigation, without any backlit. There's also an LED notification light on the front.

The Redmi 4A -- just like the Mi 4i -- is surprisingly thin and light-weight, even more so considering that it packs in a fairly respectable battery (3,120 mAh) inside. Adding to the overall ergonomic score are some well-trimmed bezels so that not an inch of real estate seems out of place or a waste of it.

Feature packed like the Redmi 3S

The Redmi 4A comes with a 5-inch HD IPS LCD display with a 720x1280 pixels resolution which roughly translates to 294ppi pixel density much like the Redmi 3S (and Redmi 3S Prime). The quality of the panel may not be as good as the one on-board the Redmi 3S, but, at its price point, the Redmi 4A can afford to get away with it.

Colours look rich and vibrant -- a little warm by default -- but there's a manual mode inside that helps achieve slightly better results. There's also an in-built reading mode that turns colours to the warmer end of the spectrum for night-time reading. Brightness levels leave a lot to be desired, so do the phone's viewing angles. The Redmi 4A will give you a hard time in direct sunlight.

On the inside, the Redmi 4A comes with an entry-level 1.4GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processer coupled with Adreno 308 GPU and 2GB of RAM. The phone comes with 16GB of internal memory which is further expandable by up to 128GB via a hybrid micro-SD card slot. The dual-SIM phone supports 4G LTE, VoLTE and USB OTG.