Xiaomi launches Mi Mix 2 in India: Looks better than iPhone X and OnePlus 5
When Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi introduced the first generation Mi Mix in China last year, it set the bar high for other smartphone makers looking to create phones with futuristic edge-to-edge display designs.
The Mi Mix, with its 6.4-inch (1080x2040) screen boasting of an 83.6 per cent ration to the body, left everyone in awe with its beautiful bezel-less design. The phone was an absolute looker but owing to Xiaomi's strategy of not bringing its high-end flagship devices to India, the device never really got a chance to impress the market that is single-handedly driving Xiaomi's stupendous growth – the company sold more than one million units during Flipkart Diwali sale alone.
However, the Chinese smartphone maker is in no mood to repeat the mistake and much to the cheer of the Xiaomi's fanboys in the country, it has decided to bring the bezel-less giant's successor to India.
Price and availability
The Mi Mix 2 which was earlier unveiled in China alongside the Mi Note 3, was announced at a launch event in Delhi and will be available for a price of Rs 35,999 with 128GB inbuilt storage. The device has been announced as a Flipkart exclusive and its sale will go live on 17th October. However, it will be available across offline platforms too starting November.
This does not fall in line with the Chinese pricing of the Mi Mix 2 which 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.
Specifications and design
The smartphone announced for the Indian market is the same as that announced for China. The Mi Mix 2 like its predecessor, uses premium materials such as ceramic and a design that occupied 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 display on the phone is slightly smaller at 5.99-inch but maintains the Full HD+ display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. The internals have been upgraded with the new phone sporting Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 processor, coupled with 6GB of RAM and built-in 128 storage option. The phone is powered by a hefty 3400mAh battery pack.
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). There's also a front-facing camera on the phone which is oddly placed at the right-hand bottom corner of the phone to maintain the Mi Mix 2's edge-to-edge feel.
Specifications wise, the phone is pretty well rounded for a flagship phone, but it does come with its flaws. The second generation Mi Mix phone still doesn't come with a headphone jack and music along with the the phone's power charging needs are handled by a USB Type-C port on the phone.
Why should you be excited?
Well, the biggest reason to look forward to the device is its design that is dominated by the immersive display which promises an even better edge-to-edge experience than on phones such as the Galaxy S8 and the iPhone X. With the Mi Mix 2, the smartphone maker has tried to bring us closer to the future which is expected to see smartphones turning into a glass slab with nothing but display at the front.
But all of this has been done without making the phone look or feel very big – a complaint with the original Mi Mix. Highlighting it is the fact that despite a bigger display than the iPhone 8 Plus, the Mi Mix 2 is 7 per cent smaller in size, and as the company claims is only as big as a typical 5.5-inch display smartphones in the market.
Xiaomi's decision of using ceramic instead of glass as the core material for crafting the phone's body is another reason to be excited about the phone. The company claims the custom ceramic used in Mi Mix 2 is twice as strong as normal smartphone glass.
Ceramic as a material has been common to high-end Xiaomi phones earlier, and has also been seen on Andy Ruben's Essential phone. The material is stronger than glass and is virtually scratch-proof, thus ensuring your phone keeps looking as good as new even after months of usage.
The phone's looks supplemented by its flagship worthy internals mark it out as a device that can not only give a strong competition to phones such as the OnePlus 5 and the Nokia 8 in the sub Rs 40,000 flagship segment, but could also eat into the market share of premium Android flagships such as the Galaxy S8 and the HTC U11.