Xiaomi Mi 6 is finally launching on April 19. Yes, it’s late, much later than what we had expected. Considering last year’s launch schedule, the Mi 6 is nearly 2 months late. But the company had a fair share of valid reasons to delay its launch, one of it being the delay in getting hold of the Snapdragon 835 chipset from Qualcomm. If the phone was to be released early, like in February, sticking to the usual schedule, you would have probably had the Xiaomi Mi 6 Snapdragon 821 edition and not the 835 edition. Well, it didn’t make sense for Xiaomi to use SD821 on an important phone like the Mi 6 (unlike what LG did with its LG G6) and now, after patiently waiting for the past few months, the Mi 6 is here to meet us. Well, there’s still a couple of days left for the phone’s launch, but we know a lot about the device, thanks to the leaks in the past few weeks.
In fact, the transition from a relatively unleaked Xiaomi Mi 6 to the popular — hot in the news — at least a new leak everyday device — was quite quick. My previous Xiaomi Mi 6 summary , published a month ago, had very little details about the device. Fast forward a few weeks, and now we know so much about the phone. So, let’s paint a rough picture of what Xiaomi Mi 6 looks like and what to expect inside in terms of specs and features.
Xiaomi Mi 6 Design
To get it out there, the Xiaomi Mi 6 is not expected to feature a curved display like the Xiaomi Mi Note 2. At least, that’s what all the leaks told us, until the recent teaser sent out by the company. So, we are yet to see good renders of the Mi 6 with a dual curved display but according to the recent teaser, the Xiaomi Mi 6 is confirmed to feature a four curved design. If not for the constant rumors of a flat Mi 6, we would have instantly translated this teaser as a curved display phone from Xiaomi. But there’s another possibility, the Mi 6’s back could be curved on the four sides, which also translates into four curved design. Given that even in the past couple of days, after the release of this teaser, we are still seeing flat display on the leaked Mi 6 renders and leaks, could be it be that the teaser hints at the curved back design? Possible, but we cannot confirm it until Xiaomi clarifies this confusion.
Camera Setup & Flash
After a rather conflicting series of renders in the past few weeks, Xiaomi Mi 6 leaks and renders have kind of converged in on the phone featuring a dual horizontal camera setup. There’s another confusion — placement of the dual LED flash. Some renders show the flash to the left of the dual camera setup, while other show it on the right side. As of now, we cannot say which one’s the real deal. So, we’ll have to wait till the official launch to confirm this.
[envira-gallery id=”127214″] Ceramic BodyIn the past few months, Xiaomi seems to have improved its ceramic body production, which is why the Mi 6 is said to come with a ceramic body. Now, we don’t know for sure whether all version of the Mi 6 feature ceramic or is it like an exclusive edition, like the Mi 5 Pro. One thing’s sure, we are going to see ceramic on the Mi 6.
By the way, there are at least two versions expected of the Xiaomi Mi 6 at launch. A Xiaomi Mi 6 with a 5.15-inch display and a Xiaomi Mi 6 Plus with a larger 5.7-inch display. Naturally, the larger model is expected to feature better specs and features than its smaller sibling.
Waterproofing & 3.5mm Jack
Xiaomi is not known for waterproof smartphones, but given that this feature has become standard on many known flagships, this time, the Xiaomi Mi 6 is said to be waterproof. This, if true, would be interesting, as the phone is said to lack the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack. No headphone jack means you are left with Bluetooth headsets or USB Type-C headphones. This may not go well with many Xiaomi Mi 6 fans, but we’ll have to wait and see if this turns out to be true.
The home button won’t be clickable and instead will lie under the glass like the Xiaomi Mi 5S. The sensor will be similar to the iPhone 7 Plus according to recent reports.
Xiaomi Mi 6 Specs & Features
Xiaomi is known for bringing top-end specs on its Mi series.
Xiaomi Mi 6 CPU & RAM
The Mi 6 is expected to come with Snapdragon 835 on board. Given that the powerful Samsung Galaxy S8 is the only flagship featuring this latest chip from Qualcomm, the Mi 6 is sure to get some extra love. This is mainly because reports state that we won’t see SD835 flagship from manufacturers apart from Samsung and Xiaomi anytime soon.
We know for sure that there will be 6GB of RAM inside the Xiaomi Mi 6. This has been confirmed by Xiaomi in the recent teasers. But there should be other versions too with 4GB RAM, retailing at a cheaper price. Unlike OnePlus, Xiaomi loves variants, and we can expect a few RAM + ROM as well as other feature options available for the Mi 6 in different variants.
Xiaomi Mi 6 Iris Scanner
Yes, Iris Scanner is one of the expected features on the Mi 6. There have been a couple of leaks about such a sensor on the front, but nothing concrete so far.
Xiaomi Mi 6 Camera
Both AnTuTu and Geekbench listings have confirmed 12MP cameras on the Xiaomi Mi 6. Note that the benchmark scores have been pretty impressive so far, 170K+ on AnTuTu and 2000+ (in Single-core) & 6400+ (in multi-core) tests on Geekbench.
Experience tell us that megapixel count reveals nothing about the camera quality. In fact, even the sensor inside cannot guarantee good camera performance as there are multiple factors other than these that affect the quality of the camera inside a device like software optimizations. The sensor is said to be either Sony IMX386 or the IMX400. We are not sure about this information at the moment, as details about the rear camera setup are scarce. Hopefully, one of the teasers in the next two days will enlighten us about the setup.
Up front, there should be an 8MP shooter.
Apart from the display size and maybe the resolutions (1080p vs 2K), the Xiaomi Mi 6 and the Mi 6 Plus may not differ in terms of its other specs. Both versions are expected to feature SD835 with high clock speeds. The Mi 6 Plus could start with 6GB of RAM, while the Mi 6 could start with 4GB but also offering a 6GB RAM version at a slightly higher price.
Xiaomi Mi 6 Battery
Xiaomi Mi 6 is said to feature a 3200mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0. We have seen the model get an 18W charger which should ensure fast charging. The Mi 6 Plus should ideally feature a larger capacity battery, but we don’t have details about the same.
Xiaomi Mi 6 Price & Launch
Like tradition, the Xiaomi Mi 6 price is expected to start at 1999 Yuan ($290). The Mi 6 Plus should start at 2499 Yuan ($360). The pricing is not yet confirmed, so we better wait for the official launch two days later to know the pricing details for sure.
The phone will be officially announced on April 19. Rumors say that we could meet the rumored Xiaomi Mi Max 2 at the same event, but no hints from Xiaomi yet.
Stay tuned to detailed updates about the Xiaomi Mi 6 by checking out this link.
