Xiaomi’s Galaxy S8 and LG G6 contender is finally out, and although it doesn’t follow in Mi Mix’s “edgeless” footsteps, this long overdue Mi 6 still stuns with its “four-sided curved glass”, stainless steel frame, “uniformed alignment”, seamlessly integrated dual camera, and under-glass fingerprint sensor.
Buzzy marketing talk and meaningless propaganda aside, it’s certainly no mean feat that Xiaomi managed to cover the front-fitted fingerprint reader with glass, even if screen bezels are technically still there. It’s also worth highlighting that “all openings” of the beautiful Xiaomi Mi 6 are “properly sealed and protected” against splashes, including the SIM card tray.
Unfortunately, you’re not getting a microSD slot, but at least there’s plenty of internal storage to go around. Namely, 64 and 128GB options. Unsurprisingly, the Xiaomi Mi 6 packs a generous 6GB RAM as well, paired with a state-of-the-art Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor that the smartphone maker is quick to point out it will actually debut in China inside this flagship device.
An “all-around” flagship, as the OEM calls it, with stereo speakers, a relatively spacious 3350mAh battery, dual Wi-Fi connectivity, NFC-enabled Mi Pay support, and USB Type-C also in tow. Alas, there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack, and some may find the 5.15-inch display a tad small for video consumption on the go.
On the plus side, Xiaomi isn’t afraid to explicitly claim its dual rear cam solution is superior to that of Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus, with wide-angle 12MP and telephoto 12MP lenses purportedly delivering 2X optical lossless zoom, great depth-of-field, and stellar Portrait mode performance. All for a very reasonable starting price of roughly $365 (2,500 Yuan).
But wait, there’s more. A silver edition exuding a “totally different feel” from the blue version rendered above, and more importantly, the super-snazzy Mi 6 Ceramic with “four-sided curved ceramic”, 18-karat gold camera rims (!!!), and a virtually indestructible build. That’s likely to cost an arm and a leg, and roll out in extremely limited quantities too, so let’s focus first and foremost on the standard Xiaomi Mi 6, slated to launch commercially on April 28, at least in China.
