Unlike movies where the sequel are often not as good as the first, in the tech industry, second generation devices are always an improvement, sometimes even more popular than the third generation. Annoyances addressed, bugs fixed, hardware upgraded. This is exactly what Xiaomi did to its Note series of smartphones earlier today. The original Redmi Note positioned itself as a budget mid-range smartphone, which already did quite well (arguably better than the Redmi 1S), but rather than just introduce a new mid-range ‘Redmi Note 2’, Xiaomi is rebranding the series into Mi Note, and while it’s at it, upgrades the hardware to become Xiaomi’s new flagship smartphone, with overall specifications better than the Mi 4.
Mi Note and Mi Note Pro
Xiaomi toutes the Mi Note to be the “most powerful Xiaomi smartphone” it has ever built. This claim could be contested because Mi Note uses the same 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB RAM, and Adreno 330 GPU, as the Mi 4. There are many fronts the Mi 4 is still ahead, like a higher-resolution front camera (8MP), or a slightly larger battery but a smaller display to power (3080mAh & 5” 1080p). But that’s not the point, and it doesn’t make the Mi Note pro any less a flagship device.
Besides the innards, Mi Note also has a design refresh with a metal unibody frame, making it premium looking to match the high-end hardware. The front 2.5D glass panel wraps to the sides, and the back is using and even curvier 3D glass panel, both Gorilla Glass 3-protected. It has a 74.4% screen-to-body ratio which means the 5.7-inch Full HD display is able to fit into the relatively small frame.
The audio department is also not left behind with the Hi-Fi audio system supporting 24-bit/192KHz lossless playback.
Sony is supplying the 13-megapixel rear camera with a f/2.0 aperture and optical image stabilization (OIS), while Philips-sourced dual-color temperature LED handles the flash. The front camera is ‘only’ a 4-megapixel shooter, but has a large 2-micron pixel sensor, for brighter low-light shots.
But it is the Mi Note Pro that is elevating the Note series into a flagship status surpassing the Mi 4. It has an identical design, but soups-up the innards into becoming one of the best smartphones in the market. There are a bunch of upgrades here over the Mi Note. This Pro variant uses the brand-new 64-bit, 8-core Snapdragon 810 processor, better Adreno 430 GPU, an overkill 4GB LPDDR4 RAM, and comes only in 64GB eMMC 5.0 Flash storage. Of course, the 5.7-inch display is also replaced with a 2K, 2560 x 1440 resolution panel at a crazy density of 515 pixels per inch. If that’s not enough for you, the 4G is a LTE Category 9, meaning it has a theoretical download speeds of up to 450Mbps. Not that your telcos can handle that.
| Mi Note | Mi Note Pro | |
| SoC | 2.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801(MSM8947AC) CPU and Adreno 330 GPU. | Octa-core (4 x 2.0 GHz ARM Cortex-A57 + 4 x 1.5 GHz ARM Cortex-A53) Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (MSM8994) CPU and Adreno 430 GPU. |
| OS/UI | Runs MIUI 6 (based on Android 5.0 Lollipop) | |
| Display | 5.7”, 1920 x 1080 (HD 1080), Sharp/JDI IPS LCD screen with a pixel density of 386.47 ppi. Has 1400:1 contrast ratio, and Curved Gorilla Glass 3. | 5.7”, 2560 x 1440 (WQHD), Sharp/JDI IPS LCD screen with a pixel density of 515.3 ppi. Has 1400:1 contrast ratio, and Curved Gorilla Glass 3. |
| Memory | 3 GB RAM (LPDDR3), 16/64 GB internal memory, but has no microSD card slot. | 4 GB RAM (LPDDR4), 64 GB internal memory, but has no microSD card slot. |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac dual-band with Wi-Fi Direct and Wi-Fi Display, Bluetooth 4.1, and micro-USB 2.0. | |
| Data Radio | Supports GPRS, EDGE, HSPA+ and 4G LTE Cat 4. Two SIM slots (micro-SIM/nano-SIM, dual-standby). | Supports GPRS, EDGE, HSPA+ and 4G LTE Cat 9. Two SIM slots (micro-SIM/nano-SIM, dual-standby). |
| Camera | 13 MP auto-focusing rear camera with Sony IMX214 Exmor RS CMOS BSI sensor, optical image stabilisation (OIS), Philips dual-tone dual-LED flash, and 6-elements lens. 4 MP front camera with CMOS BSI sensor at 1/3” sensor size and 2µm pixel size. Aperture for the front camera is rated at f/2.0. | |
| Additional info | Fast charging (QC 2.0), curved Gorilla Glass 3 back, 192 kHz/24 bit Hi-Fi sound (with ESS Technology ES9018K2M DAC audio chip, 2 x Texas Instrument OPA1612 Operational Amplifiers, and 2 x ADI ADA4896 low noise preamplifiers), supports lossles formats (DSD, FLAC, APE, and WAV), and Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic. | |
| Battery | 3,000 mAh, non-removable, Li-ion battery. Quick Charge 2.0 | |
| Dimensions H x W x D and weight | 155.1 x 77.6 x 6.95 mm and weighs 161 g. | |
| Colour(s) | Comes in Black, and White colour options. | Comes in only Champagne Gold colour option. |
The one only potential deal-breaker to some, could lie in the Mi Note and Mi Note Pro’s 3000mAh 4.4V Lithium-ion battery, which is non-user-removable, and is actually smaller than the Mi 4’s. All this considering that it has to power a larger display, and in Mi Note Pro’s case, a denser one too. For comparison purposes, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has a 3220mAh Li-ion user-removable battery. To make up for this, both Mi Notes will support Quick Charge 2.0 that will juice them up by 60% in just 30 minutes.
But if you want an elevator pitch from me for you to buy this device, that’s easy too — Dual 4G SIM support (micro/nano). How often do you get a flagship smartphone that supports dual SIM cards? On top of that, how often do you find both SIM card slots supporting 4G LTE connectivity with dual standby?
Xiaomi Mi Note is priced at CN¥2,299 (~RM 1,323) for the 16GB model, and CN¥2,799 (~RM 1,610) for the 64GB model. The Mi Note Pro only comes in a 64GB variant, and that’ll set you back CN¥3,299 (~RM1,898).
Xiaomi in China has opened up pre-orders for the Mi Note 16GB today, with the flash sale opening up on January 20th at 12pm. Shipping is said to begin on January 27th. Xiaomi Malaysia also dropped a good news for us, promising that the Mi Note will arrive on our shores in Q2 2015. Unfortunately no word yet on the Mi Note Pro’s availability.
Mi Headphones
Apart from the two flagship phones, Xiaomi also announced a new addition to its audio lineup. This is their first attempt at an over-ear/on-ear headphone and by the looks of it, they might have a winning device in their hands.
These audiophile-grade headphones come with a pair of 50 mm beryllium diaphragm speakers (which are said to be 25% larger than regular ones) and feature a semi-open, balanced double damping system. The dampening system helps to absorb most of the reflected sounds within the phones and the reduction of noise is further helped by the unique design of the aluminium sound chamber.
The Mi Headphones have a pretty decent 32-ohm impedance which gives it a good balance between power usage and a good sound. The headphones have a sensitivity of 100 dB and a frequency range of between 20 to 20,000 Hz. The oxygen-free copper wire has been silver-plated and to minimise interference from either channels, have straight-design configuration. The individual wires themselves have been coated with kevlar fiber, and a braided cabled holds them all in place.
The phones have interchangeable ear covers for both over-ear and on-ear usage, soft memory foam padding all around, PU leather for that high-quality finish, and they come in their own storage bag. The phones can also be folded to make them more portable.
The Mi Headphones have a price tag of CN¥ 499 (~RM 287) but the availability has not been confirmed yet.
Mi Box mini
The other device that was announced is the ridiculously small, Apple TV-esque, set-top box. The Mi Box mini is about 1/4th the size of its predecessor, Mi Box, and has an equally incredible design that is as simple as they come.
Xiaomi has crammed in 282 integrated components into a box that is 46.8 x 46.8 mm, sits 38 mm off the table and weighs 73 g. It has a 1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT8685 CPU, a 4+2 core Mali-450 GPU, 1 GB RAM, 4 GB of storage, Bluetooth 4.0, and supports dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connection. The device runs Android 4.4.2 and is capable of pushing 1080P resolution videos with support for H.265 video codec. On the audio side, Dolby Digital Plus and DTS 2.0 sound are standard.
The unit comes with its own Bluetooth remote control (the same one that comes with Mi TV 2) and only has a single HDMI (1.4a) port for connection. The power supply unit and its two external pins have also been built into the box. The pins feature a flip-out design and this allows them to be stowed away neatly into the body when transporting it.
The Mi Box mini is priced at CN¥ 199 (~RM 115) and pre-order is available now for users in China. It will go on sale on the 20th in China.
Wrap-up
If you have two hours to spare and would like to watch the keynote presentation that happened earlier today, Xiaomi Hong Kong’s YouTube page has you covered. You can find out more about the Xiaomi Mi Note and the Pro version here, the Mi Headphones here, and the Mi Box mini here [all in Chinese].
Additional reporting by Reuben Thum.
The post Xiaomi upgrades Mi Note series into flagship status, introduces audiophile-grade Mi Headphones, and a miniscule Mi Box mini appeared first on TechAttack.my.