When the Xiaomi Mi Note first came out it really made waves as the successor to the flagship Xiaomi Mi 4. Unlike the Mi 4, the Mi Note goes for a larger 5.7-inch phablet form factor and a beautiful curved glass-based design different from previous Xiaomi smartphones. Released in two versions, the Xiaomi Mi Note and the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro, the Mi Note is the lower-end version of the two but still offers flagship features like dual 4G LTE connectivity, a brushed metal body, 2.5D front glass, 3D back glass, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and more. Does it deliver the same level of premium as better known brands? Check out our full review of the Xiaomi Mi Note below to find out.
Design, Tech Specs and Features - Uniquely premium looks with excellent hardware
We have to admit that the first time the Xiaomi Mi Note was announced it took some time to visualize a smartphone that has a metal body, a 2.5D glass covered front and a curved 3D glass covered back. Thankfully, the Mi Note does not disappoint in terms of looks with a strong metal frame much like the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. This includes chamfered chrome trim on the front and backside that curves from the sides to the back. This results in a thinner looking smartphone with a rather sharper edge than usual. While this isn't the most comfortable grip it is very solid and it doesn't slip very easily. Frankly speaking, the 2.5D glass front reminds us a lot about the Nokia Lumia 930 but with a larger 5.7-inch full HD display that looks very nice. Thanks to the 3D glass on the back, the Mi Note looks beautiful, shiny and glossy, but like other glass covered devices, it is a fingerprint magnet. Capacitive keys that light up line the bottom of the front. Both the front and back glass have a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for better scratch and drop resistance as well. Check out our hands-on pics and tech specs for the Xiaomi Mi Note below:
- 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor
- 3GB RAM
- 16GB storage
- 5.7-inch display (1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, 386ppi, IPS, Corning Gorilla Glass 3)
- 13MP rear camera (dual-LED/dual-tone flash, Optical Image Stabilization) + 4MP front camera
- supports 4G LTE, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, GPS, Bluetooth 4.1
- features Dual-SIM, Quick Charge 2.0, Active noise cancelation
- 155.1 x 77.6 x 7mm
- 3000 mAh battery
The Xiaomi Mi Note is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor
The back is covered by a slightly curved 3D glass while the full HD display is covered by a 2.5D glass for a premium finish
From the list above, the stand-out features are it's Dual-SIM support, 4G LTE, dual-tone LED flash and Optical Image Stabilization for the 13MP rear camera. You don't often find OIS or Optical Image Stabilization or dual-tone LED flash for devices of this price range, and should provide a good overall camera performance. While the Snapdragon 801 processor is a bit older than some of the newer 64-bit powered processors, it should still provide enough power for a flagship smartphone device. The Quick Charge 2.0 feature also caught our eye and should be helpgul as it can get 60% in just 30 minutes. No microSD slot or expandable memory is an issue but 16GB of storage should be enough for most users.
The Mi Note is quite slim at 7mm thin but is surprisingly solid with it's metal frame
Performance - Fast flagship and great cameraphone with firmware limitations
The Xiaomi Mi Note went through AnTuTu and our other benchmarks with good and solid scores. Like other Xiaomi devices it will ask if you want to run the benchmark in performance or balanced modes. For the balanced mode, the Mi Note got 27568 on AnTuTu while in performance mode, the Mi Note got 45570 which is quite good but not as high as some of the latest flagships out there. 3DMark showed some really exceptional scores with a 20332 on Ice Storm Unlimited and this is reflected in Epic Citadel with 60.3 fps on 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. Overall, the audio is nice, loud and clear but we did notice that the Mi Note does get rather hot, especially if you run it on performance mode. The other major limitation is the MIUI 6 which doesn't let you have any google play, stopping us from using a Google+ identity and effectively stopping us from running games like Asphalt 8: Airborne from the market. Call quality is solid while connectivity is fine and fast with 4G LTE. Battery life is good for the most part, lasting about 1 day on medium to heavy usage (gaming, benchmarking, browsing, taking shots) but if you're careful with it, it should last a bit more than 1 day and a half.
While not the highest, the Xiaomi Mi Note does provide flagship level performance
Graphic performance was very good on 3DMark
Game performance should be equally high with the 60.3 fps on full HD score on the Epic Citadel game engine
Cameraphone performance is very good, providing detailed shots and even flash exposure. Details are clear with vibrant colours and accurate image reproduction. The Optical Image Stabilization or OIS feature is particularly useful if you have shaky hands but we found that the Mi Note did not have 4K video recording, perhaps due to some other firmware limitation. Low-light performance is also good with nearly no noise and the 4MP front camera does well enough for most selfies. We found the multiple filter preview mode to be quite useful (and similar to Apple's) especially if you like seeing everything in one go.
See the filter you like in real-time
13MP, Auto
13MP, Auto
13MP Auto
13MP, HDR
Conclusion - Beautifully-made Phablet with excellent performance
Overall, we found the Xiaomi Mi Note to be a beautifully solid yet thin smartphone that should turn heads for a second glance with ease. Xiaomi have really outdone themselves with the design and the build quality is top notch. Features and performance are also very good but to play certain games or apps you may have to look into side loading them (installing the app from an APK) which is about our only issue with the device. At RM1699 it certainly is higher priced than 2299 CNY (RM1373), which is the price it was initially sold for, but with Xiaomi Malaysia being rather slow to bring devices over and the decreasing value of the ringgit this seems to be worth the price. This makes the Mi Note only available at third-party sellers (for now) like SatuGadgetDotCom and DirectD who are offering the Mi Note for around RM1699. Those with shaky hands will definitely enjoy it as a cameraphone though and it should also be able to handle most apps or games well.
Check out the unboxing for the International version of the Xiaomi Mi Note
Go hands-on with the Xiaomi Mi Note
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