We Unbox the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 Here in the Philippines

We Unbox the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 Here in the Philippines

It’s time to take this bad boy out of the box.

We have the Mi Mix 2 at the Unbox HQ and it is Glorious

The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 sold out in less than 1 minute (58 seconds to be exact) and because of that we didn’t have high hopes of actually landing a unit here in the Philippines. However thanks to a good friend who’s a hardcore fan of Xiaomi, we were actually not just able to get our hands on a Mi Mix 2 but we were actually able to buy and own one!

Before we get to the unboxing and our initial impressions, here’s a quick review of the specifications.

Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 spec sheet

  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 octa-core processor
  • Qualcomm Adreno 540 graphics unit
  • 6GB/8GB (Special Edition) RAM
  • 5.99-inch IPS display, 18:9 aspect ratio
  • 64GB/128GB/256GB of non-expandable storage
  • 12-megapixel, f/2.0 Sony IMX386 rear camera with 4-axis optical stabilization
  • 5-megapixel front camera
  • Dual SIM, with 4G LTE, LTE-A
  • Fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C port
  • 3400mAh battery

As you guys can see it’s flagship caliber with the best-in-class set-up of top tier Qualcomm Snapdragon paired with an overly generous serving of RAM. The only thing missing is the dual-camera set-up.

With that out of the way, let’s jump right in!

What’s Inside the Box?

What the back of the box looks like.

The Mi Mix 2 comes in a solid black box similar to the first generation Mi Mix. Up front it just says “MIX” and at the back we have what seems like a message and signature from the designer, Philippe Starck. This guy is a big deal in industrial design. He’s worked on luxury hotels, electronics (most notably speakers and headphones), and he was even tapped by Steve Jobs to design his yacht. He’s also the guy credit in starting off the bezel-less madness with the original Mi Mix.

Officially unboxed.

The minimalist theme continued when we popped the box open. We were greeted by the unit wrapped in transparent white paper with Chinese characters neatly lined vertically in the middle. On the side we found the USB to USB-C cable and the wall charger. The wall charger isn’t your typical boring black block with prongs. It has a glossy finish on the upper half and a matte one on the lower part.

The accessories inside the box.

Underneath the phone we found other accessories. There was the usual set of warranty cards, manuals, sim tray ejector pin, and a USB-C to audio jack cable (the Mi Mix 2 doesn’t have a built-in headphone jack). Xiaomi also saved us the trouble of trying to find a good case for the phone. It comes with a slim-fit matte black case that keeps the gorgeous form factor of the device while giving added protection and better grip.

Initial Impressions: Jaw Dropping Slab of Tech

It’s a beaut. No doubt about it.

The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 is simply stunning.

Up front there are virtually no bezels and the screen experience is amazingly unique. It’s a full frontal assault of screen with no distractions. You can’t even see where the earpiece is or the front-facing camera. To those wondering, Starck purposefully designed it that way. Everything is hidden in plain sight so that you just get 100% screen. It’s like bathing in the display of your phone.

Unbox Non-Stop Giveaway: Smart Prepaid LTE Home WiFi (COMPLETED)

Speaking of the selfie camera, when you active it for the first time you’ll get prompted to turn the phone upside down so you can take a normal selfie shot. That’s because if you take it with the current positioning, your palm will make an appearance on the photo.

Really annoying placement.

See Also: Mi Mix 2 vs Galaxy S8 vs LG G6

At the back we have glorious and sleek flat black ceramic plate. It melds seamlessly into the aluminum alloy frame and it is hardly visible unless you look closely. In fact the phone feels and looks like a unibody ceramic build, which is again a testament to the industrial design chops of Starck and the Xiaomi engineers.

Unfortunately it’s undoubtedly a smudge fest and that’s probably the reason why Xiaomi included a matte case already in the box so that people who get annoyed with this already have a fix.

I was impressed with how Starck lined up the camera, flash, and the fingerprint sensor. Apart from looking aesthetically beautiful, the placement of the sensor was perfect. It was easy to use and reach unlike the sensor of the Galaxy Note 8. For the camera, take note of the golden accent — Xiaomi claims that’s real 18-carat gold.

It’s a smudge fest.
Proudly designed by Xiaomi.

Along the sides we have the usual controls. There’s the volume rocker and the power button on the right side. On the left we have the nano SIM card tray. At the bottom we have the speaker grill and the USB-C port. Yes, they did away with the headphone jack which I wish they just retained. It really didn’t make any sense to remove something as functional as that.

NO HEADPHONE JACK. Huhuhu

What about the software? Unfortunately the Mi Mix 2 doesn’t ship with Google services pre-installed. You’ll need to research a bit how to side load it but that should’t take more than an hour and there are a lot of tutorials online on how to do it. After I installed my usual Google Android set-up, I stuffed all the Xiaomi bloatware in a folder and buried them in the last screen.

Watch Out for the Full Review

Full review soon!

We’ve had the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 for a little less than a day now and we can honestly say that the all-screen experience is deliriously addictive. After using it for several hours going back to using an iPhone 7 Plus feels like a demotion. It’s as if the bezels of the iPhone 7 Plus are so unnecessary, clunky, and ugly.

We’ll be putting the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 through the paces in the next few days as we use it as our daily driver. As far as initial impressions go, we’re pretty ecstatic. The only downside was the on-boarding experience of Google services but apart from that there’s nothing to complain about.

That said… do you guys think we should include the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 in our Unbox Non-stop Gadget Giveaway? We’re thinking hard about it. Maybe if you show this post enough Likes and Shares on Facebook we would consider, hehe. It’s a gorgeous phone and the thought of giving it away personally gives me major sepanx. XD

PS: Thank you to Richmond Tan for selling us the unit. Mad props to you bro. Cheers!
PPS: Join all of our Unbox Giveaways by clicking the post below!

Unbox Non-Stop Giveaway: Smart Prepaid LTE Home WiFi (COMPLETED)

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