You remember 2017? It was a weirdly pivotal year for smartphones. Most people were drooling over the bezel-less promise of the iPhone X or the curved glass of the Galaxy S8, but if you were looking for something that actually made sense for your wallet, you probably ended up with a Xiaomi. Specifically, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Pro. Or at least, that’s what everyone called the higher-spec versions of the Note 4 back then.
It’s funny. Tech move so fast that a phone from seven years ago should be a paperweight by now. Yet, if you go into any niche hardware forum or XDA Developers thread today, people are still talking about this specific slab of metal and glass. Honestly, the Redmi Note 4 series—and the Snapdragon-powered "Pro" or High Edition variants—was the moment Xiaomi stopped being a "budget Chinese brand" and started being a global powerhouse. They caught lightning in a bottle.
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What People Actually Mean by Redmi Note 4 Pro
Let’s clear something up right away because the naming convention was a total mess. Xiaomi had this habit of launching different versions for different regions. In India, the Redmi Note 4 came with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625. In China, there was a MediaTek Helio X20 version. When people talk about the Redmi Note 4 Pro, they are usually referring to the 4GB RAM / 64GB storage variant powered by that legendary Snapdragon 625 chip.
Why does the chip matter? Because the Snapdragon 625 was basically the "Toyota Corolla" of processors. It wasn't the fastest. It wouldn't win any drag races against the 800-series chips of the time. But it was built on a 14nm process that was incredibly efficient. You could beat that phone up all day, and the battery just... wouldn't... die. That efficiency, paired with a massive 4100mAh battery, created a device that regularly clocked 8 to 10 hours of screen-on time. In 2017, that was sorcery.
The Build Quality That Fooled Everyone
Back then, "budget" usually meant "plastic creaky mess." But the Redmi Note 4 Pro felt like a tank. It had this premium CNC-finished aluminum unibody with chamfered edges that caught the light just right. You'd hold it next to an iPhone 6s and, honestly, the Xiaomi didn't feel like the "cheap" one.
The 5.5-inch IPS LCD was 1080p, which was the sweet spot. It was sharp. It was bright enough for most days. Sure, the bezels look like landing strips compared to a 2026 flagship, but at the time, that 2.5D curved glass on the front made it feel sleek. It felt purposeful.
The Camera: A Reality Check
Okay, let's be real for a second. The camera was... fine. Just fine. It used a 13MP sensor (usually a Samsung S5K3L8 or a Sony IMX258, depending on the batch). In broad daylight, you could get some genuinely crisp shots with decent dynamic range. But as soon as the sun went down? Noise. Lots of it.
People spent hours tweaking the "Manual Mode" in MIUI or, more commonly, hacking the Google Camera (GCam) ports onto it. That’s where the Redmi Note 4 Pro really shone for the enthusiasts. Because it was so popular, developers optimized GCam ports specifically for its hardware, which somehow squeezed "flagship-level" HDR out of a budget sensor. It was a hobbyist's dream.
The Software Soul: MIUI vs. The World
The phone launched with MIUI 8 based on Android Marshmallow (6.0), and it eventually crawled its way up to MIUI 11. Now, MIUI is a polarizing topic. Some people love the features—the dual apps, the second space, the deep customization. Others hated the "iOS clone" aesthetic and the aggressive RAM management that would kill background apps just to save a slive of power.
But the software is actually why the Redmi Note 4 Pro is still alive in 2026. The bootloader was easy to unlock. The kernel sources were out there. This led to a custom ROM explosion. You could run Pixel Experience, LineageOS, or even weird experimental ports of Ubuntu Touch on this thing. I’ve seen people running Android 13 and 14 on this 2017 hardware. It’s sluggish, sure, but the fact that it works is a testament to the community that formed around this specific model.
Why It Still Matters Today
You might be wondering why we’re even talking about a 4GB RAM phone in an era where some fridges have more memory. It’s about the shift it caused. Before the Note 4 Pro, buying a cheap phone meant making massive sacrifices in build quality or battery life. Xiaomi proved you could have a metal phone that lasted two days for under $200.
It forced competitors like Samsung and Motorola to stop selling overpriced plastic junk in the mid-range segment. It essentially created the "Value King" category that brands like Poco and Realme live in today.
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The Hardware Legacy
- Battery Life: That 4100mAh cell combined with the Snapdragon 625's efficiency is still a benchmark for what "long-lasting" means.
- IR Blaster: This is the feature everyone misses. Being able to control your TV, AC, and projector from your phone without an app or a Wi-Fi connection. It was a Swiss Army knife.
- Physical Buttons: It had capacitive navigation keys below the screen. No on-screen buttons taking up real estate. It felt like you had the whole 5.5 inches for your content.
Common Issues: The "Yellow Screen" and Ghosting
It wasn't all sunshine. The Redmi Note 4 Pro had its quirks. One of the biggest complaints was the "Tianma" vs. "Boe" display lottery. If you got a Tianma panel, you were prone to screen ghosting or a slight yellow tint over time.
Then there was the micro-USB port. By 2017, USB-C was already becoming the standard, and Xiaomi’s insistence on the older port felt like a stubborn cost-cutting move. And let's not talk about the slow charging—5V/2A charging meant you were tethered to a wall for over two hours to fill that massive battery.
Is It Still Usable?
If you found one in a drawer today, could you use it? Sorta. If you keep it on the stock MIUI 11 firmware, basic apps like WhatsApp and YouTube will run, but they'll be slow. The 4GB of RAM is the bare minimum for modern web browsing. However, as a secondary device for media, a dedicated IR remote, or a "distraction-free" phone, it’s actually kind of great.
Moving Forward with Legacy Tech
If you are a collector or someone looking to revive an old Redmi Note 4 Pro, here are the practical steps to make it viable in the current year:
- Replace the Battery: These lithium-ion cells degrade. A fresh 4100mAh replacement is cheap and relatively easy to install because the back pops off with a bit of prying.
- Flash a "Go Edition" ROM: Don't try to run a full, heavy Android 14 build. Look for "Android Go" or "Lightweight" custom ROMs on XDA. This strips out the background fluff and makes the Snapdragon 625 feel snappy again.
- Use it as a Dedicated Tool: Use the IR blaster. It’s the best universal remote ever made. Set it up as a dedicated music player for your car or a permanent smart home controller mounted on a wall.
- Check the Micro-USB Port: These ports are notorious for wearing out. A quick clean with a toothpick and some isopropyl alcohol usually fixes "slow charging" issues before you assume the battery is dead.
The Redmi Note 4 Pro wasn't just a phone; it was a cultural shift in the smartphone industry. It proved that "good enough" could actually be "great," and that price tags are often just marketing fluff. It remains the high-water mark for what a budget phone can achieve when a company prioritizes the right specs over flashy gimmicks.