Cell phones xiaomi mi mix 2. The screen is normal, although not flagship. ⇡ Design, ergonomics and software

Hello! As you may have noticed, this year reviews of Xiaomi devices appear on our website much faster than in the past. This is due to the company's more active presence in Russia. Xiaomi often emphasizes that Russia is one of its priority markets. This is expressed primarily in the fact that the time between the Chinese announcement and the appearance of devices in our retail stores is greatly reduced. The same Xiaomi Mi 6 was an excellent indicator of this trend.

Characteristics

Equipment

• Smartphone
• Charger
• PC cable
• Case
• SIM eject key
• Type C to mini jack adapter

You know, I always love it when a manufacturer includes something more than a power supply and cable in the kit. It may be a simple little case, but it’s still very nice. We tested the Chinese version of the smartphone; in Russia, the kit will include a power supply with “our” plug.

Appearance and case materials

In terms of appearance, Mi MIX 2 is not much different from the previous generation. Only in size, but more on that below. The same ceramic cover, the same rounded corners, the same frameless display, but there is still one difference. The ends of the device are now made of aluminum rather than ceramic. This made it possible to reduce the cost of the new product, and the end user, in my opinion, did not lose much, and even gained.

Personally, I do not approve of the use of ceramics, at least in the glossy version found in Mi MIX 2. Although the material is scratch-resistant, it is terribly easily soiled and slippery.

There will also be a special white version of Mi MIX 2 on sale, its body is made entirely of ceramics, in the first look I showed what this version looks like, see below.

Control elements

The use of an edge-to-edge display forces the company to make certain compromises, for example, the front camera of the MIX 2 is located below the screen, and not on top.

In the last generation, they decided to abandon the traditional earpiece speaker in favor of piezoelectric acoustics (the sound was created by the screen itself); in fact, we got one of the worst earphone speakers, the maximum volume in the first MIX was completely insufficient. Apparently, Xiaomi received a lot of complaints about this, and Mi MIX 2 installed a standard speaker, but made it super compact, it’s just a small slot above the screen, you won’t notice it right away.

At the bottom end there is a Type C port, external speaker and microphone meshes, and at the top there is an IR port. There is only one speaker, but it sounds good and has a good volume reserve. But they decided to abandon the minijack, and this, in my opinion, is a minus.

On the right you can see the adjustment rocker and the power button, on the left there is a tray for two nanoSIM cards. There is no slot for a memory card, however, the internal capacity even in the minimum version is 64 GB.

At the back are the main camera and a fingerprint scanner. The scanner is fast, on par with other top-end devices, and works instantly.

Dimensions

One of the disadvantages of the first Mi MIX was its dimensions and weight. The smartphone was very thick and heavy; when looking at its frameless display, it seemed that the device would be just as elegantly light and airy, but in the end you ended up with a plump brick in your hands.

In Mi MIX 2, they worked on the dimensions, the device became more compact, lighter and thinner. However, it still feels heavy, perhaps some people will like this pleasant heaviness in the hand, but I like thinner and lighter models.

Compared to Apple iPhone 7 Plus and Xiaomi Mi A1

Screen

Before moving on to the description of the display, I can’t help but note how Xiaomi juggles facts and pictures at their presentations. I already wrote about this, but just in case I’ll remind you again. See how the comparison with the iPhone 7 Plus looks in slides and live.

Even in reality, it is clear that the Mi MIX 2, with the same dimensions, has a larger screen. I don’t understand why it was necessary to deliberately underestimate the iPhone’s performance on the slides?

Even at the presentation, they tried to ridicule competitors with their framelessness using the example of the Galaxy S8 and Apple iPhone X, but our commentators provided below a more honest comparison with the same pictures.

By the way, the company does not use the word “frameless” to describe its new flagship; Xiaomi calls it “full screen”. And this is indeed a more accurate description. Following the fashion of 2017, the aspect ratio of the model is 18:9, the display is more elongated, this made it possible to install a larger diagonal with the same body dimensions, and the user will scroll the screen less often.

Of course, such a screen has certain advantages from the point of view of reading text, but navigating the elongated display is less convenient, especially if you need to reach elements on its upper part. Another disadvantage is the black stripes on the sides when watching a video; in this scenario, the additional space simply disappears.

If we talk about the display itself, its quality is beyond praise, the brightness level is comparable to my 7 Plus, and the color scheme is a little less cool. The range of brightness is very large, the minimum is enough for your eyes at night, and the maximum is suitable for a bright sunny day.

Traditionally for MIUI, you can customize the color scheme in detail in the settings or enable a separate (also customizable) reading mode.

operating system

The device runs on MIUI 9 and Android 7.1.1. The advantages of MIUI have long been known to everyone: this includes customizing each device for yourself, a large number of different large and small features, and stable updates for most devices. Among the minuses, I would like to highlight periodic omissions of Push notifications, despite the inclusion of all the relevant settings.

Performance

Readers sometimes get mad at me for not paying enough attention to performance, but the reality is that modern flagships work quite quickly, and any stuttering or stuttering is minimal. Actually, Mi MIX 2 is no exception, and the presence of the 835 along with 6-8 GB of RAM gives the device a huge performance reserve.

In terms of heating, the smartphone was also pleasantly pleased; it remained cool throughout the entire time of use (except for running benchmarks). I sometimes encounter the problem that smartphones randomly start to suddenly heat up, although nothing in the usage scenario changes, so MIX 2 does not have such a problem.

Autonomous operation

I'll start with the good. In sleep mode, the smartphone hardly discharges; in 12 hours, in my case, it lost only 3% of its capacity. The device supports fast charging from Qualcomm, below are its performance indicators:

• 47% - half an hour
• 92% - hour
• 100% - one and a half hours

In everyday use, you can expect about four to five hours of screen time at maximum brightness. Considering the dimensions of the smartphone, I am a little surprised that the 4000 mAh battery did not fit into the case; on the other hand, in my mode of use the device worked perfectly all day.

Camera

First, let it simmer a little. To be honest, I’m a little disappointed that Xiaomi didn’t put a dual camera module in this smartphone, like in the Mi 6; such a solution would have looked logical and consistent, especially since the Mi MIX still looks like the company’s flagship device now. However, criticizing it only for the lack of a second camera is not entirely correct, so let's look at the pictures.

During the day, in natural light, the device takes excellent pictures: fast focusing, accurate white balance, high image clarity.

Mi MIX 2 also copes well in low light conditions.

For artificial lighting, I decided to try portrait photos, they don’t come out very well, the photo turns out blurry.

In night photographs, detail drops as expected, and slight noise is noticeable, but overall the device does an excellent job, thanks to optical stabilization. For night photography, I took two pairs of frames, in auto mode and with a decrease in “brightness” (on MIUI cameras there is a special slider, you can use it to adjust the brightness of the final image), in the second case the photos come out better, you can see that on the Mi MIX 2 automatic likes to raise ISO and exposure.

Auto	Manual

Smartphone selfies are not good, especially when it comes to artificial lighting. However, given the full-screen nature of the device, we can at least say thank you for the fact that there is, in principle, a front camera.

The smartphone records video in 4k, in the examples you can hear a slight hum, these are planes flying past (I live relatively close to Vnukovo), and not the fault of the device. For my taste, Mi MIX 2 makes the picture too rich, close to poisonous AMOLED colors.

I also asked Roman Belykh to leave his short comment on the quality of the camera:

Photo. The most important thing to note is the colors. They are natural in all lighting conditions. Clean, pleasant shades. Definitely a pass. During the day the details are good, but not the best. In the evening the image turns into watercolor. However, the situation, again, is saved by the fact that the device honestly takes pictures of colors. I didn’t like the portrait at all - it was noisy and blurry.

Video. 4k looks great even on an FHD monitor – brilliant sharpness, accurate colors and good optical stabilization.

Wireless interfaces

At the presentation, Xiaomi boasted that Mi MIX 2 supports 43 different bands! That is, even when traveling, you will always stay connected and will be able to use the LTE networks of the local operator. The device also supports all our bands, including b20, which respected commentators often worry about.

The smartphone has an NFC module, it can be used for Android Pay and with the Troika application, in any case, NFC Check shows support for Mifare Classic.

Conclusion

As I wrote above, this model abandoned the use of piezoelectric acoustics and switched to a traditional earpiece speaker. And although it is so thin that you cannot notice it with the naked eye, in terms of speech transmission there are no complaints about it, as well as about the microphone: you and your interlocutor can hear each other perfectly.

In my opinion, Xiaomi did an excellent job of “working out the bugs” in the second Mi MIX:

• Got rid of the quiet speaker
• We worked on the dimensions
• Reduced the price by eliminating the all-ceramic case
• Added additional bands

From advantages Mi MIX 2 I will highlight the following:

• Good quality display
• Flagship chipset
• Large amount of RAM and internal memory
• High speed

And here minuses smartphone:

• Slippery and easily soiled body
• Large weight and thickness
• No minijack
• Lack of memory card slot
• Lack of a dual camera (Mi 6 has it!)

And although formally there are more disadvantages, I still liked the device. Here, of course, everything depends on the Russian representative office, but at a price of 30-35 thousand rubles, Mi MIX 2 looks like a very interesting offer.

There is essentially nothing to compare this smartphone with: Samsung, LG and Apple also have full-screen flagships, but they cost much more. From the Chinese, you can remember Meizu PRO 7 Plus and Huawei P10 Plus, but it is problematic to compare them; I think that both companies will still have their own full-screen smartphones for comparison.

What can you say about Mi MIX 2, dear readers?

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s is the most powerful smartphone with a frameless design. The device has an advanced dual camera and a large screen. The announcement of this device took place in March 2018.

Appearance and ergonomics

The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2c case is made of ceramics, glass and a metal frame. The front has a spectacular display with truly minimal bezels and rounded corners. There are no “curtains” or “eyebrows” in the upper part, so the earpiece is located in the form of a thin strip. But under the display there is a small “chin”, on which there is only a front camera.

At the bottom you can find a USB Type-C connector, a microphone and a multimedia speaker. But on the back there is a round fingerprint scanner. At the same time, in the upper corner there is an elegant block with a dual camera and a powerful LED flash. The entire back is made of ceramic material with a glossy texture. The device looks very stylish, but tends to slip out of your hands. It is worth noting the durable case, which leaves virtually no scratches. An aluminum frame connects the ceramic back and glass front panel.

The gadget feels very comfortable in the palm of your hand due to high-quality materials and an elongated shape. Inside there is a 3400 mAh battery with support for Quick Charge 3.0 and wireless charging. Available colors: white and black. Dimensions: height - 150.9 mm, thickness - 8.1 mm, width - 74.9 mm, weight - 191 g.

Display

Mi Mix 2s has a fairly large 5.99-inch screen, which has minimal frames. This is an IPS matrix with an aspect ratio of 18:9. The display has a resolution of 2160 by 1080 pixels, and it also received protective glass Gorilla Glass 4. It should be noted that the viewing angles are excellent, and the colors hardly change at angles.

There is a large reserve of brightness, which makes it possible to use the smartphone at night and in sunny weather with special comfort. Excellent color rendition is complemented by a rich picture. On such a screen it is pleasant not only to view images and videos, but also to work with graphs, process photos and more.

Hardware and performance

The Mi Mix 2c smartphone has a very fast eight-core Snapdragon 845 processor with a maximum clock frequency of 2800 MHz. It uses powerful Kryo 385 cores that deliver excellent performance in all conditions. The graphics are handled by the Adreno 630 chip. The device is equipped with 6 or 8 GB of RAM. But the amount of built-in storage can vary significantly depending on the version chosen: 64, 128 or 256 GB. The manufacturer did not equip the device with a slot for memory cards.

This gadget works straight out of the box with Android 8.0 and MIUI 9.5 shell on board. All this allows the mobile device to work really fast, as proven by synthetic tests (AnTuTu - about 270,000 points, GeekBench Multi - 8450). There are no problems with performance here, and the power reserve will last for a long time. Even games with very high-quality graphics such as PUBG and WoT run extremely smoothly, and with the maximum possible effects.

Communication and sound

The external speaker in the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s sounds convincing and loud, but the bass still merges more with the mid frequencies. The headphones have average sound quality without claims to the premium segment. Notably, there is no 3.5mm headphone jack. In this case, a special adapter is included. The phone supports two Nano-SIM cards and has a built-in Bluetooth 5.0 module. It shows good speeds on LTE networks. You can always hear your interlocutor in the best possible way through the speaker.

Camera

On the back of the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2c there is a progressive dual camera with a two-color Dual LED flash. It consists of a main 12-megapixel Sony IMX363 sensor with an aperture of 1.8 and an additional 12-megapixel Samsung S5K3M3 sensor with an aperture of 2.4. There is 2x optical zoom without loss of quality, as well as an advanced Dual Pixel phase focusing system. Moreover, the camera supports optical stabilization, which has a beneficial effect on the quality of images in a variety of situations. It should be noted the excellent detail of the photo and the minimum amount of noise. The user can experiment with depth of field.

There is also a fairly simple front 5-megapixel camera that takes pictures well during the day, but does it very mediocre in the evening and at night.

conclusions

Mi Mix 2s turned out to be an extremely powerful smartphone with a flagship processor and an excellent dual camera. Don't forget about the frameless display with the appropriate design. The device really resembles top-end gadgets, but at a much lower cost.

Pros:

• Bright and large frameless display.
• Excellent build and quality materials.
• Progressive dual camera.
• Very powerful processor.
• Wireless charging and Quick Charge 3.0 function.

Minuses:

• The sound in the headphones is of average quality.
• There is no protection from moisture and dust.

Specifications Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s

Prices

Video reviews

I first encountered Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 in early September, when I flew to its presentation in Beijing. Then I managed to spend three days with the smartphone, now I’ve been using it for a week.

Xiaomi created the prestigious smartphone, it seems to me, for show, realizing that there would not be much demand for this device. The price dictates its own rules. A person who buys Xiaomi does so, not least of all, because of affordability. Despite this, the smartphone turned out to be truly prestigious. Yes, it’s prestigious, that’s how Mi Mix 2 can be described in one word.

Characteristics of Xiaomi Mi Mix 2

About framelessness

Few people know that Xiaomi is at the forefront of frameless screens. It turns out that even before the release of the first Mi Mix, several years ago, Xiaomi approached Google with its early prototype of such a device and asked to add support for the new screen aspect ratio in Android. Google reviewed the copy and tactfully rejected it. After some time, Samsung, together with Xiaomi, approached Google, this led to another update and guidelines from Google, in which Xiaomi and Samsung were indicated as the companies that influenced this decision. This is how China, in some way, made its contribution to the history of frameless devices.

About design

It was not in vain that Xiaomi spent money on the French designer and made him the face of this brand. Mi Mix 2, from an aesthetic point of view, was a success. Ceramics and steel do their job, the smartphone is very beautiful and, of course, incredibly easily soiled.

The smartphone comes with a branded plastic cover of very cool quality that feels like velvet. This is the case when a designer smartphone was not spoiled by a cheap Chinese case. They even made a small recess in the case for access to the fingerprint scanner.

About the screen

Six inches and the most efficient use of workspace. At a recent Xiaomi presentation, Apple iPhone X was teased for its irrational use of the working surface of the screen. The stone was not thrown in Apple's garden in vain. Now I’ll say a subjective thing, but I like the image on the Mi Mix 2 more than on my iPhone X. Perhaps I’m not a fan of OLED, and IPS is more pleasing to my eye.

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 has a really cool screen, you want to look at it without looking away.

About the camera

She's not the most outstanding one here. For some reason, Xiaomi did not include two camera modules in its top-end smartphone. The quality of pictures and videos is more or less good, but behind this year’s flagships. Of course, the Xiaomi camera cannot be compared to the Pixel 2, Galaxy Note 8 or iPhone X.

The camera interface, as always with Xiaomi, is convenient, but pictures in the dark and video recording are not of the best quality. Xiaomi does not work on photo algorithms, this is also indicated by the size of the photos; some photos are 9-10 megabytes. Compared to the competitors, there is some kind of gigantism, and I cannot say that these photographs retain more information and the detail shines. This is wrong.

Autonomy

This is the main strength of this smartphone. Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 lasts a long time. I managed to squeeze 6 hours of screen time out of it. The smartphone charges in half an hour, from zero to 56% percent.

Software

The smartphone that I have in my hands is not yet on MIUI 9. It’s not very interesting to talk about the software in Xiaomi smartphones. This is the same as talking about iOS on different iPhones. The operating system is always the same. Naturally, it works quickly on Mi Mix 2. It is quite difficult to make a smartphone with a Snapdragon 835 processor slow down. The release of the Xiaomi Mi A1 smartphone showed Xiaomi fans that “pure” Android suits these smartphones too. I can’t say that I’m a direct fan of MIUI. Therefore, I immediately installed the Nova shell on Mi Mix 2.

If earlier Xiaomi could be reproached for the inconvenience and localization of smartphones, now everything is as it should be: Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 fell into my hands twice, on the day of the global announcement and now, and both smartphones worked on global firmware with Google services installed. No crutches, just picked it up and started using it.

About sound

Welcome to 2017. The smartphone does not have a 3.5 mm jack, but the kit includes an adapter from USB Type-C to 3.5 mm. The company itself already has a range of wireless headphones, so in the Xiaomi ecosystem you can count on a complete set of necessary gadgets, moreover, at a fairly affordable price.

Unlike the regular Mi Mix, in the second version of the frameless flagship, Xiaomi has changed the shape and size of the speaker; it is barely visible on the top of the body above the screen. The sound when playing video or music through external speakers is loud, but somehow “ringing”, without depth. This is not a music smartphone at all. Perhaps I'm spoiled by the stereo sound of the iPhone 8 and iPhone X.

Afterword

The price of Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 in Russia is 35,000 rubles. Compared to modern flagships, it’s not expensive. For an aesthetically cool device, this is absolutely good, but there is only one question: are there people among Xiaomi fans who are ready to pay 35,000 rubles for this smartphone? I think there are very few such people.

Apple was far from the first company to release such a smartphone.

Samsung's Galaxy S8 arrived last spring, but even it wasn't a first mover. The Chinese company Xiaomi introduced the Mi Mix device six months earlier. It was more of a conceptual device, but now the Chinese manufacturer is releasing a second-generation device, with which it is beginning to move into European markets.

Smartphone Xiaomi Mi Mix 2

Mi Mix 2 has a 5.99-inch screen, made in a metal case with ceramics on the back. It runs on Snapdragon 835 and has 6GB of RAM. You can buy it either in our country or order it by mail from stores like GearBest.

Specifications

Unboxing video:

Design and screen

The first Mi Max was a real monster, although the bezel-less screen reduced the size on three sides. Now Xiaomi has changed the design of the device to make it easier to operate with one hand. The diagonal size has decreased from 6.4 to 5.99 inches.

Of course, this is still a tablet phone, but compared to other 6-inch Mi Mix 2 devices, it is smaller. The LCD screen fills almost the entire front side of the device; there is still a frame at the bottom, but it is smaller than in the first generation model.

The rounded edges of the device are reminiscent of the iPhone style. The back uses ceramic, which attracts fingerprints, but still makes the smartphone more beautiful. In addition, this material does not leave scratches, but you should not drop your smartphone on the floor. The ceramic will break immediately, so a protective case is included in the package.

A very fast fingerprint scanner is located on the back, and there is also a 12 MP camera with a gold bezel. On the bottom edge you'll find a USB-C interface and one of two speakers, the other included in the ear cup. The volume rocker and power button are located on the right side of the case. On the opposite side there is a SIM card compartment that can simultaneously accept two nano cards.

Metal and ceramic make the Mi Mix 2 heavy, but it's well balanced and feels solid. If you were told that this was a Samsung or Apple smartphone, you would not doubt it for a second, the quality is so high.

Unfortunately, the Chinese manufacturer does not offer any protection against water and dust. In addition, the 3.5 mm headphone jack has disappeared; instead, an adapter has been included in the package.

The IPS LCD panel is protected by durable Gorilla Glass 4. The resolution is 1080 x 2160, the pixel density is 403 ppi, so the image is very clear. The screen is bright, colors are rich, viewing angles are excellent, as is visibility in the sun. The 18:9 ratio allows the smartphone to be not too wide so that it can be held comfortably with one hand.

Performance

Thanks to the Snapdragon 835 chip, the device works at lightning speed. The base model has 6 GB of memory, and there is an even more expensive version with 8 GB of memory.

Video review:

The result is a smartphone that can handle any task thrown at it. Switching between applications is fast and smooth, heavy 3D games also do not force the smartphone to capitulate. In terms of performance, this is a true uncompromising flagship.

It may not be immediately noticeable, but the device has stereo speakers, one of which is inside the ear. Apple does the same with its smartphones. The main difference in this case is that the speakers are noticeably weaker. There is no bass, the speaker in the ear is quite quiet. As a result, it seems that there is only one speaker.

At least this time a real ear is used. The first Mi Mix device used piezoelectric technology; the vibration of the device was converted into sound. Sounds interesting, but the volume during phone calls was low. This problem is now a thing of the past thanks to the traditional speaker.

Software

Like many other Android smartphone manufacturers, Xiaomi installs its own shell on top of Android. MIUI has been around for years and is one of the most extreme offshoots of pure Android. In the past, it was called a copy of iOS, because in terms of appearance, the developers borrowed a lot from Apple.

This has changed over the last few updates, but the similarities still remain. The most obvious one is the lack of an app list. The shell has its own innovations, as well as the deep customization that Android is famous for.

You can download the home screen and icon packs, create a second space for installing more than one copy of the same applications, change the wallpaper on the lock screen, taking them from Xiaomi servers, so that the device looks different every day.

The review copy ran on MIUI 8.5 on top of Android 7.1.1. MIUI 9 is out now and is gradually rolling out to devices, although it is also based on Android Nougat. Despite this, there are some useful innovations here, such as the ability to run two instances of the same application with different accounts.

Xiaomi works with user feedback to remove bugs and add popular features. This is what makes MIUI such an interesting interface. If you don't like it, you can install the Google Now bootloader at any time and get a look close to stock Android.

The model in question ran on the Chinese version of MIUI, which means it had pre-installed applications for that country. There may also be problems with services that rely on location. There is no official support for Google applications, although you can install the necessary components yourself. At the same time, the smartphone tries to return to the Xiaomi digital store every time.

With some effort, you can install the international version of MIUI, which eliminates all these shortcomings. This is a rather complicated procedure; it requires unlocking the smartphone's bootloader and installing several firmware updates using a computer.

Cameras

The device has a single rear camera based on a Sony IMX368 sensor with a resolution of 12 megapixels. There is phase detection autofocus and 4-axis optical stabilization. When the lighting is good, it can produce great photos.

Unfortunately, things aren't so good in low light, with the sensor having trouble collecting light even when using the appropriate shooting mode. A quick double flash doesn't help much in these situations, blurring the images even more. Compared to photos from the iPhone 8 or Galaxy S8, photos are compressed more aggressively, resulting in a significant loss of detail when enlarging the image.

It is unknown why the Chinese manufacturer decided not to install a dual camera, as it did on the Xiaomi Mi6. A secondary wide-angle sensor could be useful here. It supports 4K video recording at 30fps, but the sound is quite poor.

When such a large screen fills the entire front of the smartphone, you need to think carefully about where to fit the front camera. The developers made a non-trivial choice and placed it in the lower right corner, so that when taking a selfie you need to turn the device over. Fortunately, the software also turns upside down and you see everything as it should. Third-party applications, which turn out to be upside down, cannot boast of the same thing.

Autonomous operation

The Mix 2 comes with a 3,400 mAh battery, up from 4,400 mAh before. The battery had to be sacrificed to reduce the size of the device, but the smartphone still works for quite a long time.

With a relatively heavy load, the device can work all day without recharging. If the load is light, it lasts for a day and a half. Thanks to support for Quick Charge 3.0, the smartphone can be charged from almost zero to 85% in just over an hour. Unfortunately, there is no wireless charging.

The base model received 64 GB flash memory, and 128 and 256 GB options are also available. You need to make the right choice right away, since microSD cards are not supported.

Conclusion

From a design point of view, Mi Mix 2 has become an excellent device. Xiaomi has launched luxury smartphones in the past, but this one might be the best among them. The ceramic back and gold frame camera give it a high-end feel.

Among the disadvantages are the lack of protection against water and dust, which all modern flagships have, as well as poor camera performance in low light. However, at such a low price, all these are minor nuances that you can ignore.

Pros: Great screen, powerful components, beautiful design.
Cons: no protection against water and dust, camera could be better.

Appearance 5.0

Screen 5.0

Performance 5.0

Water and dust protection 3.0

Camera 3.0

4.2 Total

You can say as much as you like that the first frameless smartphones were made by Sharp, but this does not cancel the wow effect of the first Xiaomi Mi Mix. But Mi Mix 2 no longer evokes such feelings after the Samsung Galaxy S8, LG G6 and iPhone X. Now it's just another frameless smartphone. And nothing more.

However, the gadget looks good and, what is important for many, expensive. There is a metal frame around the perimeter, and at the back there is a perfectly smooth ceramic panel that can be used as a mirror. It's beautiful, but it quickly becomes covered with fingerprints. And it scratches over time no worse than glass.

Reducing the screen diagonal from 6.44 to 5.99 inches has benefited Mi Mix 2 - holding the phone in your hand has become much more convenient. The fingerprint scanner is located at the back - your index finger can easily reach it. It works quickly and accurately, almost the same as in Huawei flagships.

The screen is normal, although not flagship

Xiaomi managed to make a mistake with the “frameless” display of the Mi Mix 2 right during the presentation of the device in Beijing. The thickness of the frames in the press renderings turned out to be much smaller than in real life. The deceived public immediately began to rightly and noisily be indignant at the entire Internet.

Well, if we talk about the quality of the 5.99-inch display itself, then it is... just normal. It’s appropriate to see something like this in mid-range smartphones, but you can’t help but expect more from a flagship. The screen is based on an IPS matrix with a resolution of 2040x1080 pixels, that is, actually Full HD.

The clarity of the picture is normal; individual pixels are not visible due to the density of more than 400 dots per inch. Color reproduction is natural, but the maximum brightness is even lower than in the first Xiaomi Mi Mix, and the depth of black color is not impressive. There is a night mode, but flexible color tone adjustments are not included in the shell. There are only a few preset options available. However, manual correction for each channel (RGB) is not really needed here.

Under bright light, the image on the display is visible. However, if with a smartphone with AMOLED matrices you just walk down the street on a clear sunny day and calmly scroll through instant messengers and social networks, then with Mi Mix 2 in your hand you want to stop somewhere in the shade.

photos

One of the most powerful Android smartphones

What the Chinese have learned to do well is negotiate with mobile chipset manufacturers. So Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 received the “top” Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, and even as much as 6 GB of RAM. Moreover, there are even modifications of Mi Mix 2 with 8 GB of RAM, but this is completely outright overkill. Xiaomi's logic, obviously, is that it needs to somehow stand out among its competitors' flagships, which are still generally prudently limited to 4 GB of RAM.

As a result, the iPhone 8, as Apple has always been, is far ahead in terms of performance, and the Mi Mix successfully plays on the same field with the Android giants: Samsung Galaxy S8, LG V30, Sony Xperia XZ1, OnePlus 5 and others.

Nothing more powerful than the Snapdragon 835 has yet been invented for smartphones with a “green robot,” so smile, wave, and launch any mobile games without any problems or slowdowns. And the system, by the way, works very well, although Android 8.0 has not yet been released for it.

No firmware glitches were noticed; after all, the product is aimed at the international, not the local market. With heating, everything is also tip-top. If you look at the smartphone screen, the processor is located in the upper right part of the case - exactly where the user’s fingers are least likely to hit. As a result, the right side of the metal frame may become warm, but everything is within reason.

Be careful when choosing the amount of memory. The basic version has 64 GB, which seems good, but there is no slot for microSD in the device. At all. And this is bad. So it's better to focus on 128 or 256 GB.

Photos are good during the day, but at night there is a lot of noise

Impressions from the 12-megapixel photos of the main camera of Mi Mix 2 are mixed. On the one hand, there is natural color rendition and surprisingly accurate auto-exposure. The device extremely rarely overexposes or underexposes frames. On the other hand, night photos are frustrating with a huge amount of noise.

At the same time, the algorithms diligently try to make the pictures as sharp as possible, and they succeed quite successfully. Mainly due to the presence of a good image stabilizer. But the autofocus system was not successful. It is difficult for her to aim at small objects at close range. Macro photography on Mi Mix 2 is a tedious task.

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2

Samsung Galaxy S8+

As a result, we can say that compared to the frankly terrible camera of last year's Mi Mix, this is a noticeable step forward. But in comparison with other Android flagships, the results are mediocre. Many “middle peasants” for 20-25 thousand can do at least no worse.

Videos can be recorded in 4K, but it’s better not to try this and limit yourself to reasonable Full HD. The matrix is ​​noisy, the optics are dark (f/2.0). During the day the result is acceptable, at night it is sad.

The front camera is a separate sad song. As before, it is located in the lower right corner of the front panel. If you want a selfie, turn your smartphone upside down. And if only this were okay, the quality of the 5-megapixel self-portraits is such that you want to hug yourself and cry bitterly. In about the same way, budget smartphones are sold for about 10-12 thousand.

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The sound was disappointing, but everything was fine with the wireless modules

Last year, Xiaomi developers tried to surprise everyone with a piezoelectric earpiece: the sound was created using vibration of the display. And the result was complete nonsense - quiet and muffled audio.

In Mi Mix 2, they hastened to forget about the failed super-technology and installed a standard speaker in the phone, but it was also disappointing with the quality of voice transmission. And also because at a volume above average, not only you, but also everyone standing nearby can hear your interlocutor.

A similar bleak story with external speakers. Mi Mix 2 is proudly “stereo”, but the second speaker is the same one that is used during conversations. Music and calls end up sounding quiet, everything rattles unpleasantly.

For some reason, the Chinese removed the input for wired headphones, and instead they offer to use an adapter with microUSB of absolutely disgusting quality. These are just right to be sold for half a dollar on Aliexpress, and not put in a box with a gadget for 500 bucks.

If good sound in headphones is important to you, then we recommend passing by this smartphone or using decent Bluetooth solutions with aptX support. Fortunately, Mi Mix 2 supports this codec, as well as Bluetooth 5.0 and NFC. GPS works quickly and accurately enough that you don’t have to worry about it.

Runs less than its predecessor

The Xiaomi Mi Mix had a battery with a respectable capacity of 4400 mAh, in the new Mi Mix 2 it was reduced to 3400 mAh. This is sad, but not fatal. The gadget lasts its honest day from morning until late evening under medium load.

In mono tests, a full charge was enough for 4 hours and 50 minutes of mobile games and a little over 7 hours in Full HD video playback mode. The brightness in both cases was maximum. We previously carried out similar tests with the previous model: the lag is not dramatic, but very noticeable.

Fast charging has accelerated from 2 to 1.5 hours. In 15 minutes, Mi Mix 2 can be charged from 0 to 25%, and in 30 minutes – up to 50%. Well, to achieve a figure of 90%, 60 minutes of connecting to an outlet via the proprietary adapter included in the package will be enough.

Competitors

In China, Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 costs about 33-34 thousand rubles. Since it is impossible to officially buy the device in Russia, it is logical to compare it with competitors’ smartphones imported through the same “gray” routes.

If you add a couple of thousand on top, then for 36,000 rubles you can buy a much more “frameless” Samsung Galaxy S8, which doesn’t really need any introduction. It looks no worse, the screen is better, the camera is better and larger, battery life is better, plus normal sound, plus a microSD slot, plus wireless charging and water protection. Killer combo!

For 32,000 rubles you can get an LG G6 with a screen that occupies almost the entire front panel, a much better dual camera and water protection. But there is a minus here - the previous generation Snapdragon 821 chipset. However, it is still wow.