Xiaomi launched the Mi Mix 2 in 2017 as its secondary flagship smartphone apart from Mi 6. The speciality of this handset is its 5.99-inch FHD+ IPS LCD panel with minimal bezels all around except for a relatively larger chin. It debuted in India for ₹35,999. Now, after almost 3 years, the phone will be available to purchase for a rock bottom price of ₹14,999 on Flipkart during Big Saving Days sale starting June 23.
The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 was a good phone of its time at ₹36K in India. But is it worth buying now? Let us answer that question in this post.
Hardware
The Mi Mix 2 is one of the well-built phones even today, especially at the price it will go on sale. The handset features a ceramic back and an aluminium frame. None of the phones sold in India under ₹20,000 has a metal frame, let alone ceramic finish.
It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC paired with 6GB LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB UFS 2.1 storage. This combination is still powerful in today’s standards.
The screen of the phone is a gorgeous edge to edge 5.99-inch FHD+ (2160 x 1080 pixels) IPS LCD panel with 403 ppi, 1500:1 contrast ratio, and DCI-P3 color gamut. But unfortunately, it is neither HDR compliant nor has a high refresh rate. However, it is still a good display compared to other devices in the segment.
It has all the essentials like USB Type-C, WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, 4G, VoLTE, dual SIM, fingerprint sensor, 3,400 mAh battery, and 18W Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging. But it lacks a 3.5mm headphone jack and only has a single 12MP Sony IMX386 primary camera with OIS and a 5MP selfie camera.
As far as hardware is concerned, the Mi Mix 2 from 2017 is still a solid phone in 2020.
Software
Coming to the software, Xiaomi launched the Mi Mix 2 with MIUI 9 based on Android Nougat. The handset was later updated to MIUI 10 and MIUI 11, which it currently runs.
The underlying Android was also updated to Oreo and Pie. But it will be not receiving Android 10, however, it is eligible for MIUI 12 update, which will be rolled out in the coming days.
In a nutshell, the device’s official software support will end soon. But if you can deal with custom ROMs, then there are lots of options to try and they are even based on Android 10.
Some of the notable ROMs include Havoc OS, PixelExperience, Paranoid Android, LineageOS 17.1, and more.
Conclusion
In our opinion, the Mi Mix 2 is still a good buy for those users who don’t care about latest Android as MIUI 12 is common on all Xiaomi/Redmi smartphones and has all the features one needs. But it is worth noting that there won’t be any official update thereafter except maybe some critical security patch if needed.
So if you can deal with old software or say custom ROMs, then this handset is still recommended as there’s not a single device in any price range as of now with such unique design and finish.
Last but not least, the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 is highly recommended for collectors as Mix series of phones played an important role in the development of today’s bezel-less smartphones.
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