From October 10 onwards, Xiaomi’s full vision display smartphone, the Mi Mix 2, will be available for purchase in India. The phone is expected to land for a mid-range price, and we will, most likely, see Mi Mix 2 competing against the likes of Nokia 8 and OnePlus 5.
This is because all the three smartphones promise true flagship experience without costing a fortune.
So, to decide which is the suitable smartphone to wear the crown of the best premium mid-range smartphone in India, we decided to put each smartphone – Mi Mix 2, Nokia 8 and OnePlus 5, under the scanner, and this is what we found out:
Model | Mi Mix 2 | Nokia 8 | OnePlus 5 |
Display | 5.99-Inch, 18:9 Full HD display | 5.3-Inch, QHD IPS LCD Display | 5.5-Inch, AMOLED Full HD display |
Processor | 2.45GHz Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor | 2.45GHz Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor | 2.45GHz Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor |
RAM | 6GB/8GB | 4GB | 6GB/8GB |
Internal Storage | 64GB /128GB /256GB | 64GB, expandable up to 256GB | 64GB/128GB non-expandable |
Software | Android 7.1.1 Nougat based MIUI 9 | Android Nougat 7.1.1 | Android Nougat based Oxygen OS |
Primary Camera | 12MP Sony IMX 386 sensor, 4axis optical stabilization | 13 MP (Colour + OIS) + 13 MP (Mono), 1.12um, f/2.0, 76.9˚, PDAF, IR range finder, dual tone flash | 16MP (f/1.7) + 20MP (f/2.6), 2X Zoom, EIS |
Secondary Camera | 8MP, f/2.0 aperture | 13MP PDAF, 1.12um, f/2.0, 78.4˚, display flash | 16MP with f/2.0 aperture |
Dimensions and Weight | 154 x 75.8 x 7.85mm | 142.5 x 69.3 x 8.1mm and 149 Grams | 151 x 76 x 8.4 mm and 175grams |
Battery | 3400mAh, Turbocharging | 3,090mAh with Quick Charge | 3300mAh with fast charging |
Others | 4G VoLTE, Fingerprint sensor, dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, NFC, GPS, GLONASS | 2G/3G/4G/Volte, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, USB Type C, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, GPS / GLONASS, NFC, Splashproof (IP54) | 4G VoLTE, dual-band WiFi, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, Fingerprint sensor (home button, ceramic glass), NFC, USB Type-C, Dash charging |
Price | Rs. 32,999/ 35,999/ Rs. 40,000 approx. | Rs. 36,999 | Rs. 32,999/ Rs. 37,999 |
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Design and Build
As far as the design goes, all the three smartphones, be it Xiaomi Mi Mix 2, Nokia 8 and OnePlus 5, look stunning and won’t give you much reason to complain.
But, it is the Xioami Mi Mix 2 that gets picked from the lot. The smartphone has got a unique, eye-catching ‘bezel-less’ design. It flaunts an all-glass front, which is paired with ceramic back and metal side frame. The face of the Mi Mix 2 is completely dominated by no-bezels full-vision display, which is also its primary highlight. The fingerprint sensor is on the rear.
Talking about its rivals, both Nokia 8 and OnePlus 5 come clad in a metal unibody design with 2.5D on top, and brandish smooth curves on the sides. Though the design of these two smartphones looks premium, they fall short due to the missing infinity display up front. Other than that, both phones are being offered in multiples hues, and both have a front mounted fingerprint sensor.
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Display
Moving to the front side of the smartphones, all smartphones manage to cram as many pixels as they can on their displays. The Mi Mix 2 flaunts a 5.99-inch full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) display, whereas the OnePlus 5 and Nokia 8 flaunts a 5.5-Inch optic AMOLED Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) display and a 5.3-inch Quad-HD (2560 x 1440 pixels) IPS LCD display, respectively.
Clearly, the Nokia 8 has a sharper screen but, on the other hand, OnePlus 5 benefits from the high contrast OLED panel and accurate DCI-P3 and sRGB color profiles.
Bringing the Mi Mix 2 display into the foray, the phone is optimal for those looking for displays with no distractions. The smartphone sport an 18:9 screen-body ratio display which runs all the way from the top corners to the visibly thin bezel at the bottom.
Performance and Software
Decoding the software part first, the Nokia 8 runs on the stock Android Nougat, OnePlus 5 boots on an ‘almost’ stock Oxygen OS based Android Nougat and the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 will come with MIUI based Android Nougat interface.
Our pick here will be the OnePlus 5. Oxygen OS that the company applies on top of Android Nougat gives you a very smooth and hassle-free experience. Also, the community support is very good on OnePlus 5.
Whereas the software on Nokia 8 is pure Android that Google deploys and will be upgraded to Android Oreo, so does the software of OnePlus 5. The software on the Mi Mix 2 will remain constant and will only get necessary upgrades from the company’s end.
At the performance front, all three smartphones – Mi Mix 2, Nokia 8 and OnePlus 5, rock Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor clocked at 2.45GHz, under their hood. It is hard to point out the difference here but Mi Mix 2 and OnePlus 5 will benefit from more RAM.
As far as the storage goes, Nokia 8 can offer you 64GB of onboard expandable storage, OnePlus 5 holds a limited storage space of 64GB/128GB. In India, Xiaomi is expected to bring in only the 32GB variant of Mi Mix 2.
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Camera and Battery
The final round will test how well the eye of the phone (cameras) can catch the object, and how much juice each phone can deliver.
Bringing into the frame first, we have OnePlus 5. The phone features a dual sensor at the back with one being a 16MP wide-angle lens and the other a 20MP telephoto lens. The cameras are backed by dual tone flash and 2X optical zoom. Up front, it has a 16MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture.
Next up, we have Nokia 8. Just like OnePlus 5, it also integrates dual-camera, but with different sensors – a 13MP RGB + 13MP Monochrome cameras, supported by Zeiss Optics (makes a comeback from Nokia Lumia devices) and an LED Flash. For selfies, it has a 13MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture and display flash.
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In contrast, the Mi Mix 2 flaunts a single camera 12MP Sony IMX386 sensor along with a 4-axis optical image stabilization on the rear and an 8MP selfie shooter on the front, placed on the lower bezel.
The OnePlus 5 operates on electronic image stabilization, Nokia 8 camera comes with optical image stabilization, and with Nokia 8 you also get the “Bothie” feature, which splits the viewfinder into two halves and asigns one each to the rear and front camera.
All smartphones can shoot video at 4k level, but here also the Nokia 8 plays an upper hand with its OZO audio technology that uses three microphones for recording audio.
How about the battery performance? Nokia 8 houses a considerable smaller battery, 3080mAh to be exact, than the Mi Mix 2 and OnePlus 5. The Mi Mix 2 packs 3400mAh and OnePlus 5 packs 3300mAh battery. All the phones will support fast charging but, the OnePlus 5 supports ‘Dash Charging’, which is one of the fastest battery charging technology in the industry.
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Verdict
With this, we reach the end of our comparison and it seems like despite all the hurdles and challenges all the three smartphones finish quite close. Whether it is Nokia 8 or, OnePlus 5, or Mi Mix 2 – each phone has at least one compelling feature that overshadows others.
Who should buy Xiaomi Mi Mix 2?
The Mi Mix 2 should serve as a reasonably priced yet premium bezel-less phone in India. It houses powerful hardware driving MIUI9 and should be a treat for Xiaomi fans.
Who should buy Nokia 8?
The Nokia 8 offers the best camera performance in its class. It further benefits from a 2K display and the bothie feature that should make it an excellent choice for V-loggers. Another thing that works for Nokia 8 is the brand value.
Who should buy OnePlus 5?
Despite being the oldest, OnePlus 5 is an excellent choice for those looking for a flagship phone at the performance front. It has the best UI, excellent community support and can match phones that cost twice as much in terms of speed.
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