Xiaomi is attacking Samsung, Google and Apple with the release of the Mi Note 2

Xiaomi officially announced the Mi Note 2 yesterday, a much rumored device, that kept bloggers and tech writers busy for months. With its release, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer is trying to enter the premium handset market dominated by Samsung, Apple and Google while retaining a much cheaper price point for the consumer. The top version of the Mi Note 2 with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of fast UFS 2.0 storage also comes with a world-modem supporting 22 global LTE-bands, a first for Xiaomi as well. Two other, cheaper versions of the Mi Note 2 exist but do not integrate that modem.

Full Power

The main attraction of the Mi Note 2 is the curved 5,7 OLED-display, that makes the phone appear similar in design to a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 or Galaxy S7 edge. However, contrary to those handsets, the display of the Mi Note 2 only supports Full-HD resolution. Xiaomi decided to go with the Snapdragon 821 processor and clock the silicon at the full 2.35 Ghz contrary to some of their competitors. The 128 GB of onboard UFS 2.0 storage is not expandable by Micro-SD cards.

No Dual-Cam

Contrary to earlier rumors, there won't be a dual-cam version of the Mi Note 2. The two live images leaked before the launch were authentic in hindsight, showing the Mi Note 2 with a single 22.56 megapixel Sony IMX 318 Exmor RS sensor, which supports an aperture of F/2.0, PDAF and 4K recording but does not feature optical image stabilization (OIS). Instead hardware assisted electronic image stabilization (EIS) is integrated. On the front, a 8 megapixel camera with F/2.0 aperture is included. 

Big battery

The 7.6 mm thin body contains a 4.070 mAh battery, that is Quick Charge 3.0 compatible through the onboard USB-C connector. Dual-Band WiFi up to 802.11ac is supported, as is Bluetooth 4.2, GPS and NFC. As mentioned earlier, the "Global Special Edition" includes a Cat.12 LTE-Modem supporting 22 global LTE bands. It also has support for 24 bit /192 kHz audio-files thanks to an Aqstic DAC integrated as well. Xiaomi is planning on selling the Mi Note 2 for around $520 starting November 1st. There will be a black and a blueish-silver version, however at the moment it is unclear, if the device will be available in global Xiaomi Online-Shops or through resellers only.

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