Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S review

Introduction

Halfway into the Mi Mix 2's product cycle, Xiaomi releases the Mi Mix 2S, an incremental update to the Mix 2, or a successor and a half to the original Mi Mix. The Mix was the first smartphone to push Android's limits by incorporating a display that was taller than 16:9, thus calling for Android to change its design rules and introducing OEMs with a new hardware dimension to play around with.

The Mi Mix 2S is a step forward for the Mix series in that it puts a stronger focus on the overall camera experience (it has a brighter f/1.8 and larger 1.4 micron pixels). Despite its premium hardware design, Xiaomi manages to keep the phone's cost below the entry-level iPhone price, and the camera department was a cost-effective element on the previous Mix devices. The Mi Mix 2S got an overall score of 97 with DxO Mark so we certainly have high expectations from this camera.

Camera aside, the Mi Mix 2S does not have too many physical differences against the Mi Mix 2. The display is the same 6-inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio with an IPS LCD display panel. Although the handset's footprint is barely smaller than the Mi Mix 2, the Mix 2S is less than half a mm thicker to accommodate a Qi wireless charging coil - the first one on any Xiaomi device ever and the first on any smartphone with a ceramic back.

Xioami Mi Mix 2S Specs

• Body: Aluminum frame, ceramic back, 2.5D Gorilla Glass 4
• Screen: 6.0-inch IPS LCD, 18:9, FHD+, 403 ppi, rounded corners
• Rear camera: 12MP (Sony IMX363) 1.4μm, f/1.8 + 12MP telephoto (Samsung S5K3M3) 1.0μm, f/2.4, 2X optical zoom, dual pixel autofocus, dual-LED flash, AI scene detection
• Video recording: 4K video recording @30fps, 1080p @30fps, High frame rate: 1080p @ 120fps or 720p @ 240fps, OIS main camera only
• Front Camera: Below-display 5MP 1.12μm, f/2.0, 1080p@30fps
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, Kryo 385 (8x custom Cortex-A75 @ up to 2.8GHz), Adreno 630GPU
• Memory: 6GB + 64GB/128GB or 8GB + 256GB (non-expandable memory)
• OS: Android 8.0 Oreo with MIUI 9.5
• Battery: 3,400 mAh; Quick Charge 3.0
• Connectivity: dual nanoSIM with dual 4G, VoLTE, 4X4 MIMO, Cat. 18 LTE speeds (1.2Gbps), dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/GLONASS, NFC, USB 2.0 Type-C
• Audio: Mono loudspeaker
• Misc: Rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, ultrasonic proximity sensor, Qi Wireless charging

The Mi Mix 2S also brings the updated Snapdragon 845 CPU and a more expansive 256GB storage option. Like the Mi Mix 2, the 2S still has neither a microSD slot, nor a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Also like the previous Mix devices, the Mix 2S does not carry an official ingress protection rating, so keep this guy away from water.

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S Unboxing

The Mi Mix 2S comes in a flat box and includes the basics. Opening the box lid, we see the phone and power adapter on the side. Under the phone is a flat box with a pretty soft-matte case, a SIM tool, and a USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter.

For those wondering, the charger is rated for three different modes of power output: 5V @ 3A, 9V @ 2A, and 12V @ 1.5A. Xiaomi also showed us its official wireless charger. To keep costs down, it doesn't come with its own power adapter. Instead, the wireless charger takes a USB-C plug. It is rated to be used with an 18W power brick, but we'd recommend you stick with the Xiaomi one.

Xiaomi Qi Wireless charger

The charger itself is slim, minimalistic, and has a soft rubber texture. We like the simplistic design but the white rubber material grabs on to dust pretty well so expect to wipe this down with a damp cloth every once in a while.

Next up, we take a closer look at the actual handset and dig deep into the hardware's ins and outs.