Xiaomi Mi Mix Hands-On First Impressions

Every now and then there is a mobile that comes along that is something truly different, a step forward in innovation and design. Well, the new Xiaomi Mi Mix might not be the first to go with a bezel-less screen (Sharp Aquos was) However they are the ones to bring it back, but with a few new twists. Unboxing, detailed first look video below:

Video index:

01:52 – Just open the box already!
04:06 – Design & build
05:34 – Powering on first time
09:57 – Size comparison
11:25 – Leather case in detail
12:24 – Thickness & weight
13:11 – Loudspeaker test
16:48 – Fingerprint reader
17:36 – Cameras with samples
20:12 – First impressions

The Xiaomi Mi Mix has a super slim 2.4mm bezel top and sides and is stunning to look at with a very nice 1080p IPS panel. It’s 6.4 inches, but the phone is no taller than say an iPhone 6S Plus/7 Plus or Galaxy Note 7. It’s a little wider than my Galaxy S6 Edge+ but just as pocketable. Sure it’s by no means a small phone and I’m currently carrying around a Mi Max with a 6.44-inch screen.

So the Mix has a ceramic acoustic earpiece, just a fancy way of saying the earpiece speaker is internal and sound is transmitted through the phones interior. It works, I can still hear people fine, but it does sound a bit flat. And the ultrasonic proximity sensor works well turn off the screen when I answer or make calls.

The phone is quite slippery and feels like it could be a very easy phone to drop if you’re not super careful with it. Wisely Xiaomi doesn’t include a very nice premium leather case in the box (As seen in my unboxing video)

My first impressions:

• The Mix is a real head turner, it attracts attention like the old Galaxy Note did when first released once people see the screen.
• The screen is bright and sharp, 1080p looks fine at 6.4 inches. But wouldn’t be good for VR.
• 128GB storage option gives me over 100GB free, no MicroSD support is a bit of a let down. There is a 235GB version.
• The cameras are average, Xiaomi yet again skipped on the camera. It shouldn’t have shipped with the Mi Note 2’s camera or at least have OIS or DIS.
• 3.5mm audio quality sounds very good, loudspeaker is also good. Same as the Mi Note 2’s
• The build is superb, very well finished, excellent fit, feels solid if a bit heavy due to the use of ceramic. I can’t fault the build it’s top class.
• The location of the front facing camera is a little awkward.
• The on-screen keys can be hidden, and 16:9 content like movies or youtube will have borders.
• With the keyboard in auto-hide, games use the whole screen and look stunning. (More on gaming play on the Mi Mix.)
• performance is great, GPS, ROM. But not perfect. Some minor freezes and stutters in the UI when exiting out of 16:9 games in landscape. Also some games have millisecond micro stutters for some reason. Very common with Android, I have seen this on all Snapdragon 821 mobiles.
• My version is the Chinese/English ROM, plenty of Chinese bloatware and no Play Store. You have to install it yourself. Global ROM when released with fix that issue.
• Wifi range, speeds and LTE speeds are great.
• It’s in limited supply and currently overpriced.

I’m really enjoying this mobile so far, bezel-less has made a comeback and I believe 2017 is going to all about new bezel-less designs, moving from Mi Mix, back to my other mobiles makes them feel dated next to the Mix. Like using a 2-year-old mobile. The design is really a big leap forward.

It’s currently on pre-order at Gearbest. But if you must have one now you can get them from Aliexpress, with a super inflated price tag.

If you have any questions or comments, please post them below.

Below is my gaming review, where you can see the little micro stutters in games on the Mix. My version is the 4GB/128GB model (The old model currently out at the time of writing this):