The Chinese company Xiaomi at one time “blew up” the mobile device market. She developed the phones, which in their characteristics are no worse than the products of a number of leading companies, such as Apple or Samsung, only cost an order of magnitude cheaper. In addition, the Chinese partially borrowed a number of features of the best-selling phones in the world - the iPhone (referring to the graphic design of the operating system, design, some controls, and so on).
Xiaomi may indeed someday succeed in defeating Apple in the smartphone market, but so far it is only a promising company developing beautiful devices. We will talk about one of its products, the Xiaomi Redmi 1S phone, today.
Briefly about the model
The smartphone described in this article belongs to the low price class of Xiaomi products. It was released in 2014, and at that time its value reached (on average by stores) only 7,500 rubles. Given the characteristics of the device (which we list below), this is a very low price for such a device.
Target phone buyers may be those who are looking for affordable smartphones with the basic features that the Android operating system can offer. You can also add a beautiful graphical design to the piggy bank of arguments for acquiring this phone (we mean the modification of MiUI, we will talk about this in more detail).
In general, the Xiaomi Redmi 1S is an interesting choice in terms of performance, as it is equipped with a new (at the time of release) processor from Qualcomm, about which we also have some information. In general, read and learn more about this smartphone.
Design
We start with the appearance of the model so that the user understands what he will have to work with in case of a purchase. So, we could not find anything unusual in Xiaomi Redmi 1S - a simple “brick” in glossy black plastic with right angles. Some users in their reviews note that such a design for someone may seem even excessively simple and rude; but at the same time, the appearance of this nature adds solidity to the phone and gives the features of a masculine style. No offense, be told to the girls using this device, but the Xiaomi Redmi 1S smartphone in the black version looks like a “typical male phone”. However, you should not be upset - in the set of colors there are still white, yellow, blue and pink options. To choose, as they say, is from what.
Under the display on the front of the device are three physical keys, equipped with a red backlight. These are the standard “Properties”, “Home” and “Back”. Above the screen is the front camera of the device.
On the right side, the keys for unlocking and adjusting the sound are classically placed, and the back cover has a connector for the main camera and flash. The logo in the form of the letter Mi is displayed below.
Screen
The display size of the Xiaomi Redmi 1S reaches 4.7 inches. Despite the fact that it is a screen based on IPS technology with a resolution of 720 by 1280 pixels, the image density on it is about 312 pixels. For protection here, as stated in the specifications, a Dragontrail safety glass is installed. It is also stated that the phone supports multi-touch - simultaneous pressing in several places.
Around the display is a fairly thick frame (its area is about 36 percent of the total. If you believe the reviews, users are quite satisfied with such indicators of the phone screen and consider it functioning at a high level.
Equipment
The device is on sale in the Xiaomi branded box. After its disclosure, it becomes clear that the phone itself is inside, dedicated to the Xiaomi Redmi 1S instruction (although in Chinese, so we had to refuse to use it), a charger that transforms into a USB data cable, and also a bumper for protection a smartphone.
Regarding accessories, it should be noted that this is a fairly common move with Xiaomi. The manufacturer often offers its customers devices equipped with protective films, cases and other means. On the one hand, these are trifles for a company - equipping each gadget with such things. On the other hand, it’s nice for the users themselves, since there is no need to look for these add-ons in a separate order.
CPU
The manufacturing company is known for equipping its devices with powerful and high-speed hardware, and in the case of Xiaomi Redmi 1S, this is the case. At the time of the release of the device, it was equipped with a powerful Qualcomm MSM 8228 Snapdragon 400, capable of delivering a clock frequency of 1.6 GHz. In addition, the device had a RAM of 1 GB, which is enough to play modern games.
Along with the operating core on the phone, the Adreno 305 graphic model also functions . With its help, the phone is able to work, including 3D-graphics. If you believe the reviews, the kernel can be rated perfectly.
operating system
As the characteristics describing Xiaomi Redmi 1S are noted , the Android OS version 4.3 is installed on the device. It will be updated to 4.4.4 as soon as the buyer connects the smartphone to the Wi-Fi network.
It should also be borne in mind that all Xiaomi have their “native” graphical shell called MiUI. Frankly speaking, there is essentially no difference between the basic Android and the platform from the Chinese manufacturer. It consists only in a beautiful design of the device interface: in new icons made in the style of Apple, in a gradient background and the like. According to reviews, users like this implementation - due to this, probably, devices from this manufacturer have become so popular all over the world.
Memory
As the review dedicated to Xiaomi Redmi 1S shows, the phone initially has 8 GB of memory. This is the “native” space, half of which is occupied by the operating system, and the other can be reserved for some system files. As for the memory for applications and various third-party resources (for example, a collection of favorite movies), they can be downloaded to an additional amount that will appear immediately after connecting a memory card (up to 64 GB). This is convenient, since everyone can use a microSD card that he needs in view of his needs. If you feel that you will not overload the device with TV shows and bulky games, you can safely purchase an 8 or 16 GB card and not worry about it.
We remind you that the slot for the memory card is hidden under the battery of the phone, along with slots for two SIM cards.
Camera
The Redmi 1S has two cameras - front and rear, the resolution of which reaches 1.4 and 8 megapixels, respectively. Judging by the reviews, the pictures are obtained in acceptable quality for a device of this class. From the software side, options such as face recognition, auto focus and HDR help to make high-quality shooting. All this together allows us to talk about better images due to the processing technologies used by XIaomi.
Battery
This is an important element of any smartphone, since its characteristics determine how long the device can work without additional charge. The Xiaomi Redmi 1S has a 2000 mAh battery, the operation of which will allow the phone to last up to 1 day with active workload and at least 2 days without active surfing and long conversations on mobile communications.
If we compare various reviews about Xiaomi Redmi 1S with the characteristics of other devices, then this is the average indicator for the segment.
Communication
The phone operates on the basis of the GSM standard, so that in our country it can work without problems. In addition, there is the ability to connect to WiFi networks, a Bluetooth adapter for transferring files to another device, as well as GPS and GLONASS navigation systems. An FM player is also integrated in the device.
On the model by which this review describing Xiaomi Redmi 1S was being prepared, all this worked properly, although there are reviews on the network that speak of violations in the operation of one or another module. Perhaps it depends on the luck of the buyer, or just a batch with defective devices was just released at a time.
Options
On the phone, which obviously belongs to the budget class of devices, despite this, some useful additions were initially installed. We will talk about them further.
So, the Xiaomi Redmi 1S phone supports the function of a compass, gyroscope and accelerometer. This significantly expands the user's ability to control in various applications and, thus, makes the use of the phone more fun and realistic. The second point is the availability of a software application package, which includes office editors for viewing and editing text files, software for editing photos and videos, a module for receiving voice commands, and the like. To reduce the noise level during a conversation, a dedicated microphone is installed on the device, which allows you to filter out third-party sounds and transmit a clear voice of the interlocutor.
Reviews
In the process of preparing the article, we, of course, were looking for reviews about this device in order to more fully understand what it is. And if we summarize what we saw, we can say that in general they are satisfied with the phone. Users describe all its advantages in terms of high performance, ergonomics, low cost, high-quality assembly and a beautiful interface. Many say that for such a price the device is just perfect.
However, there are a number of negative characteristics that should be mentioned in order to understand what people often have problems with when working with this model. So, firstly, it is overheating. Some people think that this is a normal phenomenon, others that the device may burn out in one day due to such temperatures. To say which of the parties is right is difficult. The fact that the device heats up is really a fact, but the processor is connected with this, so there is no need to worry about this. Another drawback is the discharge of the battery. Buyers note that some of the phones very quickly lose their charge - in fact, in 3-4 hours (contrary to what is stated). We believe that this is a defective batch of devices in which energy consumption is not balanced. Thirdly, some say that they definitely need firmware on Xiaomi Redmi 1S. This is due to errors that occur when updating the system. Its symptoms are as follows: the smartphone screen goes blank, it does not respond to commands and only periodically displays the operating system boot icon. You can deal with this only in this way. However, if you do not know how to flash Xiaomi Redmi 1S, it’s better not to tackle this and just take the device to a service center. For firmware, you need to use a special program and get root-rights to the gadget, which voids the warranty on the latter. This, in turn, deprives the right to free repair in the future.
Summary
What conclusions did we come to during the description of this device? The phone is certainly good - it has high performance, a powerful camera, battery and a beautiful interface. But at the same time, the device is not something special, since many Chinese companies are developing similar products. And since Xiaomi intends to overtake Apple in the number of sales of its smartphones, companies clearly need to continue to improve their new products, as well as release the following to attract the attention of the public.