Redmi Note 4 - Is the Snapdragon 625 Chipset Really That Powerful?

The Star Online in an article titled 'Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 pre-orders start March 10' (link) stated that "While the China variant features a Mediatek Helio X20 processor, Malaysian users will be getting the more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa-core 2.0GHz processor instead." which begs the question is that really the truth or just a marketing gimmick? Let's find out then.

Benchmark scores are sourced from GSMArena & Primate Labs (*)

As can be seen in the table above, the Redmi Note 4 (SD625) scores are inferior to Redmi Note 3 (SD650) and Redmi Note 4 (X20) scores among popular benchmarks. The only exception comes from the Geekbench 4 (multi-core) score for the Redmi Note 3 as it only have 6 cores; "hexa", versus Redmi Note 4 (SD625) 8 cores; "octa", and Redmi Note 4 (X20) 10 cores; "deca".

While I acknowledged that higher synthetic benchmark scores doesn't translate to superior real-world usage, the fact that a major publication goes on to claim and lead the public into thinking that the phone is indeed more powerful than previous iterations is uncalled for. The reality that Xiaomi themselves talked more on the SD625's power-efficiency is already a big hint to all.

Meizu MX4 - King of "Budget Smartphone" at RM299?

Update 1: Meizu Malaysia have reduced the price of both storage variants by RM100 respectively

Despite the iPhone 7 / Plus RM500 price reduction promotion going-on right now, not everybody can break the bank and spend in excess of RM3,000 to get one especially if you're short on cash (or waiting for something better like the Galaxy S8 or iPhone 8 in the coming months). Well, look no further than Meizu's former flagship MX4 and you can get one right now for less than RM300.

Both AnTuTu 6 scores are sourced from Kimovil

Since it's priced sub-RM500 and the only worthy competitor in this range is Xiaomi's Redmi 4A (RM459). You can find the comparison between both specifications in the table above. While the 16GB model is priced at RM299, it's recommended to purchase the 32GB model (RM399) due to the lack of expandable storage feature something which the 4A has with support up to 256GB.

Other than a higher 5MP front camera (vs. 2MP on the MX4) and a built-in IR Blaster, the MX4 mostly triumph over the 4A in all the other areas. Since we're dealing with official Malaysia units, all purchases come with a 1-year manufacturer warranty by Meizu themselves and you can nab it at an even cheaper price (of up to 10% discount) by utilizing bank promotions or voucher codes.

Visit Meizu's Lazada Store by Clicking HERE

Left 4A Dead - Is Mi Malaysia's Redmi 4A Worth Getting at RM449?

Update 1: Mi Malaysia recently raised the price of the Redmi 4A by RM10 to arrive at the new RRP of RM459.

With Mi India gearing for the launch of the Redmi Note 4 in the next few days, Malaysians have to contend with the imminent launch of the Redmi 4A (yes, not the superior Redmi 4 Prime, not even the regular Redmi 4 but the entry-level Redmi 4A instead). LYN revealed that the 4A will be priced at RM449 with Lazada to confirm it on 17th Jan. So is it worth it? Let us check it out below then.

AnTuTu 6 scores for all Redmi 4 devices are sourced from Kimovil...

We will start by listing how much does the Redmi 4 entire series retails for on Mi China against what we are paying here; where you can get the Redmi 4A at 499 CNY (RM325), the standard Redmi 4 at 699 CNY (RM450) and the Redmi 4 Prime at 899 CNY (RM580). As you guessed it, we are paying the price of a standard Redmi 4 but is essentially getting a Redmi 4A here instead.

While Redmi 3S & Redmi Note 3 scores are sourced from GSMArena

Some might argue that RM449 is still cheap but it is actually not when you compare it against Mi Malaysia's last sale on Lazada where just by spending an extra RM50 to arrive at RM499 grabs you a way superior phone like the 2GB RAM + 16GB Internal Storage variants of the Redmi 3S or Redmi Note 3, with the latter highly recommended due its excellent benchmark performance.

Nevertheless, if you really need to grab a Redmi 4A urgently, then I would suggest buying it on online shopping portals with the application of voucher codes, which should easily save around 10% of the RRP. Better yet, simply wait until Mi Malaysia decides to do a clearance sales and you can easily get one on the cheap. Previous promotion proves that it is not an impossibility.

Battle Loyal - Malaysia's Best 2017 Prepaid Plan Is...

Update 3 (as of 7 August, 2017): Article updated to reflect Hotlink's new SUPER prepaid plan. Celcom repackaged their Xpax Internet plans recently but the RM30 plan remains untouched.

Update 2 (as of 2 August, 2017): Article has been updated to cover Digi's slight tweak to the LiVE plan plus the bi-GB-onus promotion and Hotlink's Happy Hour.

Update 1: Article has been updated to reflect U Mobile's new UNLIMITED POWER prepaid plan.

U Mobile recently decided to up the ante by TRIPLING the data of their UMI plans and I decided to see how their POWER prepaid plan would stack up against the other telcos; namely Celcom's Xpax, Digi's LiVE and Maxis's Hotlink, by doing a comparison between them at the sweet RM30 per month commitment level which is not that expensive for most to purchase for the long-term.

Celcom's XPAX

XPAX retails for RM10 & comes pre-loaded with RM6

Without further ado, let us start with the recently refreshed XPAX #NoKelentong plan announced by Celcom on Dec 19, 2016. The differentiating feature of this plan is that it comes with 10GB of Facebook Internet and it should satisfy even the most hardcore FB addicts out there. 5GB of pure Internet is also the highest allocated after U Mobile's UMI promotion if you are not into streaming.

Digi Prepaid LiVE

LiVE retails for RM8 & comes pre-loaded with RM5

Prior to U Mobile's Music Onz introduction, if you are the type that streams music on-the-go, then Digi's prepaid LiVE is the plan for you. You will be given an additional 1GB of music data weekly to stream in addition to the 2GB music data from subscribing the Internet plan 2.5GB of music and video data weekly to stream and karaoke fans will rejoice that Smule is one of their partners.

Plan has been tweaked by increasing the High Speed Internet data from 3GB to 5GB sacrificing both 2GB of video and music streaming data previously. There is an on-going promo now where you can get 1GB of free data daily from 1-7pm (no usage time limit unlike Hotlink's Happy Hour).

Maxis's Hotlink SUPER

SUPER retails for RM10 & comes pre-loaded with RM5

Maxis's Hotlink FAST

FAST retails for RM10 & comes pre-loaded with RM5

Maxis's Hotlink FAST might look like it is pretty generous with its free weekly 2GB weekend data but closer inspection reveals that this promotion is only applicable if you are on 4G, bad news for those still using a non-4G phone or staying in places not covered by their vast 4G network. FAST video streaming data is also plentiful at 4GB but is solely limited to one partner, namely YouTube.

Hotlink introduced the Happy Hour offer in April 2017 where users can redeem 1GB of free data daily (total of 30GB monthly) from 7am-7pm but usage is limited within 1 hour upon redemption.

The new Super prepaid plan introduced the Larut Malam (LM) pass where users get 1GB of  free data daily (total of 30GB monthly) from 1am-9am just by staying active. While the free weekend data of 2GB promo is still present, users would need to accumulate RM15 of top-up EVERY week for it be activated under this plan (where 30 minutes of free IDD calls to Indonesia is also given).

U Mobile's UNLIMITED POWER

UNLIMITED POWER retails for RM8.50 & comes pre-loaded with RM5

U Mobile's POWER

POWER retails for RM8.50 & comes pre-loaded with RM5

As mentioned earlier in the article, U Mobile's current promotion of 3x the data of their Unlimited Mobile Internet (UMI) plans leads to a bumper 7.5GB of high-speed Internet. Music streaming is the main draw at the time of writing with unlimited quota being given to stream from 21 partners. They also have 24 video streaming partners, easily twice as much than their nearest competitor.

The new Unlimited Power prepaid plan introduced the App-Onz service where data usage on the following three (3) social media apps; Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, are unlimited aka. FREE.

In terms of calling and SMS rate to other networks, U Mobile and Maxis have the cheapest at 14 24 cents per minute (others 30 cents per minute) and 8 12 cents per SMS (others 15-20 cents per SMS). Hence, the winner is clear as day if you are looking for the best prepaid plan unless you are living in a place with limited connectivity, which is a story for another day altogether.

P.S. Quota for basic Internet quota are ignored during comparison as all the plans provided them.

The App That Knew Too Much - Is Xiaomi's Mi Fit App a Spyware in Disguise?

Xiaomi rose to prominence in the wearables market with the introduction of the Mi Band way back in 2014, a time when fitness trackers being priced at RM59 (around USD13) are literally unheard of. Xiaomi has since come out with 2 updates on the band by adding an optical heart rate sensor for the Mi Band 1S (a.k.a. Pulse) in 2015 and an OLED display for the latest Mi Band 2 in 2016.

Norton's Privacy Report on the Mi Fit

Anyway, what got me into writing this post was the privacy report produced by Norton Mobile's Security and Antivirus on the Mi Band's accompanying application, the Mi Fit, stating that the app actually shares the list of apps I have installed on my phone with the developer at an unknown location (presumably to either one of their data centres located in Singapore or Beijing, China).

My initial reaction was that I might have downloaded a compromised version of the app from Xiaomi's very-own Mi Market app store but upon reinstalling it back from Google's Play Store, Norton Mobile is still reporting the same on Mi Fit's privacy risk. Needless to say that this is a serious breach of privacy as even their policy did not detail on the sharing of installed apps info.

Why stop at only your personal data when they can have more

Yes, it is clearly stated in the privacy policy that Xiaomi collects both personal (used in identifying you) and non-personal data but compiling what other apps you are using on your phone is clearly not one of them. Another interesting find is that Xiaomi is consented to collect info of the person you are sharing your stats with so best to stop sharing immediately for your friend's privacy sake.

A breakdown of the various non-personal data being collected

The statement, "We use statistical data that does not specifically identify you..." regarding the non-personal data being collected is not that reassuring whether your movements will be tracked by Xiaomi especially when they know your occupation, what phone model you are using and it's contents, where you are living or working and what websites you are visiting from IP addresses.

24/7 camera access to snap your profile picture... Seriously?

Among the ways that you can mitigate the privacy risk should you wish to continue using the app is by opting-out of the User Experience Program and to Greenify it. Some suggested to not grant it permissions to access your camera, location, phone and storage but that will only lead the app to constantly bug you in re-enabling it. If you can tolerate the regular reminders, just turn it all off.

The deluge of accesses by Mi Fit as detected by NoRoot Firewall

Hope that the Mi Fit app developers quickly address the issue raised by Norton Mobile but even if they are to turn a blind eye on it, who are we to blame them as we clearly consented to their User Agreement and Privacy Policy before we are able to use the application. Guess that the best we can do right now is to hope our mined info will not be misused or to simply remove Mi Fit forever.