While Apple is set to once again disrupt the market by launching the much-awaited iPhone X, Xiaomi has brought the Mi Mix 2 in the midst of the anticipation for the new iPhone to take on the competition. The new smartphone is the successor to the conceptualised handset that was debuted last year as one of the first bezel-less smartphones.
Xiaomi's Mi Mix 2 ticks all the boxes that were unattended by the last year's Mi Mix. The new device has an improved 5.9-inch IPS LCD panel with 2160x1080 pixels resolution. The display is notably not as big as the 6.4-inch fullscreen panel of the original Mi Mix, and the screen-to-body ratio of the new offering is also not as high as of its predecessor that had a screen covering 83.6 percent of the entire front (over the new 80.8 percent). However, there is higher resolution that brings a denser pixel count to the latest model. The Mi Mix 2 particularly has a pixel density of 403 ppi (pixel per inch) that enables 41 more pixels on each inch than the 362ppi pixel density on the Mi Mix.
Apart from the display, Xiaomi has enhanced the performance of the new smartphone by adding Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 system-on-chip (SoC) that includes an octa-core CPU and Adreno 540 GPU. The original Mi Mix had a quad-core Snapdragon 821. Additionally, the Mi Mix 2 has up to 6GB of RAM -- even eight gigs of memory is available on the Mi Mix 2 Special Edition -- to deliver flawless multitasking support. The new Mi series model also has up to 256GB of onboard storage, 12-megapixel optical image stablised primary camera sensor and a 3,400mAh battery.
Also read: What all would make iPhone X a game changing Apple innovation
Xiaomi has used a mix of ceramic and aluminium while designing the Mi Mix 2. Moreover, its Special Edition sports a full unibody ceramic design.
Price matters
Apple's iPhone X isn't appeared to be lagging behind the Mi Mix 2 when it comes to a fullscreen panel on the front or a faster processing experience or even a premium metal built, as per the recent reports. Nevertheless, the Chinese contender has the price as the unique selling point.
Xiaomi is set to sell the Mi Mix 2 in China with a starting price of 3299 yuan (approximately US$500 or SG$673). If one wants to go with the top-end model that has the complete ceramic build and sufficient memory, it will be available at 4699 yuan (US$720). All this makes the new Xiaomi launch significantly cheaper than the iPhone X that is rumoured to be launched for over US$1,000 price.
Apple's iOS look-alike interface
If the price doesn't matter, Xiaomi has imitated the interface of the Mi Mix 2 with iOS to deliver a similar experience -- even with Android in the background. The preloaded MIUI skin also has a fresh feel over vanilla Android that has recently debuted even on one of the mid-range Mi handset. Plus, there are themes and tons of customisations.
All in all, the Mi Mix 2 seems to be a fair enough launch by Xiaomi to fierce the competition just ahead of the iPhone X' arrival. The Beijing-based company has already reached the top five smartphone vendors worldwide by marking a year-over-year growth of 58.9 percent, as per a recent report by IDC. The company reportedly captured a market share of 6.2 percent by shipping over 21.2 million units in the second quarter this year.
