Our last review of a No.1 product, the No.1 S7 did not go so well. We’re giving No.1 another shot to see if they can reach a higher level with the No.1 Mi4.
No. 1 Mi4 Review Unboxing
The No.1 Mi4 came with a standard set of accessories: AC/DC charger, micro USB to USB data cable, SIM tray probe, a user manual booklet, and a screen protector.
The user manual is encased in a neat little cardboard envelope which is sealed with the SIM tray probe. The IMEI marker is stuck to the back of the phone (easily peeled off), and an extra IMEI sticker is included. These numbers are usually indicated on the battery tray of a phone. However, in the case of phones with a non-removable battery such as the No.1 Mi4, the manufacturer provides the stickers, leaving it up to the user to safely store them.
I do not doubt No.1’s claim of having used CNC methods to manufacture the frame – it is truly remarkable how beautifully crafted the No.1 Mi4 is.
For full specifications and information on No.1, visit the *official* No.1 Mi4 page here
The initial impression that the phone gave is that it is a very solid phone. The frame of the phone is truly made of steel. I do not doubt No.1’s claim of having used CNC methods to manufacture the frame – it is truly remarkable how beautifully crafted the No.1 Mi4 is.
The significant weight of the phone adds to the reassurance of its sturdiness and robustness against physical damage.
No. 1 Mi4 Review Battery Specifications
While the battery indicates 2800mA, the official No. 1 site indicates 2250mAH. I have been in contact with No.1 and confirmed that the actual mAH rating is 2250.
No. 1 Mi4 Review Physical Build
I have always liked straight-edged phones. The white color in tandem with the polished steel frame gives the phone a classy, sophisticated look.
The middle portion of the phone is slightly thicker than the edge. The thickness evens out with the width of the frame as the back cover slowly slopes down towards the frame.
The back is fully white, and has a diamond snake-skin type pattern which shimmers when exposed to light at an angle. This pattern appears to be beneath a glossy lamination.
Also seen on the back of the phone is the primary camera lens near the top edge. There is a small, square LED flash a few millimeters below the lens. Near the bottom edge is the No.1 logo.
The frame has a beveled edge towards the front of the phone. The screen almost reaches the edges of the phone, only leaving a thin white border on the sides. At the top is the earpiece, and the front facing camera lens to the right.
7-color, customizable, notification LED
The capacitive buttons at the bottom are uniformly lit, with a 7-color, customizable, notification LED uniquely placed below the home button.
The hard keys are situated on the right side of the phone, and click quite well. The Volume Up and Volume Down buttons are found above the Power button. On the top edge, the 3.5mm headphone jack is seen to the left of the IR antenna.
On the left side is the SIM card tray which can be accessed by using the probe provided. The micro USB connector and loudspeaker are seen on the bottom edge.
No. 1 Mi4 Review Screen: Display and Touch
720p is just perfect for a 5.0-inch screen.
The display is clear and crisp, and proves that 720p is perfect for a 5.0-inch screen. There is no noticeable color variation when viewing the screen from extreme angles.
The brightness has a wide range of intensity levels, which makes it very convenient to adjust it to your viewing comfort. It is also noteworthy that at only a level 3 brightness setting, the screen is perfectly clear and fully viewable while out in the sun. All settings brighter than that makes it even clearer in sunlight.
The touch screen is 5-point multi touch, which was verified by Mobileuncle Tools. Touch response and recognition goes off without any blips. There have been no ghost touches, and fast typing was no problem.
No.1 Mi4 Review GPS and Navigation
The first cold lock was tested with GPS Test app. Within 2 seconds of launching the app, the phone indicated 18 satellites in view. The Mi4 acheived a cold lock in under one minute, and was able to get a lock with 13 feet accuracy.
The navigation was tested during a 30 minute ride. The magnetometer proved to be very effective, as even incomplete turns registered on the navigator. The rerouting speed was also tested by taking all possible detours, and the navigator was quick to respond.
No.1 Mi4 Review Network Frequency Bands
I have been in contact with No.1 and they have confirmed the WCDMA frequencies are 850/2100.
The phone has quad band support for GSM (2G) 850/900/1800/1900MHz. Meanwhile, the 3G frequency bands were verified with Mobileuncle Tools, and reported to be 850/2100MHz as opposed to the advertised 900/2100MHz indicated on the box. I have been in contact with No.1 and they have confirmed the WCDMA frequencies are 850/2100.
No. 1 Mi4 Review CPU and Storage
The RAM is true 1GB, and is sufficient for a smooth Android experience. The ROM is also verified to be 16GB, partitioned as 1.07 GB for the internal storage and the rest allocated for phone storage.
It seems No.1 has prioritized the phone storage size due to the lack of support for microSD cards, but it would have been good to see No. 1 allocate a larger portion of the storage to internal. Though this isn’t a deal breaker, as modifying the EBR to give more storage to internal is not too difficult a task.
there have been no unexpected shutdowns at all
The No.1 Mi4 is equipped with an MTK6582 chipset, clocked at 1.3GHz. The phone carries out processes quickly with no problems. I have experienced zero force closes on any app: Facebook, Twitter, Hangouts, Chrome Browser and Play Store. There have been no unexpected shutdowns.
The No.1 Mi4 is configured quite well, and it is able to utilize its hardware properly. I’ve reviewed recently released phones wherein Gmail consistently crashes upon attaching large files, but with the No.1 Mi4 there were no issues with attaching large files.
No. 1 Review User Interface and OS
Play Store is pre-installed, and works flawlessly. Downloads and updates go off without a hitch.
There is no apps drawer icon for this phone. Instead, the apps drawer can be accessed by swiping one screen to go to the right. By default, as apps are installed, they are appended to the end of the app list rather than being arranged alphabetically. Widgets and shortcuts can be added to the empty screens to the left of the home screen.
For those who prefer to have a more traditional home screen/app drawer, installing Apex or Nova easily achieves this.
The OS runs smoothly, and without lag. About Phone, MTK Droid Tools, and Mobileuncle Tools all report the OS as Android 4.4.2. However, I observed that the build was still tagged as JB and that the SDK Version code is still 17. KitKat specific apps are deemed incompatible with the device. No.1 may release an update soon to fix this issue.
The No.1 Mi4 has no problem deep sleeping, nor triggering the appropriate clock speeds.
The No.1 Mi4 is pre-rooted with Kinguser for the permission manager. For personal preferences, SuperSU can be installed and manually updated without any hassle.
I have to say that No.1 has done an excellent job with this one.
this phone has blown me away…Hopefully No.1 will soon make their own models as they seem to be capable of putting together a great phone.
This phone has blown me away. I’m very impressed with the No.1 Mi4. The issues so far are the limited storage and outdated build code, but both of these issues are fixable and I will be communicating directly with No.1 regarding them.
For full specifications and information on No.1, visit the *official* No.1 Mi4 page here
Hopefully No.1 will soon make their own models, as they seem to be capable of putting together a great phone.
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