Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Review

Overview

"Real creativity creates the next standard", says Philippe Starck in a promotional video for the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 and he couldn't be more right than this. When Xiaomi announced the Mi MIX a year ago, the device did stir the smartphone market not because it was the first with an almost all-screen front, but because it employed a number of new technologies and design solutions that really set standards for at least a year to come. It is enough to look at the number of smartphones that are Mi MIX and Mi MIX 2 wannabes at present. However, the Mi MIX was an experiment and it is its younger sibling's responsibility to offer more maturity and usability. We have a Mi MIX 2 sample in our hands and it will go through our usual routine of research, exploring, measurements, and tests so we can give you even the smallest fact about this Xiaomi flagship and whether it completes the tasks set for it.

Specifications

Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 is built around a 5.99-inch IPS display from Japan Display Inc. (JDI) with an FHD+ resolution (1080 x 2160) and 1500:1 static contrast ratio. Its protection is ensured by a Corning Gorilla Glass 4. The frame is a matte aluminium alloy and the back is made of glossy ceramic. The model is based on the current top chipset on the market - Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 MSM8998 with a 2.45GHz Kryo chipset and a 710MHz Adreno 540 GPU. There are 6GB of dual-channel LPDDRX RAM onboard clocked at 1866MHz. The UFS 2.1 internal storage has three flavours - 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB. Power is supplied by a 3400 mAh battery that supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 and arrives with a 5V/3A--9V/2A--12V/1.5A fast charger. The primary shooter of the device packs a 12-megapixel Sony IMX386 Exmor RS image sensor coupled with a 5-element lens, f/2.0 aperture, 4-axis OIS, phase detection AF, and dual-tone LED flash. The selfie camera relies on a 5-megapixel OmniVision OV5675 sensor and an f/2.0 lens. Mi MIX 2 is a truly global device in terms of network bands support. It works with 2G GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), 2.5G CDMA (800, 1900, 800 MHz (B10)), 3G TD-SCDMA (1880-1920, 2010-2025 MHz), 3G UMTS (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz), 4G LTE-FDD (700 MHz Class 13 and Class 17, 800, 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1800, 1900, 2100, 2600 MHz), 4G LTE-TDD (1900, 2300, 2500, 2600 MHz). The model supports dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac with 2x2 Mu MiMO, Wi-Fi Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Display, Bluetooth 5, GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, NFC, VoLTE. It is equipped with a USB Type-C 2.0 port with OTG support. No 3.5 mm jack. There's a Type-C headphone adapter in the package, instead. It runs on MIUI 8.5.4.0 (NDECNEF) based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat. Here's the full set of Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 specifications.

What's in the box

You will find the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 inside a flat, almost square black box with a stylish minimalist design. It has the MIX logo on the centre of the lid imprinted in gold letters. The black and gold combination is found in every element of the contents. When you open the box, you will see a card with a message in Chinese and autograph by Xiaomi's founder and CEO Mr Lei Jun. The card covers the device, which is placed in the left compartment and has all the standard packaging protection. To its left are two separate boxes for the charger and cable. Below the smartphone, a black envelope contains a number of items, the most noteworthy of which is the case. It is very stylish and fits the device like a glove. Having in mind, the back is made of ceramics equalling fragile, using the case is highly recommended and the device loses nothing of its thin waistline and minimalist profile. The full package includes:

• 5V/3A--9V/2A--12V/1.5A fast charger (US plug)
• USB Type-C cable
• Type-C headset adapter
• Black leather-like PU-fiber protective case for the back
• SIM tray pin
• Quick start guide in a leaflet form