The Xiaomi Mi Note serves quite a nice principle, that you do not need to empty your pockets for a good-quality handset. It is declared as the successor of the Redmi Note, only that the name of the predecessor was not retained for the new model. The Xiaomi Mi Note is definitely one of those price-spec-design balanced phablets.
The Xiaomi Mi Note is a balanced device with regard to its measurements and design. It is 155.1 x 77.6 mm long and across, while it is only 6.95 mm thick, quite nice for a phablet. The Xiaomi Mi Note weighs in at 161 grams and its design is something interesting to note. The front panel is comprised out of a “2.5D” curved glass reinforced with Gorilla Glass 3, with only a very thin bezel at 3.0 mm. The back encasing of the Xiaomi Mi Note is also glass-coated, but only this time we get a bigger, “3D” curvature. It is still debatable how this design will fit in the users hands.
The 5.7 inch display on the Xiaomi Mi Note is not a super-man, but it doesn’t lag far behind at 1920 x 1080 resolution with 386 PPI. The technology on the camera is impressive even if it will only top up at 13 megapixels. It makes use of Sony’s 2nd gen IMX214 CMOS sensor, topped with optical image stabilization. The rear snapper also features a dual, two tone flash from Philips, with promises that it will produce more vibrant and distinct colors in the photos. Even though the selfie camera on the Xiaomi Mi Note should not be a jaw-dropper at 4 MP, Xiaomi begs to differ. The company stated that the 2-micro pixels on the front snapper are much better than regular pixels since they have a size increase. In this regard it is similar to the “UltraPixel” tech that HTC implemented on the HTC One M8.
In terms of hardware options there are two variants available for the Xiaomi Mi Note. The basic one runs with a quad-core Snapdragon 801, backed by 3 GB of RAM and a 3.000 mAh. The storage options on the regular Xiaomi Mi Note are 16 and 64 GB. Question is now… are you ready to go all in? The Xiaomi Mi Note features a second variant, the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro which is quite an impressive device. The upgraded handset features a 64-bit Octa-Core Snapdragon 810 pimped up by 4 GB of RAM. The only storage option available is the one at 64 GB, while the screen gets an upgrade at 2k resolution (2560 x 1440).
If that wasn’t impressive enough, then the Xiaomi Mi Note has one more trick up its sleeve. It features a high quality audio playback for hi-fidelity 24-bit/192 kHz formats like: FFAC, WAV, DSD etc. The DAC audio decoder inside the phone makes playing such formats possible. Now after every aspect has been presented it’s time to talk money. The basic option of the Xiaomi Mi Note at 16 costs just $371, while the 64 GB variant will go up to $452. The upgraded version, the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro, will top up around $532, not a huge difference from the former one, considering the hardware boost. The basic variant for the Xiaomi Mi Note will be available in China starting Jan 27th, while for the Pro version you will have to wait until late March.