Yep, that’s Xiaomi (pronounced shh-OW-mee) a tech company that isn’t so popular in the West but has since reached absurd levels of popularity in mainland China. In fact, in 2014 Xiaomi was crowned third largest smartphone maker in the world, only slightly trailing behind Samsung and Apple. Why haven’t you heard of them, then? Well, that’ll be because the firm’s smartphones aren’t so easy to track down overseas.
Basic Information
✔️ Brand: Xiaomi
✔️ Type: 4G Smartphone
✔️ OS: MIUI 8
✔️ Service Provider: Unlocked
✔️ Language: Indonesian, Malay, German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Hungarian, Uzbek, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovenian, Slovak, Vietnamese, Turkish, Czech, Russian, Ukrainian, Greek, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Assamese, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Nepali, Odia, Arabic, Thai, Burmese, Persian, Hebrew, Korean, Simplified/Traditional Chinese.
✔️ SIM Card Type: Nano SIM Card.
Network
- Wireless Connectivity: 3G,4G,A-GPS,Bluetooth,GPS,GSM,LTE,WiFi
- Network type: GSM+CDMA+WCDMA+TD-SCDMA+FDD-LTE+TD-LTE
- 2G: GSM B2/B3/B5/B8
- CDMA: CDMA 1X/EVDO BC0
- 3G: WCDMA B1/B2/B5/B8
- TD-SCDMA: TD-SCDMA B34/B39
- 4G: FDD-LTE B1/B3/B5/B7/B8
- TDD/TD-LTE: TD-LTE B38/B39/B40/41
Camera
- Camera type: Triple cameras
- Back-camera: 12.0MP + 12.0MP with PDAF, f/1.8 and f/2.6 aperture
- Front camera: 8.0MP
- Video recording: Yes
- Touch Focus: Yes
- Auto Focus: Yes
- Flashlight: Yes
- Camera Functions: Face Beauty,Face Detection,Panorama Shot
Hardware
- CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
- Cores: 2.45GHz,Octa Core
- RAM: 6GB
- ROM: 64GB
- External Memory: Not Supported
Display
- Screen type: Capacitive
- Screen size: 5.15 inch
- Screen resolution: 1920 x 1080 (FHD)
- Pixels Per Inch (PPI): 428PPI
Media Formats
- Picture format: BMP,GIF,JPEG,PNG
- Music format: AAC,MP3
- Video format: 3GP,4K,MP4
- Games: Android APK
Battery
- Battery Capacity (mAh): 3350mAh(typ) / 3250mAh(min) Quick Charge 3.0
- Battery Type: Non-removable
Other Features
- I/O Interface: 2 x Nano SIM Slot,Micophone,Speaker,Type-C
- Sensor: Accelerometer,Ambient Light Sensor,E-Compass,Gravity Sensor,Gyroscope,Hall Sensor,Proximity Sensor
- Additional Features: 3G,4G,Bluetooth,Browser,Calculator,Calendar,MP3,MP4,NFC,People,Wi-Fi
Dimensions and Weight
- Product size: 14.51 x 7.04 x 0.75 cm / 5.71 x 2.77 x 0.3 inches
- Package size: 18.00 x 23.50 x 5.00 cm / 7.09 x 9.25 x 1.97 inches
- Product weight: 0.1710 kg
- Package weight: 0.4270 kg
Package Contents
- Cell Phone: 1
- Power Adapter: 1
- USB Cable: 1
- Back Case : 1
- SIM Adapter: 1
- Other: 1 x Type-C to 3.5mm Audio Cable
Xiaomi Mi 6 Smartphone Review
The Xiaomi Mi 6 runs Android and is powered by a 3350mAh non removable battery. As far as the cameras are concerned, the Xiaomi Mi 6 packs a 12-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 8-megapixel front shooter for selfies.The Xiaomi Mi 6 is powered by 2.45GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and it comes with 6GB of RAM. The phone packs 64GB of internal storage cannot be expanded.
Pros
Significantly cheaper than other flagships
Speedy performer
Fantastic camera
Cons
Lacks 3.5mm headphone jack. With OnePlus cornering the budget smartphone space but raising the price of its Pixel-beating OnePlus 5, there’s another Chinese firm keeping its costs down. Chances are you’ve never heard of them, but they’ve just recently launched a flagship-killing handset that’s worthy of your attention: this is Xiaomi’s Mi 6.
What you need to know
Like the OnePlus 5, the Xiaomi Mi 6 is a flagship smartphone at a much, much lower price of £340. It squeezes in the latest, greatest Snapdragon 835 processor, 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage into a curvaceous glass-backed chassis, with a dual-lens camera thrown in for good measure.
The only thing lacking compared with phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S8 is screen resolution and size: it “only” has a 5.15in Full HD display. Otherwise, this is every bit the flagship smartphone.
Price and competition
The sticky wicket is tracking one down outside Asia. Xiaomi is a Chinese firm and they don’t seem all that interested in launching their smartphones overseas; the Mi 6 is no exception. You’ll have to rely on grey import sellers for this one, but the £340 price is so reasonable it may be worth tracking one down.
It does face stiff competition, though, and the strongest challenger is the excellent £449 OnePlus 5. There’s also Samsung’s Galaxy A5 mid-ranger to contend with at £293, and the new Honor 9 at £370.
Design
At half the Galaxy S8’s launch price you’d think Xiaomi would have cut a few corners when it comes to design. More often than not, you’re paying for quality, but the Mi 6, just like the OnePlus 5, is an exception to that rule.
It doesn’t reinvent the wheel. The Mi 6 is a polished black rectangle, with a smooth curved glass back and rounded corners but it looks just as good as Apple’s iPhone 7. It’s much nicer to hold than the Sony Xperia XZ Premium and the Mi 6’s compact 7.5mm slimness is perfect for the pocket.
The only irritation is that Xiaomi has ditched the 3.5mm headphone jack. It’s a bizarre move; Apple can afford to defy convention a little but Xiaomi? At least there’s a USB-Type C adapter supplied in the box.
Display
Xiaomi hasn’t followed the super-wide aspect, high-resolution display route like Samsung or LG. Instead, you get a 5.15in 1,920 x 1,080 screen. Now, this might seem a little uninspiring on paper but look past the numbers and you’ll spot one of the best-looking displays on a handset so cheap.
Performance and Battery life
Inside, the Xiaomi Mi6 latest mid-range handset comes incredibly well-equipped. The Mi 6 packs an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, the same chip used in HTC’s U11 and the Sony XZ Premium, at a fraction of the price. There’s also 6GB of RAM and a choice of 64GB or 128GB of storage but no microSD card support.
Unsurprisingly, it’s an incredible performer. A Geekbench 4 single-core score of 1,923 is on par with all of 2017’s flagships – including the Galaxy S8, and its multi-core result is just as admirable at 6,729.
Camera
The Xiaomi Mi6 has two cameras on the back. Rather than offering a secondary monochrome sensor as with the P10, or a wide-angle lens as with LG’s G6, Xiaomi has gone the same route as OnePlus and Apple, supplying a secondary, 2X telephoto zoom sensor which works in tandem with the main camera.
There’s a little variation between the two. The main sensor is equipped with optical image stabilisation and a wide f/1.8 aperture, while the secondary sensor doesn’t let quite as much light in, with a narrower f/2.6 aperture.
Low-light performance is just as impressive. While some shots did suffer from a little too much warmth and a smidge of unnatural processing, there was an abundance of detail – as you can see from the test shot below.
