As anticipated by the deluge of leaks of the past few months, Xiaomi unveiled its next-generation flagship, the Mi 6, today. The phone is the fourth handset to be announced with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 processor, after the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, Samsung Galaxy S8 and the Sharp Aquos R.
Aesthetically speaking, the design language hasn’t changed much since the Mi 5, as the newcomer retains the curved glass back and metal frame of its predecessor, although the rear glass panel now curves along all four edges.
The Xiaomi Mi 6 is quite conservative in its looks, so people who were expecting something more along the lines of the bezeless Mi MIX will be pretty disappointed. Speaking of which, the phone also makes use of an old-school physical home button which also doubles as a fingerprint scanner (Qualcomm Sense ID-enabled).
When it comes to specs, the phone comes carrying a 5.15-inch fullHD display (1920 x 1080 resolution) and 6GB of RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of built-in storage. Following this year’s trend in smartphones, Xiaomi has adorned its latest flagship with a dual-camera setup that pairs a 12-megapixel wide-angle lens with a 12-megapixel telephoto lens for 2x lossless zoom. As for selfies, an 8-megapixel camera should be enough for snapping great self-portraits.
We need to mention that the phone doesn’t have a 3.5mm headphone jack, which will come as a disappointment to some. On the bright side of things, the company has placed the stereo speakers on the front of the device.
The Mi 6 relies on a 3,350 mAh battery which thanks to the less demanding FHD display and power-efficient 10nm SoC onboard, should be able to sustain a long life onboard. Not to mention the handset ships with Android 7.1.1 Nougat (with Xiaomi’s MIUI 8 on top) out of the box, which comes with further battery optimizations. The phone will be up for grabs in Black, White, Silver, Blue and Gold (?).
Like always, Xiaomi is offering its newest flagship in with a very affordable price-tag attached. The 64GB version will go on sale for approximately $360, while the 128GB storage option will take customers as far as $420. A ceramic version with 128GB storage will also be available for $435. But don’t get your hopes up about the phone officially making it stateside. However, you’ll surely be able order it from third-party websites like Geekbuying.
Despite rumors, Xiaomi didn’t unveil a Mi 6 Plus variant alongside the Mi 6.
