iPhone 7 xiaomi killer. The whole truth about the Chinese iPhone “killers” from Xiaomi, LeEco, Meizu and OnePlus. Owners' opinion. What are the main advantages
At the beginning of September 2017, Xiaomi and Google jointly announced a new A1 smartphone with “pure” Android, a metal body and a dual camera, which, according to assurances, is comparable to the iPhone 7 Plus module. We have heard such loud statements before... but not in relation to budget devices.
Brave claim. And we will definitely check it. We simply could not pass by and not try to catch Xiaomi by the tongue - such things are no joke, because the “seven” has been reliably holding the position of one of the main camera phones on the market for a year now, with which only comparable-price Android flagships can compete.
Plus, this is a great chance to see what it's like Android program One. If you've never heard of it, it's a Google initiative in which the corporation helps create high-quality, inexpensive devices in exchange for them being sold with the latest version of Android without add-ons and unnecessary pre-installed applications.
Have we met somewhere before?
Of all the Android One released today Xiaomi version looks the most attractive: solid aluminum body, dual camera, a 5.5-inch screen, glass slightly rounded at the edges and antenna veins neatly inscribed into the edges of the body... wait, this has already happened somewhere. Well, yes, the iPhone 7 Plus was mentioned at the presentation for a reason - Mi A1 seemed to be designed by two designers from an old joke: one was holding the iPhone, and the second was tracing it. The device also resembles the OnePlus 5 with its narrower frames.
The color palette is almost identical to the iPhone: matte black, pink and gold. The polishing quality is also almost identical, it is pleasant to hold in your hands. In general, the product of the joint efforts of Google and Xiaomi looks quite good, but is completely devoid of individuality - only the branded three buttons under the screen and the fingerprint sensor placed on the back (like the Mi Max 2) save it from complete depersonalization. But these design solutions can hardly be called unconditionally successful - in 2017 touch buttons instead of on-screen ones, they give out Chinese state employees a mile away.
Let's be honest - this is not an iPhone
When Jony Ive gets to work in his snow-white workshop in Cupertino, there can be no complaints about ergonomics. You can criticize the relatively unprepossessing design of the latter as much as you like. iPhone generations, but at least the smartphone itself is perfectly balanced and fits into the hand as if it had always been there: pleasantly heavy, smooth, fingers can easily reach all the necessary buttons - in a word, the Thing. With 5.5-inch iPhone screen The 7 Plus still feels like a shovel and you can’t do it without a second hand; even Apple is not capable of such miracles.
But the Mi A1 lacks this feeling of “Thing” with a capital T. It seems to be the same, almost 30 grams lighter, already a couple of millimeters, and the index finger fits perfectly on the fingerprint sensor, but still something is wrong. It may be a matter of weight, but there are other unpleasant little things. For example, although the edges of the glass are rounded, the joint with the metal is uneven; there is a noticeable “step” with a sharp edge.
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And with such a diagonal, it is quite difficult to use the three touch keys under the screen - if you hold the device with one hand, your finger simply cannot reach them all. The iPhone has only one button, multitasking, in the center.
Moreover, for some reason they saved money on the NFC module, so you can forget about Android Pay. In 2017, for the device with Google support this looks like unacceptable redneck.
"Pure" Android is good, but there are problems
It's funny, but be it ordinary Xiaomi smartphone with branded MIUI shell, there would be no problem with the keys. The company's engineers are well aware that with a large diagonal it is impossible to use them, and have long ago added to the firmware the ability to reassign them, add an alternative action for a long press, or even switch to a special universal button that can be freely dragged around the screen.
All this is implemented in the twin brother of Xiaomi Mi A1, which is called Mi 5X - this is literally the same device, but on MIUI instead of pure Android.
In “pure” Android 7.1.1 these options are not provided; even on-screen buttons cannot be activated. But swiping on the sensor on the rear panel opens a curtain with notifications and quick switches, just like on the Google Pixel, and the whole system works faster, more stable and completely in Russian with access to Google Play“out of the box”, no need to bother with firmware.
In addition, in Android, starting with version 7.0 Nougat, one of the best on-screen keyboards, G-Board, is used today, and swiping to the right from the main screen opens the search screen and personal feed - at first an unusual, but very convenient thing that will show the weather, and traffic jams on the way home, and interesting news (I don’t know how exactly this happens, but I almost always get something that I would really like to read). In addition, by the end of the year the device should be updated to Android 8.0 Oreo, and there are also several useful innovations there.
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As for the talking Google Assistant, so far it only understands queries in English. But sooner or later it must be adapted for our country.
The only Xiaomi app that has crept into the Mi A1 is Mi Remote, which allows you to use the IR port built into the top edge as Universal remote for any home equipment such as a TV or air conditioner. And this is rather a plus, nevertheless, starting from version 7.0 Android has become exemplary operating system with good stability on all devices, which makes no sense to clutter with unnecessary elements.
There is enough power, but it doesn’t conquer peaks
Inside Xiaomi Mi A1 there is an eight-core Snapdragon 625 and 4 GB random access memory. This is not a flagship level, but a good supply of RAM and OS optimization allows a mid-level processor to quickly cope with any everyday tasks: menus open and scroll through quickly and smoothly, applications launch and run without slowdowns, and even a heavy PDF document of almost 500 pages was loaded with all the graphics in seconds.
Xiaomi Mi A1 VS iPhone 7 Plus
Mi A1 does not conquer the top of benchmarks, but thanks to the energy-efficient Snapdragon 625, Full HD IPS screen and a 3080 mAh battery, it confidently lives for one and a half to two days with average use (several calls, an hour and a half of Internet and social networks at 80% brightness, two hours of online music, periodic replies in instant messengers and mail with push notifications) and confidently reaches late evening if you use maps a lot, take photos and watch YouTube videos in addition to standard downloads.
The screen is good. For their money
Xiaomi Mi A1 has a really good, even excellent display. In direct comparison with the iPhone 7 Plus, it is inferior, but not without a fight: with identical resolution, brightness and pixel density, the Chinese budget device has less saturated colors and lowered contrast, which makes the image seem flat and less expressive. Viewing angles are excellent, but it could be calibrated better; blacks are a little purple.
The display is covered with a Gorilla Glass 3 panel, but there are some doubts about this - on the very first day a noticeable scratch appeared on the glass, although the smartphone was not put in the same pocket with keys or anything like that. It looks like an ordinary large speck of dust on the table was enough.
Between the white glass of the front panel and the screen, a thin black frame around the display is noticeable, but you can’t get away from it - white iPhone 7s also have it.
Camera - main test
A balanced verdict in the unexpected comparison of Xiaomi Mi A1 and iPhone 7 Plus can be made based on the results of the main comparison - the camera test. Below are examples of images taken from both devices under equal conditions.
When viewing captured photos on smartphone screens, the iPhone 7 Plus looked like a clear winner. But upon closer examination on one computer monitor, the difference turned out to be not so significant. Photos from Xiaomi even look brighter and more contrasty!
You can check out more photo comparisons in our gallery. Photos are signed and presented in full resolution.
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On the left is Xiaomi Mi A1, on the right is iPhone 7 Plus
The devices take photographs in the same resolution of 12 megapixels (4000x3000 pixels), matrices with enlarged pixels are used, and pairs of modules consist of one wide-angle lens and one telephoto lens, but the characteristics of individual modules differ. Apple uses fast (f/1.8 and f/2.8) lenses with focal lengths of 28 mm and 56 mm, respectively, while Xiaomi camera simpler: f/2.2 at 26 mm and f/2.6 at 50 mm.
As expected, both smartphones cope well in bright daylight, but Xiaomi produces slightly oversaturated colors (this can be corrected in the camera settings, but we specifically shot at standard values).
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On the left is Mi A1, on the right is iPhone 7 Plus. In difficult conditions, Mi A1 better selects white balance, this is noticeable in pictures of a highway and a night lane, but due to the lower aperture in the dark, the pictures lose detail and sharpness.
Optical zoom works the same and changing cameras is quick, but here the iPhone 7 Plus produces more detail.
Opinion Hi-Tech Mail.Ru
I think you already understand what the verdict is. Xiaomi Mi A1 cannot compete with the iPhone 7 Plus on equal terms, their weight categories are too different. The Chinese, in collaboration with Google, saved on everything, from the designer’s salary to the NFC module, in order to fit into a very modest price tag (see the minimum price in the GearBest store) the highest possible characteristics that could impress everyone at the presentation.
Let's not pretend, everyone knew that this battle was lost from the very beginning. But the question is different - in official retail, the 32 GB iPhone 7 Plus costs three and a half times more than the Xiaomi Mi A1 - is the budget Chinese device really that much worse than the American flagship?
The lag in hardware is noticeable during everyday use; it runs on a fresh and perfectly optimized international (Russian language out of the box!) version of Android, and the design includes a slot for microSD cards and a 3.5mm headphone port. Speaking of sound, the external speaker is very loud, with it you definitely won’t miss an alarm clock or a call. And most importantly, the dual camera in it is truly comparable to one of the best on the market. Not better, not the same, but close, and all together this justifies and offsets its low cost, so this model fully deserves the “Best Buy” award.
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First you need to understand what “kill iPhone” means. It’s definitely not a matter of the number of copies sold: here Apple is already consistently second after Samsung.
In fact, the murder will consist in the fact that the generally recognized “number one smartphone” will be a device from another brand. Now only the iPhone forces people to stand in line three days before the device goes on sale. The most difficult task for competitors is to create a truly iconic gadget that would sell millions of copies within the first weekend after release.
In 2017 year iPhone is still in a different dimension compared to the pursuers. But in the future the situation may indeed change.
1 Samsung
Photo © AFP/EAST NEWS
Probability of winning: 40%
At the end of the 2000s, Koreans competently assessed the prospects of Android, but mediocrely used this knowledge. For some reason, Asians considered themselves a brand as powerful as Apple. As a result, several smartphones came out of Samsung factories that were priced at the same level as the iPhone, but were tragically inferior to it in performance, convenience, and design.
Roughly speaking, the Koreans only woke up after the failure of the Galaxy S5 in 2014. The collapse of that flagship forced local bosses to reconsider the entire company policy - the Galaxy S6 can be considered a very worthy work on the mistakes. It was since 2015 that the threat from Samsung became real for Apple, and not ephemeral.
To understand how dangerous an Asian brand is for Cupertino, you need to conduct a basic thought experiment. Compare the iPhone 7 and Galaxy S8, imagining that the device with wide frames was released by Samsung, and the frameless flagship was created by Apple. The reaction of users and journalists is very easy to predict. The whole world would laugh at the backward Koreans and pray for those who managed to make a “smartphone without borders.”
However, in real life, the audience's reaction is much more restrained: Apple is almost never criticized, while Samsung is praised extremely cautiously. From this the conclusion is drawn: the only thing that is preventing the Koreans from throwing their rivals off the throne right now is their reputation.
As soon as people forget about the shameless copying of the iPhone (and it happened - Samsung doesn’t hide it), explosions Galaxy Note 7 and other image failures, the top smartphone from Korea will eclipse the Apple gadget. The problem is that Asians, even in the case of the divine Galaxy S8, managed to partially ruin the impression. The reason is the Bixby voice assistant, which debuted 5.5 years later than Siri and turned out to be incredibly stupid.
A wise step that Samsung should take in the very near future is to close its flagship line of tablets. Firstly, they are hard to buy anyway. Secondly, weak Korean tablets (compared to the iPad) negatively affect the perception of other company products. Thirdly, the freed up resources can be used to improve the Galaxy Note line of phablets - especially since Apple has no analogue to smartphones with a stylus.
2 Huawei
Photo © AP/EAST NEWS
Probability of winning: 20%
Huawei CEO Richard Yu said back in January 2013 that Apple is not producing anything innovative since the death of Steve Jobs. At the time, this thesis seemed premature (Cook presented only one smartphone, the iPhone 5), but now we can largely agree with Richard.
The head of Huawei still lives the dream of overtaking Apple in sales and reaching second place in the world after Samsung (now the Chinese are consistently third). Beyond this goal, Richard Yu is focused on releasing a hit, timeless gadget.
Below are three reasons why things can work out for Huawei.
1. They react very quickly to rumors from Cupertino. A classic example is the story of Force Touch: in 2015, this function (recognizing the force of pressing the screen) appeared in Huawei Mate S earlier than in the iPhone 6s. Formally, the Chinese were the first.
2. Huawei has built a very smart pricing policy. There is a main brand - all the most important smartphones are released under it, which cost much less than the flagships of Apple and Samsung. At the same time, the Honor sub-brand is developing - these gadgets compete in price even with Xiaomi devices, although it would seem much cheaper.
The company itself positions Huawei and Honor as two different brands - the higher the likelihood that sooner or later some smartphone will shoot at the level of the iPhone.
3. Huawei respects patents and invests in marketing. The Chinese were not afraid to enter the US market (Xiaomi is still not really there), and they chose Lionel Messi as the main star. Now one of the best football players in the world poses with Huawei smartphones not only on his social networks, but also in shootings for glossy magazines - for example, in the spring, Esquire published a whole photo shoot with the participation of Leo and Huawei P10 Plus.
Photo © BBK Electronic CorporationProbability of winning: 15%
The abbreviation BBK may not tell you anything, and this is no coincidence: under the wing of this company three other, much more famous ones are collected. We are talking about Chinese OPPO, Vivo and OnePlus - the leaders of the local market.
Smartphone experts from the Middle Kingdom claim that OPPO is the most promising brand of the trio. This corporation has scattered a giant retail network across China, and at the same time entered into an agreement with Leonardo DiCaprio - he has been actively appearing in smartphone advertisements for several years. Because of the billboards with the Oscar winner's face, some Chinese even think that OPPO is a Western brand. For example, American.
In addition to investing in marketing, OPPO is preparing the most mysterious and anticipated gadget in the world. They've been talking about the flagship Find 9 for two years now, but it still hasn't come out. The list of characteristics includes a dual camera and super fast charging device: according to one version, it will be able to charge from 0 to 100% in 15 minutes. This information has no confirmation. At least an approximate release date, too.
Vivo is another brand owned by BBK. The company specializes in producing very thin and affordable devices (the average bill is $200–250). Vivo is unlikely to overthrow Apple, but this company practically does not fall out of the top Chinese top five.
But with OnePlus everything is sad. If earlier this company, which existed in a startup format, produced original and budget gadgets, then in 2017 for some reason it presented a dull clone of the iPhone 7 Plus, and even for 500 euros.
Summarizing: You should expect a killer flagship from OPPO, an inexpensive bestseller from Vivo, and something less like an iPhone from OnePlus. Otherwise, the process of killing Apple will be greatly delayed.
3 Google
Photo © AP/FOTOLINK
Probability of winning: 10%
A paradoxical situation: Google has everything to take first place from Apple, but the corporation is not interested in such an outcome.
In 2013, Google blew up with the legendary LG Nexus 5, which sold fantastically all over the world. If you believe the conspiracy theory, then Samsung hinted in response: another such hit, and the Koreans will finally switch to Tizen. Fearing it would lose its biggest customer, Google moved Nexus to a different format.
Now these are exclusively fan gadgets that are produced for familiarization with latest version Android. The company has no sales plans, no meaningful distribution, no shocking investments in marketing. Meanwhile, all Google phones (formerly Nexus, now Pixel) turn out to be of very high quality and competitive even compared to the iPhone. For example, after the death of the Galaxy Note 7, journalists from foreign IT publications unanimously proclaimed the Pixel as the main Android device of the fall of 2016.
Google received only a ten percent chance of triumph only because no one knows: will the company be mature enough to finally declare war on Apple and crush the enemy with chic Google phones?
4 Xiaomi
Probability of winning: 9%
Over the past year, Xiaomi sales in China have fallen by about 30% - this is due to the fact that users are not at all attached to the brand. For Asians, Xiaomi is an intermediate stage: people buy smartphones from the Redmi family, and then get rid of them as soon as they have money for something more decent.
To improve the situation and compete with Apple, Xiaomi needs to fulfill two conditions.
The first is to sharply reduce the line of low-quality budget devices: these devices destroy the brand’s reputation.
The second is to study patents, eliminate violations and, finally, carry out competent expansion. Such plans are already more than two years old, but Xiaomi has actually not made it further than India.
In theory, the same Mi6 could compete with global flagships, but due to the thoughtless actions of Xiaomi management, this smartphone competes with the iPhone and Galaxy only within China.
5 Who else could compete with the iPhone?
Nokia can't be discounted- the Finns have returned with nice gadgets and very competent marketing. Now everything depends on the flagship Nokia 9 - if it is as balanced as current smartphones (3, 5, 6), then the comeback of the legendary brand can be considered a success. The probability of Nokia winning over Apple is 3%: too much time has been lost.
2% should be given to Lenovo, which mutated into Motorola. This is another reincarnation of the brand from the 2000s, and quite successful: at a recent Russian presentation, good gadgets were released under the Moto brand in a variety of price categories - from 5 to 35 thousand rubles. True, the iPhone can only be defeated if the concept of modular smartphones suddenly becomes super popular. But so far there are not as many people who want to attach a speaker or projector to a gadget as Lenovo would like.
Sony's chances are 1%. It seems that the Japanese themselves are desperate to bring a super hit to the market: the company is shooting aftermarket devices from year to year. At the same time, Sony has objectively gigantic potential: you can port PS games to smartphones, you can present your own streaming service (for example, for movies), you can install best camera on the market, but instead the Japanese generate losses by releasing expensive but mediocre devices.
Why everything is so sad is unclear. There is one chance in a hundred that Sony Mobile will change its leadership and the new boss will take the company to Olympus. Until this event, the company will be in a chronic crisis.
In recent years, an interesting trend has emerged - every time, after high-profile presentations Apple gadgets, an armada of competitors is flooding the market with their copycat products. Still, Cupertino residents are unable to cope with all sorts of leaks - long before the release date of the flagship iPhones. After all, almost all the gadgets in the world are assembled at the same factories in China, and it is impossible to keep track of compliance with trade secrets.
Inspired by mega-popularitysmartphones Apple and record profits from their sales, many new companies began to develop similar devices, actively trying to compete with the giant.
However, few of the mentioned manufacturers are able to provide the level of operating comfort and service that the iPhone provides. But one cannot but agree that some of those presented last year mobile news, deserve attention.
Xiaomi Mi 5S
The handsome Mi 5S, released in September 2016, from the Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi, can easily compete with iPhones in terms of characteristics. Its features, even in appearance, are painfully reminiscent of the outlines of the iPhone, the same “solid” aluminum, plastic inserts for antennas, colors and rounded edges. 
It is equipped with a powerful Snapdragon 821 chip with 4 cores and a frequency of 2.15 GHz (for an iPhone - 2.23 GHz). It is controlled by MIUI OS - based on Android 6. RAM – 3 GB. The versatile 5.15-inch IPS display has very thin side bezels. The number of “dots” is 1080×1920, which ensures excellent image transmission without distortion.
Also Mi 5S is very cool ultrasound scanner, which recognizes even wet/dirty fingers of the owner. The button itself, like on iPhones, has become touch sensitive.
The cameras, however, are weaker in the S-series than in its predecessor, the Mi 5. The resolution of the main camera is the same as that of iPhones - 12 megapixels, and the front one - only 4 megapixels (for iPhone 7). However, this did not greatly affect the quality of the photo - everything is clear and contrasty.
Another innovation clearly adopted from Apple is the absence of a slot for memory cards. Now the user can choose one of the 32/64/128 GB versions. Two SIM cards are supported. The battery is 3300 mAh (iPhone 7 has only 1960 mAh).
The cost of a model with a minimum amount of memory is $325.
OnePlus 3
Another one interesting new product-smartphone “3” from the Chinese OnePlus. Since their inception, the brand’s gadgets have been positioned by the manufacturer as “killers” (or “FlagshipKillers”) of smartphones—all others, that is. And the 3rd sample finally begins to live up to this loud slogan.
A distinctive feature of this “dual-SIM” smartphone is its bright 5.5” Super AMOLED screen with very narrow bezels around it. Models are offered in two colors – silver and gold. 
The gadget's processor is almost the same as that of the Mi 5S (i.e. Snapdragon 820 with 4 cores, 2.15 MHz). He has room to roam - almost 6 GB of RAM. Although OnePlus 3 shows excellent performance results, it still does not reach the level of iPhones. The device runs Oxygen OS.
The Troika is equipped with a 16MP camera (from Sony), with an f/2.0 aperture, and an 8MP selfie camera. Optical and digital stabilization is supported. Despite the fact that the camera looks somewhat bulky, it is completely justified high quality pictures. Although there are some flaws when shooting at night.
Battery capacity - 3000 mAh, incl. Dash fast charging is supported. Another plus of this model is that the assembly is well-executed; nothing is loose anywhere, just like with iPhones. Other gadgets from this review cannot always boast of this.
“1+3” in all its glory displays the best quality ratio for its price. For the basic new product they ask for $399, which is almost half as much as for the iPhone. You don't pay for a big name - only for functionality. Quite worthy, by the way.
LeEcoLeMAX 2
Another “Chinese”, simply stuffed with all sorts of bells and whistles - “Le MAX 2” ,
from LeEco. The company is aggressively storming the market and wants to “take” a potential client all at once. Here you have a metal case, two SIM cards, a 21 megapixel camera, and a fairly capacious battery - 3100 mAh, with fast charging.
It is curious that the ultrasonic sensor that scans the finger is not located under the screen, but on the reverse side - near the camera. It is also able to recognize dirty and wet fingers. 
Be prepared for the fact that you will have to use it with two hands - the diagonal is 5.7 inches and the weight of 185 g is obligatory. Accordingly, the number of “dots” of its brightest QHD screen will be large - 2560x1440.
The processor is the same as its predecessor, OnePlus 3, as is the RAM (6 GB). It is controlled by an “axis” - EUI (currently version 5.8).
In this gadget, the company adopted the trend of abandoning the mini-jack from Cupertino. But while Apple also offers wireless “ears” for its smartphones, LeEco simply limited itself to an adapter. 
As for the shooting quality, in fact, the “multi-megapixel” main camera of Le MAX 2 turned out to be not so good. Photos often turn out blurry, especially in low light. But the 8-megapixel selfie camera copes with the tasks quite adequately.
There are options to choose from in three colors, with memory capacities of 32/64/128 GB (with the first and last - tension). There is no option to expand memory. 
For a device with a minimum amount of memory they ask for $315, for a maximum - $421. Great a budget option, it's a pity that there is no mini-jack!
Meizu PRO 6
And finally, one more “clone” that is closest to iPhones is “PRO 6” from Meizu. Just as laconic, with rounded edges, everything is balanced - nothing superfluous.
The gadget is equipped with a powerful, three-cluster 10-core chip – “Helio X25” from Mediatek. It's fast and energy efficient - what more do you need from a processor? Four gigabytes of RAM is enough to ensure the fast operation of the system - “Flyme OS” (based on Android).
The 2560 mAh battery does a good job of powering the chip with the 5.2-inch “Super AMOLED” display. It will definitely withstand a day of loads. At the same time, take into account the additional charge consumption of two SIM cards.
The main camera of the gadget has an extension of 21.16 megapixels. However, it does not differ in any particularly outstanding characteristics. Fast focus, “correct” white balance, good quality of shooting in the twilight. “Front camera” here is 5 megapixels. 
You can choose a model in three colors - 32 or 64 GB; there is no support for external memory cards. Prices start at $320 – quite an adequate price for such functionality.
So why are iPhones better?
Many people have a question: “Why then pay so much for iPhones, if you can buy gadgets with almost half the price?” big amount"bells and whistles"? Yes, by general set In terms of features, some of the smartphones mentioned are indeed superior to iPhones.
However, they do not stand up to any comparison in terms of productivity and quality of work. If you put smartphones side by side, even the response speed and trouble-free opening of applications by iPhones are visible to the naked eye. And iPhone hacking protection cannot be compared with competitors' security services.
The annual report of "Antutubenchmarks" - on the summary characteristics of smartphones, confirms the leading positions of flagship iPhones. In terms of points, they are confidently ahead of their opponents. 
And even taking into account all the “troubles” of the Apple ecosystem, iPhones are many times more stable than any of the above-mentioned devices. All smartphones of the brand are assembled with high quality - nothing is loose anywhere. Even by the weight in your hand you feel that you are holding a good thing.
I bought them up Samsung company for Galaxy S8.
As a result, the Chinese announced the premiere of Mi 6 just a week before the event itself. By this time, all the characteristics of the future flagship were already on the Internet, so the surprise was ruined. However, this is not a tragedy: leaks have long been perceived as the most effective tool for stirring up interest in the expected device.
This is what happened now. News about the next Xiaomi flagship appeared every day and automatically gave buyers a choice: buy an expensive smartphone (Galaxy S8 / iPhone 7 Plus) or wait until the Mi 6 presentation and, perhaps, save a few hundred dollars.
When creating Xiaomi Mi 6, the Chinese were faced with three tasks. The first is to keep up with the trends set by Apple and Samsung. The second is to save your own face. The third is to keep the attractive price tag on the verge of dumping.
After the presentation, we can safely say: yes, Xiaomi did it. Mi 6 is a very promising product, not so much because of the price, but because the smartphone is practically devoid of weak points.
The case design combines the features of the iPhone (lower end), Galaxy S8 (irridescent back cover) and Xiaomi itself: externally, Mi 6 is not much different from last year’s Mi5. The only caveat is 3D glass on all four sides: previously it was only curved on the sides.
The frames around the perimeter of the screen have been preserved - they are huge by the standards of the Galaxy S8, but tiny when compared with the iPhone 7. It would be more correct to call them optimal: they do not spoil the appearance, and there should be no accidental touches.
By the way, the screen here is 5.15-inch with Full HD resolution. Nothing unusual: installing a QHD display would be pointless both from the point of view of use (zero advantages) and from the point of view of cost (it would seriously increase).
The main complaint about the design is the dual camera format. Apple cleverly combined two modules into one lens, but the Chinese did things differently and decorated back panel rather specific “eyes”.
At the same time, there are no questions about the camera itself: Xiaomi Mi 6 received a module from with optical zoom (2x), 4-axis optical stabilization, double flash and 4K video recording.
There is also a background blur mode - again, like in the iPhone 7. Considering that the previous Xiaomi flagship (Mi5) had a generally mediocre camera, a noticeable step forward is obvious.
The Xiaomi Mi 6 has two external speakers, like the iPhone 7, which is again an improvement over the Mi5, where the sound was flat and quiet. Also, Xiaomi parted ways with the 3.5 mm jack in favor of splash protection. A controversial victim, especially considering that in Samsung Galaxy S8 combines both a classic hole and a water-resistant body.
What are the main advantages?
The main advantage of Xiaomi Mi 6 is the price. The most affordable 64 GB option will cost $360 (20,500 rubles). The second modification has 128 GB on board and costs $420 (23,500 rubles).
There is also a third version of the smartphone - Mi 6 Ceramic, equipped with a durable ceramic body (8 points on the Mohs scale) and gold rims around the camera lens (18 carats). For a premium gadget they ask for $435, or 24,500 rubles. Inside there, of course, is 128 gigabytes of internal memory.
For that kind of money, Xiaomi simply has no competitors, because the Chinese installed the Snapdragon 835 processor (the most powerful and energy-efficient in the family), 6 GB of RAM and a 3350 mAh battery with fast charging support in their flagships.
In practice, this means that Mi 6 will be able to “fly” in all applications without overheating or freezing for a couple of years (at least). With the battery, everything is also very simple: a day and a half with an average load, a day with an intensive load, a full charge in just over an hour. It is important that in 15–20 minutes you can provide Mi 6 with enough energy for 5–6 hours of operation.
And if the Galaxy S8 can also recharge quickly, then the iPhone 7 (and especially the 7 Plus) will gain a maximum of 10–12% of its battery capacity in the same 15 minutes.
Start of sales
Mi 6 sales are scheduled to start on April 28. At the same time, on the 25th the first ever presentation of Xiaomi will take place in Moscow, where with a high degree of probability the Mi 6 will be shown. It is naive to think that in Russia the phone will immediately be sold at par for 20–25 thousand - rather, at the start you should expect price tags at 30–35 thousand. But there are very serious chances that the smartphone will come to us faster than in previous years. In any case, the excitement will subside around mid-summer, and the cost will drop to reasonable values.
Will iPhone 7 and Galaxy S8 replace?
When buying a device from Xiaomi, there is no need to save money - this is a real flagship without obvious shortcomings. To the delight of buyers, the Chinese continue to pursue a policy of killer prices, when devices are sold slightly above cost.
Xiaomi Mi 6 is the very case when a Chinese smartphone is still inferior to devices from Apple and Samsung. The iPhone has a more refined interface and platform, while Samsung has an excellent screen and original design, although in terms of practicality, the Xiaomi flagship is at the level of devices costing $600–800.
If we return to the price category of Xiaomi Mi 6, then everything is completely dull with competitors: representatives of Meizu, Huawei and other Chinese are much weaker in terms of characteristics.
True, Xiaomi still disappointed in one thing. Together with Mi 6, the premiere of Mi 6 Plus with a 4500 mAh battery was expected, but for unknown reasons it did not take place. It is likely that Xiaomi will release this gadget later, without a special event.
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Brave claim. And we will definitely check it. We simply could not pass by and not try to catch Xiaomi by the tongue - such things are no joke, because the “seven” has been reliably holding the position of one of the main camera phones on the market for a year now, with which only comparable-price Android flagships can compete.
Plus, this is a great chance to see what the Android One program is all about. If you've never heard of it, it's a Google initiative in which the corporation helps create high-quality, inexpensive devices in exchange for them being sold with the latest version of Android without add-ons and unnecessary pre-installed applications.
Have we met somewhere before?
Of all the Android One versions released today, the Xiaomi version looks the most attractive: a solid aluminum body, a dual camera, a 5.5-inch screen, glass slightly rounded at the edges and antenna veins neatly inscribed into the edges of the body... wait, this has already happened somewhere. Well, yes, the iPhone 7 Plus was mentioned at the presentation for a reason - Mi A1 seemed to be designed by two designers from an old joke: one was holding the iPhone, and the second was tracing it. The device also resembles the OnePlus 5 with its narrower frames.
The color palette is almost identical to the iPhone: matte black, pink and gold. The polishing quality is also almost identical, it is pleasant to hold in your hands. In general, the product of the joint efforts of Google and Xiaomi looks quite good, but is completely devoid of individuality - only the branded three buttons under the screen and the fingerprint sensor placed on the back (like the Mi Max 2) save it from complete depersonalization. But these design solutions can hardly be called unconditionally successful - in 2017, touch buttons instead of on-screen buttons give off a Chinese budget phone a mile away.
Let's be honest - this is not an iPhone
When Jony Ive gets to work in his snow-white workshop in Cupertino, there can be no complaints about ergonomics. You can criticize the relatively nondescript design of the latest generations of iPhone as much as you like, but at least the smartphone itself is perfectly balanced and fits in the hand as if it had always been there: pleasantly heavy, smooth, fingers can easily reach all the necessary buttons - in a word, the Thing . With a 5.5-inch screen, the iPhone 7 Plus still feels like a shovel and you can’t do it without a second hand; even Apple is not capable of such miracles.
But the Mi A1 lacks this feeling of “Thing” with a capital T. It seems to be the same, almost 30 grams lighter, already a couple of millimeters, and the index finger fits perfectly on the fingerprint sensor, but still something is wrong. It may be a matter of weight, but there are other unpleasant little things. For example, although the edges of the glass are rounded, the joint with the metal is uneven; there is a noticeable “step” with a sharp edge.
And with such a diagonal, it is quite difficult to use the three touch keys under the screen - if you hold the device with one hand, your finger simply cannot reach them all. The iPhone has only one button, multitasking, in the center.
Moreover, for some reason they saved money on the NFC module, so you can forget about Android Pay. In 2017, for a device supported by Google, this looks like an unacceptable redneck.
"Pure" Android is good, but there are problems
It's funny, but if it were a regular Xiaomi smartphone with the proprietary MIUI shell, there would be no problem with the keys. The company's engineers are well aware that with a large diagonal it is impossible to use them, and have long ago added to the firmware the ability to reassign them, add an alternative action for a long press, or even switch to a special universal button that can be freely dragged around the screen.
All this is implemented in the twin brother of Xiaomi Mi A1, which is called Mi 5X - this is literally the same device, but on MIUI instead of pure Android and a couple of thousand rubles cheaper (in China).
In “pure” Android 7.1.1 these options are not provided; even on-screen buttons cannot be activated. But swiping on the sensor on the back panel opens a curtain with notifications and quick switches, just like on the Google Pixel, and the whole system works faster, more stable and completely in Russian with access to Google Play out of the box, no need to fool around with firmware.
In addition, in Android, starting with version 7.0 Nougat, one of the best on-screen keyboards, G-Board, is used today, and swiping to the right from the main screen opens the search screen and personal feed - at first an unusual, but very convenient thing that will show the weather, and traffic jams on the way home, and interesting news (I don’t know how exactly this happens, but I almost always get something that I would really like to read). In addition, by the end of the year the device should be updated to Android 8.0 Oreo, and there are also several useful innovations there.
As for the talking Google Assistant, so far it only understands queries in English. But sooner or later it must be adapted for our country.
The only Xiaomi application that has crept into the Mi A1 is Mi Remote, which allows you to use the IR port built into the top edge as a universal remote control for any home equipment such as a TV or air conditioner. And this is rather a plus, nevertheless, since version 7.0 Android has become an exemplary operating system with good stability on all devices, which makes no sense to clutter it with unnecessary elements.
There is enough power, but it doesn’t conquer peaks
Inside the Xiaomi Mi A1 there is an eight-core Snapdragon 625 and 4 GB of RAM. This is not a flagship level, but a good supply of RAM and OS optimization allows a mid-level processor to quickly cope with any everyday tasks: menus open and scroll through quickly and smoothly, applications launch and run without slowdowns, and even a heavy PDF document of almost 500 pages was loaded with all the graphics in seconds.
Mi A1 does not conquer the peaks of benchmarks, but thanks to the energy-efficient Snapdragon 625, Full HD IPS screen and 3080 mAh battery, it confidently lives for one and a half to two days with average use (several calls, one and a half hours of the Internet and social networks at 80% brightness, two hours of online music, periodic replies in instant messengers and mail with push notifications) and confidently lasts until late in the evening if you use maps a lot, take photos and watch videos on YouTube in addition to standard downloads.
The screen is good. For their money
For a device costing 15 thousand rubles, the Xiaomi Mi A1 has a really good, even excellent display. In direct comparison with the iPhone 7 Plus, it is inferior, but not without a fight: with identical resolution, brightness and pixel density, the Chinese budget device has less saturated colors and lowered contrast, which makes the image seem flat and less expressive. Viewing angles are excellent, but it could be calibrated better; blacks are a little purple.
The display is covered with a Gorilla Glass 3 panel, but there are some doubts about this - on the very first day a noticeable scratch appeared on the glass, although the smartphone was not put in the same pocket with keys or anything like that. It looks like an ordinary large speck of dust on the table was enough.
Between the white glass of the front panel and the screen, a thin black frame around the display is noticeable, but you can’t get away from it - white iPhone 7s also have it.
Camera - main test
A balanced verdict in the unexpected comparison of Xiaomi Mi A1 and iPhone 7 Plus can be made based on the results of the main comparison - the camera test. Below are examples of images taken from both devices under equal conditions.
When viewing the captured photos on smartphone screens, I was even a little upset; the iPhone 7 Plus looked like the undisputed winner. But upon closer examination on one computer monitor, the difference turned out to be not so significant. Photos from Xiaomi even look brighter and more contrasty!
You can check out more photo comparisons in our gallery. Photos are signed and presented in full resolution.
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
Xiaomi Mi A1
The devices take photographs in the same resolution of 12 megapixels (4000x3000 pixels), matrices with enlarged pixels are used, and pairs of modules consist of one wide-angle lens and one telephoto lens, but the characteristics of individual modules differ. Apple uses fast (f/1.8 and f/2.8) lenses with focal lengths of 28 mm and 56 mm, respectively, while Xiaomi has a simpler camera: f/2.2 at 26 mm and f/2.6 at 50 mm.
As expected, both smartphones cope well in bright daylight, but Xiaomi produces slightly oversaturated colors (this can be corrected in the camera settings, but we specifically shot at standard values).
On the left is Mi A1, on the right is iPhone 7 Plus. In difficult conditions, Mi A1 better selects white balance, this is noticeable in pictures of a highway and a night lane, but due to the lower aperture in the dark, the pictures lose detail and sharpness.