Xiaomi Redmi 1S Review: The Best Budget Smartphone In India For Rs. 6000

The Flipkart Flash Sale model and thousands of buyers waiting to buy the Xiaomi Redmi 1S smartphone has created a lot of buzz about the new smartphone from the Chinese maker priced at Rs. 6000. We got our hands on the Xiaomi Redmi 1S during the last flash sale and thanks to Flipkart's amazing eKart logistics service, the phone arrived at our doorstep within 24 hours of placing the order. Let us look at the phone's features one by one, starting with the packaging and looks department.

A few days back we got our hands on the Xiaomi Mi3 smartphone and boy were we impressed with the phone's superb battery life and excellent look and feel of the UI & the body. With high expectations, we opened up the Xiaomi Redmi 1S package. The phone came in a small, plain box branded with the MI logo. Here's what it looked like -

Xiaomi-Redmi-1S-Unboxing-Review-1
Inside the box, there was a charger, a USB cable and a battery along with a user guide wrapped inside a paper identical to the box's cover. The build quality of the phone is really good. The rear panel has a Matte finish. Now, those who are used to the metallic finish of Samsung & Moto phones might find the removable plastic rear panel 'cheap', but we think it looks pretty good and gets brownie points for adding to the lightweight (158 g) feel of the phone. As you can see from the image below, the phone has big bezels and looks quite huge for 4.7-inch screen. Another design feature that is being considered as a flaw - are the buttons at the bottom of the screen. Yes, they are not backlit, which might make them difficult to access under low-light. But if you are going to anyway look for the positive points - that flaw might not be much of a problem once you become a regular user and know which buttons go where.

Overall, the phone looks quite expensive for the price it demands.

Xiaomi-Redmi-1S-Unboxing-Review-3
Coming to the Display and the User Interface -

The 4.7-inch HD display has a screen resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels and a pixel density of 312 ppi. It is important to note here that almost no other phone offers a HD display with that pixel density at that price. We were able to play a couple of HD videos and found that wide-viewing angles and the overall quality felt superb. The touch screen response is great too. There was no lag whatsoever while accessing apps and switching screens. We tried using the phone in direct sunlight and found that there is a little reflection and it hampers screen visibility, but increasing the phone's brightness helped get through that.

The phone's user interface - The MIUI is what we have fallen in love with. The interface is stunningly simple. The home screen, where all the action happens, is clutter-free. The icons and design for Tools - Calendar, Calculator, Weather, Compass and Clock is what they call "minimal" and really attractive. We can access the Notification Center by swiping down from any screen, even the lock screen.

The "Lite Mode" on the UI turns all the icons into big blocks and give the user a strip down to the basic. The feature is perfect for elderly people who are going to use a "smartphone" for the first time in their life.

Xiaomi-Redmi-1S-Screenshot_2014-09-11-10-31-59 Xiaomi-Redmi-1S-Screenshot_2014-09-11-10-35-20

Xiaomi-Redmi-1S-Screenshot_2014-09-11-10-36-11 Screenshot_2014-09-11-12-59-18

Screenshot_2014-09-11-11-11-50 Screenshot_2014-09-11-11-12-06

With MIUI, you get an app for Security that does the needful to protect the OS and the phone from the attack of malicious apps and viruses. The built-in permission feature prevents unauthorized apps from accessing your data without your permission. Besides, the exclusive Virus Scan helps you check and kill virus before installing any app. Take a look -

Screenshot_2014-09-11-11-21-35
The processor, the memory and the camera -

There is a 1.6 GHz Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor running the Redmi 1S. The processing power is excellent and unlike other similar priced smartphones that feature about 512MB RAM, the Xiaomi Redmi 1S has an inbuilt 1GB RAM and 8GB ROM as internal storage. Thanks to the presence of microSD card slot, the memory can be expanded up to 64 GB (that's something the higher-end phone like Moto G doesn't offer). If you are not too much into hard-core gaming, we would like to add that playing regular games such as Candy Crush, Temple Run or Subway Surfers offer a hitch-free smooth experience on the Redmi 1S.

On the rear end, there's a 8 megapixel snapper that comes with LED flash, whereas on the front there's a 1.6 megapixel snapper. We tried clicking some selfies with the front and were more than impressed with the quality of photos (indoor as well as outdoor). The camera comes with just 2 settings – simple and advanced, but there are various filters such as HDR mode, panorama and burst. The 5-piece lens and a wide-angle lens to envelop a bigger area are more than enough to cater to a average photographer's needs. We agree that the Redmi 1s camera isn't as fast as the one on Mi3, but more than sufficient for casual shooting. (Will start a separate discussion to share the Xiaomi Redmi 1S photo clicks)

Battery Life, Sound and Connectivity -

We are not sure what the folks at Xiaomi had in mind when they were designing the battery for the Redmi 1S. This is because the battery takes almost 2.5 hours to go from 8% to 100% when we used the charging unit. (Not sure how long it will take with the USB cable attached to the PC). That said, we want to share that once fully charged, the phone's battery lasted for over 15 hours in one go while using Wi-Fi and playing games for 1-2 hours.
A major turndown here was the fact that the phone's rear end got little hot when browsing internet and having 3-4 apps running in the background.

We played multiple songs on the phone and the speaker quality is nice and the 3.5 mm audio jack situated on the top of the phone is handy. The metallic volume rocker buttons on the side do the needful. Other than that, among the connectivity features there's Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi and GPS. There are two SIM card slots just above the bright orange battery and they support WCDMA+GSM cards.

Xiaomi-Redmi-1S-Unboxing-Review-4

What's Hot -


1. The Display and MIUI version 5.
2. The rear camera quality in broad daylight.
3. The battery that lasts for the major part of the day.
4. The Quad-Core processing power.
5. The 64 GB expandable memory slot.

What's Not -

1. The rear panel turning hot on heavy usage of multiple apps.
2. The speaker volume could've been a bit louder, not that we're complaining.

Final Verdict: If you are looking for an Android phone and are on a budget, at Rs. 6000 the Xiaomi Redmi 1S is real value for money. Even though the Flipkart flash sale is a bit of a turndown, the phone is worth the wait.

Replies

  • Ankita Katdare
    Ankita Katdare
    Here are a couple of more screenshots -

    Xiaomi-Redmi-1S-Screenshot_2014-09-11-10-34-30 Screenshot_2014-09-11-11-21-10

    #-Link-Snipped-# Hey, if you are going to buy a Xiaomi Redmi 1S too, we can both add some of our clicks in a separate thread. A lot of people are requesting to see the pictures clicked with the Redmi 1S camera.
  • Anoop Kumar
    Anoop Kumar
    Can you upload some picture of phone!
    I missed but one of my colleague manage to order, soon I will provide first impression.

    ...
    Edit:
    This is a awesome phone for price. just worth every penny, except you have a pseudo self steam of not getting a 6k phone.
  • Ankita Katdare
    Ankita Katdare
    Sure! Will click some more in the evening and upload them here.

    👍
  • Harshad Italiya
    Harshad Italiya
    You may like to try Antutu Benchmark with this device and add it's result screenshot.

    Will you please check if it supports any Indian language other then Hindi?
  • Milind Pandey
    Milind Pandey
    I booked phone on 2 Sept. but didn't received yet. Expected delivery date is 16th Sept. Don't know why its taking so long.
  • Kaustubh Katdare
    Kaustubh Katdare
    Milind Pandey
    I booked phone on 2 Sept. but didn't received yet. Expected delivery date is 16th Sept. Don't know why its taking so long.
    Yep, the first order shipments have been delayed. The second order shipments were delivered within 24 hours! You should get your phone in the next 2-3 days.
  • Ankita Katdare
    Ankita Katdare
    #-Link-Snipped-# Will try the Antutu Benchmark app and post the results here.

    Among Indian languages, the Redmi 1S only supports Hindi.
    Here's a screenshot -
    Screenshot_2014-09-11-14-37-42
  • Ankita Katdare
    Ankita Katdare
    Here are the results of the Xiaomi Redmi 1S Antutu Benchmark v5.0 test -
    (I have reduced the size of the screenshots so that they load faster)
    The result details say:
    CPU: Good, Supports large apps and multitasking,
    RAM: Excellent
    2D Graphics: Good
    3D Graphics: Good, Fluently support most games.

    Screenshot_2014-09-11-14-56-47 Screenshot_2014-09-11-14-57-00
  • pritambu
    pritambu
    Hi @#-Link-Snipped-# can i run Antutu Benchmark v5.0 test - on MI3
  • Ankita Katdare
    Ankita Katdare
    #-Link-Snipped-# Sure! you can do that. If you have a Xiaomi Mi3 do run the test app on it and share the results with us.
  • pritambu
    pritambu
    @#-Link-Snipped-# ok but how
  • Ankita Katdare
    Ankita Katdare
    pritambu
    @#-Link-Snipped-# ok but how
    1. Go to the Google Play Store app from your Mi3.
    2. Search for "Antutu Benchmark v5.0" and install the app.
    3. Once installed on the phone, run the app and click on 'Test'.
    4. Take screenshots of the test's results and post it here. 👍
  • pritambu
    pritambu
    Ankita Katdare
    1. Go to the Google Play Store app from your Mi3.
    2. Search for "Antutu Benchmark v5.0" and install the app.
    3. Once installed on the phone, run the app and click on 'Test'.
    4. Take screenshots of the test's results and post it here. 👍
    Ok thanks got it
  • Sarada Sahoo
    Sarada Sahoo
    How to check the available RAM in Redmi 1S..?
  • pritambu
    pritambu
    Sarada Sahoo
    How to check the available RAM in Redmi 1S..?
    Go to==>settings==>About phone==> you have result
  • Ankita Katdare
    Ankita Katdare
    Sarada Sahoo
    How to check the available RAM in Redmi 1S..?
    1. Go to Settings app on your Redmi 1S.
    2. Here you will see two options - Quick Settings and General settings on the top.
    3. Choose General Settings and scroll down to "Storage" and click on it.
    4. Here you will see distribution of memory consumed by apps, pictures, audio, cached data etc for internal memory as well as SD card (if any).
  • Sarada Sahoo
    Sarada Sahoo
    Hi Ankita,

    Thanks for the reply, there i can see the internal storage capacity and usages.
    But i need to where i can check the availability of ram..? how much ram my mobile is using..?
  • pritambu
    pritambu
    In
    Sarada Sahoo
    Hi Ankita,

    Thanks for the reply, there i can see the internal storage capacity and usages.
    But i need to where i can check the availability of ram..? how much ram my mobile is using..?
    Install Memory Usage from Google play
  • Yogesh Borkar
    Yogesh Borkar
    Xiaomi Redmi 1S is a hot property. I'm eagerly waiting for the Xiaomi Note launch date.😛
  • Ankita Katdare
    Ankita Katdare
    #-Link-Snipped-# is right. You can't check RAM usage directly from the phone. You will need to install a RAM checker/usage app from Google Play Store and check it.
  • pritambu
    pritambu
    Waiting for MIUI 6 release
  • Harshad Italiya
    Harshad Italiya
    #-Link-Snipped-# I can see this thread is soon going to be FAQ for Redmi 1S 😁
  • Sarathkumar Chandrasekaran
    Sarathkumar Chandrasekaran
    its simply awesome. i am totally cleared of doubts after your review!!!
  • Kaustubh Katdare
    Kaustubh Katdare
    Please avoid quoting entire article in comment. Thank you 😀
  • Anoop Mathew
    Anoop Mathew
    I've got my hands on a Redmi 1S just today. It was of a colleague. The phone is worth the price you're spending. Sad truth is that it's a bit on the heavier side. But judging from price and overall build, there's nothing to complain.

    NOW what you should check: Before you buy read #-Link-Snipped-# article (and others out there):

    A lot of online reviews and news state that your data is being transferred to an overseas server. So kindly check such details before you buy. Eventhough the CEO of this company states that such occurrences won't happen, there's a much needed attention you've to keep in mind regarding accessing 'confidential' files.

    P.S.: Anyone with latest reports in this regard can update.
  • Kaustubh Katdare
    Kaustubh Katdare
    #-Link-Snipped-# - the article you linked is about a month old. Xiaomi has since came out and cleared the confusion. The phone does not upload anything secretly to their servers. They do have a cloud service though - which can be turned off.

    I believe the phone does offer a lot for the price. I'm particularly impressed by the MIUI (it's a personal taste).
  • Satya Swaroop Dash
    Satya Swaroop Dash
    I had my doubts on Xiaomi's cheap offerings but boy do they have the guts to make a cheap phone a good one.
    My question regarding the phone is about its UI skin, how does it fare in terms of looks and performance as compared to Samsung's TouchWiz and HTC's Sense ?
    Are there any bloatware on the phone that aren't as useful as Security app ?
  • pritambu
    pritambu
    Goodness don't comes with cost, so its not important that good things will be costly.
    Its UI is different from other in many view as its giving customize Android featuring iPhone property. I am using MI3 since its first release, its performance its good as well.
  • Harshad Italiya
    Harshad Italiya
    Kaustubh Katdare
    #-Link-Snipped-# - the article you linked is about a month old. Xiaomi has since came out and cleared the confusion. The phone does not upload anything secretly to their servers. They do have a cloud service though - which can be turned off.

    I believe the phone does offer a lot for the price. I'm particularly impressed by the MIUI (it's a personal taste).
    As #-Link-Snipped-# said even after reply by CEO still many user reported that even after turning OFF upload settings still it was uploading some stuff to the same server. I will try to get the link where I read that.
  • Rajni Jain
    Rajni Jain
    This is one of the best review post I have read for some time.
    Kudos to you !!

    I second you that for now Redmi 1S is the best budget phone.
  • Ankita Katdare
    Ankita Katdare
    Satya Swaroop Dash
    My question regarding the phone is about its UI skin, how does it fare in terms of looks and performance as compared to Samsung's TouchWiz and HTC's Sense?
    To answer your question I'd have to say - If you love Android's power and customizability, but aren't crazy about its user interface, MIUI is your dream come true. It's designed to look more like iOS (not weird) or like Samsung's TouchWiz interface. In fact, it's a fusion of both. You get the unified square icons, pretty menus, and a ton of home screens to swipe through.

    Also, I'd say the TouchWiz UI camera app or the HTC Sense camera app are way better when it comes to functions offered on the screen. The MIUI camera app is just too basic.
  • podilap
    podilap
    My contact list is not syncing with whatapp can any one help me
  • nithinkrishnanrs
    nithinkrishnanrs
    #-Link-Snipped-# we can check RAM usage directily from the phone.Just hold left bottom button for a while ram usage will be displayed. I got RedMI 1S yesterday.
  • nithinkrishnanrs
    nithinkrishnanrs
  • Ankita Katdare
    Ankita Katdare
    Hey, that's right. I hope #-Link-Snipped-# finds this input useful. A lot of people seem to be raising questions about why Redmi 1S is using up so much of RAM on booting up. 👎 I hope the Xiaomi folks are listening and taking necessary measures.
  • vishal Lokhande
    vishal Lokhande
    #-Link-Snipped-# : Want to buy Android phone under 10k probably Asus Zen phone , but after looking reviews of Redmi 1s my mind is little diverted 😕....please advice which one should be the ordered.
  • Kaustubh Katdare
    Kaustubh Katdare
    Vishal_lokhande
    #-Link-Snipped-# : Want to buy Android phone under 10k probably Asus Zen phone , but after looking reviews of Redmi 1s my mind is little diverted 😕....please advice which one should be the ordered.
    Specs wise, the Zenphone scores a little over the 1s. If you can, try your hands on both the phones and then buy the one you like. We haven't tested the Zenfone yet; so can't comment much on it.
  • vishal Lokhande
    vishal Lokhande
    Kaustubh Katdare
    Specs wise, the Zenphone scores a little over the 1s. If you can, try your hands on both the phones and then buy the one you like. We haven't tested the Zenfone yet; so can't comment much on it.
    I have got hands on Zen phone ....no doubt its Awesome...but for that we have to count 4K extra 😀.
    what you say on this....waiting for your advice .
  • Kaustubh Katdare
    Kaustubh Katdare
    Vishal_lokhande
    I have got hands on Zen phone ....no doubt its Awesome...but for that we have to count 4K extra 😀.
    what you say on this....waiting for your advice .
    Frankly speaking it doesn't matter. I've a Galaxy Note II - and I use it only for email + phone calls + occasional whatsapping. I never use 2 GB of RAM that the phone provides.

    As we said, for the price point Redmi 1s is pretty impressive device. If you don't mind shelling extra 4K for more RAM and and a few improvements in hardware; you should grab Zenfone. But if you're already thinking of 10k range; I'd recommend considering Moto G (II edition) or Mi3.
  • Anoop Kumar
    Anoop Kumar
    Anoop Kumar
    This is a awesome phone for price. just worth every penny, except you have a pseudo self steam of not getting a 6k phone.
    My colleague received the phone and not it's going to be a riot on 16th, 14:00 😁.
    Little heavier but but if you compare Moto-e (price segment), Moto-E stands nowhere.

    Huge Pro: it has feature of privacy guard like CyanogenMod, you can select which app will access you data.
    If you don't want Chinese to see your data just don't make a Xiami cloud account or flash CyanogenMod. Peace of mind. 😉

    Down: I don't like UI. Could be it just me. I like simple UI.

    Verdict: If you have money wait for Mi3 *(Full HD screen is a eye candy) or go for Redmi1s
  • Kaustubh Katdare
    Kaustubh Katdare
    #-Link-Snipped-# - if anyone's waiting for a new phone; then OnePlus One is coming to India 😉
  • vishal Lokhande
    vishal Lokhande
    Kaustubh Katdare
    Frankly speaking it doesn't matter. I've a Galaxy Note II - and I use it only for email + phone calls + occasional whatsapping. I never use 2 GB of RAM that the phone provides.

    As we said, for the price point Redmi 1s is pretty impressive device. If you don't mind shelling extra 4K for more RAM and and a few improvements in hardware; you should grab Zenfone. But if you're already thinking of 10k range; I'd recommend considering Moto G (II edition) or Mi3.
    Thanks for your opinion..
  • Abhishek Rawal
    Abhishek Rawal
    Excellent review there, Ankita. 👍
    This device got killer hardware in its price range. If I compare with benchmarks, In my Moto E I get ~14K points, which means this device is almost 30-35% better in performance. Only thing I don't like is UI, it's so chinese. If one could get stock Android in Redmi 1S, it would be dope!
    Thinking to purchase this one for dad, but before I have to see whether developers are porting CM for this device or not, and before that I gotta check if there's any service center or not.
  • Ankita Katdare
    Ankita Katdare
    Abhishek Rawal
    I have to see whether developers are porting CM for this device or not, and before that I gotta check if there's any service center or not.
    Here you go, Xiaomi's official service centers list in India -
    #-Link-Snipped-#
    Two in Ahmedabad.
  • Dhananjay Harkare
    Dhananjay Harkare
    Review-👍👍

    China-China everywhere! 😯
    Come on guys, we need "Made in India"
  • Anoop Kumar
    Anoop Kumar
    How about Xolo phones? any review about Q1000s Plus, Looks good with FHD and 300mah
    Online Shopping India | Buy Mobiles, Electronics, Appliances, Clothing and More Online at Flipkart.com
  • Ashwas priyadarshan
    Ashwas priyadarshan
    hey can u tell me how to move an app from phone memory to SD card?
  • Ankita Katdare
    Ankita Katdare
    Ashwas priyadarshan
    hey can u tell me how to move an app from phone memory to SD card?
    Went through MIUI forums for the same issue. Looks like there is no straightforward way of doing it. One must root the phone to do it.
    I run a handful of basic apps on my phone, so this has not been an issue for me.
  • Ashwas priyadarshan
    Ashwas priyadarshan
    Ankita Katdare
    Went through MIUI forums for the same issue. Looks like there is no straightforward way of doing it. One must root the phone to do it.
    I run a handful of basic apps on my phone, so this has not been an issue for me.
    And how to root this phone?? Don't know the procedure for Android4.3 version 😔
  • Ankita Katdare
    Ankita Katdare
    #-Link-Snipped-# There's plenty of tutorials available that will guide you through the step by step process.
    Here you go -
    Tutorial: How to root and unroot Xiaomi Redmi 1S MIUI ROM - Android Advices
    How to Root or Unroot Xiaomi Redmi 1S Android Smartphone
    #-Link-Snipped-#
  • Ashwas priyadarshan
    Ashwas priyadarshan
    hey guys be careful.. before buying this phone make sure u read and understand chinese language properly 😛
  • Aniket Dabhade
    Aniket Dabhade
    How to move images to sd card from internal storage on Redmi 1s?
  • Ankita Katdare
    Ankita Katdare
    Here's a small update -

    Hugo Barra has mentioned that Xiaomi has solved the heating issues in the Redmi 1S smartphone.
    The company will be pushing an OTA update soon, which will rectify the heating issues and consequent performance drop in the device.

    PS: Very few users I know have actually faced the heating issues. Nevertheless, more good is coming! 😀
  • Harshad Italiya
    Harshad Italiya
    Ankita Katdare
    Here's a small update -

    Hugo Barra has mentioned that Xiaomi has solved the heating issues in the Redmi 1S smartphone.
    The company will be pushing an OTA update soon, which will rectify the heating issues and consequent performance drop in the device.

    PS: Very few users I know have actually faced the heating issues. Nevertheless, more good is coming! 😀
    I think update is out and you can update your Redmi1S. I got this news from #-Link-Snipped-#
  • santhoshtreddy
    santhoshtreddy
    Ankita Katdare
    Sure! Will click some more in the evening and upload them here.

    👍
    did u got it from flipkart ankita
  • santhoshtreddy
    santhoshtreddy
    santhoshtreddy
    did u got it from flipkart ankita
    on big billion day
  • Ankita Katdare
    Ankita Katdare
    MIUI 7 has arrived on Xiaomi Redmi 1S. 👍

    MIUI 7's stable build is now available for the Mi Note, Mi 4, Mi 3, Redmi 2/Prime, Redmi 1S 3G, Redmi Note 4G, and the Mi Pad.
  • Anil Jain
    Anil Jain
    I bought redmi 2 prime (2GB ram, 1 GB internal, much better camera and sharp looks) in 5500/- with Amazon sale (along with HDFC cash back).

    Believe me, redmi 2 is far better in performance than redmi 1 except its lighter and less stronger built.

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