BEIJING – This year has been all about recycled phone designs and incremental improvements. Unfortunately, the Xiaomi Note 2 does not buck that trend.
This is not to say that the Note 2 is a bad phone; it isn’t. It carries the top-of-the-line specs and manages to go under the low price tag of 2,799 RMB (S$ 575).
But it is a phone that does not stand out from the crowd, and at the launch event earlier this week, it was overshadowed by the much more headline-worthy Mi Mix.
The first thing that users will notice about the Note 2 is how much it looks like another Note -note its predecessor but Samsung’s beleaguered and shortlived Galaxy Note7.
Like the Note7, the Xiaomi Note 2 has a curved screen, tapered sides and an oblong home button/fingerprint sensor at the bottom of the screen. When held, both phones feel similar too, as they both sport a glass back.
While the design of the phone may seem uninspired, the spec sheet beg’s to differ.
The Note 2 uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, the highest-end mobile processor from Qualcomm now. The Note 2 also has up to 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of internal storage.
Its rear shooter is a 22.56-megapixel camera – Xiaomi is not legally allowed to say 23-megapixels as that would be misleading – with 4K video recording and electronic image stabilisation.
A couple of test shots with the camera turn out pretty clear and it stays steady even when I jiggle the phone around.
Where the Note 2 lags behind its flagship competitors is its lack of water and dust resistance – drop it into the sink and you can wave your phone goodbye – and its screen, which is full HD as compared to the Note7′s quad-HD.
Still, for its price, the Xiaomi Note 2 is definitely the better bargain.
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