Xiaomi VP Confirms Mi 4 Doesn't Feature Metal Back; Specifications Tipped

It seems keeping Xiaomi's upcoming flagship out of the news is almost impossible. After being listed on a couple of third-party online retailers with a price tag of $499 (approximately Rs. 30,000), more details about the Mi 4 have surfaced.

Ahead of the company's "The Journey of a Piece of Steel" launch event scheduled for Tuesday, where the company is expected to reveal the successor to Mi 3 smartphone, the handset has been leaked online in images.

The leaked images purportedly reveal the yet-to-be-announced Mi 4's rear panel which mimics metal material. Mobilissimo posted two images of the Mi 4 which purportedly show the front and rear panels of the device.

Xiaomi's Vice President and Co-Founder, Li Wanqiang, putting an end to all speculations about the unannounced Mi 4 handset's build, said on his Weibo account [Google translation], "The new product is indeed uses a lot of metal, but no for the purpose of metal back cover".

Wanqiang's Weibo post, first spotted by GSM Insider, clearly confirms that the Mi 4 will not sport metal at the rear panel; although tips that metal has been used for the device.

In addition, a new leak has tipped specifications and a new price of $485 for the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 4. According to the leaked specifications, posted on Ortud.com, the handset will come with a 5.5-inch IPS full-HD display; 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 SoC; Adreno 330 GPU; MIUI Ver 6 based on Android 4.4; 3GB of RAM; 16GB of inbuilt storage; 13-megapixel autofocus rear camera with CMOS sensor; 8-megapixel front camera, and 3050mAh battery.

Notably, earlier leaked specifications via Mi 4 smartphone's listing contradict the current leaked set of specifications. Previous leaked specifications included a 5.5-inch QHD (1440x2560 pixels) display offering a pixel density of 538ppi; 32GB of inbuilt storage; 16-megapixel OIS rear camera; 5-megapixel front camera, MIUI ver 5 based on Android 4.4, and 3200mAh battery.

The yet-to-be-announced Mi 4 is the successor to Xiaomi Mi 3, which was launched in India last week at Rs. 13,999.