Xiaomi has launched their new Sub brand Poco with their first phone the Poco F1. The phone is a Flagship Killers worst nightmare with specifications equalling Flagship tier 1 smartphones for as low as Rs. 20,999. The phone features a glass front and polycarbonate back with a vertically placed dual camera setup at the back. The front of the phone has a 6.18 inch 18.7:9 display with a 2246 x 1080 px FHD+ resolution. The front also has Gorilla Glass ( but the version is unspecified ). The display has a max brightness of 500 nits, a contrast ratio of 1500 : 1 and 84% NTSC color coverage.
The front also has a 20MP front camera with a 1.8 micron pixel “4-in-1 Super Pixel” sensor an ƒ/2.0 aperture HDR, AI scene detection, AI Beautify, AI portrait mode along with Face unlock using Infrared illuminator and an infrared camera essentially allowing for Face unlock to work in low light.
Inside the Poco f1 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 with 8x KryoTM 385 cores- Up to 2.8GHz AIE 845 and the Adreno 630 GPU a new cooling technology that the company calls LiquidCool identical to what we saw with the Note 9. As the CPU heats, fluid inside the cooling module evaporates to vapour, moving to the cooler end, where it re-condenses as liquid.
The Poco F1 will have options of 6GB+64GB, 6GB+128GB, 8GB+256GB The RAM used is the LPDDR4X DRAM while for storage the poco F1 uses UFS 2.1 storage. The storage can be further expandable up to 256GB microSD.
The Poco F1 runs a new layer MIUI for POCO which is based on MIUI 9.6, and on Android O with the update to Android P soon after. The main camera layout has 12MP + 5MP AI dual camera setup. The primary 12MP camera is a Sony IMX363 ƒ/1.9 and 1.4?m Dual Pixel Autofocus with HDR, Multi-frame Noise Reduction and AI scene detection with the usual Beautify and portrait options .
The Poco F1 also has 4000 mAh battery with Quick charge 3.0 and a 9V 2 Amp charger is included in the box. The Poco F1 also has USB Type C USB 2.0 port with support for OTG.
The Poco F1 is a ridiculously well priced smartphone with a starting price of Rs. 20,999 ( Rs. 1000 cash back for HDFC card holders) with great specifications that will trouble a lot of other brands. POCO F1 is available with polycarbonate backs in Graphite Black, Steel Blue, and Rosso Red.
POCO F1 will retail at INR 20,999, INR 23,999, and INR 28,999 for the 6GB+64GB, 6GB+128GB, and 8GB+256GB respectively.
The Armoured Edition Poco F1 has a back panel made of DuPontKevlarand a 8GB+256GB configuration and will retail at INR 29,999. POCO F1 will go on sale on mi.com and Flipkarton 29th August 2018, starting 12 PM.
We continue our giveaways with the new upcoming Samsung Galaxy On8 Smartphone. The device will be shipped out to winners before official launch on the 6th of August. Stand a chance to win a device even before others can buy it.
The guys over at Turing Space Industries (TSI) must have their offices next to some real interesting plantations. The company that once had big plans to launch futuristic phones, never seems to give up. TSI originally became popular for their Turing phone which was a crowd funded failure. A lot of people initially bought into the idea of an impressive phone, but the company failed to deliver. And hence, people cancelled their purchases leaving TSI with a massive failure.
A few years ago, the company claimed to be working on more revolutionary devices, A Turing Monolith Chaconne and a Turing Cadenza , both phones that would never see the light of day. And how would they claiming to be built on technology that doesn’t exist.
The Turing Hubble Phone takes this dream to an all new level. The company claims that the Turing Hubble Phone will launch in 2020 with a dual Snapdragon 855 chipset, a chipset not yet announced. The company also claims that the phone will have a Snapdragon X50 5G modem, yet another mythical hardware unicorn. TSI also claims the phone will be sold to those still dinking radiator water in 2020 for a mediocre price of $2,749 (starting).
Turing claims that the Hubble Phone will have three operating systems as well, because why wouldn’t it. The first will be Android P, apparently still the latest in 2020, and Turing Keplerian OS which will be in the top part of the phone ( aka the Top Deck ) the lower part or Main deck will get a combination of the two OSs in the top deck but also Sailfish 3 OS.
The company also claims that the phone will have a 5 x 12 MP CMOS sensor camera setup , 2 on the front of the “Top Deck”, 1 on the rear of the top deck and 2 on the rear of the bottom deck aka the main deck. Both decks will also have dual SIM card slots each, hence the phone will handle 4 SIM cards simultaneously. Sure to be a success in India, but that 1.8 Lakh price may dissuade buyers.
The Turing Hubble Phone will also have Emotional Machine Intelligence and Lip reading capabilities along with “Emotional detection”. The body of the Hubble phone, a name it probably gets for its telescope like design, will be made from Titanium Aluminide,a lightweight metal alloy resistant to oxidation and heat. The phone will be IP68 dust/water proof (up to 1.5m for 30 mins).
The Hubble phone also has a total of 3 AMOLED capacitive touchscreen displays. A 5.44 inch along with a 5.41 inch on the top deck and a 11.81 inch one on the main deck which as you see will fold over all the electronics. The dual SD855 chipsets , each deck gets their own, with 8 x 2.96 GHz on the clock. the lower deck gets the SDX50 5G modem.
HubblePhone includes an Artificial Reality (AfR) messaging application which allows users to send 3D animated messages projected into the recipient’s immediate physical surroundings. Honestly it doesn’t get any more ridiculous at this point. At least the company is not claiming a ridiculous 64GB of RAM , and endless battery via a non available technology. Since they already claimed those with the Cadenza and the Chaconne. The Hubble phone will have a paltry 8 GB of RAM in each deck with 256GB for each deck too. The battery will be a seemingly doable 2800 mAh in the upper deck and 3300 mAh in the main deck.
TSI does claim that the camera on the Hubble phone will be impressive with a 15x optical zoom. And, the phone will have a game mode allowing you to play PUBG endlessly while you are on a space train to mars.
A prototype is also shown off, which appears to be the phone, or a dual glass slab model with a led ring light. The hinges are claimed to be made of liquid metal, Apparently TSI doesn’t know that this is a material that Apple exclusively plans to utilise thanks to the over 40 Patents granted to Apple for exclusive usage in several scenarios.
OnePlus in a post on their forums has confirmed that the company will provide the Android P update to phones as old as the OnePlus 3 all the way upto the OnePlus 6. The company also says that the updates will be available in the coming months. With Google expected to officially roll out Android P during the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3XL launch, most manufacturers working towards the Android P update will follow soon after.
OnePlus has been focusing a lot on community conversation, and this shows that the company is ready to tackle the frustration of some of the owners of the older Oneplus devices in getting some of the key features. The company, earlier this year, enabled certain camera features to their previous models via a software update.
OnePlus has now rolled out several models of the OnePlus 6, including storage and Ram variations and limited edition models including the new colours. The company may launch a new phone later this year dubbed the “OnePlus 6T”. The next version is expected to launch with a all display front removing the notch from the device completely.
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[toggle title=”OnePlus’s Post”]Including our camera improvements and the latest Android security patch, the OxygenOS 5.0.4 update for OnePlus 3 and 3T was released worldwide last week. Since it was launched, we’ve been listening to questions asking about our next major update for the OnePlus 3 and 3T. After internal discussions and evaluation, we have decided to focus our development resources on the Android P project instead of upgrading the device to Android 8.1, so that we can offer more exciting features and improvements for our OnePlus 3 and 3T users. Over the past few months, we have been working closely with Google on the Android P Beta program. Thanks to everyone’s participation and continued feedback, the progress we have made together has been greatly accelerated. The Android P update will be available on the OnePlus 6, OnePlus 5/T and OnePlus 3/3T, in this order. We will keep you all updated in the coming months. [/toggle]
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We are Giving away 20 units of the 40 inch B9 Pro Smart TVs from Thompson. The TV is based on Android TV and has a 40 inch Full HD Samsung Panel along with 20 watts speakers.
Motorola has always had excellent success with its G series smartphones. The Moto G series phones are always placed in a category around the Rs. 15000 price bracket making them a good value proposition. This category has however become crowded recently and while Motorola did launch the Moto G6 recently, the Moto G6 Plus is a phone that Motorola loyalists look forward to. The phone was already announced earlier this year so there remains little to speculate about. The Moto G6 Plus is expected to hit India within the next two weeks considering the company has begun teasing the phone.
It’s time to ask for more from your smartphone. We’re all set to bring you one that is #BuiltForMore. Tweet to know what we’re launching next!
The Moto G6 Plus has a 5.9 inch 18:9 aspect ratio display with a 2160 x 1080px resolution, finally bringing it up to speed with widescreen devices. The phones also use Corning Gorilla Glass 3, as both the front and back of the phone now have glass. While the global variant of the G6 plus was launched with a Snapdragon 630 chipset, India is expected to get a different spec variant possibly with Snapdragon 660. The Xiaomi Mi A2 which launched recently with a Snapdragon 660 is also expected to launch in India on the 8th of August.
The Moto G6 Plus continues the camera legacy of the plus variant with a 12 MP, f/1.7, dual pixel sensor paired with a 5 MP, f/2.2, depth sensor. the front of the Moto G6 Plus gets a 8 MP, f/2.2 sensor. Both the front and rear cameras will get an LED flash. The Moto G6 Plus has a 3200 mAh battery and irrespective of what version of the Snapdragon chipset the India variant gets, will have Qc 4.0 charging support. The phone will also be available in two variants at the least one with 4GB of RAM and 64 GB of onboard storage. While the other variant will have 6GB Ram and 128 GB storage. Moto could launch more options for India, for example the 4GB could be launched with both storage options of either 64GB or 128GB.
The Moto g6 Plus while priced around Euro 300, in the European market, is expected to launch in India starting Rs. 15000 for the lowest spec variant. While the fully loaded variant is expected to hit anywhere from Rs. 18,000-20,000. The phone will be an Amazon exclusive with sales beginning almost immediately after launch.
Honor has launched, what effectively is their update to the Honor 9 lite, the Honor 9N. The new phone from the company has a starting price of Rs. 11,999. Honor continues to stress the fact that smartphones don’t necessarily have to cost a lot to offer flagship-like features. The company plans on selling the smartphone exclusively via Flipkart from 31st July at 12 PM. We can expect this to be a flash sale so prospective buyers should be ready to place their orders as soon as the device is live on Flipkart. The smartphone will also be available on Honor’s own website.
Display And Design
The Honor 9N, while a mid-range smartphone, has impressive specifications and features. Starting with the display, the phone features a 5.84-inch Full HD+ 2160 x 1080 px screen. The display follows a 19:9 aspect ratio. The smartphone has a striking similarity to the Honor 9 Lite. One of the reasons for this could be that both devices belong to the same lineup. With the exception of a microphone, which sat between the rear-facing camera and LED flash in the Honor 9 Lite. In the case of the Honor 9N, the two microphones sit on the top and bottom of the device.
Honor 9N Display
Specifications
Honor 9N uses the EMUI 8.0 which is the company’s custom ROM based on Android 8.0 (Oreo). We can expect the phone to later be updated to Android 9. The smartphone is powered by the Kirin 659 chipset which is an octa-core SoC. Out of the eight cores, four run at 2.3 GHz and the other four at 1.7 GHz. The SoC has the Mali-T830 MP2 GPU in it as well. The smartphone also has three storage variants. The 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage variant will cost Rs. 11,999. The 4GB RAM and 64GB variant will cost Rs. 13,999. And lastly, the 4GB RAM and 128GB variant will cost Rs. 17,999. The smartphone also has a microSD card slot allowing users to expand storage up to 256GB.
Camera
Huawei has been proactively implementing AI to its smartphones and the Honor 9N is no exception. The major area where the AI capabilities of the device will be evident is in the camera. The camera setup on the smartphone consists of a total of 3 cameras. The primary camera has a 13 MP sensor and 2 MP sensor. The secondary camera on the device is a 16MP sensor which the smartphone will also use for face-unlock.
The Honor 9N is yet another mid-range smartphone offering a neat design and a value for money performance. The current trend of mid-range smartphones goes out to show that you do not have to own a flagship in order to enjoy a similar experience. Smartphone manufacturers are making sure that users still get an uncompromising experience without having to spend a lot of money. Stay tuned to iGyaan for a full review of the smartphone. Here’s the link to buy the Honor 9N.
Vivo has been in the Indian smartphone market for quite a while, however, only in 2018 was the company noticed by the industry properly. While Vivo has been a forerunner in the offline retail market, this year, the brand redefined itself with a few firsts. Vivo showed off the first smartphone with an in-display fingerprint reader and also a phone with a popup front camera. All this was done to allow the front of the phone to become display focused. The Vivo Nex was shown off as a prototype at the Mobile World Congress 2018 this year, a phone that was to show off future technology. It seems, however, the future is only moments away from the grasp of the audience.
Vivo has launched the Nex in India for a price of Rs. 44,990. The phone features some impressive technology that may pave the way forward for innovation in smartphone technology. The unboxing experience is pretty satisfying as the phone comes well packaged and front and back screen protectors are pre-applied. In box accessories include a high-quality USB-C cable, a 22.5W Charger and quality in-ear earphones. There is also a silicon-plastic back case included in the box.
Vivo Nex
Protective case
In-Ear Earphones
USB C Cable
22.5 Watt USB Charger
Sim Ejector Tool
Documentation
The Vivo Nex is surprisingly well made, the phone has an all-glass front and because the front camera is housed in the pop-up mechanism, the front remains only for the display. The front also gets this near bezel-less look by including the fingerprint sensor in the display. The tech, even though in its early stage, works rather well, is easy to set up and responsive to unlock. The phone is missing a “face unlock” feature, due to the way their pop up camera is constructed, and the lack of any IR sensors. The company also decided to stay away from the software-based face unlock options seen on many other smartphones, including the OnePlus 6.
In Display Fingerprint Sensor
The Vivo Nex has all the specifications you can ask for from a modern day smartphone. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset, 8 GB RAM, 128 GB of Storage and a massive 4000 mAh battery with really fast ( up to 22.5 watt) charging. It also has a dual camera setup: a main 12MP sensor with an F1.8 aperture with a 5MP secondary shooter with a F2.8 aperture along with 4-Axis optical image stabilisation.
The Vivo Nex is missing a few things, like face unlock, wireless charging and any form of IP certified water resistance due the moving motor and camera module. While the design and execution of this new pop up camera is cutting-edge, others ( including Vivo’s sister concern Oppo) have tried it as well. The moving part in a portable pocketable device does not seem to make long-term durability sense. But, the module and motor mechanism is impressively robust and designed to last for a long period of time. Vivo claims several hundred thousand times.
The operating system and usage experience is also rather pleasing and clean. With little bloatware, which is easily uninstalled, the phone runs on the company’s Funtouch OS, a skin for Android 8.1. The UI is minimal and super responsive. The phone also supports gesture-based navigation, allowing for better and fuller use of the large 6.59 inch display. The screen is a Super AMOLED panel which allows the phone to display the fingerprint icon with the entire display off. The animations on the display for the fingerprint unlock are also possible due to the use of the Super AMOLED panel. The display has a 2316 x 1080 px resolution, although it seems to have a little bit of a blue tint that we had to manually fix by turning on the reading mode.
Vivo NEX S
Vivo NEX Notch-less Display
The Vivo Nex is a step in the right direction and is a good looking premium device that helps technology move forward. However, portable technology and the lack of moving parts is what made smartphones so great in the first place. The durability is something that we are sceptical of as we fully review the device.
The Amazon Prime day sale is one of the biggest sales in the country and especially online. Amazon customers get a host of exclusive deals and this year’s sale is even bigger.
Another pair of high end headphones up for grabs are the Sony WH100XM2. With a 26% discount these are much more affordable ( a term we’d like to use loosely)
Our Series of Giveaways has begun again, and we start off with 4 units of the OnePlus 6 Red variant.
Play Below. If the contest is not loading click here OnePlus 6 Red Giveaway – 4 Winners !
Oneplus has launched the RED colour variant of the new Oneplus 6 in India starting at Rs. 39,999. The price of the flagship smartphone from the company remains changed for the same variant available in other colours. The OnePlus 6 RED will only be sold in the 8GB RAM and 128 GB storage variants and is expected to be a limited release despite being sold worldwide at the same time starting 16th July.
OnePlus has taken advantage of colors in the past to bolster sales for their smartphones and the OnePlus 6 has also seen it’s fair share of colours including the Midnight black that the company launched with, and the Silk white which was sold weeks later. India also got the limited Avengers Edition OnePlus 6 which had the Carbon Fibre finished back panel, a gold notification slider and a medallion in the box.
OnePlus expects to reinvigorate the sales numbers for the OnePlus 6, which seems to have now dipped after the initial launch buzz. With new devices from Asus like the Zenfone 5Z and Xiaomi’s Mi 8 now expected to launch soon, OnePlus new colors may not be enough to keep the momentum.
Amazon India in a Statement has confirmed that the OnePlus 6 will be launched soon and will be also available in India. The statement comes directly from the e-commerce giant who has been the exclusive online partner for OnePlus since the launch of the OnePlus One.
The statement also confirms that the OnePlus 6 will have Snapdragon 845 paired with up to 8GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. Also, according to Amazon the display “offers more screen without compromising on size” which also confirms the notch.
The OnePlus 6 is said to be available in India mid- May 2018 for a price starting Rs. 39,999. While this may put the brand out of the “Flagship Killer” territory and more in to the “Flagship” territory. The company is focused more on marketing and brand awareness which is also leading to a big hype for the upcoming OnePlus 6.
The OnePlus 6 is said to have an all glass design with a composite Aluminium frame, possible inclusion of wireless charging and a dual camera setup at the back. While the phone will have a notch, much like the Huawei P20 pro, users will be able to disable the appearance of the notch by making the status bar completely black, something, that should work well with the AMOLED display fo the OnePlus 6.
Motorola has finally unveiled the new Moto G6 and Moto G6 Play at an event in Brazil. Both the phones mark the six generation of the highly successful series of Moto G devices from the company.
Moto G6 Play
Launched at a price of US$ 199, roughly Rs. 13000, the Moto G6 Play is the cheaper variant of the two and it features a 5.7″ 1440×720 LCD display, along with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 427 chipset with four 1.4GHz Cortex A53 Cores (28nm).
Moto G6 Play
The device also gets Adreno the 308 GPU along with either 2 GB or 3 GB of RAM and either 16GB or 32 GB of storage. The Moto G6 Play has a 4000mAh battery and a micro USB jack along with a slower 10w charging capability. You get one 13MP rear camera and 8MP front camera and even though the back appears to have two cameras, it has only the one, with the other fitted with an LED flash. The back has a unique glass-like back panel that is actually made of plastic.
Moto G6
The larger and more pronounced Moto G6 is priced at US$ 249 (Rs 16400 approx.). The G6 has a 5.7″ 2160×1080 LCD display along with the Snapdragon 450 which has eight 1.8Ghz Cortex A53 Cores (14nm) and is basically the Snapdragon 625 rebranded. The Adreno 506 GPU adds the graphic prowess with either 3GB or 4GB RAM option bundled with a 32GB or 64GB storage option.
The Moto G6 does get the USB C charging capabilities along with a 15w charger, but that is bundled with a smaller 3000mAh battery.
At the back is the dual camera setup, which has a pair camera one a 12MP camera while a 5MP secondary camera for depth effects. Much like previous phones from the company, you can apply a depth-of-field effect to a photo after it is shot, thanks to saved depth information.
You will also get effects like a selective black-and-white mode, a time-lapse feature, face filters, motion photos and visual search for objects and landmarks. The camera will also do OCR (optical character recognition) for text.
Moto g6
Moto G6 Plus
The largest of theme all the Moto G6 Plus has been launched with a larger 5.9 inch IPS LCD display with the same 2160 x 1080px. The Phone gets an upgrade to Snapdragon 630 with and octa core 2.2GHz setup and the Adreno 508 GPU, other variations include 4GB or 6GB RAM options and 64 GB or 128 GB storage options. The dual camera setup also gets Dual Pixel AF and a f/1.7 aperture along with 4k video capture.
Moto G6 Plus
While the front retains the 8 MP shooter in some markets the phone will be launched with a larger 16 MP front-facing camera. The battery gets a bump to 3200mAh with a 15 w TurboPower charge through the USB C port.
Announced at a price of €299 approximately Rs. 24000 the phone is quite a lot more expensive than its predecessor.
As of now, we are not sure when and if and what variants would be launched in India, but, we should hear an announcement soon. Stay tuned to iGyaan for all the latest developments.
Huawei’s P20 Pro may be a flagship for the company if you ignore their glossy limited edition Huawei Mate RS, but for a lot of others, it is a direct stab at flagship Android phones. The Huawei P20 Pro also makes a unique proposition with a triple rear camera setup which makes it unique for the flagship market too.
[section label=”Initial Impressions”]While we had leaks aplenty the phone managed to live up to expectations with the design and feature set. The design is extremely close to that of the iPhone X. While the notch is smaller the metal frame sandwiched between the glass front and back looks extremely good.
The company wanted to retain the fingerprint sensor on the front which means that you get a large chin. But, at least a very usable fingerprint sensor. The fingerprint sensor also allows for the navigation to be moved off the screen.
The three cameras on the Huawei P20 Pro are, however, the most naturally noticeable feature of the phone. A massive 40 MP shooter makes for the primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture with an additional 20 MP (f/1.6) camera. The third 8 MP 3x optical zoom, telephoto lens equipped, shooter makes a good mix for excellent portraits and zoomed in shots. The camera gets a natural 3x zoom and a 5x hybrid zoom which allows for lossless zoomed in pictures. The front gets a 24 MP wide selfie camera.
[section label=”Unboxing”]
The unboxing experience is not very special for the Huawei P20 Pro, however, you do get a complete set of accessories
Huawei P20 Pro
Documentation
USB Type C Earphones
USB C to 3.5mm Adapter
Sim Ejector Tool
SuperCharge Wall Charger
USB Type C Cable
The software experience of the phone is what makes the P20 Pro an interesting product. For starters, you get Android 8.1 out the box, with a promised update to Android 9 soon after release. The notorious notch can be hidden in software by making the status bar black, something which “no notch nazis” would like a lot.
You can customise the OS quite a lot, from removing the navigation keys to duplication of commonly used apps. The camera app is also quite extensive with lots of shooting options. The phone also shoots and records H.265 video at 4k which is good as most phones still use dated codecs.
The Huawei P20 Pro will come to India in April. Pricing is expected to be lower than the Euro 899 price it was launched for globally. The launch of the P20 Pro will also mark the return of the brand Huawei into India which stopped sales mid-2016.
With several television brands in the country trying to cash in on the big screen market, Xiaomi has finally launched their Mi TV 4 in India. The LED panel is Xiaomi’s first entrant into the market of television displays in the country but not the last. The television goes on sale on the 22nd of February at an aggressive price of Rs. 39999. This price point allows Xiaomi to capture a market that traditionally chose smaller displays for a better feature set. But, is the Xiaomi TV worth the money? Let’s find out!
Design and Build
The Mi TV 4 has a brilliant design with minimal use of materials. The panel is left mostly bare and is strengthened by a single sheet of brushed steel backing to Add support to the otherwise flimsy screen. At the thinnest point, the television is only 4.9mm thin. While the television does widen out at the bottom where most of the electronics are housed. The stand is also made out of solid metal and is extremely sturdy, with it the television weighs in at 17.8 Kilogram. Without the stand at a comfortable 17.2 KG, the television is easily wall mountable using the 400 x 200 mm bracket at the back. The wall mount is not included.
Stand
Wall Mounting screws
Design wise the television has a pleasing look. The TV is mostly black in colour with no real flashy materials and a subtle Mi logo at the bottom front. This allows the TV to fit into the best of living spaces. There is no doubt that most wouldn’t mind installing this TV in their homes.
The MI TV Supports HDR10
The Panel
The Mi Tv 4 uses a premium range 54.6 inch Samsung VA panel. It has a static contrast ratio of 6000:1 and a viewing angle of 178º (vertical and horizontal). The Panel boasts a 85% NTSC colour gamut which is more than its sRGB sibling, however not as wide as the P3 colour gamut now becoming popular. With a 3820 x 2160 px resolution, the panel boasts a solid pixel density of 80 ppi considering its 54.6 inch display size. The screen offers a 60Hz refresh rate (vertical frequency) and does also support HDR. This makes the Mi TV 4 a unique proposition at the price point it sells at.
The Smart TV
The Mi TV 4 runs Android TV with a MIUI TV skin and a Patchwall interface. This allows for Xiaomi to display content for viewers in a unique way. The included IR controller allows the TV to also natively control your Set Top boxes. Interestingly, almost all Set-Top box providers of the country are already supported.
Patchwall AI Allows For Better Content Curation
The Patchwall interface uses AI (according to Xiaomi) to display your content in easy to view boxes on the Home screen. What is also great is that the Mi TV 4 can display content not only from the streaming services but from your Set Top Box as well. So , if there is a show that you may want to watch, it will display the current run duration of the show and also the reaming time, so that you can decide whether you want to catch it now or wait for the Re-run.
Content-wise at the moment the MI TV 4 only supports content from Hungama Play, and does not presently support streaming apps like Spuul, Netflix or Prime Video. Because it is a Android TV based television we were able to Side-load the play store and Netflix on the TV, both of which did not run properly on the television.
IR Transmitter for Set Top Box
The Remote
Xiaomi is said to be working with providers like Netflix and Prime Video to get those apps fully available on the Mi TV 4 and that may happen soon.
Display Performance and Gaming Capability
The display despite being an EDGE LED lit panel has really good local dimming, and control over black levels. The colour reproduction is vivid and accurate, being based on the NTSC color gamut the TV supports a wide 85% range. You will truly enjoy the HDR experience on the TV if you can manage to get your hands on a device which will allow you to score some HDR content on this display. We used an Apple TV 4th Gen with 4k HDR and it works flawlessly. The television also supports Amazon’s Fire stick with 4K and HDR along with PS4 pro with HDR. Users can also easily connect and use traditional PS4 consoles or regular 1080p streaming or casting devices like Chromecast.
The Panel supports HDR10 and plays back Dolby Vision content. However, does not support the full range of Dolby vision. According to Xiaomi, if there is enough content and demand the company will enable Dolby-Vision on the panel, and it should co-incide with the enabling of apps like Netflix which stream Dolby Vision content. The display performance especially in HDR, with how much it enhances the viewing experience is truly impressive. The Mi TV 4 also has 3 HDMI 2.0 ports which means that you are future ready to plug in HDR capable devices into the unit.
Due to the 60hz refresh rate and an 8ms response time, it also makes for a good Gaming TV. But, definitely not something seasoned gamers will enjoy. There is an input lag of 38ms according to our testing.
However, for simply plugging in your PlayStation (especially Pro with HDR outputs) or connecting it to a gaming rig, the TV can add a giant screen experience to an otherwise dull gaming environment.
Conclusion
The Mi TV 4 is exactly what India needs to bring down the crazy prices of the TV market. The Mi TV 4 shows that quality panels can be manufactured at really user affordable prices and that they can perform equally well. Expect this TV to sell out quickly, and aggressively in every flash sale that the company holds. Once enough televisions are out there, streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video will have no option but to get on board.
With such a demand for this TV, also come a lot of questions.
FAQ
Does the Mi TV 4 run on Android?
Yes, the Mi LED Smart TV 4 runs on MIUI TV with a Patchwall AI interface which is based on Android TV. Patchwall is different from a standard Android TV UI and is definitely much more intuitive. It has features such as endless scroll and single page content display.
What is the Refresh Rate of the TV?
The refresh rate of the Mi LED Smart TV 4 is 60Hz.
What Streaming Services does the Television support?
Right now, the TV supports Hungama Play and YouTube (though a browser). Xiaomi has confirmed that it is working on bringing more content providers on board.
Does the Television support downloaded Apps?
No, you do not need to download any apps. Xiaomi has said that it will push out consistent updates and that users don’t have to manually update the TV. The TV will automatically get updated as long as it is connected to the internet. If and when Xiaomi adds Netflix, a new update will automatically add it to the list and you can simply just log in.
How thin is the Mi LED TV 4?
At its thinnest, the Mi LED TV 4 is only 4.9mm thick (or thin).
Does the Television work with Bluetooth Headphones?
The Mi TV 4 has Bluetooth 4.2, hence, it works with Bluetooth headphones and Bluetooth speakers. However, there is no headphone jack on the TV. It also works with Bluetooth receivers.
Does the Mi TV 4 come with a Soundbar?
The Mi TV 4 in China and certain other markets was launched with a sound bar. However, the Soundbar will be sold separately at a later date in India.
What is the Input Lag of the Mi TV 4?
The input lag of the TV is 38ms while the response time is 8ms.
Does the Mi LED TV 4 Support Sideloaded apps?
You can sideload apps, however, they are not working right now. Maybe the support will come in a future update. We tried installing Netflix and Google Play store, which did install, but, did not work.
Warning: Sideloading apps like Google Play services at this moment breaks the functionality of the TV.
