This year has been a year of smartphones coming with bezel-less design across different price buckets. Before everyone drooled over the design of G6 and Galaxy S8 manufactured by tech giants like LG and Samsung respectively, design enthusiasts were awestruck with the Mi MIX that Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi launched last year. While Xiaomi did surprise everyone with the launch of Mi MIX, the smartphone never made out of China officially. However, all that changed this year as the company unveiled the Mi MIX 2 last month and then launched it in India last week. We have received the review unit of Mi MIX 2, and, here’s our first look at the device.
Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Specifications
- CPU: Up to 2.45 GHz Snapdragon 835 octa-core processor
- RAM: 6 GB LPDDR4X
- 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) display with 18:9 aspect ratio, Gorilla Glass, DCI-P3 color gamut and 403 ppi pixel density
- Rear Camera: 12 MP Sony IMX386 with 4-axis OIS, 1.25 micron sensor, f/1.8 aperture, PDAF and dual-tone LED flash
- Front Camera: 5 MP with 36 Smart Beauty Profiles
- Internal Storage: 128 GB UFS 2.1
- SIM: Dual Nano SIM
- Connectivity: 4G VoLTE, GPS, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, NFC, USB Type-C (no 3.5 mm headphone jack), supports 43 network bands
- Other: Fingerprint Scanner
- Colors: Black
- Battery: 3400 mAh with 9V/2A Quick Charge 3.0
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 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.
Like we already said, the frame of the Mi MIX 2 is made out of aluminium. 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 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.
The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 also comes with Snapdragon 835 SoC under the hood that’s paired with 6 GB of LPDDR4X RAM, which means on paper, the performance shouldn’t be much of an issue with this smartphone.
The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 will be available for purchase online on October 24 across Flipkart and Mi.com. We will be publishing our full review of the Mi MIX 2 soon. If you have any questions about this bezel-less beauty, drop them off in the comments down below.
