Xiaomi Mi 6 announced: Snapdragon 835 and dual cameras for $360

Xiaomi has announced its latest flagship phone, the Mi 6, at an event in Beijing. While Xiaomi drew widespread attention last year with its impressive bezelless Mi Mix phone, the regular Mi line is a more mainstream affair, and that’s reflected here in the Mi 6’s design and pricing.

That’s not to say that Xiaomi is skimping on the specs. The Mi 6 has a Snapdragon 835 processor, the top-end Qualcomm chip only previously seen in the Samsung Galaxy S8 and announced in the Sony XZ Premium, which isn’t coming out until summer. 

Elsewhere there’s 6GB of RAM, a 5.15-inch display as seen on the Mi 5, and a 3350mAh battery. Xiaomi is also including a 12-megapixel dual-camera array that takes Apple's approach of pairing the regular wide-angle lens with one of double the focal length.

The design is similar to the Mi 5 with its curved glass back and metal frame, though Xiaomi is highlighting a distinctive blue and gold colorway and the rear glass panel that curves along all four edges. Anyone expecting the Mi Mix’s almost total lack of bezels will be disappointed, however. Anyone expecting a headphone jack will also be disappointed.

As ever, don’t expect to see an official release for the Mi 6 in the US or Europe; even though Xiaomi attempted to make an international splash with the Mi 5’s unveiling at last year’s Mobile World Congress, the company remains largely focused on its main markets of China and India.

The Mi 6 starts at 2499 yuan (about $360) for a model with 64GB of storage, and a 128GB model will cost 2899 yuan ($420); that makes it a little more expensive than the Mi 5, which started at 1999 yuan. A Mi 6 variant with a ceramic back panel and 128GB of storage will sell for 2999 yuan ($435).

The article was published on : theverge