Xiaomi Mi 6 unveiled: Snapdragon 835, 6GB of RAM, and dual cameras for just $360

Exactly 203 days from the launch of the Mi 5, Xiaomi is back with another affordable powerhouse. At a Beijing event today, the company revealed the Xiaomi Mi 6, and from what we could gather so far, it’s another impressive installment in the franchise.

Xiaomi Mi 6 design

Let’s start with the phone’s appearance. The Mi 6 was leaked thoroughly ahead of its debut today, but most of the leaks showed just the black version. The hero version that Xiaomi is promoting in its official renders is an elegant blue and gold combination.

The phone features a metal frame with a glass back, a design that’s been quite popular with Android manufacturers over the last couple of years. There’s a twist however – while most other phones feature aluminum frames, the Xiaomi Mi 6 comes with a polished stainless steel construction that the company says requires a 50-step manufacturing process with over 270 operations.

The glass on the back is curved on all four sides, as opposed to the glass on the Mi 5 which was only curved on the laterals. Xiaomi seems very proud of the “precisely crafted” construction of the Mi 6, and made extensive use of traditional wristwatch imagery to highlight this quality.

Besides the blue and gold version, the Mi 6 will also be available in black, as well as a high-gloss Silver edition, though we don’t want to think about the fingerprints that finish will collect.

Xiaomi Mi 6 specs and features

At a glance:

• 5.15-inch LCD display
• Snapdragon 835
• 6GB RAM
• 64GB or 128GB storage
• Splash-resistant
• Fingerprint sensor
• 12MP wide +12MP telephoto dual camera
• 3,350 mAh
• Stereo speakers
• USB Type-C; no audio jack

The Xiaomi Mi 6 features a relatively small 5.15-inch “high color saturation” LCD display, with features like blue light reduction, glare reduction, and a 1 nit “ultra-dark night” mode. Unlike phones like the Galaxy S8 and LG G6, which tried to maximize the screen to body ratio, the Mi 6 comes with generously sized top and bottom bezels, and the later houses a fingerprint sensor embedded beneath the glass.

The Mi 6 is said to be “splash resistant,” which means that the device is rated below the IP67 or IP68 standard of some of its competitors.

Spec-wise, we’re looking at the Snapdragon 835 processor, the Mi 6 being one of the first phones with this new processor, along with the Galaxy S8 and Sony’s new premium lineup. As expected, the processor will be coupled with 6GB of RAM.

The Xiaomi Mi 6 features a 3,350 mAh battery that the company says should last for up to a full day, when used with MIUI’s battery optimizations features.

Another interesting feature is 2.2 dual WiFi technology, which should provide a real boost in transfer speeds and coverage compared to more conventional 1×1 WiFi.

The phone features dual stereo speakers, while dual cameras are mounted on the back. Somehow similar to the LG G6, the Mi 6 features a 12 MP wide angle lens and a 12MP “telephoto” that offers 2X lossless zoom.

The camera is capable of some software tricks, including the obligatory beautification mode and a portrait mode that artificially blurs the background to simulate depth of field.

The Xiaomi Mi 6 is fairly feature-rich, but there’s one thing missing: there’s no 3.5 mm headphone jack, so you’ll have to get a pair of USB Type-C headphones or settle with using an adapter.

Xiaomi Mi 6 Ceramic

Along with the regular Mi 6, Xiaomi showed a special Ceramic version that swaps glass for a curved ceramic material. The ceramic is supposed to hold better to wear and tear, thanks to the material’s hardness of 8 on the Mohs scale.

The camera rims on the Xiaomi Mi 6 Ceramic are plated in 24K gold.

Xiaomi Mi 6 pricing and availability

The Xiaomi Mi 6 will be sold in three variants – two regular one and the premium Ceramic model. Here’s a breakdown with the Chinese Xiaomi Mi 6 prices, with the caveat that prices in other markets will likely differ:

• Xiaomi Mi 6 64GB – RMB 2499 (~$360)
• Xiaomi Mi 6 128GB – RMB 2899 (~$420)
• Xiaomi Mi 6 128GB Ceramic – RMB 2999 (~$435)

These are very aggressive prices, at less than half of the cost of some competitors. No info yet on the Xiaomi Mi 6’s release date.

One last note: while it was widely expected that Xiaomi would launch a Plus version of the Mi 6 today, that hasn’t materialized. Were the rumors wrong or has Xiaomi changed its mind in the last minute? We’ll probably elucidate the mystery in the next weeks.

Let us know what you think of the new Xiaomi Mi 6!