Xiaomi Mi Mix review: Mi-Sci-Fi

Performance

The Xiaomi Mi Mix runs on the latest Snapdragon 821 chipset with 4GB of RAM. There is a more powerful Mi Mix model with 6GB RAM and double the storage, too.

The Snapdragon 821 SoC improves on its predecessor with better power efficiency and higher performance. You can't have both at the same time though - the manufacturers can either opt for the slightly higher processor and GPU frequency for about 10% performance bump (as is the case with the Mi Mix), or for keeping the original Snapdragon 820 clocks in order to gain better battery life.

So, Xiaomi chose speed for the Mi Mix - it offers a more powerful quad-core Kryo processor with two cores ticking at 2.34GHz and two running at 2.19GHz. The Adreno 530 GPU is also clocked higher at the 652MHz frequency, about 5% higher than the same GPU inside the Snapdragon 820 chip.

In the single-core test the Kryo cores inside Qualcomm's top-of-the-line SoC make up for it, nearly matching the Mate 9's A73s. The iPhone 7's Fusion cores are in a league of their own in single-core computation powers, though.

GeekBench 4 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  3473
• Huawei Mate 9
  1898
• Xiaomi Mi Mix
  1815
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  1815
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (S820)
  1696
• LG V20
  1590
• Google Pixel XL
  1507

The four Kryo cores combined do great, as usual, but they can't compete with the combined power of the eight cores inside the Mate 9 (4xA53 + 4xA73) or the dual-core A10 Fusion CPU inside the iPhone 7 Plus.

GeekBench 4 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Huawei Mate 9
  6112
• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  5664
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  4333
• Xiaomi Mi Mix
  4288
• Google Pixel XL
  4152
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (S820)
  4128
• LG V20
  3890

Moving on to Basemark OS II 2.0 to look at some numbers representing overall performance. Here the Mi Mix does great and is among the best Android performers out there, but trails behind the iPhone 7 Plus.

Basemark OS 2.0

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  3796
• Huawei Mate 9
  2637
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  2434
• Xiaomi Mi Mix
  2364
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (S820)
  2352
• Google Pixel XL
  2281
• Huawei P9 Plus
  2099
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  2050

The same goes for the other compound test - AnTuTu. The Xiaomi Mi Mix did better than most of the flagship droids out there, but once again trails behind the iPhone 7 Plus.

AnTuTu 6

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  173110
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  155185
• Google Pixel XL
  141186
• Xiaomi Mi Mix
  133242
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (S820)
  132849
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  129229
• Huawei Mate 9
  122826
• LG V20
  101167
• Huawei P9 Plus
  97392

On the graphics front, the Mi Mix does an excellent job with Basemark X scores, beating all smartphones we've put through it so far, while almost coming on par with the Huawei Mate 9. The Adreno 530 is indeed a mighty performer.

Basemark X

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi Mix
  37346
• Huawei Mate 9
  36519
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  36062
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (S820)
  32160
• Google Pixel XL
  30861
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  28480
• Huawei P9 Plus
  15058

The GFX offscreen tests conclude that the Mix raw performance is on par with the rest of the Android flagship gang, as expected. It can be bested only by Apple's A10 GPU.

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  39
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (S820)
  32
• Google Pixel XL
  32
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  30
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  29
• Xiaomi Mi Mix
  28
• Huawei Mate 9
  22
• Huawei P9 Plus
  10

GFX 3.1 Car scene (offscreen)

Higher is better

• Google Pixel XL
  19
• Xiaomi Mi Mix
  18
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (S820)
  18
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  18
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  15
• Huawei Mate 9
  13
• Huawei P9 Plus
  6.2

The Mi Mix has an advantage over some of its competitors such as the Galaxy S7 edge and the Pixel XL, because of its lower screen resolution. The Adreno 530 is a monster when displaying 1080p resolution, though still not monster enough to beat the iPhone 7 Plus (also 1080p).

We've also ran these tests on the full 1080 x 2040 resolution by hiding the navigation bar, and those scores are below as well.

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  42
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  32
• Xiaomi Mi Mix
  27
• Xiaomi Mi Mix (full-res)
  26
• Huawei Mate 9
  23
• Google Pixel XL
  17
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (S820)
  16
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  15
• Huawei P9 Plus
  11

GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  19
• Xiaomi Mi Mix
  17
• Xiaomi Mi Mix (full-res)
  16
• Huawei Mate 9
  14
• Google Pixel XL
  11
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (S820)
  10
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  7.8
• Huawei P9 Plus
  6.8

We like that this phablet successfully keeps the ceramic body cool while under load, which means Xiaomi did a good job with the heat distribution, while Qualcomm did a good job keeping the temps down.

Xiaomi's Mi Mix delivers flagship-worthy performance and scores great across all tests and games we ran, and it manages to stay cool while doing so. It's safe to say it aced the performance section of this review.