Like many other Chinese smartphones, most of us pretty much know what will be offered with the Xiaomi Mi 6, given the countless leaks we’ve encountered over the past couple of months. Nevertheless, Xiaomi has finally launched its first 2017 flagship handset in Beijing. China and it looks like the Mi 6 will be further heating up the intense competition between current flagships out there.
Xiaomi has retained the same material from the Mi 5, bringing the glass design forward to the Mi 6 and further enhancing upon it. The Mi 6 flaunts what Xiaomi calls a four-sided 3D curved glass design, allowing it to have more curvature, resulting in more rounded corners. The phone is also enclosed in a glossy looking stainless steel frame. To top that off, the Mi 6 is now splash resistant. Note that it is splash resistant and not water resistant, but still a welcome feature nonetheless.
On the front of the device, you’ll be greeted by a 5.15-inch LCD display. The display’s brightness can go up to an impressive 600 nits, but the Mi 6 also has an ultra dark night display feature, toning down the display brightness to a mere 1 nit. Xiaomi also claims the display to have reduced harmful blue rays, while maintaining the true color of images shown on the display.
Underneath the hood is wear you’ll see the Mi 6 shine like the rest of its competition, with a possible slight edge. The high end Snapdragon 835 chipset finally makes its debut in China with the Xiaomi Mi 6, sporting a tiny 10nm processor. The same chip is only seen in the Sony Xperia XZ Premium and the Samsung Galaxy S8 so far. What makes the Mi 6 special is the equipped 6GB of onboard RAM. It might still sound like an overkill, but more RAM means that the Mi 6 will be capable of having more apps running in the background without refreshes. The Mi 6 has two storage variants – 64GB and 128GB without room for expandable storage.
Another stand out feature of the Mi 6 lies in its camera department. Xiaomi has unsurprisingly hopped onto the dual camera bandwagon, bringing the trending feature to its latest flagship. The dual rear camera setup of the Mi 6 consists of a 12MP wide angle lens with 4-axis OIS and a 12MP telephoto lens. This camera setup allows for 2X lossless optical zoom, plus a portrait mode with great depth of field. The camera software of the Mi 6 comes with Xiaomi’s own Beautify 3.0, allowing for smart beautifying features and natural color correction.
Other notable features of the Xiaomi Mi 6 include the dual stereo speakers, enhancing media consumption with a more immersive experience. The phone packs a decently large 3,350mAh battery, but Xiaomi only claims the Mi 6 to last up to a modest one day. The Mi 6 is also fitted with 2.2 dual WiFi technology, which is claimed to have better and wider connectivity. The front facing fingerprint sensor is also said to be embedded beneath the glass on the front panel of the device.
The Xiaomi Mi 6 seems to have top of the line specs and features for the most part, and is certainly expected to make some waves when it releases. The phone is priced at CNY 2,499 (RM1,598.19) for the 64GB storage variant and CNY 2,899 (RM1,854.00) for the 128GB storage variant. It will be offered in both Blue and Silver color options. As far as its price goes, the Xiaomi Mi 6 sounds like a must get device, considering that most 2017 flagship devices are at least double the Mi 6’s price tag. What do you think of the Mi 6 so far?