Xiaomi Mi 6: A Cheaper Alternative To The Samsung Galaxy S8
The Xiaomi Mi 6 is arriving in a few days, which means consumers now have another option. Every company this year churned out or will be releasing their best smartphones yet, and Xiaomi is no exception. But how does its flagship fare against the strongest contender so far, the Galaxy S8? Let’s find out.
Xiaomi Mi 6 Design Is Lacking
Let’s get this one straight out – the Galaxy S8 is a hard one to beat in terms of design. Its full-display front that they call the Infinity Display is setting the bar high for future flagships. The omission of the physical home button in favor of a bezel-less screen proved to be a good decision for Samsung, a move that Xiaomi did not dare to do in the Mi 6.
Leaked Image Shows First batch of #Xiaomi Mi 6 Ready for Shipment https://t.co/J1NF1fnng3 » @GizmoChina pic.twitter.com/9CaSwpxRWo
— Ravin Lad (@Ravin_Lad) April 23, 2017
The Galaxy S8 aside, the Xiaomi Mi 6 still looks pretty good albeit a bit generic. It sports a smaller and slightly curved 5.15-inch display with top and bottom bezels that are too large for a 2017 flagship. There is still a home button, which means the back only houses the dual cameras.
The ceramic build of the Xiaomi Mi 6 contributes to its sleek appearance. The tasteful contours make it easy on the hands and the variety of colors provide options for consumers. Take note, though, that the surface may be too reflective to some.
Xiaomi Mi 6 Specs Are Great For Its Price
Like the Samsung flagship, Xiaomi’s sports a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, Gadgets Post reports. With 6GB of RAM, the Mi 6 trumps the Galaxy S8’s 4GB RAM, but numbers don’t always define performance.
The 3,350 mAh battery in the Xiaomi Mi 6 is also an advantage over the 3,000 mAh battery of the Galaxy S8. But Samsung’s flagship shines when it comes to features. While the Chinese handset offers only a fingerprint scanner as an unlocker, the Korean smartphone offers iris and face recognition technology on top of it.
The Galaxy S8 is available in 64GB and 128GB internal storage options. The same is true for the Xiaomi Mi 6 except that the Samsung device has expandable memory.
Xiaomi Mi 6’s Camera Is Fantastic
In a camera review by Forbes, the Xiaomi Mi 6 performed amazingly well against the Galaxy S8’s 12-megapixel f/1.7 rear camera. The Mi 6 has a dual-camera set-up at the back, one lens with f/1.8 aperture and the other with f/2.6, which is comparable to the iPhone 7 Plus’ arrangement.
The photos captured by the Mi 6 had more detail in daylight, but in low-light conditions, the Galaxy S8 still reigns supreme. The Bokeh effect of the Mi 6 camera is also cool to play around with, but the Galaxy S8 focuses faster.
Mi 6 is the first 5.15" phone with dual camera. It's a 12MP wide angle + 12MP telephoto camera that allows you to have 2x lossless zoom. pic.twitter.com/0d8p3Awdaj
— Xiaomi (@Xiaomi) April 19, 2017
The zooming capabilities of both phones were also tested, resulting in almost the same outcome. Both the optical zoom and digital zoom didn’t yield much different results.
The verdict? Xiaomi Mi 6’s camera performance is really surprising, considering its cheap price.
Xiaomi Mi 6’s Price
We’re now at the pricing where the Mi 6 wins hands down. Samsung is selling its flagship for $850, a fitting price for a beautiful and powerful smartphone. The Xiaomi, on the other hand, is only asking for $350. For the price of one Galaxy, you can buy two Mi 6 units and you still have change.
The Xiaomi Mi 6 is definitely a strong competitor with its high-end specs and low-end pricing. It may be the greatest value for money yet but only if you’re willing to look past its lackluster design. There are loads of other smartphones this year that look much better than it, but they cost twice as much.
Interested on a Xiaomi Mi 6? It will be available on April 28, so mark your calendars.
[Featured Image by Maurizio Pesce/Flickr/Cropped and Resized/CC BY 2.0]
