Redmi A4 5G review: A good entry-level 5G phone with one big caveat

There have been some exciting launches in the budget smartphone segment this year, with many impressive options hitting the market. The Redmi A4 5G is no different, with its capable Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 chipset and affordable price of Rs 8,499. However, there is one big caveat regarding its 5G support, which I’ll discuss in a bit. Let’s take a look in this review to see what works in the Redmi A4 5G’s favor and where it falls short.

decision

Redmi A4 5G is a good choice for users who want a reliable 5G smartphone with good software support, excellent battery life, and satisfactory performance output. However, the lack of Airtel 5G support and average camera performance are factors to consider before making a big decision.

5G connectivity

The Redmi A4 5G is ranked as one of the most affordable 5G phones in India, and rightfully so. However, there is a particular problem with its 5G support. The device does not support the NSA (non-standalone) 5G band, which is used in Airtel’s 5G network. This means the phone will not offer 5G internet when used with an Airtel SIM card. The brand has also mentioned this limit on the retail box of the phone, as you can see in the image above. On the other hand, Jio users can enjoy reliably high-speed cellular internet on this device.

Design and performance

The design of the Redmi A4 5G is nostalgic, taking me back to the Redmi Note 7, which launched in 2018 – a phone I still use as a secondary device. It has the same waterdrop notch display with slightly thicker bottom bezels, but the screen is now larger, as is the case with the phone. Despite this, the device feels surprisingly premium for its price, thanks to its glass-like rear panel and the soft pastel “Sparkle Purple” color that I received for review.

The large camera island stands out but is well balanced, so the phone doesn’t tilt towards the camera when held. There is a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top and a Type-C port and speaker grill at the bottom. The flat edge design adds to its modern look, although the phone does feel a bit heavy due to its size and weight, a change you will get used to over time. The power button also serves as a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and it’s quite snappy, so that’s the hint.

Talking about the display of the phone, it is a large 6.88 inch LCD panel with HD+ resolution.1640 x 720p), 120Hz refresh rate, and 600nits peak brightness level. The display is pretty standard for the price, although it’s good to see 120Hz becoming the new standard for displays in the budget segment. Brightness still feels a little low outdoors, but it’s noticeably brighter outdoors than other phones I’ve compared it to. The visual experience is good for its price, although the audio could be better as the device only comes with a down-firing bottom speaker.

camera

The Redmi A4 sports a 50MP primary camera and a 5MP front camera with an auxiliary lens. The device delivers satisfactory photos in daylight for its price, but in low light conditions, photos become soft, even with Night Mode enabled. The selfie camera performs reasonably well, but is limited by its small sensor, which often struggles to capture facial detail and produce images with a fair amount of noise. Let’s see below how it compares to its key competitors.

daylight

Comparing the daylight shots of the Redmi A4 5G with those of the Tecno Spark 30C (Review), you will notice that the latter image has much higher contrast. Colors look better and details are better too compared to the Redmi A4 5G. To be fair, the shot taken in daylight by the Redmi A4 is closer to the actual scene, which looks blurry due to the ever-present smog in Delhi NCR. That said, if you prefer social media-ready shots, the Tecno Spark 30C does a better job.

The itel Color Pro (Review) takes significantly sharper images than the Redmi A4 5G, almost to an extent where it appears overprocessed. Although the color reproduction of the former better reflects the real scene, in this case the Redmi A4 5G has slightly enhanced the colors to make its image stand out.

selfies

When compared directly to the Tecno Spark 30C, the Redmi A4’s selfie camera shows its limitations. The image of the former may look quite attractive, but there is a significant noise level when zoomed in closer, whereas the Tecno Spark 30C preserves details better.

The itel Color Pro does a good job of reproducing the exact skin tone of the subject, while the Redmi A4’s image has a little bit of saturation. In terms of details, itel Color Pro still has an edge over Redmi A4.

low light

When it comes to night shots, both the Redmi A4 5G and Tecno Spark 30C struggle even with Night Mode enabled. The Redmi A4 succeeds in portraying the scene well, but details are very soft, and a lot of noise is present. The Tecno Spark 30C illuminates the scene better but adds a green cast to the image, making it look unnatural. Still, the details are better on the Tecno phone compared to its counterpart, and the image looks more attractive.

The itel Color Pro remains one of the best low-light shooters in this price category, and the difference is immediately visible when you compare it to the Redmi A4 5G. The earlier image is clearer, details are clearly better, and you can more easily distinguish between different colors and buildings.

Display and Software

The new Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 is at the core of the Redmi A4 5G and comes with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage, which can be further expanded with a microSD card. The chipset is based on a 4nm processor and offers good performance for its price category, although its synthetic benchmark numbers are slightly lower than its rivals like the Tecno Spark 30C and itel Color Pro.

AnTuTu benchmark score (higher is better)

However, there is no significant difference in these scores, so you can expect real-world performance to be equivalent. My experience with the device was pretty much the same, and regular day-to-day performance is good for the price. There were occasional interruptions while browsing or using YouTube, but nothing major.

Geekbench benchmark score (higher is better)

We also tested some popular gaming titles like BGMI and COD: Mobile to see how the phone performs against its rivals. One thing to note is that during our testing while playing COD: Mobile the device crashed mid-game with GPU artefacts (pixelation and dark spots).

The gaming performance of the phone is also slightly less than the other two. Its average frame rate is comparatively lower than the other two phones, so if you’re someone who wants a good gaming experience on a budget, the itel Color Pro or POCO M6 Pro is a better option.

Burnout Benchmark Score (higher is better)

software

The device runs on Android 14-based HyperOS with 2 years of OS updates and 4 years of security updates. However, interestingly, the UI is not like the HyperOS that I have experienced in other Xiaomi products like the Redmi Pad Pro, Redmi 13 5G and others. The notification shade is actually in the style of the old MiUI, which I didn’t expect. One possible explanation could be that the brand kept the UI elements light so that the phone runs smoothly.

There are also a large number of pre-installed apps on the device, including some third-party games, although most of these can be uninstalled if you prefer. If this bothers you there is an option to hide the waterdrop notch, although this does reduce the visible screen space a bit.

Battery

Redmi A4 5G comes with a 5,160mAh battery with 18W fast charging support. Unlike the Tecno Spark 30C, the brand also gives you a 33W charger in the retail box. The battery got an excellent score in the PCMark battery benchmark test, and its resilience is really commendable. The device easily lasts a whole day even at high usage levels, which many battery-centric customers will love.

PCMark Battery Life Benchmark (higher is better)

In our lab tests, the phone’s battery dropped only 20 percent during 2 hours of heavy usage, which included playing multiple games and streaming YouTube, which is an excellent result for the price. The paired 33W charger takes about 1 hour 40 minutes to achieve a full charge from 20 percent capacity. Charging time is a little slow, but that’s a good amount for a long-lasting battery.

final call

The Redmi A4 5G takes a positive step towards making 5G more accessible to the masses. It has a capable processor that offers good performance for its price, offers excellent battery life, comes with good software support, and performs well in bright lighting conditions with its cameras. However, its lack of compatibility with Airtel 5G is a major drawback that effectively limits access to high-speed cellular internet to Jio users only. This could pose a serious challenge to the Redmi A4 5G in attracting budget-conscious buyers with existing Airtel SIM cards.

Rivals like itel Color Pro 5G (Review) and Tecno Spark 30C 5G (Review) are slightly more expensive at Rs 9,999 and offer better camera performance while matching the Redmi A4 5G in battery life. The itel Color Pro may appeal to those who prioritize cameras, while the Tecno Spark 30C offers an exceptional design. Although the Redmi A4 5G doesn’t break out much in any specific area, its lengthy software support adds value to the package, making it a good choice for those looking for a reliable budget 5G smartphone.

Editor’s Rating: 7/10

Reasons to buy:

• The design of the phone is attractive which looks quite premium.
• The display is quite smooth and gives a good viewing experience.
• The phone’s battery will easily last a whole day for most users.

Reasons for not buying:

• Redmi A4 is not compatible with Airtel 5G.
• Selfie and low-light camera performance could be better.
• There are many apps already installed there.

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