Review of the Xiaomi Mi6 smartphone - we don’t need such a flagship! Xiaomi Mi6 review – does the new Xiaomi flagship live up to expectations? Xiaomi mi 6 front camera
Xiaomi Mi6- Very cool smartphone. A top-end processor is installed inside, the body is all high-quality and shiny, and two updated cameras have been installed on the back. In general, expectations are going through the roof. In reality, everything turned out to be somewhat different. How so? I'll tell you in Xiaomi Mi6 review.
Buy in China (online) Get cashbackI ordered Xiaomi Mi6 from China here. I’ve been shopping at this store for a long time, so I can confidently recommend it to you. I'm talking about something else. The seller sent the parcel by Singapore Post, and taking into account the recent joint actions of some customs posts and the official representative of the manufacturer in Russia “Smart Orange”, even this option can be risky. Read how the shipment cleared customs.
Set
On the one hand, everything is as always: USB cable C and power supply (5 - 12 V / 1.5 - 3 A) with support fast charging Quick Charge 3.0. On the other hand, the box contains an adapter for a standard headphone plug, and there is also a bonus in the form of a simple silicone case.
It is of poor quality, but will be fine for the first month of use while higher quality accessories for the smartphone are shipped from China.
Otherwise there is nothing unusual inside. From the seller I got a film for the screen and an adapter for our sockets.
Design
In my opinion, the design of Xiaomi Mi6 is calm. Compared to the Mi5, the new product has clearly lost its face. Last year's flagship could be recognized by any corner of the body. And Mi6 is similar to all existing smartphones. Perhaps it's something from HTC, or maybe it's Samsung from the updated A line?
Yes, the body of the smartphone is very pleasant to the touch. The body is absolutely streamlined, glossy, Sun rays look great on its edges and all that. However, the Mi6 lacks charisma.
| Length | Width | Thickness | Weight | |
| Xiaomi Mi6 (5.15’’) | 145,17 | 70,49 | 7,45 | |
| Xiaomi Mi5s (5.15’’) | 145,6 | 70,3 | 8,25 | |
| iPhone 7 (4.7’’) | 138,3 | 67,1 | ||
| Huawei P10 (5.2’’) | 145,3 | 69,3 | 6,98 |
I say this because I tried everything latest smartphones companies, including Mi MIX. It’s hard to argue with the fact that Xiaomi can create interesting products, but the Mi-6 is a different story. There is no zest to it.
The assembly is gorgeous, everything fits together as tightly as possible. Except perhaps for the volume rocker. She dangles like a rattle.
Another nuance. Dust gets clogged between the body and the camera eyes. If you don't look closely, you won't see it. However, once you have seen it, it will be difficult to forget about it. Approximately the same situation was in.
An optical fingerprint scanner is located under the screen. Outwardly, it is exactly the same as in, but there we had an ultrasonic sensor and it worked disgustingly. Now everything is fine. The sensor always works correctly, a little slower than in , but still fast.
The scanner does not have any additional functionality. You can block the phone itself or individual applications. Thanks for that too.
The body itself is made of glass (front and back), and the metal frame (stainless steel) around the perimeter is polished to a glossy state. Both front and back have a luxurious oleophobic coating. It is really of very high quality - no questions asked.
However, this has one very big drawback - the smartphone is incredibly slippery.
Here are three scenarios, in each of which your Mi6 is guaranteed to meet the asphalt:
1. I tried to grab the smartphone with my hands, but they grew from the wrong place - a sad ending to the novel!
2. I put the smartphone on an uneven surface - the smartphone itself slid to the floor, and then whether it was lucky or not.
3. He put the device in his trouser pocket, got into the car and drove away. Later you discover that Mi6 chose to stay where your car was parked. On the asphalt.
Believe me, Mi6 is so slippery that it's not even funny. You really need to be careful with it, otherwise one of the scenarios will happen in the first month.
The most important question is where is the audio jack? What's up, Xiaomi?!
Rumor has it that the 3.5 mm port was cut out for the sake of moisture protection (it’s not here - the question is closed). And supposedly everything inside is packed so tightly that there was simply no room for a 3.5 mm plug. Maybe the engineers from “mi” just couldn’t handle it? Personally, I lean towards this option.
In general, it’s sad without a normal headphone jack. I don’t care, because I switched to it a long time ago (not an advertisement, I just like it), but what if I still need the port? And the adapter lies quietly at home, in a box.
Display
I'll say this. Xiaomi screen Mi6 there are not enough stars in the sky.
And yes, for a smartphone for 200-300 bucks it’s really nothing. But for the top in 2017 and for so much money, the manufacturer could have installed something more interesting. AMOLED, for example.
In general, we have a fairly high-quality, but still IPS-matrix. She is far from the display. And if you consider that in the summer we have a presentation of 1+5, then Mi6 will not be able to keep up with its even unannounced competitor.
The picture immediately becomes covered with a whitish fog as soon as you tilt the display at an acute angle. Not the most popular viewing angle, but still.
Fortunately, the brightness reserve did not let me down. In the sun, the sensor turns the backlight to maximum and everything is clearly visible.
There is also the opposite situation. In the dark, you can turn the backlight down to 1 nit (as the manufacturer assures), but in this case it will still be impossible to read the screen. From here we get practically useless functionality.
Characteristics of Xiaomi Mi6
Of course, we will compare both generations of flagships: 2016 versus 2017. Let's go!
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Does Xiaomi Mi6 support Android Pay? Yes and no. Firstly, the service came to us in Russia just the other day (they wrote about it), and our hero has NFC, and it’s full-fledged, even working to record any information to third-party tags. Nevertheless, Android app Pay refused to launch on the smartphone. It did not seem to him that Root access was obtained on the device or the bootloader was unlocked. I didn’t do either one or the other on it, so the service doesn’t work yet.
Here's some of the weird stuff. The Mi5 had optical stabilization and an IR port, but all this went under the knife. But in Mi6 we again meet things that are familiar to us. Um...
There will be no performance section today. All you need to know about a smartphone is that it is as cool as possible and not a single existing game can properly strain it. In the same “Tanks” the frequency firmly stood at 59 FPS and this was with top graphics settings.
I have never achieved the incredible result of 180 thousand virtual parrots in AnTuTu. The maximum is 165 thousand, and this result is slightly higher than what was shown on the QS 821 platform.
The Mi6 uses the latest type of memory - UFS 2.1, which means that the read speed reaches 750 MB/s and the write speed 250 MB/s. The test results confirm this.
Photo and video capabilities
For detailed camera specifications, see the table above. Now let’s talk about how the Xiaomi Mi6 actually shoots. What its cameras are capable of and whether they can be considered the best on the market or not.
Front-camera
The quality of the photos is good. Decent detail, always correct white balance. Taking a selfie on Mi6 and posting it somewhere on social media is a nice thing to do.
The only pity is that autofocus still doesn't appear.
Main cameras
If you are looking for something from the latest flagships and require the coolest photo quality anytime, anywhere, then forget about the Mi6.
Xiaomi never learned how to get the most out of sensors, and as a result, the level of photography remains stuck somewhere in 2015.
Don't believe me? Here's a simple comparison. On the left is a photo taken on (presented in the summer of 2015), and on the right is what I took of a Xiaomi Mi6.
On the old man’s side there is ringing sharpness, maximum detail, perfect white balance (shot on automatic). Pay special attention to blur. In the photo with it is truly creative, soft, as if shot with a SLR camera. On Mi 6, the entire background floated in an unknown direction.
Comparing the new product from Xiaomi with its modern competitors is pointless. It completely blows them away, so let’s continue comparing the cameras of our hero and the veteran OnePlus 2 (photo again on the left).
We make 100% crops and see that the Mi6 algorithms tightly suppress all detail.
All this could have been avoided if the smartphone could at least shoot in RAW. For example, like Xiaomi camera Mi6
The watermark, if anything, is removed.
Optical zoom
We saw exactly the same solution in the iPhone 7 Plus and. Now Xiaomi has caught up too.
In fact, this is not an optical zoom at all, because here we have completely different lenses: with a focal length of 27 mm (wide angle) and 52 mm - telephoto. It’s just that marketers (“thank you,” Apple) have once again changed the concepts so that the mass consumer does not have to go into the details of how technology actually works.
In any case, the feature is interesting and really useful. I pressed the zoom button and the smartphone switched to the second camera with a 52mm lens. There is no autofocus here, but the subject is twice as close without loss of quality. Well, how about without loss? The S5K3M3 module is still worse than the main Sony IMX386, so the picture level drops a little.
Video shooting
The picture when shooting 4K is quite decent. Again, it’s not top-end, but it still looks good even on a computer. If only the colors weren't so oversaturated, it would be really good.
But in terms of sound recording - nothing outstanding. Let's take the flagships from LG. The quality of their videos is not particularly developed, but the sound is exceptional. Moreover, the same G6 added the ability to record external audio in Hi-Fi quality. And this is what the 2017 flagship should be able to do! But Xiaomi doesn’t want to hear about this.
Just like the photo quality, Xiaomi also neglected Slo-Mo. Mi5 shot in 720p resolution and 120 fps. The detail is sad, the resolution is funny. Nothing has changed in Mi6.
The company sees design, a dual camera with portrait mode, the most powerful chip and design on the market as the keys to the success of Xiaomi Mi6. The flagship Mi5 was very popular and is still in demand, but the Mi5S was in much less demand. The new Mi6 is made, rather, in the image and likeness of the Mi5 and it has every chance to at least repeat the success of last year's hit. Shall we consider?
Technical characteristics of Xiaomi Mi6:
- Network: GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), WCDMA/HSPA (900/1800/1900/2100 MHz), FDD-LTE (1, 3, 5, 7, 8), TD-SCDMA, CDMA
- Platform (at time of announcement): Android 7.1.1 Nougat with MIUI 8
- Display: 5.15", 1920 x 1080 pixels, 428 ppi, 600 nits, contrast ratio 1500:1, Sunlight Display, IPS
- Camera: dual, 12 MP main (1.25 µm, f/1.8, 27 mm) + 12 MP portrait (1 µm, f/2.6, 52 mm), 2x optical zoom, 4-axis optical stabilization (main module), PDAF focus, dual LED flash, 4K video recording
- Front camera: 8 MP, f/2.2, Full HD video recording
- Processor: 8 cores, up to 2.45 GHz, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
- Graphics chip: Adreno 540, 710 MHz
- RAM: 6 GB LPDDR4X, 1866 MHz
- Internal memory: 64/128 GB UFS 2.1
- Memory card: no
- GPS and GLONASS
- Bluetooth 5.0 HID
- Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac), 2x2 MU-MIMO
- USB Type-C
- IR sensor
- Two nano-SIM slots
- Fingerprint scanner under glass
- Splash protection
- Battery: 3350 mAh, Quick Charge 3.0
- Dimensions: 145.17 x 70.49 x 7.45 mm
- Weight: 168 g (182 g with ceramic)
Video review and unboxing
Design and equipment
The equipment of the smartphone pleases and saddens at the same time. Causes positive emotions Silicone Case, and negative ones – an adapter from 3.5 mm to USB-C, which certainly indicates the absence of an audio jack in the phone. Mi6 became the first in the Xiaomi range without a traditional socket.
During the announcement, four color options were shown to the public: black, white, blue and ceramic (a special black option with ceramic instead of glass and gold accents). At first, only completely black was available for purchase, but now the situation is improving a little. If you want to criticize the company for the meager selection in the first weeks of sales, then don’t, otherwise you’ll scare them away. It’s better to say “thank you” that they rolled out something other than white, as was the case with Mi5.
I saw the blue and black Mi6 live. Both colors look cool. And if black attracts with its solidity, restraint and solidity, then blue with a shiny gold frame and changing shade at angles and lighting seems to challenge all classic colors - in almost any company it will be the most elegant and will definitely arouse interest. I can’t say that the blue Mi6 gets boring quickly. I’ve been using it every now and then for a couple of months and I’m always happy to return to it, it can definitely charge the owner with positive emotions. We’ll leave white for the ladies, and ceramics for rarity hunters and lovers of slippery sensations (read the Xiaomi Mi Mix review to find out the whole truth about the ceramic body).
The blue Mi6 is very similar to the blue Honor 8, but there is no way to confuse them - the location of the fingerprint scanners and the golden design of the frame Xiaomi flagship leave no room for doubt. Visually, the “six” is very good. A real beautiful flagship device. The tactile sensations are also completely fine, if you lower the bulging wells of the cameras and the slightly crooked 3D back - on one edge the glass slightly cuts your hand, if you run your finger against the grain, there is a gap at the top. The black version has normal horizontal alignment, but the vertical alignment is slightly off. Now the Mi6 technical process should already be debugged and the glass should be level, but the camera bezels could have been done differently. And for some reason the light strips under the antennas get dirty.
The design of the phone is strong - it is not afraid of compression, bending and torsion. But not practical due to the materials. I advise you to carry the device in a case (what luck - it comes with a free case), since the rear glass really likes to be scratched.
The left side houses a tray for two SIM cards; microSD is not supported here. On the right are the volume rocker and the power button. The IR transmitter is in the most obvious place for it - at the top. Small led indicator placed above the screen on the right. Below it are three touch keys, and the central one (Home) has a fingerprint scanner. The side ones can be swapped, and functions can also be assigned to them by long pressing. Interestingly, the fingerprint sensor occupies about 1/3 of the button area, and in case of unsuccessful grips with inaccurate placement of the finger on the pad, reading failures occur. If your finger hits accurately, the smartphone will quickly unlock.
The main multimedia speaker is hidden behind the right group of holes at the bottom end; the additional one also plays the role of a conversation speaker - it is above the screen. The difference in volume and quality between them is colossal, which is why the stereo effect is inexpressive (the ZTE Axon 7 or iPhone 7 Plus is much better). Well, for a model, let’s assume that with one normal speaker the Mi6 sounds great - I like it better than Samsung Galaxy S8+.
The IPS screen with a diagonal of 5.15” and Full HD resolution produces 600 nits of brightness and has a contrast ratio of 1500:1. Compared to Mi5 and Mi5s, if it has changed, it is hardly noticeable. The advantages are rich color rendition and high brightness. The downsides are the matrix grid, which is noticeable to the eye, and panel burnout under diagonal tilts (fortunately, it’s only noticeable when displaying dark shades). The oleophobic coating is good, the display glass does not scratch as much as the back, but it is still scratched. In the settings you can adjust the temperature and select the contrast.
Software
The phone is based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat and if you prefer a clean OS, then this is not the case. The eighth version of MIUI rules here, which, although it is one of best firmware, but still ideologically located on a different plane.
The main points that I like about the Xiaomi shell: the ability to easily change the wallpaper on the locker, lowering the curtain by swiping on the table, the weather icon as a widget and displaying the weather in the curtain, themes. You can flexibly customize the status bar, organize a second workspace, and clone applications (relevant for programs in which you cannot maintain two different accounts). Key settings sections:
The phone was constantly tested with global version firmware provided by Xiaomi. Available in it Google services, there is Play Market and there are no Chinese applications. Pre-installed programs:
As mentioned above, Mi6 does not have a 3.5 mm jack and owners wired headphones you will have to use an adapter. The sound produced by the Qualcomm Aqstic codec (WCD9341) will satisfy most users. Actually the difference between latest phones on Snapdragon 835 and smartphones with dedicated DAC and amplifier is not so large as to hunt for music phones. It’s better to take care of buying high-quality headphones, as they affect the sound the most. And due to the lack of an audio jack, I advise you to consider wireless options, of which there are now a lot.
Camera
Xiaomi began experimenting with dual modules with the Redmi line, where the second camera did not bring any particular benefit. For Mi6, the working scheme from Apple iPhone 7 Plus – two sensors of the same resolution (12 megapixels), but with different focal lengths. They made it possible to implement a portrait shooting mode with a beautiful bokeh effect and 2x optical zoom. The main camera supports optical stabilization, has 1.25 micron pixels and an f/1.8 aperture, while the additional one has 1 micron pixels and an f/2.6 aperture. Phase focus, dual two-color flash.
The camera app includes a variety of modes, including portrait and handheld. There are a lot of parameters and some of them are surprising. For example, photo quality. Is anyone going to consciously shoot low? Tip: before you shoot, turn off the Dual camera watermark function in modes (if you don’t turn it off, all your pictures will have a watermark dual camera Mi6).
no magnification and 2x optical zoom
without HDR and with HDR
Just taking a bunch of pictures on the Mi6 seemed boring to me, since the camera on the phone is quite sophisticated. So I decided to compare it with the LG G6 and Samsung Galaxy S8+. Detailed material about this is available in a separate article, but here I offer photographs and a brief conclusion.
LG G6 – Samsung Galaxy S8+ – Xiaomi Mi6:
LG G6 – Samsung Galaxy S8+ – Xiaomi Mi6
Alas, next to the Korean G6 and S8+, the Chinese flagship Mi6 performed rather poorly. In none of the presented plots did he show the best result, but at times he turned out to be the worst by a large margin. Whatever one may say, just integrating a cool module into your phone does not mean that the photos will necessarily be high-quality. At the same time, the Mi6 cannot be called a bad camera phone; it is simply no match for the generally accepted favorites. Many companies are trying to catch up with Apple and attach portrait mode to a single or dual module, but with the same focal length (like Huawei with an additional monochrome sensor), but the result is always the same and it is sad. For good portraits you need a telephoto lens, which the Mi6 has. Take a look at the comparison shots (separate comparison):
Xiaomi Mi6 and Apple iPhone 7 Plus
The iPhone 7 Plus was ahead in terms of exposure, color reproduction, and object tracing accuracy. Also to the product Apple is better allows you to shoot inanimate objects with beautiful bokeh. But Xiaomi Mi6 is a little better at dealing with noise in low light conditions, for which it gets a virtual like from me. The iPhone 7 Plus has better portraits than the Mi6, but the Mi6 has better portraits than the Huawei P10 (review).
without effects and with effects
The 8-megapixel front camera needs to be shot in wide format to fully utilize the sensor. By default, selfies are taken with the “smart” mode of medium level face correction. There is also Pro-beauty with adjustments for slimming and skin retouching. The effects can be turned off, but you should unload the camera from random access memory, how “beautiful” selfies will make a comeback. The sebyashki are good, by the way.
The video is recorded in a maximum resolution of 4K, and if you prefer the best quality, you will have to go into the parameters before each shooting and change Full HD to 4K. It's infuriating. The quality of recording stars from the sky is not enough. And while the video is pretty good, the sound is sad. Especially with a concert one (video examples).
Performance and tests
Close relations with Qualcomm allowed Xiaomi to be the first after Samsung to launch a smartphone with Snapdragon 835 into wide sales. This is an extremely successful hardware solution, including 8 cores with a frequency of up to 2.45 GHz and an Adreno 540 (710 MHz) graphics accelerator. The iron portrait of Mi6 is complemented by 6 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 64/128 GB of permanent memory. First, the numbers from the benchmarks:
If they don't tell you anything, then under this paragraph there will be a video demonstrating a bunch of demanding games. With the release of the Snapdragon 835, players no longer have to worry about throttling and frames per second in their favorite game. Xiaomi has never been a leader in optimizing Qualcomm's top chips, but Mi6 almost always has constant 30 or 60 fps (depending on what fps the toy is locked to) with maximum visual settings. At the same time, the processor does not heat up much and is very economical.
The smartphone has a 3350 mAh battery with support for Quick Charge 3.0 technology. Thanks to its small diagonal for a flagship (5.15”), optimal resolution (Full HD) and chip (Snapdragon 835), the phone demonstrates excellent battery life. According to our measurements, at maximum brightness, Mi6 played video continuously for almost 10.5 hours, and the discharge per hour of play with the panel brightness at a comfortable level was only 6%. Imagine what would happen if there were AMOLED? In everyday life, it is not difficult for him to last up to two days on one charge with a medium-intensive load, and he weakly sits down in standby mode.
conclusions
At buying Xiaomi Mi6 from China will cost you about 25 thousand rubles (we recommend GearBest.com), and officially in Russia they ask for 30 thousand rubles (although you can get a very good discount in the Mi-Shop brand store). And for this money you get top-end performance, excellent battery life, one of the most functional Android firmwares and an advanced camera with a good portrait mode. With such a ratio of advantages and price, it would be a real crime not to pay attention to the smartphone.
Xiaomi flagships, by at least in our market, these are not just smartphones - they are a banner, they are a symbol. They do not become sales leaders, but they are mentioned in the comments to any review, where they write something like “I’d rather buy three Xaomi Mi X for this money.”
But recently, a sad trend has emerged - the recently current trump card in the form of the Mi 5S for only $250 has become easily interrupted by words about last year’s hardware and slightly less offensive, but still unpleasant statements about the lack of moisture protection and stereo sound. Therefore, to say that the Internet community was waiting for the update is to say nothing. And now I have the trump card Mi6 in my hands - a weapon of victory over the damned, greedy capitalists, at least for the next six months.
Design
Mi6 is perhaps the second Xiaomi smartphone that I really liked, without any “for my money” reservations. The first, of course, is the ceramic MiMix.
Yes, the ancestors were okay, but each with their own nuances. Mi5 was spoiled by the edging around the flattened Home button and the soft aluminum ends, which quickly became covered with small scratches and burrs. The design of the back of the Mi5S should not be shown to pregnant women, but the front with an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor built under the glass was good.
In the Mi6, the Chinese did not invent anything and took the front part from last year’s design, and the back from the usual five, rounded the glass and ends, and used polished steel instead of aluminum.
The build quality is perfect, there is no trace of the Mi5’s flimsiness or cracks like in the iPhone 7. Videos have already appeared on the Internet with attempts to bend and scratch the six, and in them the new flagship from Xiaomi performed just fine, that is, at the level of A-brand flagships.
After 3 days of use, a deep groove appeared across the entire screen, but let someone who hasn’t scratched their iPhone on the air throw a stone at me. But there is no chance of bending, let me remind you that the 5S in capable hands turned into a donut.
Overall: in my opinion, this is one of the most beautiful flagship smartphones on the market... when it comes to black and white. The design of the blue version was outsourced to Chinese gypsies, so, of course, a lot of “gold” could not be avoided; the remainder was used for the top-end ceramic version - only some elements will be gold-plated there. Later there will be a silver mirror version a la Sony Xperia XZ Premium.
Ergonomics and elusive beauty
Replacing the body materials had a significant impact on the weight of the device - with a screen diagonal of 5.15 inches and dimensions comparable to the iPhone 7, the Mi6 weighs an impressive 168 grams in the regular version and 182 in the ceramic version, which is 30-35% more than the Mi5.
I probably would have put up with that weight and wouldn’t have mentioned it at all if the six hadn’t been so slippery. Thanks should be given to both the shape of the case and the olephobic coating, which is not only on the front, but also on the back. The complete thin silicone case can completely eliminate the problem, but it’s a pity that it feels like a bag from Auchan.
Otherwise, there are no questions about ease of use - everything is in its place, the dimensions are perfect for one-handed operation.
Scanner and IR
The experiment with the ultrasonic sensor in Mi5S obviously turned out to be unsuccessful, so in new version We returned to a regular optical scanner and did the right thing. Everything works just fine - the reading speed is almost at the level of the best smartphones from Huawei in this business, the number of errors even with wet fingers is minimal. Returned to Xiaomi Mi6 and the prodigal IR port, sawn out in Mi5S. I was glad to have it back when I couldn’t find the remote control for the air conditioner... in order to turn it on for heating in mid-May, of course.
Minijack and moisture protection
There is no minijack, but there is moisture protection. The second is most likely a consequence of the first - apparently, the Chinese were unable to make a waterproof smartphone with a hole in the 3.5mm diameter case; I simply don’t see any other reasons to remove the jack.
Xiaomi does not recommend immersing your smartphone in water, and you probably shouldn’t, because I’ve already done it for you. After two minutes of washing in running water, all the Mi6’s buttons failed and they were restored to functionality only after thorough drying with a hairdryer.
The kit includes a usb-c to mini-jack adapter, but not a headset, which looks like a redneck considering the fact that Xiaomi produces quite good in-ear headphones. I could also release a special version with a USB-C connector for my flagship.
Was it worth sacrificing a jack for waterproofing that doesn't even have an IP rating and, in theory, only protects against splashes? I think not. Xiaomi buyers are used to saving money, but in this case the company pushes you to additional expenses associated with the purchase of a Bluetooth headset or dooms you to search for headphones with a USB-C connector, and again, to additional expenses. On the other hand, perhaps this is good news for the market, and soon we will see affordable and high-quality Airpistons from Xiaomi.
Although, wait, you can suffer for free with an adapter... Xiaomi... suffering... everything came together.
Screen and stereo sound
Xiaomi Mi6 good screen, which did not cause me the slightest discomfort when switching from the iPhone 7 Plus.
In terms of characteristics, everything seems to be the same as the two generations before it: IPS, 5.15 inches, Full HD, but there are improvements, and they are noticeable right away - the colors have become richer, almost AMOLED. The brightness is automatically adjusted in as many as 4096 steps in the range from 1 to 600 nits, undoubtedly important information for you.
The Chinese were the first to try stereo speakers and were able to make two speakers, but the quality and volume are mediocre. The main speaker was equipped with a conversational speaker to help, but despite this, Xiaomi Mi6 wants to ask to clear its throat and try again.
The sound has definitely increased in volume, If you cover one speaker with your hand while playing or watching videos, you will still hear something, but it didn’t work out with the frequencies - one middle, few highs, lows are locked at maximum volume, which in turn is quite average. Xiaomi Mi 6 loses even in comparison with the iPhone 7 Plus, and it is far from the standard.
POWER! AAAAAAH!!1
All you need to know about the hardware of the new Chinese flagship is that it is the first smartphone with Snapdragon 835, which means that parrot lovers in Antutu can already run to branded stores and leave pre-orders.
Although you don’t have to run, firstly, wait until they sort out the delivery from China, and secondly, on current version firmware 8.2.0.2 on Android 7.1.1, although my copy of Xiaomi Mi6 gives 183,000 in Antuta, there is no feeling that the smartphone is flying.
There are stutters, applications crash, freeze or take longer to launch than expected, and this is despite the fact that there is 6 GB of RAM. There are no problems with games, but with full HD resolution there are no problems with them on the snapdragon 821. Under load, the Xiaomi Mi6 practically does not heat up and does not throttle - after the fifth run in Antuta it is only 15,000 less, and the temperature does not exceed 38 degrees. Thanks to the ten-nanometer process technology. Another obvious advantage of the new platform is support for Bluetooth 5.0, although you won’t be able to connect two stereo headsets, like with the Galaxy S8.
PowerAAAAAA!! Xiaomi Mi6 undoubtedly has it, but I still don’t have an understanding of where it can be used, even in Antuta it’s only ten more than in OnePlus 3T. Apparently, it’s worth waiting, and the firmware will soon be released, on which everything will work as it should. It’s a pity that no firmware will add support for memory cards - the amount of built-in memory is fixed: 64 or 128 GB, and 256 GB is not allowed even for the ceramic version.
No need for a power bank
During the time I spent with Xiaomi Mi6, I forgot what recharging during the day was. If the iPhone 7 Plus usually lasted me until seven in the evening at best, then the Chinese one can easily survive until late at night with a total of 6-7 hours of screen activity and a balance of 10-15%. Thanks to the new platform, thanks to the Full HD screen, thanks to the 3350mAh battery and thanks to Xiaomi for not ruining it all with firmware. We are waiting for the firmware. From fast charging standard Qiuck Charge from 0 to 100, the smartphone dials up in a little more than an hour.
Twice as many arguments
This is not the first time that Xiaomi has installed two cameras in its smartphones, but if last time the concept with a separate black-and-white module was spied on by Huawei, now it is hiccupped by engineers from Cupertino.
At first glance, the main module is similar to the Mi5S - 12 megapixels, four-axis stabilization, 27mm, except that the aperture is now higher - f/1.8. But if you dig deeper, it turns out that the sensor here is Sony IMX386, which in the Sony line belongs to the middle class, while its predecessor had the top-end and larger IMX378. The second module has 52mm, f/2.6 optics, but without stabilization; it is a small sensor from Samsung. I was quite satisfied with the quality of the main camera, it is clearly no worse than the iPhone’s, and with a detailed comparison, it will most likely turn out to be even better, but overall the level of pictures is the same - high, but still lower than that of the Galaxy S8.
Xiaomi has recently been actively working on software improvements to the photo parts of its flagships, so the quality will most likely improve even more, as happened with the Mi5S. TV, to make you cry...in fact, it is again, plus or minus, at the level of an iPhone, except that around the branches against the sky there is much more chromatic aberration, they can be removed by software, which the Chinese will most likely do in the new firmware.
This is how Xiaomi Mi 6 shoots.
And these are examples of shooting on an Apple iPhone 7 Plus under the same conditions.
When my friends ask me to recommend “a cool phone, but inexpensive, and not a shovel,” I usually come to a dead end. After all, flagships smaller than 5.5" are a rare phenomenon (if you don’t take into account the Compact line from Sony, but this is still not an entirely uncompromising solution). And now, finally, Xiaomi has made a smartphone that I will confidently recommend in response to such a request. Let's watch the video!
Chinese Apple has become famous for packing its smartphones with the latest technologies for a low price. Mi6 was no exception; the hardware of the device is truly flagship.
Display | 5.15", 1920x1080, IPS, 428 ppi |
CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, 8 cores (4x 2.45 GHz + 4x 1.9 GHz) |
Graphic arts | |
RAM | |
Persistent memory | 64 GB/128 GB |
Connection | 4G LTE, Wi-Fi (802.11ac, 2×2 MU-MIMO), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, GLONASS and Beidou, NFC |
Cameras | Main: two 12 MP cameras, with autofocus, video shooting 3840x2160 Front: 8 MP |
Sensors | Fingerprint scanner, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, compass, barometer |
Navigation | |
Android 7.1.1 Nougat + MIUI 8.0 |
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Battery | |
Dimensions | 145.2x70.5x7.5 mm |
Weight | |
Price in China |
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On the plus side, we didn’t follow fashion and didn’t plug in a 4K or 2K screen; FullHD is enough for all applications except VR helmets. The processor is the most powerful at the moment, memory is 6 GB. However, there is no support for a microSD slot or a headphone jack. This is important for some, but not so much for me (I listen to music on Bluetooth and 64 GB is enough for me.
It is also worth clarifying that Xiaomi Mi6 does not support 20 band LTE, that is, if you use, for example, Beeline or Tele2 in the Moscow region, then the 4th generation network will not be very good for you.
Appearance and ergonomics
It’s hard for me to be surprised by smartphones, but one look at the Xiaomi Mi6 fills me with delight. And this despite the fact that I don’t have the best-looking black “classic” version. I think blue and white look much more flattering.
Most of all, the device reminded me of the old iPhone 3GS, however, instead of plastic there is glass all around. The display is covered with 2.5D glass with a spectacular curve. The oleophobic coating is excellent, fingerprints are not noticeable on the device. The display is bright and contrasty, it feels like it’s the same as in the Xiaomi Mi5S, but without the black frames around the edges.
At the bottom is the main button, which also houses a fingerprint sensor. By the way, it works instantly, and very accurately. I have a feeling that the sensor works worse on the Samsung Galaxy S8+. On both sides of the button there are touch areas illuminated by dots; when pressed, the “home” or context menu is activated.
On top is the speaker, front-camera and a proximity sensor.
At the bottom there is a USB Type-C connector, and next to it is the speaker grille. One of them is decorative, but the smartphone has stereo sound; it plays voice in conjunction with the speakerphone. By the way, the sound is surprisingly good, although without bass.
On the right is the volume rocker, as well as the on/off button.
On top is an infrared port (which is great), as well as a microphone for noise cancellation.
The SIM card slot is on the left.
You can put two nanoSIMs in it, but you can’t install a microSD.
The back of the smartphone is glass, with an excellent oleophobic coating. Yes, of course, fingerprints are visible on it, but much weaker than on a glossy black iPhone.
It is really comfortable to hold the smartphone in your hand due to its rounded edges and small size.
On top are two 12 megapixel cameras, with autofocus and flash. The cameras are located close to the edge and a couple of times I covered them with my finger when trying to take a picture of something, but then I got used to it.
Supplied in a white cardboard box, there are no “perversions” like the Xiaomi Mi Mix. However, this is not surprising, this is not a technology demo, but simply a flagship product.
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The package included is decent; they included a case for those who find the smartphone too thin. There is also an adapter for headphones; you don’t have to buy it separately if you want to listen to music via a wire.
In the case, the smartphone looks good, is convenient to use, and the device immediately becomes more “handy.”
The case is translucent, so you can still show off to Xiaomi fans.
The new compact flagship from Xiaomi really looks great and is very comfortable. But, of course, some may not like the lack of an audio jack and microSD slot.
Performance
The smartphone is equipped with the top-end chipset from Qualcomm today - Snapdragon 835. As much as 6 GB of RAM are added here, the powerful Adreno 540 is responsible for 3D output. In the Antutu benchmark, the smartphone shows a sky-high 180 thousand, that is, it goes head to head with the Samsung Galaxy S8+. True, due to the compact body, the device heats up, and the second “run”, launched immediately after the first, sags noticeably. However, the result is still ahead of the previous flagship, Snapdragon 821, which, let me remind you, scored about 120 thousand in Antutu.
In the case of Ice Storm, the situation turned out to be interesting - in the Unlimited version, the smartphone went beyond the maximum.
The GFXBench graphics test is also excellent. Satellites are picked up quickly, GPS, Glonass, and Beidou work.
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The number of multi-touch points is 10. In general, I have absolutely no complaints about the performance of the smartphone.
Software
The smartphone runs Android 7.1 OS with MIUI 8 shell. Unfortunately, at the time of testing it was only in Chinese-English version, and without Google Apps. However, the latter are easily installed by downloading from a Google Apps backup for Xiaomi Mi Pad. You don’t need to connect your smartphone to your computer for this; just use the standard program for restoring from a backup.
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It is also interesting that Xiaomi Mi6 supports the purchase of a virtual SIM card; it will come in handy when traveling. Unfortunately, you cannot buy a virtual SIM card in Russia.
Camera
Xiaomi has never been a leader in photo quality, however, their cameras are always at a very good level.
The front camera copes well with backlight.
In artificial light everything is fine too.
HDR allows you to “pull out” shadows if there is a large difference in brightness in the scene. It works softly and unobtrusively.
The camera copes well in the twilight, the only thing, in my opinion, is that the exposure is overly optimistic.
The smartphone has two cameras, one with double focal length. In this case, the angle is narrower, closer to a portrait lens, but the aperture ratio also drops, as a result, photos of fast-moving objects can be blurred.
In general, the picture is bright and contrasty, but, in my opinion, a little “plastic” - the colors are not very realistic.
However, on a bright day such colors are sometimes even a joy. The watermark in the corner turns off, but at first I forgot about it while taking test photos.
Under artificial lighting, HDR can produce a slightly flattened picture in terms of colors, so you shouldn’t shoot with it all the time; you should turn it on only when it makes sense.
In general, the picture in the room is adequate.
You can even shoot good macro.
And yet, “misses” in exposure are not uncommon.
It works perfectly well with a large object. Very neat background blur.
Simply great portrait mode. Yes, the blur is artificial, but overall the card is 5 points.
As in everyone modern smartphones, time battery life Depends greatly on the method of use. If you do this both in the tail and in the mane, launch dozens of applications and constantly look at the screen, the smartphone needs to be charged after lunch. If you enable optimization and use it in normal mode- the device survives until the evening quietly. In principle, battery life seemed to me to be about the same as that of OnePlus 3T. It is inferior to the autonomy of the Samsung Galaxy S8+.
Regular Charger supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3, the smartphone charges really quickly, in just an hour.
Other nuances of use
The speaker of the smartphone is quite loud; moreover, when playing music you can actually hear the stereo (the earpiece is used as a second speaker). There is no bass, but overall the sound quality is good.
The earpiece is excellent, loud and clear. Due to the use of two microphones (one regular, one for noise reduction), the voice is transmitted very well.
The infrared port is convenient to use to reduce the sound level in bars. Well, or in case you lost your TV remote control somewhere.
The device has NFC and supports MiFare Classic - we were able to read data from Troika.
On my Android firmware Pay did not start, however, with the advent of the official version with Android Market(international firmware), most likely there will be no problems.
The smartphone has “splash protection” - that is, it is better not to put it in water, but you don’t have to worry about it in the rain.
Wireless charging is not supported.
Prices
Total
Xiaomi has made a truly excellent device - fast, light, compact, beautiful. Considering its Chinese cost, this is a fairy tale, not a phone. True, taking into account the fact that the Smart Orange company continues to rage, and the Orenburg customs, it is possible that we will have to buy a device at a price a third more expensive. The only complaints here are the lack of a mini jack and the lack of microSD support. However, today this trend is no longer so striking.
It's time to share your impressions of using it flagship smartphone from Xiaomi Mi6. In this article I will try to describe in detail its advantages and disadvantages.
Appearance
This is one of the most beautiful smartphones Xiaomi, which I held in my hands, can only compete with it in this title, Mi Mix2. Its edges are neatly curved, which adds elegance, and in the hand it creates the feeling that we are holding a very thin and monolithic smartphone. In my case, the color also adds beauty, it’s deep blue; in black it would most likely look a little simpler and more ordinary.
The power button and volume rockers, located on the right side of the smartphone, have quite sharp edges, apparently this was done to make them easier to feel; the downside is that these buttons rattle when you run your finger over them.
The back of the Mi 6 is made of glass and covered with a lyophobic coating, fingerprints are easier to erase, but due to this the smartphone itself has become very slippery and tries to slip out of your hands, it feels like you have soap in your hand.😊 There is a top version in which the back part is made of ceramic, as we all know, ceramics are not afraid of scratches, this is a good option if you plan to go without a case and save appearance. Ceramics can perhaps break off from an impact, but glass won’t withstand it either. :)
When you hold the phone, two feelings begin to beat inside you, one says: it’s so beautiful, use it without a case, there’s no point in covering up such beauty, the second tells you the opposite: well, talk a couple of times, drop it, and that’s the end of your beauty. In general, it’s up to you to choose how you go with it, but I wear it depending on my mood, when in a case, when without. Please note that even if you are very careful with it when using it without a case, small scratches will still begin to appear on the rear glass. This happens when you place your smartphone on a flat surface, such as a table, there are tiny particles on it that cause it to scratch.
The phone comes with a simple and compact silicone case, so if you don’t want to scratch your smartphone, use it. Also included, in addition to the charger and cable, is an adapter from USB type C to a 3.5 mm audio jack. In fact, this is a sore subject for many; they tell with dissatisfaction how inconvenient it became for them that there is no built-in port, how they cannot connect their favorite headphones, because they always forget this adapter. To be honest, I don’t really understand such people, they come up with a problem out of nowhere, well, the audio connector is outdated, it takes up a lot of space, so the company’s engineers came to the conclusion that it is better to use one multifunctional port. Connect the adapter to the headphones and wear them in this state, many people do this and there are no problems.
Other people surprise me with this fact and are unhappy with the lack of headphones in the package. “Even Apple puts in headphones, but you can’t?” - etc. I personally fully support Xiaomi's policy on bundling its devices and I will explain why. Just imagine, now the set will include headphones, which means the price of the smartphone will automatically rise. Do you need it? The quality of such headphones always leaves much to be desired; it is simply not rational to bundle them just for show and increase the cost for it. Everyone has their own headphones, exactly the ones they like and are comfortable, and you can use the “bundled” ones only when the main ones are broken and you haven’t bought new ones yet.😊
Screen
The screen of the smartphone is TFT IPS, 5.15 inches diagonal with an aspect ratio of 16:9 and a Full HD resolution of 1080x1920, the number of dots per inch is 428 ppi. The Mi 6 screen has a good brightness margin of up to 600 nits; for comparison, in the Redmi series, this figure is 450 nits.
Under the screen there is a recess where a fingerprint scanner and a home button are installed; the button itself is not mechanical, but touch-sensitive. The scanner works very quickly and clearly, although if your finger is dirty or wet it may not work the first time.
Iron
The smartphone was equipped with a powerful chip from Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, which is made on a 10 nm process technology, this should contribute to lower power consumption. The chip consists of 8 Kryo 280 cores with a frequency of up to 2.45 GHz, it is assisted in its operation by LPDDR4x RAM of 4 or 6 GB, depending on the modification, and the Adreno 540 module is responsible for graphics. An important fact is the presence of permanent memory of the type UFS 2.1, thanks to which a good increase in speed is achieved. For example, this smartphone in the read and write speed test it produces 292 / 165 mb/s, while smartphones with cheaper and more common eMMc memory, which is installed in the Redmi series, produces 130 / 96 mb/s in the same test.
I can say with confidence that no this moment, in a couple of years you will not find an application or game that will slow down on this smartphone, everything runs on it and will continue to run for at least 3 years. In the AnTuTu test, the smartphone scores 192,000 points.
Sound
In Mi 6, in addition to the main speaker, which is located at the bottom on the right side of the smartphone, a conversational speaker is also involved in sound reproduction, this should contribute to the stereo effect, but it is almost invisible, the sound is the same as in any smartphone from Xiaomi. There is a noticeable effect in the headphones, I’m not a professional in sound and I won’t be clever by saying how good the lows and mids are here, and which frequencies suffer, I’ll be honest, the sound has become deeper, that’s the only word that comes to my mind. But at the same time, the volume headroom compared to the Redmi Note 3 Pro is almost two notches less, if you like to listen to loud music, you will miss it.
Camera
Mi 6 has a dual 12 MP camera with optical stabilization, the main one has an f/1.8 aperture for regular shots and the second with f/2.6 for shooting with x2 zoom or for portrait mode. Due to my line of work, I have to take photographs quite often. serial numbers, notes, etc., and of course you want to do this as quickly as possible. If earlier, when shooting with a Redmi series phone, I had to take several identical pictures and then look for the best one, then when using the Mi 6, this need was no longer necessary, all the pictures came out clearly and the first time.
Regular photos in good lighting turn out great, but in poor lighting there is a little noise. The video is smoother and clearer compared to the Redmi series, nothing floats or jerks.
Modules
The smartphone has the ability to work with two nano SIM cards and support operation in the following frequencies:
GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
3G - WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100 MHz B34 b34 B39; cdma1x/evdo bco
4G – FDD LTE B3: 1800/B1: 2100/b7: 2600/b5: 850/B8 900 MHz
4G - Td LTE B38: 2600/B39: 1900/b40: 2300/B41: 2500 MHz
I looked at this list and thought, what about the famous LTE band 20, as far as I know, which Megafon supports and which every reviewer talks about? Will my Internet not work quickly on 4G? Of course not, everything works great, in one of the districts of new Moscow I measured the reception speed, it turned out to be 89 mb/s incoming and 42 mb/s outgoing, how much more?
I won’t tell you how GPS, Wi-Fi and other modules work, I won’t show a screenshot of how quickly the smartphone found satellites, this is no longer required, because in all modern Xiaomi smartphones they work perfectly, they don’t lose the network and satellites, in general, As they should, I will only note that the Wi-fi module supports operation in both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Also installed in Mi 6 NFC module, I connected it in a couple of minutes bank card to Android Pay and now I pay via phone, there hasn’t been a single malfunction yet, it’s also convenient to check the balance of the “troika” card.
Unfortunately, you cannot install a memory card in the Mi 6, so when buying this smartphone, take this fact into account, although in my opinion the minimum version of 64 GB is enough. The battery is set to 3350 mAh, but don’t think that its charge will not be enough for you even for a day, with normal use as a phone, messenger, social media It lasts me 1.5 days, with a heavier load - a day. In addition, do not forget that there is a fast charging function that allows you to recharge your smartphone several times faster when using the included power supply or any other that supports this function.
The smartphone runs on Android 7.1 with MIUI 9.2 shell, everything opens quickly, there are no slowdowns. I have a version with 4 GB of RAM, of which 2 GB are used for system operation, the remaining memory is enough for any task, the minimum was 800 MB free.
The price at the moment is about 21,000 rubles for the 4GB/64GB version, the 6GB/64 version is 23,000, and for the 6/128 ceramic version you will need to pay 28,000 rubles.
If you are used to using the best and the status of a smartphone is important to you, but at an affordable price, then the Mi6 will definitely suit you, it is a productive and at the same time compact phone with all the advanced functions, it is not inferior to popular flagships from famous brands.
