Xiaomi unveils the Mi4

CHINESE smartphone maker Xiaomi has unveiled its new flagship model, the Mi4, at the National Convention Center in Beijing.

The Mi4 has a stainless steel frame and a swappable back cover. At the launch event, the company showed off 12 designs for the cover, ranging from wood to stone.

According to Xiaomi founder Lei Jun, the Mi4 will feature a 5in screen full HD screen, 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor and 3GB RAM. Customers will have a choice of two sizes — 16GB or 64GB of storage space.

It will run on Android 4.4 and feature the company’s MiUI, now at version 6. Unlike the model before this, it will support 4G LTE connectivity for faster surfing speed.

For shooting photos and recording videos, it has a 13-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera.

The smartphone has a 3,080mAh battery and a rapid charging function that’s claimed to power up the phone to 60% in just one hour.

The Mi4 is expected to cost RMB1,999 (RM1,024) when it’s sold in China. No word on the price or release date here.