Late last month Xiaomi unveiled its latest flagship phones, the Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus. While both offered impressive specs and an affordable price tag, the company seems to have saved the best for last, as it just introduced the new Mi Note 2 phablet.
The Mi Note 2, as the name implies, is the new and upgraded version of last year’s Mi Note device, that impressed the public with its top-of-the-line specs and attractive price. It looks like Xiaomi kept some of the best features of the original Mi Note, but discarded some others, threw in a dab of inspiration from its rivals, and focused on some of the newest internals available.
In terms of design, the new Mi Note 2 looks remarkably similar to the now-defunct Galaxy Note7, including the curved screen. But Samsung wasn’t the only company to inspire Xiaomi, with the smartphone maker offering the Mi Note 2 in a “piano black” version, which looks quite a bit like Apple’s new “jet black” color option.
But form follows function, so the real impressive part comes when looking under the hood of the Mi Note 2. The handset's specs are:
- 5.7-inch 1080p AMOLED FHD screen with pressure-sensitive 3D touch matrix
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM 8996 processor
- 4GB/6GB of RAM
- 64GB/128GB non-expandable storage
- 22.5-megapixel camera, with dual LED flash, HDR, 4K video, but NO OIS
- Android 6.0 Marshmallow with EMUI 8.0 on top
- 4,070 mAh battery, with Quick Charge 3.0
- USB Type-C 1.0 connector
- Global 4G band support on some models
As you can see, the Mi Note 2 is a bit of a mixed bag. While definitely offering powerful specifications, it fails to rise to the very top thanks to the lack of optical image stabilization, an older operating system, and the 1080p resolution on the screen.
On the other hand, the inclusion of a 128GB/6GB RAM storage option is definitely attractive for some users, while the massive battery will most likely get you through quite a bit of work before needing a charger.
The basic version of the device with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage will start around the $415 mark, while opting for the very best, with 128GB storage, 6GB of RAM and global 4G band support will take you to $515.
The Xiaomi Mi Note 2 is expected to become available for purchase next month.
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