The Civi is an unusual phone from Xiaomi, as its main focus is on selfies and a slender design. Almost a year since the first Civi came out, Xiaomi announces a refreshed Civi 1S in China.
We would not really consider the Civi 1S as a complete upgrade over the original Civi, as both phones literally look the same. The only actual upgrade of the Civi 1S is its use of a Snapdragon 778G+ processor, which is basically a higher-clocked version of the Snapdragon 778G used in the original Civi.
Our speculation for this very small change is that Xiaomi might have run out of Snapdragon 778G chips, so it has decided to use the Snapdragon 778G+ and give the Civi a “new” name.
This is not the first time that Xiaomi made a minuscule upgrade: the Mi 11 Lite 5G was relaunched months later as the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE because they ran out of Snapdragon 780G chips–and replaced that with Snapdragon 778G chips instead.
Being dead similar to the original Civi, you also get a 120hz curved OLED display, along with a 4500mAh battery with 55w charging, 32-megapixel selfie shooter with autofocus, and a triple rear camera setup that’s led by a 64-megapixel main camera. At the very least, the Civi 1S comes with the latest software in the form of Android 12-based MIUI 13.
Xiaomi Civi 1S Specs
- Snapdragon 778G+ processor
- 8GB/12GB LPDDR4x RAM
- 128GB/256GB UFS 2.2 storage
- 6.55-inch Full HD+ Curved OLED display, 120hz refresh rate, HDR10+, Dolby Vision
- 64-megapixel f/1.79 main camera with PDAF, 2-megapixel f/2.4 macro camera with AF, 8-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle camera
- 32-megapixel selfie camera with AF
- 4G, 5G
- WiFi, Bluetooth 5.1, in-display fingerprint scanner
- Stereo speakers, Hi-Res Audio
- 4500mAh battery
- 55w fast charging
- Android 12, MIUI 13
The Civi 1S is priced at CNY 2299 (~Php 18.7k) for the 8GB/128GB, CNY 2599 (~Php 21.2k) for the 8GB/256 GB model, and CNY 2899 (~Php 23.6k) for the 12GB/256GB model. The Civi 1S will go on sale only in China, and it’s unlikely that Xiaomi will make this mysterious phone available globally.
