Xiaomi Mi 4i review: Hands down

Contacts and telephony

The dialer and the phonebook share a single app although there are two shortcuts, bringing you straight to the tab you need. The app has been updated with the new flat looks, but everything else is the same. The app uses a tabbed interface - recent with dialer on the first and the contact list on the second.

The Phonebook

Contact info is displayed as a list of all available details. Custom ringtones can be selected for each contact and duplicate contacts can easily be merged into a single entry.

The dialer supports Smart dialing and works great - it's looking up both names and phone numbers so you always find what you need.

Xiaomi Mi 4i supports voice call recording and it can do it automatically on each call if you like. You can also assign an answer gesture, pre-define quick responses upon reject, there is even support for internet calling.

The Dialer

There are even more call settings if you dig deeper into the menu - flip to mute the ringer, turn on/off the proximity sensor, lock automatically once slipped in a pocket, it can even mute calls from unknown numbers.

Unfortunately, the Xiaomi Mi 4i scored a Below Average mark on our loudspeaker loudness tests, meaning you may miss some calls and notifications if you don't keep a close eye on it. The loudspeaker sound quality seems rather poor too.

Speakerphone test	Voice, dB	Pink noise/ Music, dB	Ringing phone, dB	Overall score
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua	60.2	57.2	64.5	Below Average
Xiaomi Mi 4	62	62.1	66.6	Below Average
Xiaomi Mi 4i	63.7	65.7	68	Below Average
Oppo R1x	66.5	66.6	69.2	Average
HTC Desire 820	65.6	61.1	75.7	Average
Samsung Galaxy A7	64.8	66.3	73.5	Average
Lenovo Vibe X2	66	67.7	71.8	Average
Oppo R5	66.6	66.2	75.3	Good
Xiaomi Redmi 2	70.8	70.9	77.4	Very Good
OnePlus One	74.8	73.5	80.2	Excellent

Messaging and email

The messaging department is pretty standard - there's a list of all bubble-styled conversations organized in threads, with New Message and Search keys at the bottom and a settings button next to it.

Messaging

Attaching multimedia to a message will automatically turn it into an MMS. You can add everything from photos, videos, audio to general files. There's even a full blown slide editor if you want to make full use of the MMS standard. The Attach location option is pretty nice too.

The Gmail app is pre-installed, but you can opt for Inbox, if you prefer, from the Play Store. The generic Mail app is capable of handling all kind of mail accounts, including Gmail, and it can handle multiple Exchange, POP or IMAP inboxes. You have access to the messages in the original folders that are created online, side by side with the standard local ones such as inbox, drafts and sent items.

Email

MIUI offers Google keyboard by default - it has always been pleasure to use and is one of the most preferred Android keyboards out there. On the Mi 4i screen the keys are comfortably large in both portrait and landscape mode. There is support for gesture typing, handwriting and voice input. Themes are available, too.

Google keyboard