Xiaomi Mi 6 Full specs

NETWORK	Technology	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE

LAUNCH	Announced	2017, April
	Status	Available. Released 2017, April

BODY	Dimensions	145.2 x 70.5 x 7.5 mm (5.72 x 2.78 x 0.30 in)
	Weight	168 g / 182 g (Ceramic) (6.42 oz)
	SIM	Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
		- Splash resistant

DISPLAY	Type	IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	5.15 inches (~71.4% screen-to-body ratio)
	Resolution	1080 x 1920 pixels (~428 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes
	Protection	To be confirmed
		- MIUI 8.0

PLATFORM	OS	Android 7.1.1 (Nougat)
	Chipset	Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835
	CPU	Octa-core (4x2.45 GHz Kryo & 4x1.9 GHz Kryo)
	GPU	Adreno 540

MEMORY	Card slot	No
	Internal	64/128 GB, 6 GB RAM

CAMERA	Primary	Dual 12 MP (27mm, f/1.8, OIS 4-axis & 52mm, f/2.6), phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash
	Features	1/2.9" sensor size, 1.25 µm @ 27mm & 1.0 µm @ 52mm pixel size, geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, panorama
	Video	2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps, 720p@120fps
	Secondary	8 MP, 1080p

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes, with stereo speakers
	3.5mm jack	No
		- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic

COMMS	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot
	Bluetooth	5.0, A2DP, LE
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
	NFC	Yes
	Radio	No
	USB	Type-C 1.0 reversible connector

FEATURES	Sensors	Fingerprint (front-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
	Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
	Browser	HTML5
	Java	No
		- Fast battery charging (Quick Charge 3.0) - MP4/DivX/XviD/WMV/H.264 player - MP3/WAV/eAAC+/FLAC player - Photo/video editor - Document viewer

BATTERY		Non-removable Li-Po 3350 mAh battery

MISC	Colors	Ceramic Black, Black, Blue, White

What you’re looking at is only one of maybe a dozen that made it out of the manufacturing process. During the presentation, it was made abundantly clear that making this version of the phone requires so many dangerous steps around the steel that out of tens of thousands of attempts, only about 10 or 20 are successful. So, obviously, this is not a version that is up for review. It certainly looks really great, however.

Instead, the most premium version of the Mi 6 is the one that you’ll be seeing in the final review. True to form in their design department, Xiaomi has brought back the ceramic material and lined it with 18k gold to give it a really high-end finish. The result is a heavier phone with a material that shines really well in the light and also comes with a premium 6GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage.

The screen of the Mi 6 is a 1080p panel with the conventional 16:9 aspect ratio, which keeps it from being completely current in terms of specs. However, it does show highly saturated colors to do the MIUI justice. To help users who might stare a little too deeply into the bright display, Xiaomi have added in an ‘Eye Care’ mode that filters some of the blue light. In an effort to provide the same benefits without compromising the display colors, the Eye Care mode won’t have the same aggressive yellow tint as other smartphones.

So that covers the design, let’s go deeper under the surface. Xiaomi has positioned itself as the first manufacturer to bring the Snapdragon 835 to China, giving the Mi 6 a very powerful device. 6GB is standard and there are different capacities for the onboard storage – as we mentioned already, the most expensive ceramic has that high capacity.

The battery is one of the bigger deals with this phone, as it sports 3350mAh. While we will be doing our full testing on the battery life, it is important to note off the bat the ratio between the unit and the smaller 5.15-inch display. This ratio is one of the largest in pretty much any smartphone, so the longevity should go for a while.

Xiaomi’s moves with the camera are very notable, as well – in the era of the dual camera, they have decided to join the fray with their own version of the zoom camera experience. Much like the iPhone 7 Plus, the Mi 6 comes with a default wide angle lens that sports 4-axis stabilization and a telephoto secondary shooter that adds a 2x optical zoom. The result is a camera with more choice than ever before for Xiaomi devices, and with the ceramic device I was able to get quite a few samples.

That said, the picture taking experience benefits from the 2x zoom quite well, allowing for users to get closer to the subject without moving one’s feet. And with both lenses sporting 12 MP f/1.8 specs, the pictures have an adequate depth of field that gives each photo an appealing look.

For a little more depth of field, especially when photographing people, Xiaomi has included their own Portrait Mode that finds subjects and adds a healthy amount of bokeh to the background. This is a little different from the Huawei P10 bokeh effect and definitely more like the iPhone 7 mode, meaning that there is not much control over the effect. That said, these first tests on subjects yielded very good looking results, as long as the subject is within a certain distance – any farther, and subjects might not be cut out from the background quite as well.

With little to say about the software, all of these hardware changes are the crux of the Xiaomi Mi 6 experience. MIUI is constantly being updated under the suggestions of Xiaomi’s forum goers, so there are sure to be some significant software changes eventually.