Jaw Dropping Slab of Tech
The Xiaomi Mi Mix has finally landed at the Unbox HQ and we have to say that this is one sezzy jaw-dropping slab of tech! Xiaomi really outdid themselves here and they pretty much set the pace for next year. We expect other Android manufacturers to follow their lead with “bezel-less” displays. We have it on-hand courtesy of Richmond Tan (a Filipino Xiaomi Enthusiast) and we’re definitely going to put this through the paces in the coming days.
Before we get to the unboxing and our initial review, here’s a quick refresher on the specifications.
Xiaomi Mi Mix Spec Sheet
- 2.3GHz Snapdragon 821 Qualcomm Processor
- 6GB RAM
- 256GB Internal Storage
- 6.4-inch Edgeless Display 91.3% Bezel-to-Screen Ratio
- 16.0-megapixel primary camera
- 5.0-megapixel secondary camera
- MIUI 8
- 4400mAh Battery
- Quick Charge 3.0
Packaging: As Premium As It Gets
Xiaomi really put out all the stops for the packaging of their new flagship. The device comes in a big black box. We slid out the main container and opened it to find the gorgeous 6.4-inch Mi Mix staring back at us. It was a bit of a hassle prying it off the foam box bed but there’s no denying the fact that this is probably the only device this year that got us saying “wow” once we held it in our hands.
Apart from the phone we found a free high quality leather back case, the USB C cable, and the wall outlet charging unit.
First Impressions: Incredibly Impressive Hardware
If there’s one key takeaway you need to have out of this unboxing, it’s this: the Xiaomi Mi Mix is the most gorgeous smartphone out in the market today. In our opinion it’s a step ahead of the iPhone 7, Note 7 (RIP), and the Google Pixel XL. The bezel-less display is just jaw-dropping.
Here’s a side-by-side of the Mi Mix, iPhone 7 Plus, and the Google Pixel XL. The difference is just too striking and too hard to ignore.
We did find it a bit weird (though understandable) that the front-facing camera was located at the lower right of the device versus the usual spot at the top. From a design standpoint, they needed to do this because they wanted as much of the top-middle part of the device as display. We just needed to reorient ourselves a bit when we were taking selfies as our fingers ended up covering the camera.
Also it’s worth noting that this is a crazy fingerprint magnet. The glass panel at the back just gets so smudgey that if you’re the OC kind of guy you’ll end up wiping it almost hourly if you want to keep it pristine. Alternatively, you can just use the leather back case.
Those two nitpicky criticisms aside, the Xiaomi Mi Mix is still stunning to behold and it garnered compliments from people around us each time we pulled it out. The bezel-less display makes it stand apart from all the other devices in the market today and for once it will look like Apple and Samsung copied Xiaomi when it came to hardware design.
Full Review Coming Soon
We’re working on the full review of the Mi Mix and it should be out by early next week. As far as initial impressions go, we’re definitely “wow’d”. Like what we said above, this is the only gadget this year that actually made us say it out loud once we held it in our hands. You gotta give credit where credit is due and Xiaomi definitely deserves mad props for the hardware design of this beast.
Stay glued to this space in the coming days as we wrap our full review and post it here for all of you.
PS: Thank you again to Richmond Tan for lending his phone for our review.