The Xiaomi Mi Mix: An Interesting Phone

In 2011, Xiaomi released its first smartphone, and since then it has become the fourth largest smartphone manufacturer in the world regarding sales volume. It was also the world’s most valuable tech startup when it received $1.1 billion from investors, with a valuation of $46 billion. Although it does not have physical stores, it is very successful in flash sales where cell phones are sold at a discounted price for a limited time. Among its more important innovation is allowing its Android user interface, MIUI to be downloaded and installed by owners of other cell phone brands.

Mi Mix Internals

Creators have packed this little beauty with all the power and strength they can in a 158.8 by 81.9 by 7.9 mm package; it comes equipped with a multi-touch IPS LCD capacitive screen in 16M colors, Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chipset, and Android Marshmallow OS, a choice between 128 GB and 256 GB internal memory and up to 6GB RAM. It also has a 16-megapixel primary back-facing camera and five megapixels secondary selfie camera. It has noise cancellation and a dedicated mic, with the other features like fingerprint sensor, Wifi, SMS messaging.

There are some nifty engineering changes done with the location of some of the features which may need a little getting used to; like the ambient light sensor and selfie camera were transferred to the bottom of the screen since the buttons have been placed on the screen. Offhand it would be hard to name any other cell phone which has a camera at the bottom of the screen. It may be a minor irritant at the beginning and can easily be addressed by adjusting the settings.

Ceramic Case

The most interesting part of this tough monster is the ceramic case that can withstand a considerable amount of pressure that would bend other cell phones, or even break them in two. During one bend test, the screen only froze after several attempts which quickly went away after resetting the cell phone.

The hard outer case composed of glass and the ceramic mix makes everything scratch proof up to the button on the side of the phone. The fingerprint scanner mounted on the back as well as the camera above it are both protected by the same ceramic cover surrounding the phone which makes them both scratchproof as well. Only the camera cover is plastic, which can scratch and break. The LCD is not just tough, but it also can stand the heat. It takes a while for the pixels to heat up and turn black, but it also cools down easily.

The model’s downside is that, as the material gets tougher, they get more brittle. Although the phone did not break when it was subjected to the bend test and survived quite of abuse, it might not survive a drop higher than a foot due to its ceramic body and bezel-less design. The glass to a ceramic case does not have any buffer in between them and dropping it from a significant height will result in irreparable damage to both the screen and case. The phone is created similar to an iPhone where it does not have any way to replace the exterior, and you just have to replace the glass and put the phone in a rubber case to hide the damage.

Similar to an iPhone where the back panel does not come off, it means you cannot change the 4400 mAh battery when it gets drained, and you just need to carry a power bank in cases of emergency.

Similar to an iPhone where the back panel does not come off, it means you cannot change the 4400 mAh battery when it gets drained, and you just need to carry a power bank in cases of emergency.

The Mi Mix is the most expensive phone from Xiaomi at a $520, a small price to pay for a feel of the future. This ceramic bezel-less phone gives the phone a luxurious feel that will amaze for weeks on end. Its glossy appearance is a fingerprint magnet, but its ceramic body makes it the most extreme scratch proof and bend proof phone available in the market.

Summary

Xiaomi has the right to sell a tough, durable and scratch-proof phone at a premium price. It is already the fourth largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, and it makes innovative products. There are a lot of companies which already sell premium phones, even though they do not have any history nor any prior success in selling smartphones.

The Xiaomi Mi Mix is also one of the few phones which are scratch-proof because of the choice of materials. There are few cell phones which use ceramic cases. On top of that, they also have a user interface which is downloadable from the internet and used on other Android phones.

The downside of this is that besides the strong case, there is no differentiation between the Xiaomi Mi Mix and other high-end smartphones. Admittedly, the bezel-less screen is a great improvement over most 2016 smartphone models. However, it still looks almost like every other smartphone.

It also needs some getting used to. The learning curve is quite steep due to the MIUI. It looks great, but you need to spend some time with it.

Overall, if you want a phone which won’t scratch, and you don’t mind the selfie camera at an odd location, this is a solid buy worth the premium price. The phone is still a marvel and has proven itself with its toughness. If you plan to buy this phone, just remember not to drop it.