Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 quick review: Buy it for the curves
With the launch of the Mi Mix in China last year, Xiaomi caught the smartphone industry by surprise with futuristic bezel-less displays.
The device with its 6.4-inch display boasted of an impressive 83.6 per cent screen to body ratio and left the world in awe with its beautiful bezel-less design.
But as it turns out, the device never made it across to India. Thankfully though, that’s not the case with its successor, the Mi Mix 2, which was recently announced for the Indian market.
In our quick review of the device, we take a look at what it offers and try to answer if the phone is indeed worth the Rs 35,999 price tag that Xiaomi has slapped on it.
Beautiful design
Let’s start with the design. The Mi Mix 2 like its predecessor, uses premium materials such as ceramic and a display that occupies almost the entirety of the phone’s front. However, there are some key differences to the phone when compared to last year's offering.
For starters, the biggest selling point of the phone, its display, is slightly smaller at 5.99-inch but is again Full HD+ with an 18:9 aspect ratio. Xiaomi claims that despite the size, the phone is only as big as a typical 5.5-inch display smartphone currently available in the market.
The move to the smaller display as such was made to make the phone more manageable for one-handed usage. However, in our time with the device, single-handed use still remains an issue.
As was the case with its predecessors, reaching corners while using the phone with one hand is a problem. Apart from that, the display looks great and performs as it should when used indoors or out under bright sunlight.
At the back, the Mi Mix 2 is crafted using a ceramic sheet that melts into the phone’s frame carved out of aluminum alloy.
Although the use of ceramic makes this phone virtually scratch-proof and stunning to look at, it also makes it more fragile than a glass back phone. For that matter, ceramic is also more prone to fingerprints in comparison to glass and metal.
For good measure, Xiaomi has also thrown in a gold-plated camera rim to make this phone look like a truly premium device, one that justifies, at least when it comes to looks, the Rs 35,999 price tag of the Mi Mix 2.
Powerful internals
Coming to the internals, the phone comes with top-of-the-line hardware and boasts of Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 processor and Adreno 540 GPU coupled with 6GB of RAM and built-in 128 storage – something that shows through when you interact with the phone.
The phone feels snappy, and multitasking through applications is a breeze. We tried our hand at a number of applications, including games, and did not encounter any issues. However, during our interaction, the phone’s ceramic back did get a bit warm after a short session of Asphalt 8.
The device also does fairly well when it comes to benchmarks results.
Coming to the battery, the Mi Mix 2 is powered by a hefty 3400mAh battery pack which should get you through the day on normal usage. The phone also supports Qualcomm's Quick Charge 3.0 technology and ships with a certified fast charger in the box.
Camera
Now let’s come to the camera. There is a single camera on the back with a 12-Megapixel lens with f/2.0 aperture and 4-axis optical image stabilisation (OIS). This is the same IMX 386 image sensor that was earlier found in the Mi 6.
To be honest, this is an upgrade on last year’s Mi Mix, but in isolation, it fails to impress. Low light photos come out looking blurry and even pictures clicked under adequate light do not leave you happy. The problems continue to the front camera of the phone, which is oddly placed at the right-hand bottom corner of the device to maintain the Mi Mix 2's edge-to-edge feel.
However, this decision gives birth to its own set of frustrations as it makes video calling and clicking selfies from within certain applications a bit difficult.
So should you buy it?
Well, like any other device, the phone has its pros and cons. But in the case of the Mi Mix 2, these are extremely pronounced. The phone features a design that is dominated by the immersive display which claims to bring an even better edge-to-edge experience than what is found on phones such as the Galaxy S8 and the iPhone X.
It looks great and proves to be a winner when it comes to performance, however, the camera turns out to be a drawback that could be a deal breaker for many.
Up against phones like the OnePlus 5, the Nokia 8 and with an eye on premium high-end phones like the Galaxy S8, the Mi Mix 2 proves to be a worthy competitor. But its Achilles heel in the form of the camera may just see it missing out on the crown.
But if the picture taking prowess of the Mi Mix 2 is not a concern, then the phone leaves you with very little reason not to fall in love with it.
The big bold display, its beautiful curves and its premium looks owing to the use of ceramic instead of glass as the core material for crafting the phone's body all make a compelling argument for buying the phone. An argument that is difficult to dismiss.
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