What's good
- Premium design and build quality
- Fast performance
- HD display
- Excellent camera quality
What's bad
- Glass back panel attracts smudges
- Not available in all countries
The Xiaomi Mi Note is the company's flagship phablet and competes directly with the likes of Apple and Samsung. Reviewers note that it bears design hallmarks of both manufacturers – the metal frame of the iPhone 5 and curved back of the Galaxy Note Edge. Both the front and back of the device is protected by Gorilla Glass completing the premium look of the Mi Note. At 0.3 inches thick it is also thinner than the iPhone 6 Plus and weighs a scant 156 gram; almost too light and thin for some critics. The only niggle experts had with this was that the back panel attracted smudges. Besides this, however, they applaud its build quality and overall design calling it "gorgeous."
There's another area where the Mi Note emulates the iPhone – the UI. When experts compared them side-by-side the cosmetic similarities were obvious from the icons to the drop down menu. It does, however, run on Android so it has access to the Google Play store as well as its own Mi app store.
Despite its low cost, the Mi Note doesn't make any concessions in the hardware department. The most obvious feature is its 5.7-inch, 1080p LCD display. Critics had no problem with the screen sharpness, color balance or viewing angles. Sitting behind the screen is a 2.5GHz quad-core processor and 3GB of RAM. It offers two performance modes – balanced and performance – with balanced as the default. Based on benchmark tests, balanced mode throttled the CPU maxing it out at 1.7GHz while performance offers unhindered CPU and RAM usage. Regardless of what mode they used, experts didn't notice any slowdowns when swiping through the OS or performing basic task and even playing some casual games. The balanced mode is meant to get more life out of the 3,000mAh battery and, in fact, lasted experts a full day of moderate usage.
The Mi Note comes equipped with a 13MP rear camera and optical image stabilization technology. When put to the test, experts were able to take detailed and color accurate images in almost every lighting situation, though they point out it loses some detail in night time shots. Still, they commend its performance with Ars Technica stating, "There is nothing to complain about in the camera department."
Reviewers highly recommend the Xiaomi Mi Note for those that can get their hands on it. CNET states, "The Xiaomi is one heck of a phone…I'm very much taken with its design, performance and features." IB Times adds, "The Xiaomi Mi Note is what I wish the iPhone 6 looked like."
What the Critics Are Saying...
- Adam Doud, PocketnowThe Xiaomi Mi Note has top quality design and feel, but the insides don't live up to the outsides.
- Lanh Nguyen, Android AuthorityThis device certainly proves that Xiaomi is more than capable of competing in the over crowded US smartphone market, and it is actually quite unfortunate that it won’t be officially available there. All in all, the Xiaomi Mi Note is one very solid device from hardware to software, and is one o...
- GSMArena team, GSMArenaThe Xiaomi Mi Note set out to be an affordable flagship. When such claims are coming from China, the flagship is usually the less credible part of the phrase. Xiaomi are by no means the first to put quality ahead of affordability. Take a look at a Oppo's latest N3 and R5. The Mi Note isn't cheap and...
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Common Questions
Xiaomi backs up the Mi Note with a 1 Year parts & labour warranty.
If your Mi Note has problems and is still within its warranty period, you could contact Xiaomi support or the retailer you purchased the phone from. You'll find Xiaomi's contact information here. If your phone is off warranty and needs repair for a physical problem such as a broken screen or bad battery, you should visit an authorized service centre or a local phone repair shop. You can also connect with others in The Informr Community Forum to find and share answers to questions.
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