By Discuss the Xiaomi Mi Note and Mi Note Pro at AndroidForums.com!
Xiaomi had a few big surprise announcements to make this morning, and we mean that both figuratively and literally. First, the literally — it’s a phablet. Two phablets, in fact. What you see above is the Xiaomi Mi Note, a device donning a Snapdragon 801 chipset clocked at 2.5GHz, 3GB of RAM, a 5.7-inch 1080p display and 16GB or 64GB of internal storage.
And that’s just the weaker of the two. Oh yes, there’s more. The Xiaomi Mi Note Pro ups the ante with a 5.7-inch 2560 x 1440 display, a Snapdragon 810 chipset, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal storage as standard.
Much of the other specs between the two are shared, including a 13 megapixel Sony sensor on the rear that includes f/2.0 aperture and optical image stabilization. The front houses a 4 megapixel shooter which uses 2 large micron pixels for taking clearer photos without the need to have a physically larger sensor. There’s also a 3,000mAh lithium-ion battery that supports QuickCharge 2.0, and a Hi-Fi audio system with native support for 24-bit 192khz lossless audio playback.
They also look quite nice, mostly thanks to a design that utilizes curved glass on the front and back. It makes for a really sexy looking smartphone at the end of the day. More impressive than good looks and sheer specs, though, are the price tags for these things:
- Xiaomi Mi Note: 16GB for about $370, 64GB for about $451
- Xiaomi Mi Note Pro: 64GB for $532
Cutting edge performance with very reasonable price tags? Feel free to sign us up. Unfortunately we’re not yet certain which version of Android they’ll be launching with, though you can expect it to have a layer of MiUi goodness sitting on top.
The devices should be going on sale in China at some point within Q1, though no solid release plans have been announced. They didn’t mention sales for other regions, so it’s possible you’ll have to look to import these if you’re in the market for one.
We aren’t done, folks. Xiaomi also announced two neat accessories. The first is the Xiaomi Mi Box Mini, a $32 set-top box that’s probably as big as the wall charger for your current smartphone. Just look at the size of the thing up against the original Mi Box:
You’ll hook it up to your TV through HDMI, and inside is a quad-core 1.3GHz chipset, dual-band WiFi N, 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. It supports up to 1080p, which should cover most of the video content available right now. And no, this won’t have Android TV, but for $32 it could be a neat little buy either way.
Last but not least are $80 headphones with massive 50mm audio drivers. To compare, that’s bigger than the likes of Beats’ pro studio headphones (not that Beats are anything special, mind you).
We’re not sure how that contributes to overall sound quality, but Xiaomi seems to suggest their headphones produce a very natural sound thanks to its acoustics design. Let us know what you think about everything the Chinese company announced today in the comments below.
[via MiUi]
Wow!
I kind of want this now
If the Mi Box is running regular Android 4.4.2, does that mean you could get Amazon Instant Video on there?
Just Say No… to capacitive buttons.
Actually, just say yes to capacitive buttons. No to physical and on screen buttons.
Nope. In order to get the best possible display to bezel ratio, onscreen buttons it must be.
Also, some of us use our phone in landscape and even upside down (when charging), where using physical buttons is an awkward PITA. (I have to use the Ultimate Dynamic Navbar app on my Note3 all the damn time)
I loath on-screen buttons. I LOATH THEM.
Capacitive ones are better. But nothing beats real buttons. Think of the good old HTC Desire. Those buttons were amazing.
Capacitive buttons extend the bezel way too much. On screen helps reduce bezel quite a bit.
I agree!
Key word: OLD
Key word: good. Proper tactical feedback for the win.
Immersive mode is your friend!
Why do people keep saying this like it’s universal? Devs are not obliged to include it and many don’t.
I’d rather my bezel be put to use with hardware buttons and leave the screen for the actual application at all times.
While I agree that small bezel’s are nice…I would much rather have more screen real estate than have on screen buttons. I know everyone is going to respond and say how much better it is in lollipop blah blah blah. Well it isn’t.
This guy knows what he’s talking about. I will not buy a phone with hardware buttons. Ugh. That’s so 2010.
I love that you can put your own custom buttons on onscreen keys.
Why not: Just Say No… TO MENU BUTTON!!!!
I would say the Mi Note and Mi Note Pro are much better than the yesterday Oppo R1C. This could have even better if it had a direct stylus. The price even very similar to the Oppo R1C. The Mi Note humiliates the Oppo R1C and all the other Android mid-range phones around $400. Oh! that headphone seems to be interesting too.
How about their after sales service and Android updates? I’m not sure about it.
It seems like Xiaomi is becoming (has already become) a huge threat to reputable Android OEMs.
What a smorgasbord of goodies. Too bad this won’t work on Verizon or I would be all over this.
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oppo, Xiaomi, Huawei.. they are all laughing at the likes of Samsung, HTC, Apple. Those guys talk about wowing people with newess, these 3 guys actually do it with a fraction of the pomp and circumstance.
Yep, they’re laughing so hard until they realize that their respective market share is small and their revenue is lower. Apple doesn’t need to compete with any of those guys.
And that is how they get surpassed and taken down. By not paying serious attention to the competition. And, read the growth and profit reports on oppo, Xiaomi, Huawei and they are doing just that and doing it in countries with larger population than the USA.
ps – the point about Apple, or any of the companies relative to oppo, Xiaomi, Huawei was more in that they are evolving technology and bringing to market truly advancing tech products faster and incorporating new tech quicker than any of the “big guys” – and doing it with a fraction of the blah blah blah we are awesome nonsense. THAT is the level where you need to consider the competition real and potentially hurtful to the big guys. Even Apple.
You keep on betting on your little guys. Apple is dominant because of their established brand. Just because they sell a bit in China or India doesn’t mean they can play with the big names. If cheaper devices like the Moto X, Nexus 5, etc cannot beat the iPhone right now, then when will they ever? I mean look at the mp3 market industry. Have little companies took out Apple? Nope.
Uh, I am betting on no one. I don’t have a dog in this fight. I am just laying out logic as I see it.
But to answer this question, “with the big names. If cheaper devices like the Moto X, Nexus 5, etc cannot beat the iPhone right now, then when will they ever” easy.. because these guys are making better phones than your aforementioned Moto X, Nexus 5, etc. And when that happens, which is happening, the smart phone using world takes notice. And, they have taken notice. oppo, Xiaomi, Huawei are gaining traction and earnings & profits and market share while all the “big” names are announcing lost profits, shutting down product lines, poorer than expected sales.
And last, I never said anyone is going to “take out Apple”, but you need to get your head out of the sand as these guys DO do damage to them. When you can get a faster, smarter, better, more advanced & ahead of the curve phone for a fraction of the price a portion of people tend to get over the iphone love. They jump ship. And the wave continues to mount and the media catches on, the wave grows, interest grows and suddenly these guys took a bite out of you while you were sleeping at the wheel or blathering on about your next big phone – a phone that ends up being something less than they just did.
What you’re missing is that the US market is already overly saturated with too many options, so these guys trying to go in will not help. If the smartphone world is taking notice, where are the Forbes articles or CNET articles talking about how integral Xiaomi is to the upcoming market share? Actually, iPhone users grew over the last quarter, especially in the US. http://9to5mac.com/2015/01/07/iphone-market-share/
So much for more and more are jumping ship, huh?
How are those devices better than the Nexus 5 and Moto X? It’s not all about specs. The software is more important. Both pure Android devices are more seamless than Xiaomi’s software. At least you don’t need to root the device to even get it to work at its peak. Why would you sacrifice comfort to go ahead and deal with a company that’s so focused in China and has less support for phones in the US? No Dev Support or Warranty Support.
HTC, Samsung, Apple, LG, and Motorola are turning profits.
That 9to5 Mac article is incredibly biased and having fun with statistics.
Globally, Apple is still far below 20% of the total smartphone market.
Have little companies taken out Apple? The combination of large and small companies have.
Right now, there are more than 7 Androids sold for each iPhone.
Taken out Apple? You have to be kidding me. Android is fragmented so much. Apple, whether we like it or not, has the highest sales for phones. It’s a brand that people pay for. I hate the iSheep as much as the next person, but Apple isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Nobody has taken out Apple.
My comment had nothing to do with hating iSheep – I simply said that the article was biased.
Back in 2010, the iPhone was displacing Winphones and Crackberries and everyone laughed at the prospect of Android ever catching up.
Apple iPhone is in decline. Every new release shows a slight quarter upturn and then the rest of the year continues to follow the decline.
Fragmented, choice, whatever you want to call it, Apple is simply not dominant outside of the USA.
I agree that they’re not going anywhere soon – and I wish they would. Android needs an Apple because we consumers need viable competition so we can have the best choices.
The idea that Apple is a majority phone maker is a US myth – the word you’re looking for is no longer majority seller – it’s plurality seller. The trend is that Android has eaten their market share lunch and if any of the Chinese firms breaks out, could eat their actual units sold lunch.
Do you even know what fragmented is?? 9 out of 10 smartphone owners have no idea what soft ware their phone is running. Buying the Android device with a certain OS running on it will not change the operating experience for 90% of users. Fragmented, so what, there are so many manufacturers it has to be that way. When I hear fragmented I laugh, usualy these people just heard that expression and run with it. Fragmentation means nothing to 95% of smart phone owners and it shouoldn’t.
Dude, Chinese never take everything in one gulp. Sipping it slowly, and taking things over the range of decades is good enough for them. It’s a national philosophy – at the end of the day, their civilization is thousands of years old.
What is there to laugh about? If they attempted to sell these in a market that valued patent law and IP they wouldn’t last a second. It’s no surprise that they’re cheap.
Unless it costs like $300 then it’s more like ridiculously…expected for a 2015 flagship.
Spectacular
Long live the Nexus 6
I love my nexus 6 and I purchased it because of the software combined with hardware.
That’s a bomb. Although with Chinese manufacturers you have to triple-check if Google Services and Play are present.
Forked android is quickly surpassing locked down android.
wat? Do you have data sources to back this up or are you just pulling random things out of your anus?
These actually look pretty sweet.
Anyone got that wallpaper yet?
The wallpaper looks like a rainbow comb-over.
Here it is if anyone else was interested
http://imgur.com/IkGKZbz
Headline says 810, but everything else says 801. I wouldn’t call 801 ridiculous at this point. It’s 2 generations back.
It’s because you can’t read
Oh two phones!
I can read, just skimmed too fast.
Thanks for being a dick…..always makes web boards fun.
810 for the second phone. 801 for the first.
That is a VERY good price for what that is offering!! OMG!! Wow…
A little disappointed I gotta say. Not in these offerings mind you, but in myself for jumping the gun on my upgrade. Don’t get my wrong, I love my Droid Turbo, but to have high resolution audio capabilities in a smartphone like that is amazing. No micro SD would mean using DSD files would fill your gigs pretty quick but still, that’s an amazing phone for an amazing price. If I could be sure that it would work on Verizon (which I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t) I’d be tempted to switch.
As for the headphones, if I hadn’t just picked up the ATH-M50x I’d be all over those. (I might still get a pair, being the fool that I am) I can say from experience that an acoustic design like that is very VERY nice. They look similar to Grados but with a bit more polish, so I’d imagine they probably sound similar as well. If that’s the case, those cans are a steal because Grado headphones have a very clear and detailed soundstage with a tiny loss in the bass area. The only downside is that if you’re a fan of isolation then you wouldn’t like them (or Grados) because you can still hear everything around you. Though for me thats kinda nice, it makes for a much more natural acoustic signature and an overall more pleasant listening experience.
Keep us posted on that Xiaomi Mi Note Pro availability and compatibility? Yota still has my money first for this year, but I could use a good third device.
If those Headphones are bluetooth capable, I’m buying them the second their on sale.
I would never buy this phone because doing so rewards China and its blatant disregard for patent law, an open marketplace, and human rights.
Agreed. Although it’s becoming increasing difficult, I avoid Chinese products whenever I can.
patent law doesnt matter because apple buys the judges lol