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
Camera - Low Light Evaluation
Moving on to low-light shots of the MIX 2S. The 1.4µm pixel pitch of the sensor along with the F/1.8 lens should give respectable results, although I’m not expecting it to beat the competition as it its optics are simply at a disadvantage in terms of raw technical specifications for low-light capture.
[ Mi MIX 2S ]
[ P20 Pro ] - [ P20 ] - [ P10 ]
[ Galaxy S9+ ] - [ iPhone X ] - [ Pixel 2 XL ]
Xiaomi’s tendency to oversaturate the scene takes on a funky result here as the MIX 2S is really bringing out the colours, especially on the blue sky in this after-sunset picture. The picture’s highlights are brought out too much as objects are too bright, but it’s still a good result. Xiaomi is lacking natural dynamic range here and thus the shadows are too dark, having too little light capture.
Although the MIX 2S produces a noisy picture, this actually helps it as it avoids the smudged textures that we see on the S9. Overall it’s still a good result, and it depends on preference on what you like more.
[ Mi MIX 2S ]
[ P20 Pro ] - [ P20 ] - [ P10 ] - [ Mate 10 Pro ]
[ Galaxy S9+ ] - [ iPhone X ] - [ Pixel 2 XL ]
In this shot Xiaomi surprisingly managed to produce a better dynamic range than the competition – bar the P20 Pro in 10MP mode which just has much better shadows. The S9 shot ended up oddly out of focus, so it’s not a valid comparison.
Detail wise the MIX 2S also actually wins out over Huawei and Apple, producing an excellent shot.
[ Mi MIX 2S ]
[ P20 Pro ] - [ P20 ] - [ P10 ] - [ Mate 10 Pro ]
[ Galaxy S9+ ] - [ iPhone X ] - [ Pixel 2 XL ]
Here the MIX 2S does really well in exposure, and beats the iPhone X and Pixel 2 XL in dynamic range. Colour reproduction seems also to be very good – something the S9 struggled with as it produces a far too warm result for the white lighting.
Detail wise the MIX 2S also beats the iPhone and Pixel, but the S9 just has more light capture to work with and does better on the textures and has more contrast. Obviously the P20 Pro wins out in the 10MP mode, as even though it’s a lower resolution image, the dynamic range advantage through the superior light capture is plainly obvious.
Extreme low light photography
[ Mi MIX 2S ]
[ P20 Pro ] - [ P20 ]
[ P10 ] - [ Mate 10 Pro ]
[ Galaxy S9+ ] - [ iPhone X ] - [ Pixel 2 XL ]
In extreme low-light environments the MIX 2S doesn’t have any special capture mode, and the resulting picture remains at a similar quality level as say, an iPhone X.
Overall the MIX 2S did not disappoint in terms of low-light capture. Its tendency to not apply too much noise reduction seems to come at an advantage for the camera as it avoids smudging out textures, resulting in more retained raw detail, although again, it’s noisy. Competitively it seems like a better low-light camera than the iPhone X and the Pixel 2’s. It’s trailing the Galaxy S9, but that was to be expected given the aperture disadvantage. While the MIX 2S beats the P20’s from Huawei in medium light in terms of details – at a certain point in sufficient low light, the P20 Pro’s vast light capture advantage turns the tide and maintains the current quality crown in terms of quality.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
61 Comments
View All Comments
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.