Last year, Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi surprised the entire smartphone industry with the launch of its Mi MIX smartphone. It’s after the launch of Mi MIX, that we actually started seeing more and more smartphones coming with “bezel-less” design, and now, this design language has become a trend across the industry. Well, with the Mi MIX, Xiaomi proved that it can innovate and can produce beautiful smartphones. However, the Mi MIX was a concept smartphone and was limited to China. At least officially. Well, all that changed this year when the company launched the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 in India earlier this month which was initially launched in China in September. The Mi MIX 2 has a design similar to its predecessor, but, is design alone enough to make it worth spending your money on? Well, we find that out with this Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 review.
In box contents
- Xiaomi Mi MIX 2
- Charger (9V/2A)
- USB Type-C Cable
- USB Type-C to 3.5 mm headphone jack adapter
- SIM Tray Ejector
- Protective Hard Case
- Safety Manual
- User Guide
Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Specifications
- CPU: Up to 2.45 GHz Snapdragon 835 octa-core processor
- RAM: 6 GB LPDDR4X (8 GB in Special Edition)
- GPU: Adreno 540
- Operating System: MIUI Global ROM 8.5 based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat
- Display: 5.99-inch Full-HD+ (2160 x 1080 pixels) IPS LCD display with 18:9 aspect ratio, Gorilla Glass, DCI-P3 color gamut, 403 ppi pixel density, Sunlight Display, Night Display and Reading Mode
- Rear Camera: 12 MP Sony IMX386 with 5-piece lens, 4-axis OIS, 1.25μm sensor, f/2.0 aperture, PDAF, 4K/1080p/720p video recording at 30 fps, 720p slow-motion at 120 fps, and dual-tone LED flash
- Front Camera: 5 MP with 36 Smart Beauty Profiles and 1080p video recording
- Internal Storage: 64/128/256 GB UFS 2.1 (Special Edition comes with 128 GB)
- SIM: Dual SIM (Nano + Nano)
- Connectivity: 4G VoLTE, GPS, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, NFC (multi-function), USB Type-C (no 3.5 mm headphone jack), supports 43 network bands
- Other: Fingerprint Scanner, Dual ADC HD Recording
- Colors: Black
- Battery: 3400 mAh with 9V/2A Quick Charge 3.0
Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Design
The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2, like its predecessor, flaunts a bezel-less design. While the Mi MIX came with a 6.44-inch display with 2040 x 1080 pixel resolution, the Mi MIX 2 comes with a smaller 5.99-inch display, but, with a slender bump in resolution from 2040 x 1080 pixels to 2160 x 1080 pixels.
Moreover, unlike other smartphones that come with a display having 16:9 aspect ratio, the one on the Mi MIX 2 comes with an aspect ratio of 18:9, which is what makes it possible for the company to offer larger screen size to the customers while also keeping the overall footprint of the device relatively smaller, making it comfortable to use with one hand.
As you can see, the Mi MIX 2 has a very thin bezel at the top, with the bottom chin being 12% smaller than its predecessor. The bezels at the left and right side of the display are also very slim. There’s also a small earpiece at the top which relies on sound guided technology to deliver sound to your ears. The sound coming through this earpiece was loud and we could hear the person at the other end of the call very clearly.
The position of the front-facing camera remains unchanged on the Mi MIX 2. Well, yes, that means the 5 MP selfie camera is still located at the bottom of the display at the right corner. The chin also accommodates the LED notification light right at the center.
The phone has a four-sided curved design and has a ceramic back with all the frames made out of aluminium. The back of the phone is very much glossy and you can actually see yourself when you look at it. It also has “MIX DESIGNED BY XIAOMI” laser etched in Gold. That said, the back of the Mi MIX 2 is a fingerprint magnet and gets smudges on it easily.
Besides, thanks to the glossy back, the phone also gets slippery at times, hence, it’s advisable to use it with care unless you want to drop it and end up having a crack on it. Thankfully, Xiaomi does include a hard case with the box which not only adds a level of protection to the phone against drops, but, also offers a nice grip so that it doesn’t slip off your hands.
There’s also a 12 MP single camera at the back which is similar to the primary camera we have seen on the Mi 6. The camera has an 18-karat gold-plated rim which actually looks premium. To the right side of the camera is the dual-tone LED flash, and, below the camera is the fingerprint scanner which can also be used as a shutter button to take photos.
To the left side of the phone is the SIM card slot which can accommodate two nano SIM cards. There’s no room for microSD card though, however, the 128 GB of internal storage (Indian variant) on the phone should be more than enough for most users.
To the right side of the phone is the volume rocker and power button, and, both of them provide nice feedback.
At the top of the phone, you can see the antenna lines as well as the secondary microphone. At the bottom, there’s a USB Type-C port which is flanked by two grilles – one of which houses the primary microphone with the other one having the speaker. There’s no 3.5 mm headphone jack on the Mi MIX 2 though, however, Xiaomi does bundle along a Type-C to 3.5 mm headphone jack adapter.
To sum it up, the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 is indeed a beautiful smartphone, and, the bezel-less design makes it look more gorgeous. Of course, the phone does have a glossy back and it tends to slip off your hands, however, it does come bundled along with a nice quality hard case which you can snap on to the device for extra protection.
Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Display
The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 sports a 5.99-inch Full-HD+ (2160 x 1080 pixels) IPS LCD display that has an aspect ratio of 18:9. It comes with the protection of Gorilla Glass and has a pixel density of 403 ppi.
The display on the Mi MIX 2 is good. Color reproduction was great and so were the viewing angles. The sunlight visibility is also pretty good. We didn’t have much issues viewing what’s on screen under sunlight. With such a large screen and minuscule bezels at its three sides, watching videos and playing games on this phone was truly an immersive experience.
Thanks to the tiny bezel at the top, I enjoyed reading on this phone more than on any other phone I have got my hands on. The text rendered on the screen was also crisp enough. While the display is bright enough under sunlight, you can reduce its brightness all the way down to 1-nit when you are using the phone at night so that you don’t end up causing much strain to your eyes.
That said, the phone comes with a reading mode which can be turned on whenever you want, or, can be set to turn on automatically at a specific time. You can also change the colors and contrast from the settings menu and can adjust the size of the text displayed on screen. The phone also comes with one-handed mode which makes it easier for people with small hands to use it with one hand.
Also, as the display on the Mi MIX 2 comes with an aspect ratio of 18:9, some apps may not be displayed properly. Moreover, there will be times when you will see two black bars at top and bottom of the screen while playing games or watching videos in full-screen mode.
However, you can adjust the screen ratio for all the apps on the phone by heading over to the Settings > Additional settings > Buttons > Max aspect ratio settings menu.
Well, to conclude, we must say that the display on the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 is excellent and does offer a truly immersive experience at whatever you do. While we are fine with the Full-HD+ resolution as it helps increase the mileage of the phone’s battery, we would have certainly loved to see an AMOLED panel on this smartphone.
Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Fingerprint Scanner
The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 doesn’t come with a fingerprint scanner at the front below the display, instead, like its predecessor, it has it on its back below the primary camera. The fingerprint scanner is placed very well at the back of the phone which helps in reaching it easily and without placing your finger mistakenly on the camera (*ahem* Samsung *ahem*).
The fingerprint scanner is one of the fastest I’ve seen and it unlocks the smartphone instantly. Besides being fast, the fingerprint scanner is also very accurate. It was able to recognize my fingerprint correctly eight out of ten times on an average. Well, eight out of ten because the other two times, my finger was a bit wet and it took a couple of retries to recognize it.
You can enable fingerprint unlock on the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 by heading over to the Settings > Lock screen & password > Manage fingerprints menu.
Also, apart from using the fingerprint scanner to unlock your smartphone, it can also be used to secure your privacy password and lock apps, and, capture photos by tapping on it when the camera app is open.
Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Performance
The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 is not just a looker, it’s also a beast. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 SoC which is the best you can have on any Android smartphone right now. The Snapdragon 835 is paired with 6 GB LPDDR4X RAM (8 GB on Special Edition) and is backed by Adreno 540 GPU. It is clocked up to 2.45 GHz and has eight Kryo 280 cores.
The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 comes in four different variants – 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage, 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage, 6 GB RAM + 256 GB storage, and, 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage which is the Special Edition. Well, our review unit came with 6 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage which is the one Xiaomi has launched in India.
In AnTuTu benchmark test, the Mi MIX 2 scored 1,71,334 points, whereas, in the single core and multi-core test of Geekbech 4, it made a score of 1941 and 6352 points respectively. The device also scored 7836 points in Geekbech 4’s Compute test. Well, these are some impressive numbers and are very close to the score of OnePlus 5 8 GB RAM variant that we reviewed back in July. If you are interested, here are the full stats of Geekbench 4 CPU and Compute test of Xiaomi Mi MIX 2.
In the Quadrant Standard Edition benchmark test, the Mi MIX 2 scored 36,425 points. Well, as you can see, the Mi MIX 2 did well in synthetic tests, but, does it perform well in real life? Of course, it does. In our daily usage, the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 performed like a champ. It blazed through almost everything we threw at it with ease. App load times were minimal, switching between apps was fast, and, navigating through the UI was smooth. All this while having 20 apps in the background, including some resource hogging ones like Facebook and heavy game titles like Asphalt 8 and Real Racing 3.
Speaking of gaming, it was total fun on the Mi MIX 2. Like we already mentioned in the display section of this review, gaming on this device was a pleasure. You might face issues because of the screen’s aspect ratio, but that’s something which can be adjusted from the Settings menu. As far as gaming performance is concerned, this phone will run almost any game you throw it at without breaking sweat. We played games like Asphalt 8, N.O.V.A. 3: Freedom Edition, Real Racing 3 and more, and, never did we notice a single stutter.
Games we tested on Xiaomi Mi MIX 2
- N.O.V.A. 3: Freedom Edition
- Asphalt 8
- NFS No Limits
- Traffic Rider
- Real Racing 3
Moreover, we played these games back to back for a total of one hour and the phone did manage to maintain its temperature below 40-degree Celsius, which is impressive. However, you might feel the phone getting a bit hot if you play games with protective case removed. But that could be because of the ceramic back. That said, with the case on, you may not notice the back getting hot.
All in all, the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 is a performer and handles everything you through at it with ease. Be it gaming or endlessly scrolling through social media apps like Facebook and Instagram. The Instagram app did crash many times during our time with the phone, but that’s something which has been happening on our other phones as well like the OnePlus 5. Hence, it isn’t something you should be blaming the Mi MIX 2 for.
Moreover, we also noticed that the Mi MIX 2 could only retain 20 apps in the background. As soon as we opened the 21st app, the very first app that was opened was removed even when around 1 GB of RAM was free. Well, that shouldn’t be much of an issue for most of you and it isn’t really something which affects the day-to-day usage.
Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Software
The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 runs MIUI Global ROM 8.5 that’s based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat. The phone’s currently on September 1, 2017 security patch, which though not the latest, is acceptable.
The UI is typical Xiaomi. Something that you see on other Xiaomi smartphones running MIUI. There’s no app drawer and all the apps are placed on the homescreen. However, if you don’t like it, you can get rid of it easily by installing something like the Pixel Launcher or Nova Launcher.
Xiaomi phones in the past used to come with bloatware, however, this time, the only third-party app that came pre-installed was the UC News app which can be uninstalled easily if you want.
The Mi MIX 2, like other Xiaomi smartphones, comes with an app called Security from where you can access different settings related to app permissions, call and SMS blocking, managing data usage, virus scanning and more.
Moreover, the option to quickly add widgets to homescreen and change themes, wallpapers and transition effects is still present. It can be done by long-pressing on the homescreen.
Features like Quick Ball Shortcuts, Second Space and Dual Apps are all present as well. There’s also a Themes app which lets you download different themes, wallpapers, ringtones and fonts on the Mi MIX 2.
Having said that, the software on the Mi MIX 2 needs a bit more polishing. There are parts of MIUI which don’t seem to be translated properly to English. The translation just looks imperfect. Furthermore, the notifications on MIUI aren’t perfect either. To expand the notifications, you have to swipe down on them using two fingers. Besides, you won’t be able to do it directly on the lock screen, instead, you will have to pull down the notification shade to expand the notification to see the details. Furthermore, this doesn’t happen with all the apps. Even Xiaomi’s own Messaging app, which is a bummer. We hope Xiaomi fixes this with upcoming update. After all, checking notifications shouldn’t require a user to perform these many steps.
Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Camera
The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2, despite being a flagship, comes with a single 12 MP camera at the back which is identical to the primary camera we have seen on the Mi 6. For selfies and video calls, you get a 5 MP camera on the front below the display.
Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Camera Specifications
- Rear Camera: 12 MP Sony IMX386 with 5-piece lens, 4-axis OIS, 1.25μm sensor, f/2.0 aperture, PDAF and dual-tone LED flash
- Rear Camera Video Recording: 4K/1080p/720p video recording at 30 fps, 720p slow-motion at 120 fps
- Front Camera: 5 MP with 36 Smart Beauty Profiles
- Front Camera Video Recording: 1080p
The 12 MP camera at the back can take photos at a maximum resolution of 4000 x 3000 pixels and record videos in 4K resolution (3840 x 2160 resolution). The 5 MP front camera on the other hand can take photos at a maximum resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels with video recording restricted to 1080p.
Well, that was interface of the camera app on the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2. As you can see, it’s similar to what we have seen on other Xiaomi smartphones, and, it does comes with features like Group Selfies, Manual Control, Time Lapse, Slow Motion, Beauty Mode and a wide variety of filters.
Now that you have seen the UI of the camera app, let’s take a look at the daylight shots taken from the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2.
Click on any image above to enlarge it.
Now let’s take a look the photos taken at night.
Click on any image above to enlarge it.
The photos taken from the rear camera in daylight did turn out to be good. The camera even did a decent job at taking close-up images with blurred background. However, sometimes, the photos did seem to be a bit overexposed, but, with the HDR mode turned on, the photos came out better with more details and better colors.
The camera even took some decent shots under artificial lighting, but again, turning on the HDR mode gave out comparatively better photos. Having said that, the HDR mode on the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 had to be turned on and off manually and there was no way it could be done automatically.
Moreover, taking photos with the HDR mode turned on was a time consuming affair. It would take at least two seconds to capture the photo which increases the chances of the photo being blurry if you are someone who doesn’t have a stable hand.
Speaking of the night shots, the images did have some noise to them and looked dull. However, as was the case with daylight shots, the photos taken at night with HDR mode on turned out to be brighter and detailed. But again, taking photos with HDR mode turned on means you will have to keep your hand steady until the camera’s done capturing the photo. Especially at night.
That said, you also have the option to take photos by turning on the HHT mode at night, but, we personally like the photos taken with the HDR mode turned on.
There isn’t much to talk about the quality of the photos taken with the front camera. They are acceptable enough if you only want to upload them on social media. However, what’s not acceptable is the positioning of the front camera. The 5 MP front camera is located below the display at the right corner of the chin. Well, this kind of placement makes it difficult to take selfies as you will end up taking photos with your chin in focus instead of your face. Moreover, the camera also often gets blocked by your hand during video calling and taking photos.
Of course, Xiaomi does have a workaround for this. You can rotate the phone when switched to the front camera so that you can take selfies the way you do on other phones. This helps you keep your face in focus instead of your chin. However, this method only works with Xiaomi’s camera app and doesn’t currently work with the camera of other apps like Instagram which is annoying.
Another downside to the front camera on the Mi MIX 2 is that it’s bit more narrower. Even with less people in your group, you will have to stretch your arm further to accommodate them. Well, we definitely would have loved to see Xiaomi offering the front camera with a bit more wider lens.
To conclude, the rear camera takes some nice shots in daylight but does end up with noise and lesser details in low-light. The front camera, on the other hand, could have come with a wider lens and better positioning.
Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Call Quality and Connectivity
The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 has a very tiny bezel up top and hence, at first glance, you might think that there’s no earpiece. Well, there is. How are you going to listen to the person at the other end of the call without it? The earpiece takes little space and sits between the top edge of the phone and its screen. Most of the time, you might not even notice it unless you take a closer look at it.
That said, unlike the Mi MIX that had a piezoelectric speaker, the Mi MIX 2 comes with a speaker that makes use of “sound guided” technology to deliver sound to your ears. The sound coming off it is pretty loud, clear and crisp, and we had no problems hearing the person speaking at the other end of the call.
The phone latched on to the network very well and we didn’t face any call drops or signal loss. The person at the other end of the phone call could also hear us very well.
The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 also comes with support for a total of 43 network bands and 6 network modes that make this phone a global phone. Well, what that means is that this phone should work with almost any mobile network in the world. This is useful if you are a globetrotter. More so if you are someone who lives in a country where the Mi MIX 2 is unavailable, because if you import it from China or India, a wider network band support means that it will most probably be compatible with the mobile network available in your country.
Other connectivity options on the Mi MIX 2 include VoLTE support, Dual Nano SIM support, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, NFC (multi-function) and USB Type-C. Like we already mentioned, the Mi MIX 2 doesn’t come with a 3.5 mm headphone jack, but, Xiaomi has included a USB Type-C to 3.5 mm headphone jack adapter in the package.
Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Audio and Storage
The speaker on the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 is located at the bottom to the right side of the USB Type-C port. The speaker is neither too loud nor too soft. For most people, it should get the job done. However, don’t expect it to replace a more conventional Bluetooth speaker at a party you would host at your home.
Moreover, when you are playing music, watching videos or playing games with the earphones disconnected, the speaker inside the earpiece above the screen is also put to use to give you a more immersive sound experience. Of course, it doesn’t get as loud as the speaker at the bottom, but it’s useful nonetheless. Especially because it makes up for that amount of sound that’s projected away from your face by the speaker at the bottom because of its placement.
That said, the Mi MIX 2 comes with its own Music app which does let you tinker around with the sound output from the Equalizer settings. You can choose from the already available presets, or, can customize them based on your liking.
The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 comes in three internal storage options – 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB – however, none of them come with a microSD card slot that would let you expand the storage. That said, the variant that Xiaomi launched in India comes with 128 GB of storage which we think is more than enough for majority of the users.
The storage is UFS 2.1, and, we must say that it’s fast. In our AndroBench test, we saw the sequential read speed of around 747 MB/second on an average, with the sequential write speed hovering at an average of around 193 MB/second. This kind of fast storage certainly helps in installing and opening apps and games quickly.
That said, the Mi MIX 2 also comes with a file manager app installed called Explorer. It has a pretty clean UI and also categorizes the files based on their types. If you have used a Xiaomi phone before, you won’t be a stranger to this Explorer app.
Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Battery
The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 comes with a smaller display as compared to its predecessor – the Mi MIX – which results in reduced footprint of the phone that makes it more compact. However, with smaller size of the phone comes smaller battery. The Mi MIX came with a 4400 mAh battery, whereas, the Mi MIX 2 comes with a 3400 mAh battery. A 1000 mAh smaller.
That said, the battery life on the Mi MIX 2 is pretty good. On moderate to heavy usage, it easily got us through the day. On normal usage, it lasted us for more than a day and a half with a screen-on-time of around 4.5 hours. The table below should give you some idea of the Mi MIX 2’s battery performance.
[table id=118 responsive=flip/]
Based on the above usage, we got a screen-on time of above 5 hours on an average. However, we would like to say that we were connected to Wi-Fi network most of the time and only switched to Mobile Data for around an hour. If you are someone who is constantly connected to the Mobile Data, you might get lesser backup out of the battery. Also, it’s needless to say that different people have different usage patterns, hence, the battery backup you get out of your Mi MIX 2 may differ from ours.
Well, irrespective of how much backup you get out of the battery, juicing it up doesn’t take much time. The Mi MIX 2 comes with a 9V/2A charging adapter and supports Quick Charge 3.0. In our test, the battery went from 6 to 100% in around 1 hour 40 minutes, and, from 2 to 100 % in around 1 hour 45 minutes. In short, it takes a little under two hours to fully charge the battery with the adapter that came along.
When the phone’s being charged, you are also provided different information on the lockscreen like real-time current, voltage and battery temperature. You can also see information like when was the phone last charged, how much did the battery drain and also the amount of time it remained on battery power from last charge. Certainly useful for battery geeks.
Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Pricing, Variants and Availability
The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 comes in four different variants:
- 6 GB RAM + 64 GB internal storage
- 6 GB RAM + 128 GB internal storage
- 6 GB RAM + 256 GB internal storage
- 8 GB RAM + 128 GB internal storage (Special Edition)
Out of all the four variants mentioned above, Xiaomi has only launched the 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage variant in India which is priced at ₹35,999. Almost similar to the China price.
The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 is sold online through Flipkart as well as Mi.com. The next sale is on October 31 at 12 pm. Moreover, it will also be sold through offline stores across the country like Mi Home stores, Mi Preferred Partner stores and large format retail partners from the first week of November.
Final thoughts
The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 carries on the legacy of its predecessor. It has a tall screen, minuscule bezels at three sides and has a ceramic back that makes the phone look more premium. Of course, the Mi MIX 2 comes with a smaller screen as compared to the Mi MIX, but, that makes it more compact and operable with one hand.
The phone’s built well and feels sturdy. While the ceramic back does look premium, it’s also a fingerprint magnet and smudges easily. However, it’s also scratch resistant so you don’t have to worry much about the back of the phone getting scratched while being kept along with the keys in your pocket.
That said, the back of the phone is also a bit slippery, and, can get cracked if dropped on floor. However, Xiaomi has bundled along a nice quality hard case which not only adds a layer of protection to the device, but, also makes it easier to grip.
The Mi MIX 2 comes with a 5.99-inch FHD+ LCD display that has an aspect ratio of 18:9 which makes it possible for Xiaomi to keep the overall footprint of the device smaller when compared to other 6-inch phones that have an aspect ratio of 16:9.
The screen itself is very good and has a very good sunlight visibility. Of course, we would have loved to see an AMOLED panel or the resolution bumped up to QHD+. But, thanks to the current screen resolution, you can get more out of the phone’s 3400 mAh battery than you would from a QHD+ resolution screen.
Speaking of the battery, the backup was decent and we got a screen-on-time of more than five hours on an average on moderate to heavy usage. There’s also support for Quick Charge 3.0 which helps you fully charge the battery just under two hours.
While some other phones in this price range come with dual cameras at the back, the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 sports a single 12 MP camera. Well, the camera does take some nice shots, however, you can notice some noise creeping in under low-light conditions. To deal with that, you can take photos with the HDR mode turned on, but, it captures photos slowly which means if you don’t have a steady hand, you will end up with a blurred photo.
For selfies, you get a 5 MP camera on the front which sits below the display at the right side of the chin. The camera comes with a black coating around which helps it blend in more easily with the bottom bezel. However, the placement of the camera itself is very awkward and you will end up with your chin in focus. As a workaround, you can rotate the phone which helps you take normal looking photos, but, this method doesn’t work with other apps like Instagram. The quality of the photos taken with front camera was decent enough in daylight, however, we would have liked to see a more wider lens so that we could accommodate more people in the selfie.
The Mi MIX 2 is powered by Snapdragon 835 SoC that’s laced with 6 GB RAM. The Mi MIX 2 absolutely blazed through everyday tasks. It handled everything we threw at it without breaking sweat. There were no slow downs or stutters, be it switching between apps, navigating through the UI or playing heavy games. Performance was really not an issue on the Mi MIX 2.
However, the Mi MIX 2 runs MIUI Global ROM 8.5 based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat, and, we believe that it needs a bit more polishing. But, with the MIUI 9 expected to roll out soon, we hope that current software glitches will be ironed out with the upcoming update.
The Mi MIX 2 also doesn’t come with a 3.5 mm headphone jack, but, Xiaomi’s been kind enough to include a Type-C to 3.5 mm headphone jack adapter with the package.
So, should you buy the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2?
The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 is an elegant and an exotic device. It looks so beautiful and gorgeous. Add to that the ceramic back with “MIX DESIGNED BY XIAOMI” laser etched, and the device looks more premium.
The phone isn’t only a looker, but a performer as well. Snapdragon 835 coupled with 6 GB RAM means it will blaze through almost everything you throw at it. The camera isn’t bad at all, however, it does need some improvements, and we hope that Xiaomi will roll out some updates soon to make it perform better.
The phone also comes with support for 6 network modes and 43 network bands which means it will work in almost all the countries. This is good if the Mi MIX 2 is unavailable in your country and you are importing it from China or India.
If you want a smartphone that looks so beautiful, performs well and can ignore things like the awkward placement of the front camera and the lack of 3.5 mm headphone jack, you can go ahead and buy it. However, if you can let go off the design, the following options are worth considering.
Other options:
Pros
- Beautiful, premium design
- Sturdy build
- Blazing fast performance
- Nice display
- Battery life
- Wider support for network bands
- Fast and accurate fingerprint scanner
Cons
- Camera needs improvement
- Software needs a bit more polishing
- No 3.5 mm headphone jack
- Awkward placement of front camera
