Xiaomi Mi 4 or OnePlus One: Which one should you opt for?

Xiaomi’s Mi 4 was the flagship model of 2014, but is seeing the sales in India this month. However, OnePlus One is another 2014 flagship handset that has been out in the arena for a while. With both smartphones biting each other’s necks, it could be pretty much a difficulty for consumers to opt for the right purchase. The Xiaomi Mi 4 and the OnePlus One smartphones sport almost identical hardware specifications and are priced marginally apart from each other. The Xiaomi Mi 4 is priced at Rs 2,000 lower than the OnePlus One, but loses out a little on storage space. So in order to make your decision a bit easier, we pit the two handsets for your disposal.

On the design front, the Xiaomi Mi 4 would take the cake at first glance. With a tall design, the Mi 4 sports a stainless steel frame with chamfered edges, giving the device a premium look. On the other hand, the OnePlus One has a slightly large profile—thanks to the large display panel which pushes it into the phablet zone. The OnePlus One might give its users a bit of a trouble with respect to single-handed use. If you prefer looks and single-handed usability, the Mi 4 is your boy.

Under the hood, both the Xiaomi Mi 4 and the OnePlus One are powered by the same chipset—the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC. Buzzing with four 2.5GHz processors and supported by 3GB of RAM and an Adreno 330 graphics chip, the power remains identical. However, the Mi 4 falls short in the internal storage zone with just 16GB to offer, as compared to 64GB on the One, but is justified by the lower price. While both the smartphones do not allow for storage expansion, they offer USB OTG for additional space. The Mi 4 does have a 64GB variant; however, the model is yet to see sales in India.  So if you are looking for a smartphone, which can hold more data, the One is your choice.

For those who are looking ahead at future data connectivity, the OnePlus One would top the list. The One supports 4G LTE and is ready to take on your telecom 4G connection when it arrives. The Mi 4, however, does not sport 4G data and you would have to hold on till a variant arrives, which is not yet confirmed. For now, if you are not interested in 4G connections in the future, the Mi 4 would be ideal, but being future-ready, the One definitely wins this spot.

On the operating system front, the OnePlus One presently sports a Cyanogen ROM, while Xiaomi Mi 4 features a home-brewed custom operating system, MIUI V6. Both are based on Google’s Android KitKat operating system, but are heavily tweaked for performance, aesthetics and features. The Mi 4 will receive the Lollipop update soon, while the One will switch from Cyanogen to OnePlus’ own Android-based OS, Oxygen. As of now, we cannot confirm how Oxygen ROM will be tweaked or how it will perform, but as far as MIUI is concerned, we can assure you that it is one of the best custom ROMs out there.

With regards to the camera, both the OnePlus and the Xiaomi handsets sport almost identical sensors. The OnePlus One and the Mi 4 sport a 13MP camera with a Sony sensor. Both the handsets perform identically on the imaging front. Tests conducted by GSM Arena show the two cameras almost as good as each other, but the One is just a tad better than the Mi 4. As for the front camera, the One sports a 5MP sensor and the Mi 4 features an 8MP sensor. If photography and video are more of your daily smartphone routine, the OnePlus with a larger internal storage wins hands down.

The Mi 4 falls short of NFC, which is rarely used, but makes up the feature list with an FM radio and an IR blaster which can be used for controlling electronic equipment. So if you are one of those who love to listen to your local FM stations, the Mi 4 is a good choice over the One. The IR blaster also gives the Mi 4 an added advantage over the OnePlus One.

Lastly, with regards to the price, the OnePlus and the Mi 4 stand in their respective sides, but compete almost at par. The OnePlus One is available at Rs 21,999 while the Xiaomi Mi 4 is priced at Rs 19,999. For Rs 2,000 less, you could sacrifice the internal storage area and opt for the premium built Mi 4. While most prefer a smartphone that can be operated with a single hand, their choices are overpowered by looks and specifications. If storage and future connectivity is your preference, the One should be your choice. But if you prefer looks, build quality and a lower price, the Mi 4 should top your list.