Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 Hands-On: Xiaomi’ Second Attempt at Indian Flagship Market Could be a Successful One

Even though packing a 5.99-inch massive display, the Mix 2 has a footprint of a 5.5-inch smartphone because it has the Full-Screen display up front with thin bezels on the top and either side. A small chin is present, which houses the front-facing camera. The volume rockers and power button are present at the right side and are easily reachable with single hand.

The use of Ceramic at the back means that the device will be prone to smudges and fingerprints. The back is glossy and the smudges are even more visible. Thankfully, Xiaomi is bundling a plastic case in the retail box itself. Also, the glass back makes the device slippery.

Being a flagship phone, the Mix 2 offers top-notch hardware in the form of 2.45GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, Adreno 540 GPU. So, expect snappy performance from the device. Unfortunately, the device will not run MIUI 9 out of the box, instead, it has MIUI 8 based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat on top of September 2017 security patches.

The bold decision made by Xiaomi with the Mi Mix 2 is removing the 3.5mm headphone jack. That’s a bummer for many out there, but Xiaomi also revealed a solution for that by launching the Mi Noise Cancelling USB Type-C headphones in the country for Rs. 2,999. So, a slight relief for some, but still, many would be in the same mood of disappointment.

Camera performance is something Mi Mix 2’s future will depend on- it offers great display, gorgeous design, top-notch hardware, but what about the camera? Well, Xiaomi has also addressed this issue, but you won’t find dual camera setup here though. The Mix 2 comes with a 12MP rear camera with the same sensor used as the Xiaomi Mi 6. I did not test the camera of the phone, but as per Xiaomi’ stock photos shown at the launch event, the phones looked great. As said earlier, the front-facing camera is placed on the chin, quite awkwardly, but again a solution is given by Xiaomi- rotate the device 180-degree wise and use the selfie camera.

Concluding, the Mi Mix 2 is a great product from Xiaomi’s house. But over the last two years, Xiaomi has become a budget-friendly company. It would be interesting to see how Indian consumers will receive the Mi Mix 2.

And lastly, I was little disappointed after Jai Mani (Xiaomi India Lead Product Manager) revealing the price as Rs. 35,999, because I went to the launch event of the device imagining that Xiaomi will launch the cheapest Snapdragon 835 smartphone, possibly at Rs. 29,999. But turns out be the price is slightly on the higher side at Rs. 35,999, but still, the Mi Mix 2 is completely worth the price tag according to me.