A few years ago, the Chinese brand Xiaomi introduced its new brainchild - the Xiaomi Mi2S smartphone . The device received a smart proprietary platform and a fairly high-quality assembly. But the model was distinguished by one critical drawback - official sales were conducted only in the Middle Kingdom. With rare exceptions, it was possible to purchase Xiaomi Mi2S in Moscow in the offline store of the brandās distributor, but these were one-time promotions and only for getting to know the device. In all other cases, I had to turn to Ali, EBay, and other similar Internet sites to resolve this issue.
So the success of the device was fueled not only by the attractive characteristics of Xiaomi Mi2S along with low cost, but also by its obvious deficit. In addition, the model appears in a rather rare class - a high-performance platform with HD-resolution and a small screen. Therefore, there is something to understand.
So, the hero of today's review - Xiaomi Mi2S - is a device from the Middle Kingdom. Consider the main characteristics of the gadget, its advantages and disadvantages, expert opinion and user reviews, as well as the appropriateness of the purchase.
Equipment
The gadget is packed in an unremarkable, but very high-quality box made of thick and durable cardboard. On the front side you can see only the brand logo, and on the back there is a sticker with brief characteristics of Xiaomi Mi2S in the form of a small specification.
The interior is organized competently and accessories do not interfere with each other, neatly located each in its place.
Contents of delivery:
- Xiaomi Mi2S itself;
- specifications, instructions and other information on booklets;
- 5 V (1 A) AC charger ;
- rechargeable battery (BM30);
- adapter plug from "American" to "European";
- micro-USB cable for charging and synchronization with a PC;
- case (variably);
- film for the screen;
- napkin.
Standard equipment, the phone can be used āout of the boxā. Users in their reviews of Xiaomi Mi2S especially warmly responded to a high-quality matte case made of rubber-like material. It is pleasant to the touch and completely envelops the gadget, preventing it from slipping out.
The charger along with the cable looks very decent, and the language does not turn out to call them the next Chinese consumer goods. Users in their reviews separately thank the manufacturer for the adapter from the American plug to the European one. True, some consumers complain that Xiaomi Mi2S is not charging from this adapter. But these are only isolated cases, and here the fault, most likely, is precisely the adapter, and not the memory itself. Although not often, the brandās marriage is still leaking.
The regular battery for Xiaomi Mi2S has a capacity of 2000 mAh, and the one in the kit is 3000 mAh, so the appendage is very good. There is no headset, but this is nit-picking, so this canāt be attributed to the minuses.
Appearance
The Xiaomi Mi2S phone case is made of plastic, the form factor itself can be called classic: 126 x 62 x 10 mm. The front part is covered with a protective glass, and it is very high quality, therefore it is resistant to scratches and other small physical influences. In addition, around the entire perimeter of the frontal part, you can feel a small side, which also adds a protection gadget when it lies āface downā.
Phone Xiaomi Redmi Mi2S comes in white or black colors. In the first case, the front panel remains pure black, and only the gamma of the back cover and ends changes. In the second, we have a single-color version of all parts of the smartphone.
The display of the Xiaomi Mi2S is glossy, while the back cover is made of high-quality matte soft-touch plastic. The phone does not try to slip out of its hands and does not collect fingerprints with dust like a vacuum cleaner, at least the rear part is engaged in this to a much lesser extent than the front.
Users respond quite warmly about the appearance of the device. Yes, such a stiff design is a little fed up, but universality is always perceived normally, but here we have a solid middle peasant: nothing bad can be said about anything special or good.
Assembly
Judging by user reviews, they have no complaints about the design characteristics of Xiaomi Mi2S. Despite the abundance of plastic, all parts are very tightly fitted to each other, and on the case itself there are no backlashes or gaps, and there is also no creaking even during active use. With a sufficiently strong finger tap on the touchscreen of the Xiaomi Mi2S, color streaks or crunching are also not observed.
All mechanical interface elements sit well in their places and do not crawl. Pressing the buttons is understandable and responsive, but not too simple, so accidental triggering somewhere in your jeans pocket or purse is almost impossible.
Interfaces
The Xiaomi Mi2S display, and the entire front part, look very strict, and only one brand logo stands out on it. Sensors, a peephole of the front camera and a speaker grill are hardly distinguishable from above. Below you can see the LED event indicator and three touch buttons with silver coating. The latter are deprived of highlighting, which users have repeatedly complained about this in their reviews.
The rear part also did not differ at least in some frills: a camera eye with a flash, the main speaker grill, a microphone and another Xiaomi logo. Separately, it is worth noting the presence of a protrusion in the main speaker, which virtually eliminates sound blocking if the device is on a hard surface.
The upper edge is reserved for a classic 3.5 mm minijack for a headset and more. On the right side of the Xiaomi Mi Mi2S is a volume rocker and a power button. On the bottom there is a microphone hole and a micro-USB interface for charging the device and synchronizing with a personal computer.
Users in their reviews note one interesting feature of the USB port. When connecting the cable, it does not fully enter the connector, which causes some bewilderment. In fact, it should be so, and to carry Xiaomi Mi2S in repair is not worth it because of this. Here, apparently, either a flaw in the engineers, or some kind of original "trick", but this is definitely not a marriage.
Under the Xiaomi Mi2S batteries is a slot for the operatorās SIM card. The standard is quite outdated - mini-SIM, but this is not critical. The bad thing is that the smartphone does not support external drives at all, so you have to limit yourself to what you have.
Screen
Smartphone Xiaomi Mi2S received a fairly high-quality IPS-matrix. For a diagonal of 4.3 inches, a resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels is enough with the head, all the more pixelation (342 ppi) is invisible here, even if you take a closer look. A good half of devices with this form factor have lower resolution, so you donāt have to pick and choose.
Touchscreen Xiaomi Mi2S supports up to 10 simultaneous tapes. Owners on this subject leave mixed reviews. On the one hand, the abundance of modes pleases, but on the other hand, using them on a 4.3-inch gadget is not very convenient. So the variety of touches is implemented here for the most part for show, because using more than four simultaneous tapes is quite problematic.
The screen is resistant to light scratches, but it is better to refuse the neighborhood with keys or hairpins in the pocket of jeans or trousers. Judging by the reviews, many users strongly recommend sticking an explanatory protective film, since there are a lot of them in salons for this form factor. Xiaomi Mi2S repair and glass replacement in particular can cost a lot of money for the lack of spare parts, so it is better to play it safe.
Screen features
The outer part of the screen is equipped with oleophobic (grease repellent) and anti-reflective coating. In the first case, fingerprints are not collected so actively, and if desired, they are easily removed. And the anti-reflective coating allows you to more or less tolerably work with the phone on a sunny day.
Pleased with the stock of contrast and brightness. The maximum value ranges from 440 cd / m2, and the minimum - around 11 points. Such characteristics allow you to safely use your smartphone on a bright sunny day. Nevertheless, under direct sunlight, the screen fades a little and you have to cover it with your palm, but the basic information (the name of the caller, the list of tracks, etc.) is distinguishable without it.
It is also worth noting a competent automatic brightness adjustment. It works surprisingly well and does not blind at night, just as it does not disappear in the daytime. If someone is used to customizing gadgets for themselves, then you have a wide choice of versatile presets and levers for controlling brightness and contrast.
As for viewing angles, the smartphone also has no problems with this. Even with a strong horizontal tilt, the picture does not lose saturation and does not become whitish. With a vertical layout, things are a little worse, however, noticeably better than a good half of competing counterparts. So you can safely watch photo or video content in the company of one or two like-minded people.
In general, judging by the reviews, users are satisfied with the visual component of the smartphone. It is even better than gadgets of similar cost from well-known brands. So the screen is one of the strengths of the smartphone.
Sound
Compared with the previous generation, the sound has not changed. The main speaker gives a good volume and is quite legible in frequencies. At the maximum level, the tracks do not break into cacophony and do not squeak āinto the pipeā, provided that the sound is recorded in high quality and at a high bitrate.
It is also worth noting that the overall sound to a lesser extent depends on which side the smartphone lies on: a well-executed design does not block access to the speaker. Naturally, the phone does not have enough low frequencies, so either headphones or speakers with a subwoofer save.
By the way, the smartphone is not picky about the headset, so it will work perfectly with both Sony and Apple headphones. Judging by the user reviews, the same can be said about the wireless headset: it is determined as it should and there are no problems with it.
Some owners complained about the microphone, where the interlocutor on the other end of the wire hears a little ādullā sound of your voice, but there is nothing critical here. There are no complaints about the conversational dynamics: everything is heard distinctly and clearly.
Cameras
The smartphone is equipped with a 13 megapixel camera from the venerable Sony - Sony Exmor BSI f / 2.0. So you can immediately say that lovers to take high-quality photos on the phone have a place to turn around. The output is a great picture with a resolution of 4208 by 3120 pixels. There is also a backlight and auto focus.
The front camera of 2 megapixels also shows a decent result and is quite adapted for suitable "gags." In working with video messengers, she showed herself very well and the interlocutor will see you perfectly.
The camera control interface in the Xiaomi proprietary shell - MIUI is very convenient. Menus and tools are intuitive and simple. On the main screen you can see all the necessary controls and quick access icons.
The interface supports full-fledged work with panoramas, HDR mode, various color effects, exposure choice, white balance adjustment, geotagging recording, as well as exposure compensation. In standard presets, the simplest shooting and visualization mode is selected, where the minimum of controls is on the screen, which does not interfere with simple and snapshots. If you enable advanced functionality, the display will show a noticeably expanded version of the interface with exposure metering, focus adjustment and other professional surroundings.
Judging by the feedback from users, the main camera completely copes with the tasks, and in any weather and at any time of the day, so that the result is high-quality photos.
Video
Both cameras record video in MP4 format with the AVC and AAC codecs. Bitrate, of course, is not the most outstanding - only 96 Kbit / s, but we are still dealing with a smartphone, and not with a video camera. As for the FPS, there is some strange situation here.
The main camera writes a series in 1080p at 22 frames per second, although the manufacturer indicated 30 FPS. While the front matrix calmly overpowers 25, or even the indicated 30 frames. The company does not give any comments on this, but experts believe that the whole thing is a picky matrix, which depends on the number of megapixels, without regard to the maximum resolution, that is, the more there are, the fewer frames per second it turns out. There are no problems with the 480p layout.
The interface for the video is also rich in all kinds of functionality and all kinds of useful "chips". There is interval shooting, accelerated, superimposing effects in real time, stretching / narrowing the frame and much more. So the gap in the settings of photos and videos can be for a very long time.
Platform
As a stock firmware, a MIUI proprietary shell is used. It is good in almost everything, it just has one critical, especially for the domestic user, minus - the presence of exclusively English and Chinese localization.
Part of the problem can be solved by installing a Russian-language keyboard or more thoroughly by flashing it. The latter can be found on amateur forums, like the same w3bsit3-dns.com. The device is being flashed for some reason reluctantly, therefore, in order to avoid problems, it is best to contact any service center for the repair of mobile equipment. There, albeit for an additional fee, but in the shortest possible time they will solve this issue.
As for the usability of the platform itself, then this is all right. The main screen, as well as the main menu, are familiar with the latest versions of Android, so itās not difficult to figure out everything. The firmware has its own antivirus with anti-spam, an application autorun manager, a utility for saving and protecting user data, a browser, file manager, player, radio and other programs.
Judging by the reviews, the owners are quite happy with the MIUI platform and the fear of switching from the Android platform disappears after a couple of hours of use. Especially when it comes to firmware localized in Russian.
Performance
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 Series processor is responsible for the performance. The well-proven Adreno 320 series video chip is responsible for the graphics. The tandem is helped by 2 GB of RAM.
Separately, it is worth noting the built-in option to change the processor operating modes. This mainly affects the allocated clock frequency. The first, the most powerful one, fully reveals a set of chipsets, but at the same time it consumes energy well and emits more heat. The simplest is the third one, which makes the processor work at a frequency of 800 MHz and is considered the most economical. Medium is a universal option for those who lack regular and undemanding third-party software.
In all three modes, the platform, together with the interface, works like a clock. Tables smoothly turn over, icons and applications are responsive, and playback of audio and video content does not raise any questions.
Not bad things are with "heavy" programs. A set of chipsets allows you to run almost any modern gaming application and shows a completely adequate FPS. In some serious cases, you have to reset the settings to average, or even minimal values. But the main reason for this is not the chipset itself, but the so-called optimization.
The latter is carried out for the hassle-free operation of some particularly attractive gaming applications only on powerful modern processors (and even only some brands). This move is needed by manufacturers to sell new smartphones with a new "stuffing." In fact, the capabilities of "Xiaomi" are quite enough to run such "optimized" games, but, alas, special scripts and code prevent this.
To store files, users are allocated 32 GB of internal storage. Of which approximately 28 GB is available, and the rest is reserved for the needs of the system. On sale you can find a cheaper modification - Xiaomi Mi2S 16Gb, but in this case, there will obviously be little memory, especially for those who are interested in watching, as well as storing video in high resolution.
Autonomy
As already mentioned above, the apparatus from the conveyor is equipped with an ordinary 2000 mAh battery. The extended version of the package includes an additional and more capacious 3000 mAh battery. To install the latter there is a special cover, which is also included.
A standard single-amp network charger fully charges the battery in two and a half hours. For a battery with a larger capacity, it will take another extra hour. Users in their reviews note that there is practically no benefit from using more powerful chargers (2 A). The fact is that the smartphone chains are designed for a maximum of one ampere and the purchase of an expensive charger is not justified. The charging process itself is pretty accurately controlled by a multi-color indicator on the front panel of the device.
As in the previous generation of Xiaomi, this gadget also has built-in tools to control energy consumption. In general, for a smartphone with a quad-core processor, such a "trick" is simply required. The utility of the utility lies in the fact that it resets the chipset frequencies and slows it down, thereby saving precious energy. That is, here we have practically the same tool that is described in the Performance section.
If you properly load the phone with a standard battery for 2000 mAh toys, high-resolution video and the included Wi-Fi module, then in normal mode the battery will drain in about an hour and a half. An economical option with a similar load will add about 40-50 minutes of time. A 3000 mAh battery adds exactly one hour to all these indicators.
In mixed mode, with the Internet turned on, listening to music and frequent calls, charging calmly lasts from morning to evening. With a more capacious battery even before lunch the next day. If you use the gadget only as a phone and writing SMS or as an apparatus for reading books, then the battery life can be extended to two, or even three days. The 3000 mAh battery will last for all five days.
In general, and judging by the user reviews, the battery life of the gadget can be called more than acceptable. In addition, the platform offers several energy-saving modes, so that everyone can tailor the gadget personally to their needs and requests.
Summarizing
The smartphone cannot be found in the familiar Yandex.Market for many, but only on third-party resources, such as Ali, EBay, and other analogs that work closely with companies from the Middle Kingdom. Sellers come across mottled, so itās quite difficult to identify the clear cost of the model. There are options for 10 thousand rubles, and for 15. The price also largely depends on the amount of internal memory and completeness of delivery. So you need to choose very carefully and do not be shy to call back / correspond with the seller or store.
In general, the smartphone was a success. If you look at what Samsung offers with its J series, itās heaven and earth. Xiaomi has all the necessary characteristics and qualities to become an excellent assistant and the same entertainment center. As such, there are simply no critical flaws in the phone, especially if we take into account the technical side.
The only fly in the ointment that makes one break oneās head and open the wallet again is the firmware, which is needed, in fact, only for installing Russian-language localization.