Smartphone Xiaomi Mi Play: advantages and disadvantages

Chinese manufacturers have long won the pioneering label in the electronics world. And with the entry of well-known brands on the world market, the percentage of defective goods from the Middle Kingdom immediately decreased. However, even their engineers may not always see a future-popular design feature like a camera teardrop notch at first glance. The Xiaomi Mi Play smartphone, the advantages and disadvantages of which will be discussed in this review, will be the first from the entire Xiaomi line to receive this fashionable feature.

Stylish and affordable

It's no secret that for Xiaomi, the budget and middle price segment is very important, where they have really good developments. At the same time, the development of unique design and technology speaks of the company's desire to acquire the support of young people. However, this is clearly seen in the latest models and even in their advertisements (where mostly young people participate). On December 24, 2018, Mi Play was officially presented, and after a while the first images of the novelty appeared.

Design

Xiaomi is trying with all its might to catch up with its closest competitor - Huawei, known for interesting design solutions. Therefore, when creating Mi Play, a shell was actively developed that could attract the attention of buyers.

The back has practically not changed, remaining familiar to the latest Xiaomi phones. In the upper left corner there is a vertical dual camera and a flash, a little to the right and below is a fingerprint scanner, under it, almost at the very bottom, there is a company logo highlighted in white. Power and volume buttons are located at one end on the left.

The news about the colors will delight the fans of the company. So, initially it was planned to release the model in one color, but now it is available in three colors - Black, Dream Blue and Dawn Gold, with "blue" and "gold" gradient. All three options look very decent, and therefore buyers will be able to choose a model to their liking.

At the front, the drop-shaped cutout of the front camera immediately catches the eye, replacing the rather ambiguous "eyebrow" and located in the middle from above. This innovation looks good and does not spoil the impression of the device.

The decision to keep the 3.5mm jack seems to be quite interesting, especially considering the desire of Chinese engineers for everything new and wireless.

Narrow bezels, convenient size, stylish design with the now popular glass cover and bright gradient colors show exactly who this smartphone is aimed at. And if we take into account the productive hardware and the affordable price (which in China is about 11,000 rubles), we can safely say that the new product has a good chance of success.

Technical specifications

Cameras

The popularity of Xiaomi models is undeniable. However, if the key selection criteria are the rear camera and the front camera, it is better to look at more expensive options than the Mi Play. Equipped with dual sensors of 12 and 5 megapixels, the device can boast a good picture in good lighting. However, the use of zoom or tests, like photographing at night, the device is unlikely to be excellent. The same goes for the 8 megapixel selfie camera, which by modern standards is no longer sufficient for good photos. However, given the positioning of the model as an inexpensive but productive smartphone, these characteristics can be called very good. Video recording will take place in 1080p with a frame rate of 30 fps, HDR is present, perhaps it is thanks to it that the pictures will look more realistic without highlights and blackouts.

The secret of Play

Advertising plays a very important role in the sale of any product. It's no secret that sometimes marketers use simple yet effective methods. One of them is the addition to the name of the "correct" prefix that can attract the attention of buyers. So, analyzing the rating of high-quality devices at an affordable price, a person will definitely be interested in the word "Play", especially if the priority is a phone for games. Below we will try to understand what is hidden behind the novelty - a publicity stunt or a real powerful filling.

Performance

When designing a smartphone for young people, one must not forget about power. After all, they are looking for a smart device that can handle modern applications. And here Xiaomi engineers did everything right - they did not disappoint the expectations of the public and equipped the smartphone with a brand new (and not expensive compared to Qualcomm Snapdragon) MediaTek processor with a Helio P35 chip. Eight cores ARM Cortex-A53 (4 × 2.3 GHz Cortex-A53 and 4 × 1.8 GHz Cortex-A53), combined with the energy-efficient graphics IMG PowerVR GE8320, are able to cope with most tasks and pull the latest in the game industry. And the optimal value of 4 GB of RAM with 64 GB of storage will allow you to achieve good performance and not overpay for unnecessary characteristics, because most games will run on medium graphics settings.

Vault

Each person is individual - someone cares about the amount of RAM, someone has a place to store data, others need both. And here Xiaomi acted very democratically, giving buyers three options to choose from:

• 4/64 GB for $ 160;
• 6/64 GB for $ 190;
• 6/128 GB for $

It is also already known that users will be able to increase storage through SD cards up to 256 GB. Quite an important point, because more and more manufacturers are abandoning such a solution, while the smartphone supports dual sim (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by).

operating system

Recently, more and more people are paying attention to the stock version of Android, because no one wants to use outdated technologies. However, in the case of Mi Play, you should not be intimidated by the "native" OS Android 8.1 Oreo - Xiaomi has a very good policy regarding this issue and regularly releases updates even for old devices, let alone a new product. It is also worth considering that the proprietary MIUI shell is on top of the OS.

Screen

There are no special problems with this item - the device has a 5.84-inch display (useful area is 80.1%) with an aspect ratio of 19: 9 (convenient for watching videos and in everyday life), a pleasant IPS LCD matrix and supports a resolution of 2280 × 1080 pixels (Full HD +). A pleasant surprise is the installed Corning Gorilla Glass protective glass, which will avoid the hassle, since replacing a broken screen in budget models is often a large percentage of the original cost. The only question is the maximum brightness, as well as contrast in the sun, but so far there is no information on this.

Autonomy

If for most smartphones from the best electronics manufacturers, battery life is an important, but not the main aspect, for a phone with a hint of intended use for digital entertainment, this is almost the main characteristic.Here, one can clearly see the desire to reduce the cost - having equipped the device with good hardware, Xiaomi seems to have decided to save on the volume of the battery. So, a 3000 mAh battery is responsible for power supply, but how many hours it will last for active games is an open question.

Technologies, communication standards, dimensions

Expecting something supernatural (for example NFC) is definitely not worth it, but all the necessary functions are present.

• Wireless technologies: Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n / ac, Bluetooth v5.0, LTE (Cat-7 DL / Cat-13 UL) with Dual 4G VoLTE mode;
• Navigation: A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS;
• Network and Internet: GSM, CDMA, HSPA, LTE;
• Sensors: Fingerprint (back), accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, compass, 5V / 2A 10W charging;
• Additionally: microUSB 2.0, USB On-The-Go, Jack 3.5;
• Dimensions: 147.76x71.89x7.8 mm. Weight - 150 grams.

Outcome

After getting acquainted with Xiaomi Mi Play, there are some incomprehensible and ambiguous feelings. On the one hand, there is powerful hardware, which looks like a very attractive option for such money. On the other hand, a mediocre camera and a short battery life spoil the impression. There are thoughts that the price of the device is fully justified and is made up by a compromise between cost and quality.

• Design;
• The right to choose (colors, amount of RAM, ROM);
• Power;
• Price;
• Supports external flash memory.

• Autonomy;
• Cameras.

Xiaomi's attention to the budget segment is very commendable, especially given that the company really has something to offer, and the new Mi Play could be an excellent start for a whole line of youth smartphones. Moreover, if we take into account the fact that many people almost always have a power bank at hand, one of the main disadvantages disappears by itself. And the attractive price, obtained through the use of cheaper processors from Mediatek and other compromises in production without significant loss in quality, as well as a successful advertising campaign, will definitely attract public attention.