The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S Review: Fantastic Overall Value
by Andrei Frumusanu on June 29, 2018 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- Smartphones
- Xiaomi
- MI MIX 2S
Battery Life
The Mi MIX 2S comes with a 3400mAh battery – a relatively average size given that now we’re starting to see competitor devices with similar form-factors employ 4000mAh units, such as the Huawei P20 Pro. The larger concern for me was how the increased performance characteristics of the Snapdragon 845 as well as the JDI panel will fare in terms of overall device efficiency.
In the web browsing battery life test, the Mi MIX 2S lands with an average 9.86h runtime. This is slightly lower than the Galaxy S9+ - although the MIX 2S also shows slightly better performance. It’s interesting to see that although the MIS 2S only has a 1080p screen, it actually doesn’t really pull in any advantage in efficiency. I’m wondering if it’s in part due to the fact that this is a video-mode screen, or as I’ve simply strongly suspected over the last couple of years – the difference in screen resolution makes for very little difference in battery life, especially if you’re comparing it to a higher resolution OLED screen which doesn’t suffer from decreased light transmissivity at higher resolutions like LCDs do.
In the PCMark battery test we see a more interactive workload with varying picture levels and workload types. Here the MIX 2S also lands square in the middle of current devices; beating the Galaxy S9+ by a few minutes.
Overall the MIX 2S has very good battery life. It doesn’t quite compete with Huawei’s recent devices which are in a league of their own right now, but it more than matches anything else in the market. The only negative thing I’d say is that it’s a pity that it doesn’t really seem to distance itself from the Galaxy S9+ ; both devices have similar form-factors, the same SoC, and almost equal battery capacities. Yet the Mi MIX 2S’s has a lower resolution LCD screen, but that doesn’t really help it in terms of battery life. I’m sure that Xiaomi could have optimised the battery life through a better selection of display panel, as it seems that it’s one of the MIX 2S’s weak points.
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onisad - Friday, June 29, 2018 - link
"It’s clear that the nearest competitor to the MIX 2S is the Galaxy S9+"It's a good review but I think it would have benefited from direct comparisons to the OnePlus 6, as they seem more direct competitors to me, particularly in Europe as you mention: prices and hardware offering between the 2 devices are close, both phones are available to buy online rather than through carriers (afaik), etc.
Always nice to see the Anandtech methodologies applied to phone reviews though, thanks!
Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, June 29, 2018 - link
I'll be receiving the OnePlus 6 next week so I avoided making any comparisons to it without having had the phone in my hands. Obviously it's a valid contender.beersy - Friday, June 29, 2018 - link
I'm sure I'm a minority here, but isn't the screen of a phone the most important part? Frankly I don't game on my phone all the time, but I am always using the display. I would rather have a slightly lessor processor and/or RAM and those funds be diverted to the most important part of a Smartphone. This is clearly a situation where specs were more important than user experience IMHO. And the placement of the front facing camera is just ridiculous.StormyParis - Friday, June 29, 2018 - link
Agreed on the screen (not only latency, but reflections and black levels are also pet peeves for me) The front facing camera is an issue only if you make a lot of video calls. For shooting selfies, having to hold the phone upside down is not an issue.jospoortvliet - Saturday, June 30, 2018 - link
Agreed, I am hoping the next version will have a good AMOLED screen...Fergy - Sunday, July 1, 2018 - link
How often do you use the front camera? It is only meant for selfies and short video calls right? I prefer this solution to a notch.Holliday75 - Tuesday, July 3, 2018 - link
For me it would be a non-issue. I've used the front facing camera on my Pixel 2 maybe 2 or 3 times. I'm sure some users it would be much bigger problem.StormyParis - Friday, June 29, 2018 - link
Nice review thank you. Most compare it to the OnePlus 6 and the Honor 10 (or is it View 10 ?), with mixed results. Also, Samsung is being increasingly aggressive with promos on their current and older-gen devices. The 500€ space is very crowded.I myself buy one step down, Redmi line and Mi Max not Mix. $200 buys you a whole lot of phone these days, I feel reviews skew way too much to the high end.
GreenReaper - Saturday, June 30, 2018 - link
Still rocking my Redmi 2 2GB, but the discontinuation of battery replacements is an issue (and OS - LineageOS worked great, until it didn't). I found an off-brand replacement batter, but as I suspected it doesn't last as long as the original when new, and appears to have issues delivering peak current when below 50%. It'd be nice if they lasted for stockpiling!serendip - Saturday, June 30, 2018 - link
I'm happy with Xiaomi making devices likea this as long as it keeps the Redmi and Mi Max lines. I'm willing to stick with a fast midrange SoC like the 650, 660 or 636 and still get MicroSD storage, a robust metal body, IR blaster and a headphone jack. The Mi Max 2 is the best value when it comes to large and cheap phones with almost-premium parts.