Both the Xiaomi Mi 3 and Mi 4 use 5" IPS displays of identical 1080p resolution and a standard RGB matrix.
Although identical in specs and pixel arrangement, the screens posted different image quality and sunlight legibility results.
The display on the Xiaomi Mi 3 is bright enough at 100% with good contrast and colors. Unfortunately, dropping the brightness reduces the contrast and the screen becomes quite dim, which may as well mean the brightness scrubber isn't precise enough.
To make it worse, the screen brightness is quite uneven, with the backlight source pretty visible at the top. When you have a white page opened on screen you can easily notice the gradual brightness falloff from top to bottom. On the positive side, that's only visible with a full-on white or gray screen - in any other case it's barely visible.
The display on the Xiaomi Mi 4 has a higher maximum brightness level in comparison, while retaining the same good contrast and colors. The Mi 4's screen backlighting is much more consistent, too.
Display test
50% brightness
100% brightness
Black, cd/m2
White, cd/m2
Contrast ratio
Black, cd/m2
White, cd/m2
Contrast ratio
Xiaomi Mi 3
0.18
142
809
0.61
557
907
Xiaomi Mi 4
0.17
164
940
0.73
679
929
Samsung Galaxy S5
0
274
∞
0
529
∞
Samsung Galaxy S4
0
201
∞
0
404
∞
LG G2
0.1
149
1522
0.45
667
1495
LG G3
0.14
109
763
0.72
570
789
Sony Xperia Z2
-
-
-
0.41
488
1195
Sony Xperia Z1
-
-
-
0.38
580
1513
Apple iPhone 5s
0.14
163
1145
0.49
596
1219
HTC One (M8)
0.2
245
1219
0.46
577
1256
HTC One (E8)
0.2
250
1268
0.51
615
1208
The sunlight legibility of the Xiaomi Mi 3's display isn't great, but the phone is reasonably usable outdoors. The sunlight legibility has been notably improved on the Mi 4 and the display performs admirably outdoors.
Sunlight contrast ratio
Nokia 808 PureView 4.698
Apple iPhone 5 3.997
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 3.997
Samsung Galaxy K zoom 3.675
Apple iPhone 5s 3.565
Samsung Galaxy S5 3.549
Alcatel Idol X+ 3.527
Apple iPhone 5c 3.512
Samsung Galaxy Alpha 3.509
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo 3.487
Motorola RAZR MAXX 3.42
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 3.419
Nokia Lumia 925 3.402
Gionee Elife S5.5 3.386
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 3.352
Samsung Omnia W 3.301
Samsung Galaxy S5 mini 3.174
Samsung I9000 Galaxy S 3.155
Samsung Ativ S 3.129
Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini 3.127
Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom 3.118
Nokia N9 3.069
Samsung Galaxy Note 2.97
Samsung Galaxy Premier 2.958
Sony Xperia Z1 2.95
HTC One S 2.901
Samsung I8730 Galaxy Express 2.861
BlackBerry Q10 2.856
Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II 2.832
Samsung Galaxy S II Plus 2.801
BlackBerry Z30 2.79
Sony Xperia ZR 2.672
Huawei Ascend P1 2.655
Nokia Lumia 900 2.562
HTC One Max 2.537
Nokia Lumia 720 2.512
HTC One 2.504
Motorola Moto G 2.477
Sony Xperia Z 2.462
Xiaomi Mi 4 2.424
Samsung Galaxy S III mini 2.422
LG G Flex 2.407
HTC One (M8) 2.371
Motorola RAZR i 2.366
Sony Xperia ZL 2.352
Samsung Galaxy Note II 2.307
Oppo Find 7a 2.279
Alcatel One Touch Hero 2.272
Apple iPhone 4S 2.269
HTC Desire 600 dual sim 2.262
Nokia Asha 311 2.25
LG Nexus 5 2.228
Nokia Lumia 820 2.193
HTC One (E8) 2.185
Nokia Lumia 920 2.17
HTC One X 2.158
Nokia N8 2.144
Nokia Lumia 620 2.142
Nokia 515 2.134
HTC Desire 500 2.129
Sony Xperia acro S 2.119
Nokia Lumia 1020 2.103
Oppo Find 5 2.088
Sony Xperia SL 2.078
Nokia Lumia 630 2.056
BlackBerry Z10 2.051
Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active 2.022
Apple iPhone 4 2.016
HTC One mini 2.003
Xiaomi Mi 3 2.001
Huawei Ascend P7 1.992
LG G2 1.976
Oppo R819 1.957
Sony Ericsson Xperia ray 1.955
Sony Xperia Z2 1.944
Nokia Lumia 1320 1.941
HTC One mini 2 1.94
Samsung Galaxy Camera 1.938
Sony Xperia J 1.932
Acer CloudMobile S500 1.931
LG Nexus 4 1.926
LG G Pro 2 1.922
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 1.913
Nokia Asha 308 1.911
Sony Xperia T 1.894
HTC Desire X 1.878
HTC Butterfly 1.873
HTC Windows Phone 8X 1.873
HTC Butterfly S 1.867
Huawei Ascend P6 1.865
Huawei Ascend Mate 1.845
LG G2 mini 1.838
LG G3 1.82
Nokia Lumia 1520 1.813
HTC Desire 616 dual sim 1.797
Sony Xperia V 1.792
HTC Desire 816 1.783
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact 1.772
HTC Desire 700 dual sim 1.769
Sony Xperia U 1.758
Meizu MX3 1.754
LG Optimus G 1.753
Sony Xperia T2 Ultra 1.74
Sony Xperia SP 1.733
LG Optimus 4X HD 1.691
Oppo Find 7 1.691
HTC One V 1.685
BlackBerry Q5 1.682
LG Optimus Vu 1.68
Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9 1.672
LG Optimus GJ 1.666
LG Optimus 3D Max 1.658
HTC Desire V 1.646
Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 1.632
Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 1.622
Jolla Jolla 1.605
Sony Xperia Z Ultra 1.578
Sony Xperia go 1.577
Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 I8160 1.566
Samsung Galaxy Core 1.563
LG Optimus G Pro 1.552
Motorola Moto E 1.545
LG Optimus 3D 1.542
Nokia Asha 302 1.537
BlackBerry Curve 9320 1.488
Sony Xperia M 1.473
Oppo N1 1.47
Meizu MX 4-core 1.462
Nokia Lumia 610 1.432
Samsung Galaxy S Duos 1.4
Sony Xperia M2 1.393
Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo 1.393
Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 1.38
Sony Xperia E1 1.372
Nokia Lumia 625 1.371
Gigabyte GSmart G1355 1.361
Sony Xperia L 1.351
Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 1.35
Sony Xperia miro 1.324
Samsung I9082 Galaxy Grand 1.321
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 1.315
HTC Desire C 1.3
Nokia X 1.291
Sony Xperia C 1.283
Nokia Asha 503 1.281
Nokia Asha 501 1.27
LG Optimus L7 1.269
Nokia Lumia 510 1.268
Samsung Galaxy Fame 1.245
LG Optimus L9 1.227
Meizu MX 1.221
Samsung Galaxy Young 1.22
Sony Xperia E 1.215
Nokia XL 1.204
Sony Xperia E dual 1.203
Samsung Galaxy Pocket 1.18
Nokia Asha 305 1.178
Nokia Asha 306 1.175
Sony Xperia neo L 1.169
Sony Xperia tipo 1.166
Nokia Lumia 520 1.161
Samsung S6802 Galaxy Ace Duos 1.148
Samsung Galaxy mini 2 1.114
Winner: Xiaomi Mi 4. While its size and resolution are the same as on the Mi 3, the image quality and performance in varying conditions is clearly superior.
Connectivity
Both phones are powered by Qualcomm chipsets and enjoy the rich connectivity benefits that come with it. There's quad-band 3G each with 42.2Mbps of download and 5.76Mbps of upload speed courtesy of HSPA. The Mi 3 omits LTE, while the Xiaomi Mi enjoys the fastest mobile data around with Cat. 4 LTE (up to 150Mbps down and 50Mbps up).
Local connections are blazing fast as well thanks to dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac (a/b/g/n are supported too). Bluetooth 4.0 is available for connecting with accessories including low-power devices like wearables.
NFC is available only on the Xiaomi Mi 3. Xiaomi research found less than 1% of its users actually use NFC, explaining its absence on the latest Mi 4.
On the other hand, the Xiaomi Mi 4 comes with an IR blaster. With the right application you can turn your Xiaomi Mi 4 into a universal remote control for many household appliances.
Wired connectivity is where the two flagships differ even more. While both support USB OTG, the Xiaomi Mi 4 has an MHL-enabled microUSB 2.0 port, which means it can, with the right adapter, output HD video.
Both the Mi 3 and Mi 4 feature an FM radio.
Winner: Xiaomi Mi 4. We can forgive the lack of NFC - Xiaomi did make up for it with blazing fast LTE connectivity, an MHL-enabled USB port and an IR blaster. The Mi 3 looks like the right chioce in regions with no 4G network but you should consider the absence of a wired TV-out option.
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