Xiaomi Redmi 1S

Xiaomi Redmi 1S Review – Malaysians still aren’t quite over the craze that is Xiaomi’s flagship smartphone, the Mi 3 just yet, with the phones selling out in under a minute every time it goes on sale every week. Xiaomi’s about to ramp up the product line up with a couple more phones, and this time around, we get to play with one of them, the Redmi 1S. The Redmi 1S is an upgraded version of the original Redmi that was first launched in China and Singapore. The original Redmi was running a 1.4GHz Mediatek quad-core processor and had 4GB of built-in storage.

The Redmi 1S meanwhile features a 1.6GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 and a doubled 8GB of built-in storage that can be expended up to 32GB via a microSD card. The Redmi 1S runs Android 4.3 out of the box, and not only that, it’s also a dual- SIM phone, which makes it very useful for those who use two phone number. An 8MP rear-facing camera adorns the rear of the Redmi 1S and it takes some pretty decent casual photos. The Redmi 1S we reviewed came in white, however, when the device goes on sale, it will be available in black first and the white variant will be arriving a little alter. As far as build quality is concerned, the Redmi 1S feels very solid despite featuring a removable plastic back cover. This is great because many smartphones often feel very flimsy when using plastic as a chassis. Performance-wise, the Redmi 1S punches well above its weight for a phone that is sold at its price. There is no noticeable lag when playing videos, and the 4.7-inch 720p IPS display actually does a great job at outputting great visuals.

Even when playing games such as Cut The Rope, Fruit Ninja and Plants vs Zombies, the phone hardly tanks from all the computing and graphical processing power needed to run the games, but it does have a tendency to heat up quite fast even when doing menial tasks such as browsing social media platforms. One of the few internal specs that didn’t change is the Redmi 1S’ 2,000 mAh Li-ion battery. On a full charge, the battery will last you from morning till evening with moderate usage of social media and a bit of gaming.

If you’re constantly on the phone, the battery drain can be quite significant, and you’ll end up with a drained battery come late afternoon and/or early evening. Xiaomi continues to impress and amaze with affordable phones that perform well above their price tag. Despite some flaws in terms of battery life and heating issues, the Redmi 1S is a compelling choice for those looking for an inexpensive phone either as a starting smartphone or a backup dual-SIM device.

Pros

• Good performance
• Supports dual-SIM

Cons

• Tends to overheat
• Below average battery life

Xiaomi Redmi 1S Specifications

• Operating System: Android 4.3 Jelly Bean
• Processor: 1.6GHz Quad-core Qualcomm
• Snapdragon 400
• Frequency: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz,
• HSPA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
• Screen: 4.7-inch 720p IPS LCD
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 5GHz, Wi-Fi Direct,
• Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, microUSB 2.0
• Memory: 1GB
• Storage: 8GB (expandable to 32GBs via
• microSD)
• Others: 8-megapixel rear camera,
• 1.3-megapixel front camera
• Dimensions: 137 x 69 x 9.9 mm
• Weight: 158g