Xiaomi has taken the wraps off its latest and largest smartphone yet, and it takes a shot at Apple's iPhone 6 Plus and Samsung's Galaxy Note 4.
It's no surprise why Xiaomi, an aggressive five-year-old startup, has quickly become the third biggest smartphone maker in the world, trailing behind only Apple and Samsung in the lead.
Xiaomi's Mi Note, albeit unoriginally named, packs in a lot of power that will surely give its high-priced competitors a run for their money, at least on paper.
At a media event in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 15, Xiaomi CEO Jun Lei, who has been criticized for copying Steve Jobs' style in introducing his company's newest products, unveiled the 5.7-inch Mi Note. He says it's not just fast and powerful; it is also thinner and lighter than the iPhone 6 Plus, a point that Apple likes to make about its first phablet.
Compared to the 7.1mm Apple device, the Mi Note is at 6.9mm and weighs much less than both the iPhone 6 Plus and Galaxy Note 4 at 161g.
Lei also took a jab at the protruding camera on Apple's iPhone 6 Plus, pointing out that the Mi Note has a 13 MP rear camera that doesn't poke out the way the 8 MP camera on the iPhone 6 Plus does. Xiaomi also says its camera has optical image stabilization, f2.0 aperture for low-light conditions, and dual-tone flash for more natural colors, showing off a series of images that impressed attendees of the event. On the front, it has a 4 MP camera compared to the iPhone's 1.2 MP camera.
Also notable is the Mi Note's curved glass panel, which gives it sleek curves and a premium feel, which one would not normally expect from a sub-$400 smartphone. Both the iPhone 6 Plus and Galaxy Note 4 sport the same curved glass design.
"When we tried the Xiaomi Note, we didn't feel like we were handling an iPhone at all. Although the device uses a metal frame, it has a glass back that curves around its edges. Those curves made the phone feel less like a large block and easier to grip," Michael Kan of Computer World, who was able to get his hands on the Mi Note, said.
Nowhere has Xiaomi seemed to have made compromises. Its 3,000 mAh battery (compared to the Galaxy Note 4's 3,220 mAh battery), Snapdragon 801 processor and 3GB of RAM under the hood should keep users happy with fast and lag-free performance.
Like Apple, Xiaomi offers 16GB and 64GB storage options, although Xiaomi does not have a model that offers 128GB. Both the Mi Note and iPhone 6 Plus have no microSD storage. On the software side, the Mi Note runs MI UI, a custom Android version akin to TouchWiz.
On the display side, Xiaomi also brought in the big guns. It has a 1080 x 1920 resolution similar to that of the iPhone 6 Plus, although its slightly bigger screen gives it 386 pixels per inch compared to the iPhone's 401 pixels per inch.
Xiaomi also unveiled a second smartphone, the Mi Note Pro, which boasts a 2560 x 1440 display similar to Samsung's Galaxy Note 4. The company, however, declined to provide further details about the higher-end phone aside from the fact that it will be more expensive than the Mi Note and will sport a more powerful Snapdragon 810 processor and 4GB of RAM.
The Mi Note will be available in China for 2,299 yuan, which translates into around $370. The more powerful Mi Note Pro will be more expensive at 3,299 yuan or $531.
It is unclear when the Mi Note launches into the American market, or if it will ever come at all. However, one Chinese reseller has begun listing prices for the Mi Note and Mi Note Pro for overseas customers. Oppomart, which is based in Shenzhen, Guangdong will be selling the Mi Note for $399 and Mi Note Pro for $599.
