Xiaomi high-end phablet 'Mi Note 2' review with 6GB memory & Snapdragon 821 with double-sided 3D glass
Mi Note 2-Mi Global Home
http://www.mi.com/en/minote2/
◆ Appearance check
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 adopts a white package.
The box contained the Mi Note 2 main unit, a special case, a Type-C USB cable, an AC adapter, and instructions.
Mi Note 2 is a large-screen smartphone (phablet) equipped with a 5.7-inch (1920 x 1080) organic EL display. A major feature is the adoption of '3D glass' with curved edge lines. SoC is equipped with Snapdragon 821 (4 cores up to 2.35GHz). The Premium edition used for the review uses 6GB memory + 128GB UFS storage and boasts the highest specs even on current smartphones.
The back is also made of glass and the edge design is the same as the front. The size is 156.2 mm in length × 77.3 mm in width × 7.6 mm in thickness, and weighs 166 g. The battery capacity is 4070mAh and it supports the quick charge function Quick Charge 3.
Equipped with a speaker and an 8-megapixel front camera with an F value of 2.0 in the center of the front bezel.
The physical home button also supports fingerprint authentication.
Volume button and power button from the right on the right side.
Since it is a large screen phablet, the power button is mounted on the lower side.
Infrared sensor, microphone, earphone jack on the top.
SIM slot only on the left side.
Equipped with a speaker / microphone and Type-C USB port on the bottom. There are antenna lines on both sides.
On the back is a 22.56 million pixel rear camera that uses Sony's CMOS sensor 'IMX318'. The camera is almost flat without the bulge like the iPhone 7.
Below the back is the Xiaomi logo.
・ Comparison with Mi 5
I compared the design with the 5.2 inch size front high-end smartphone '
Mi 5 uses 3D glass only on the back. The step on the edge of Mi 5 is no longer Mi Note 2.
The difference in size between the 5.7-inch phablet Mi Note 2 and the 5.2-inch smartphone Mi 5 is obvious.
The home button equipped with the fingerprint sensor was wider on the Mi Note 2 (left).
・ Hard case
The Mi Note 2 comes with its own plastic hard case. There are only genuine products, and the fitting around the camera is also good.
The side part has a notched design, and the physical buttons can be operated directly.
The corners are well guarded.
In addition, I was able to put in and take out the SIM slot with the cover attached.
The nano SIM size dual SIM slot supports 4G / 3G DSDS (Dual Sim Dual Standby).
◆ I tried using it
・ Install Google Play Store app
The Google Play Store app is pre-installed on the global model of Xiaomi Mi Note 2 and can be used as a general Android smartphone, but the Google Play Store app itself is not pre-installed on the Chinese model. This time, I used the Chinese model for the review, so I will start by installing the Google Play Store app.
Tap 'App Store' to launch the Xiaomi App Store app.
Enter 'google' in the search window and tap 'Last Baidu Search' that is displayed.
When the app called Tanika Ansouki is displayed, tap 'Install'.
Installation is complete when 'Launch' is displayed. For the time being, close the App Store app.
Tap 'Settings'.
Tap 'Additional settings'.
Tap 'Privacy'.
Tap 'Unkown sources'.
Tap 'OK'.
OK if 'Unkown sources' is enabled.
Return to the App Store app again and tap 'Launch' of Tanika Ansouki.
The Tanika An equipment will be activated, so tap 'Ichikagi An equipment'.
The installation screens for various applications such as 'Google Services Framework' will appear, so just tap 'INSTALL'.
Tap 'DONE' when the installation is complete. After this, the application installation work will continue.
OK if all apps have been installed.
The Google Play Store app is installed.
After that, if you install an IME application such as
・ Specs & Benchmark
If you check the specifications with the application '
When the
・ Camera performance
Mi Note 2 is equipped with a rear camera with 22.56 million pixels. In addition to the number of pixels, Sony's CMOS sensor 'Exmor RS IMX318' is adopted, hybrid autofocus with a maximum speed of 0.03 seconds, 3-axis electronic camera shake correction support, and camera performance is one of the major features. So, I compared the iPhone 7 Plus, which also has a good reputation for camera performance, with the autumn leaves season in Kyoto. All the photos are Mi Note 2 on the left and iPhone 7 Plus on the right, taken under the condition that the HDR function is turned off.
In dark conditions such as alleys and shade, the iPhone 7 Plus will take brighter pictures.
However, Mi Note 2 is superior in terms of color vividness. Also, when compared visually, I got the impression that the color reproducibility of the Mi Note 2 is clearly higher than that of the iPhone 7 Plus.
However, the iPhone 7 Plus has a weapon called a 2x zoom lens. The Great Buddha in the distance ...
Optical zoom is possible with the iPhone 7 Plus zoom lens.
The 2x zoom lens is also convenient for shooting animals.
With iPhone 7 Plus, you can get close to this point. However, the Mi Note 2 doesn't make a camera shutter sound, so I got the impression that it can be used very well in quiet shooting scenes.
Even in the dark, the Mi Note 2 can take as good a picture as the iPhone 7 Plus.
・ Simultaneous standby function
Of course, Mi Note 2 is a SIM lock-free terminal, but it also supports the simultaneous standby function 'DSDS (Dual Sim Dual Standby)' by 4G / 3G using two nano SIM cards. So I tried the DSDS function.
When au was inserted into SIM slot 1 and DoCoMo's SIM card was inserted into SIM slot 2, two SIM cards were recognized. APN settings are required for mobile communication. First, let's set the APN of au. Tap 'KDDI' in 'Settings' → 'SIM cards & mobile networks'.
Tap 'Access Point Names'.
'Uno.au-net.ne.jp' in APN, '[email protected]' in the Username, enter 'KpyrR6BP' to Password, the Authentication type (authentication type) 'CHAP' Set to.
Similarly, docomo SIM in SIM slot 2 also sets the APN. Enter 'spmode.ne.jp ' in the APN and set the Authentication type to ' CHAP '.
It took a few minutes to recognize each network of au and DoCoMo, but the connection was successful. In the default state, SIM slot 1 is specified for mobile communication, but you can also switch the card for mobile communication by tapping 'Internet' in 'DEFAULT SETTINGS'.
Communication is possible even if the SIM card is replaced.
When I actually called the phone numbers of each of the two SIM cards, I received the call without any problems. With Mi Note 2 that can use the DSDS function, it is possible to insert a cheap MVNO SIM card in SIM slot 1 and a carrier SIM card for calls in SIM slot 2 and use the two numbers properly.
You can also choose which number to use when making a call.
By the way, when I inserted the SoftBank SIM card, 'Sprint' was displayed.
There is no problem in using it as it is, but it is possible to set the name with 'Edit SIM card name'.
I was able to change to 'SoftBank' notation.
In Mi Note 2, we confirmed that the DSDS function can be used with SIM cards of DoCoMo, au, SoftBank, and Y! Mobile, but there is a problem with stability. The speed to grab the line immediately after inserting the SIM card is much slower than Mi 5, and it is often difficult to get into a communicable state, and there is often a problem that the line is not grabbed when switching the mobile communication card. In that case, it may be necessary to reinsert the SIM card or restart the terminal itself. The DSDS function of Mi Note 2 is not unusable, but I got the impression that it is a habit.
·display
Mi Note 2 uses an organic EL display. However, when compared to the LCD display iPhone 7 Plus, I felt that the iPhone 7 Plus was superior in both brightness and saturation.
In addition, the edge screen with curved side parts, which is a major feature of Mi Note 2, looks beautiful in appearance, but it is not practical at all. When I display an article of GIGAZINE, the characters on both sides are curved, which makes it difficult to read. Also, when I gripped it, I sometimes accidentally tapped it at the edge, which made me feel inconvenient when browsing vertically or shooting with a camera. There seems to be pros and cons to edge screens, but I personally felt that it was a great waste of technology.
◆ Summary
The Xiaomi Mi Note 2 boasts the highest specs of Snapdragon 821 & 6GB memory as a 5.7 inch size phablet, and it can be said that it has the highest performance among the current phablets without Galaxy Note 7. When I actually used it, it didn't get stuck or hardened at all, and it was extremely comfortable to use. Performance aspects such as the ability to play a powerful camera with 3-axis camera shake correction and high resolution sound source with 22.56 million pixels equipped with a Sony sensor, and the support for DSDS function and quick charge function Quick Charge 3.0 Then, there is no doubt that it is a high-end model without any complaints.
However, the pros and cons are likely to be divided by the 3D glass edge screen, which is also a major feature of Mi Note 2. The beautifully curved glass housing on both the front and back has a unified design, which is unrivaled in terms of 'luxury'. There is no doubt that Mi Note 2 will greatly satisfy your desire for ownership. However, the impression that it is less practical than a flat display cannot be wiped out. Even after using it for two weeks, I still couldn't answer the question, 'What's the point of this edge screen?' Rather, because the cover couldn't protect the sides of the glass, I was always worried that I might hit it and crack the screen.
Since the previous model '
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