Xiaomi’s Mi 6 could be a major game changer in the country with its beastly specifications tantamount to those of the OnePlus 5 and the Honor 8 Pro, currently ruling the mid-range smartphone market in 2017. Add to this Xiaomi’s aggressive pricing strategy that we’re all already well aware of, and we could have a possible premium flagship winner here.
Going by the specifications of the Xiaomi Mi 6 on paper and its cost balancing around the price range of Rs. 25,000, it has the potential to disrupt the hype created by OnePlus 5 and Honor 8 Pro among buyers. And here’s why. Xiaomi has gone for a slightly compact 5.15-inch display despite the current industry standard being the 5.5-inch display that is common in mid-range smartphones - because who doesn’t love a phone that fits easily in your pocket.
Furthermore, not opting to go for a Quad-HD display gives it bonus points as it saves more battery and also offers a great viewing experience, both indoors and outdoors. The Mi 6 then has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Soc under the hood, which is rated quite highly and is also present in the OnePlus 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S8.
Looks-wise, the Xiaomi Mi 6 boasts a design combination of glass and stainless steel and is available in a slew of colour options for you to pick from. Just like the bezel-less Mi Mix, the Xiaomi Mi 6 also comes in a limited-edition ceramic version, which is supposedly much stronger than the regular Mi 6 models. We know for sure that the Mi 6 is ‘splash-resistant’ but cannot confirm if the phone will come with a protective covering.
The Xiaomi Mi 6 is a tad heavier than its contenders, but it is sturdier and more premium-looking than the Honor 8 Pro and OnePlus 5. As we generally see in Xiaomi phones, the biometric sensor sits to the front of the device. But make no mistake, the new Mi 6 is all set to make a statement with its ‘under-glass’ fingerprint scanner, and the Xiaomi fans cannot wait to witness this in reality.
For those who are wondering what this ‘under-glass’ exactly is, it is a fingerprint sensor integrated directly beneath the display screen instead of a dedicated area for this purpose. In the Mi 6, we see a missing home button replaced by the display screen itself, with the under-glass fingerprint sensor along with the ‘back’ and ‘app-switching’ capacitive keys.
When it comes to the software, the Mi 6 runs on the latest Android Nougat 7.1.1 out of the box with Xiaomi’s own MIUI 8.2 skin on top. If you are not much of a stock-Android fan, the MIUI 8.2 comes with all the trappings you want from a fully functional operating system including features such as themes, second space, scrollable screenshots, and dual apps.
As for the hardware, the processor is paired with an Adreno 540 GPU and 6GB of RAM. The Mi 6 is expected to be available in 64GB and 128GB storage variants. As for the camera, the Xiaomi Mi 6 also has a dual-camera setup like the Oneplus 5 and Honor 8 Pro. The Mi 6 packs a combination of two 12MP cameras on the rear, with one wide-angle lens and the other being a telephoto lens.
The cameras come with added features like the 2X optic zoom, 10X digital zoom, Bokeh effect, and 4-axis OIS. Sitting on the front is an 8MP camera for selfies. The device is powered by a 3,350mAh battery equipped with fast-charging support.
Xiaomi had already made its intentions clear that it would not be launching the Mi 6 in India. However, if at all the launch indeed happens, hopefully, sometime this month, it will prove to be a tough contender to smartphones like the OnePlus 5 and the Honor 8 Pro.
