The latest flagship on the block, Xiaomi’s Mi MIX 2S is an updated and upgraded version of the stunning MIX 2. We got a chance to check out the phone for a bit after its launch in China. Follow along for a quick unboxing and first impressions of the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S.
Hands On Video
Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S specifications
- 5.99-inch (2160 × 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 18:9 display with DCI-P3 color gamut
- 2.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 845 64-bit 10nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 630 GPU
- 6GB LPDDR4x RAM with 64GB / 128GB (UFS 2.1) storage / 8GB LPDDR4x RAM, 256GB (UFS 2.1) internal storage
- Android 8.1 (Oreo) with MIUI 9
- Dual SIM (nano + nano)
- 12MP rear camera with 26mm wide-angle lens, 1/2.6″ Sony IMX363 sensor, f/1.8 aperture, 1.4µm pixel size, dual-tone LED flash, 4-axis OIS, Optical zoom, 4K video recording, secondary 12MP rear camera with 46mm telephoto lens, 1/3.4″ sensor size, f/2.4 aperture, 2X zoom
- 5MP front-facing camera with real-time AI portraits
- Fingerprint sensor
- Dimensions: 150.86×74.9x 8.1 mm; Weight: 189g
- Dual 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11ac dual-band (2×2 MU-MIMO ), Bluetooth 5, GPS/GLONASS/Beidou, NFC, USB Type-C
- 3400mAh (typical) / 3300mAh (minimum) battery with QC 3.0 fast charging, 7.5W Qi wireless charging
First Impressions
The box packaging of the Mi Mix 2S is minimal like that of the Mix 2. There’s not much to see here other than a plain black box that has the words Mix written on it. Box contents include the phone of course in addition to a USB Type C cable, Quick Charge 3.0 compatible charger, SIM ejector tool, Type C to 3.5mm dongle and even a soft touch case.
Now coming to the hardware itself, the Mix 2S is really similar to the existing Mix 2. Xiaomi has kept its winning formula and the Mix 2S is a stunning piece of engineering. Up front, you’ve got the 5.99” Full HD+ IPS screen. This is an 18:9 panel that looks tack sharp, rich in contrast and bright enough. Below it is a chin that houses the 5MP front-facing camera. Yes, it still looks up your nose.
I for one like the fact that there’s no notch here but it really comes down to your design preferences. The right side of the phone has the volume rocker and power button. Between the glass front and ceramic back lies the aluminum frame. The 18:9 aspect ratio really helps in making sure that you can easily grip the phone despite the large size.
Along the bottom edge is the USB Type C connector as well as the speaker grille. The left side houses dual nano SIM slots. Interestingly, Xiaomi has gotten rid of infrared port up at the top.
Coming to the back, the Mix 2S in white is downright gorgeous. The ceramic back resists scratches meanwhile around the camera you’ll find a silver border. The black variant has a gold border similar to the Mix 2. Almost imperceptible, the Mix 2S is 0.4 mm thicker due to the built-in wireless charging support. Now, the back is where the biggest changes lie. And as you can see, it is pretty different from the regular Mix 2. The phone sports a dual camera array. There’s a 12MP Sony IMX 363 sensor paired with an f 1.8 lens, 4 axis OIS. This is in addition to another 12MP telephoto lens that can assist with portrait mode. The phone gets AI based scene detection too.
We briefly tested out the camera and came away pretty impressed. Despite being a prototype, the camera is very well optimized and shots look good. Portrait mode was not fully functional in this early build so we’ll reserve judgment on that. Don’t forget to check out our full Mi Mix 2S photo samples gallery.
Internally, the phone is powered by a Snapdragon 845 chipset paired with 6 or 8GB of RAM. This particular unit has 256GB of storage. The operating system is MIUI 9.5 built on top of Android Oreo. Yes, it is the same MIUI that you are used to and we couldn’t really spot anything new here. More on this in our review. Performance, of course, was rock solid as you would expect from the flagship grade specs.
The Mi Mix 2S is priced between 3299 yuan and 3999 yuan in China. There’s no word on an Indian release date at the moment.