Xiaomi Mi 6 is similar to Mi 5 in many aspects, especially in design. However, the new flagship smartphone feels more polished and premium due to curved glass on all four sides. It also has a stainless steel frame. The fingerprint sensor in Xiaomi Mi 6 is present under the front glass which gives the phone a unique identity. Apart from Xiaomi, companies like Samsung have also done similar experiments with fingerprint sensors.
At the launch event, the company claimed that the Xiaomi Mi 6 is less prone to damage or breakage due to the stainless steel cover. Apart from this, Mi 6 is also not vulnerable to water splashes. The SIM tray is sealed to protect it from water damage. We hope to get more information about its durability once the phone is made available.
(Read: 6 key features of the Xiaomi Mi 6 flagship smartphone)
Xiaomi has also talked a lot about the curved glass design of this phone. In our opinion, the device feels premium. However, you will need to clean it frequently as it easily gets fingerprints.
At 7.5mm thick, the Xiaomi Mi 6 is only slightly thicker than its predecessor. At 168g, it weighs a little more than the Xiaomi Mi 5. It is easy to use with one hand, although we found the glass finish to be a bit slippery. The Xiaomi Mi 6 is available in black, white and blue colours, and we got the black variant to use.
The ceramic version is heavier than the regular variant, but it looks more premium. The ceramic version has an 18-carat gold-plated camera rim. Apart from the design, there is no difference between the regular Xiaomi Mi 6 and the ceramic version.
(Read: Xiaomi Mi 6 vs Samsung Galaxy S8 vs OnePlus 3T)
The smartphone sports a 5.15-inch full-HD (1080×1920 pixels) display. It is bright and crisp. Viewing angles are also good. However, this could also prove to be the biggest drawback of the phone. Especially in comparison to the Samsung Galaxy S8 and LG G6 which come with bigger displays with higher resolution. But it should also be kept in mind that the price of Xiaomi Mi 6 is almost half that of these handsets.
The Xiaomi Mi 6 is the company’s first smartphone to not have a 3.5mm audio socket. Users can expect a USB Type-C to 3.5mm adapter in the retail box. The power and volume buttons are on the right side, and the SIM tray is on the left.
The most important feature of Xiaomi Mi 6 is its two 12 megapixel rear cameras. The same setup has been used in iPhone 7 Plus as well. One camera has a wide angle lens and the other has a telephoto lens. The rear camera has phase detection autofocus and four axis anti shake technology. Xiaomi Mi 6 has an 8 megapixel front camera which is equipped with 1080 pixel video recording capability.
In the limited time we spent with the phone, we found that the Xiaomi Mi 6 focuses quickly. Dual mode is not the default mode, meaning only one rear camera works when the camera app is activated. But the dual camera setup can be activated with a single tap. By selecting dual mode, the phone can take pictures by blurring the background. However, the app repeatedly says that the main subject should not be more than 2 meters away from the camera. In the limited time we spent with the phone, we found that the pictures taken in portrait mode were good. The subjects were clean and the background was blurred. The sample shots were excellent in terms of color and detail. The performance of the Mi 6 camera was good even in low light. The front camera was also decent. We were able to take beautiful selfies even in low light. The camera app has a beautify feature which makes selfies better. We will write about the camera performance in detail only after reviewing this handset.
Xiaomi Mi 6 will run on MIUI 8 based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat. The interface is cleaner than before. Split screen multitasking feature has also been given a place in the interface. Mi 6 comes with a smart assistant feature which can be customized.
Keeping in mind the tag of a flagship smartphone, the company has used the latest octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor in this handset. The maximum clock speed is 2.4 GHz. It is accompanied by 6 GB RAM. After Samsung Galaxy S8, this is the second smartphone to come with Snapdragon 835 processor. The phone responded quickly to touch input. After this, in the limited time spent, we found that it responds quickly.
Xiaomi Mi 6 has been launched in 64 GB and 128 GB storage. And there is no support for microSD card. The dual SIM smartphone supports VoLTE and both SIMs will be equipped with LTE. Xiaomi Mi 6 handset is the second smartphone after Galaxy S8 to come with Bluetooth 5.0. It would be appropriate to write in detail about the performance of Xiaomi Mi 6 only after the review.
Our thoughts
Xiaomi has not yet announced any plans to launch the Mi 6 in India. However, a company representative told Gadgets 360 that the reports of the handset not being launched in India are purely rumours. We expect the Xiaomi Mi 6 price in India to be around the Chinese price as well. This will be a direct rival for the OnePlus 3T here.
If Xiaomi Mi 6 is launched in India soon, then it will be the first smartphone to come with Snapdragon 835 processor in India. However, right now there is no other option than waiting.
In the Chinese market, the price of the 6 GB RAM and 64 GB storage variant of Xiaomi Mi 6 is 2,499 Chinese Yuan (about Rs 23,500). At the same time, the variant with 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage will be available for 2,899 Chinese Yuan (about Rs 27,000). Apart from these two variants, Xiaomi also introduced a third version which will be known as Mi 6 Ceramic. Xiaomi Mi 6 Ceramic has a curved ceramic body. Its price is 2,999 Chinese Yuan (about Rs 28,000). It comes with 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage.
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