6 reasons why you shouldn't buy Xiaomi's Mi Mix 2
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi's latest flagship, the Mi Mix 2, has been announced for the Indian market at a competitive price of Rs 35,999. This device, announced in China earlier in the year, will go on sale in India starting October 17 on Flipkart and the Mi store, but its availability will be expanded to other partners and offline stores from November 1.
The Mi Mix 2 is a phone that uses premium materials such as ceramic and gold on the rim of the camera, and a 5.99-inch Full HD+ (1080x2160) display that melts into the phone's aluminum frame to create a design built for the future.
In terms of specs, the phone brings with it Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 SoC, paired with 6GB of RAM and built-in 128 storage. The phone is powered by a hefty 3400mAh battery pack.
There is a single camera on the back that has a 12-Megapixel lens with f/2.0 aperture and 4-axis optical image stabilisation (OIS). There's also a front-facing camera which is oddly placed at the right-hand bottom corner of the phone to maintain the Mi Mix 2's edge-to-edge feel.
Overall, it measures 7.7mm thin and despite its giant display, Xiaomi claims its only as big as a regular 5.5-inch smartphone. However, that is not to say the phone does not have its fair share of issues. Here are six reasons why you should refrain from spending your money on this phone.
Lack of 3.5mm headphone jack
The phone to its credit sports a very sleek and futuristic design. What's even better is that the premium looks come at a very competitive price, but what it does miss out in pursuing that goal is a basic 3.5mm headphone jack. This means you will not be able to use your regular pair of headphones with the Mi Mix 2 without an adapter – which Xiaomi does ship with the phone.
Instead, the company has announced a pair of USB Type-C port supported earphones to help you with the transition. Though the problem here is that these don't come bundled with the phone and buying them will set the customer back by Rs 2,999.
Lack of wireless charging
For many years, wireless charging has been touted as a convenient solution to charging phones without using clunky cables, and for a forward-looking phone like the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 to not come equipped with the tech to support it is a bit of a bummer.
But more than just being a move that renders the Mi Mix 2 looking inferior to its competition, the move also gives birth to issues that dampen the experience of using the phone.
Xiaomi's decision to banish the 3.5mm jack and not include wireless charging tech in its phone creates major usability issues as this poorly thought-out move pretty much ensures that users will not be able to carry out basic tasks like charging their phones and using their headphones at the same time.
Bottom mounted front camera
The placement of the front camera at the bottom right corner of the phone is also another decision that could create major issues while using the phone. The 5-Megapixel front shooter works in a way which could take some getting used to. While taking a selfie, the user has to look down at the camera or simply flip the phone around.
Though Xiaomi has programmed the phone's inbuilt ultrasonic proximity sensor to flip the phone's view by 180 degrees to compensate for the bottom mounted camera, comment on its accuracy should be reserved for the days to come.
No special edition, storage variant options for India
The Mi Mix 2 was launched in three different variants in China – at RMB 3,299 (roughly Rs 32,300) for the 64GB model, RMB 3,599 (roughly Rs 35,300) for the 128GB model and RMB 3,999 (roughly Rs 39,200) for the 256GB variant. However, in India, the company has chosen to bring the phone in just a single variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
Additionally, the premium edition of the phone launched in China which comes with it a fully ceramic back and frame along with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage also doesn't make its way to the country.
No waterproofing
The phone's lack of any sort of waterproofing also serves as a big reason to not go for the phone. While most phones – including mid and low-range phones – in the market come with IP68 certification, the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 strangely does not come with any promise of being safe against splashes.
MIUI vs stock Android
Though many fans swear by Xiaomi's heavily bloated user interface, it cannot be denied that it womes with its own set of problems. For starters, Xiaomi is notorious for being late with their updates, and as such the phone coming with MIUI could prove to work against the phone.
Additionally, Xiaomi's take on Android also does not allow the kind of flexibility that you can get from stock Android.